«That the confessor also be a “channel of joy”»

On March 4th, the Legionaries of Christ in their third year of theology completed the 27th course on the internal forum organized by the Apostolic Penitentiary and had the opportunity to greet the Holy Father after an Audience in the Sala Regia.

During his brief speech at the Audience, Francis said: «The possibility of forgiveness is truly open to everyone; indeed, it is wide open, like the greatest of the “holy doors,” because it coincides with the very heart of the Father, who loves and waits for all His children, especially those who have erred the most and are far away. The mercy of the Father can reach each person in many ways: through the opening of a sincere conscience; through reading the Word of God that converts the heart; through an encounter with a merciful brother or sister; in life experiences that speak of wounds, sin, forgiveness, and mercy».

[caption id=”attachment_6735″ align=”aligncenter” width=”300″> Brother Michael O’Connor, L.C. greets the Holy Father.

Later he said: «The sacrament of Reconciliation is, therefore, the privileged place to experience God’s mercy and to celebrate the feast of the encounter with the Father». He also said: «When we, as confessors, go to the confessional to welcome brothers and sisters, we must always remember that for them we are instruments of God’s mercy. Therefore, let us be careful not to put obstacles to this gift of salvation. The confessor is, himself, a sinner, a man always in need of forgiveness; he, first of all, cannot renounce God’s mercy, which has “chosen” and “appointed” (cf. Jn 15, 16) for this great task. To which he must always be disposed with an attitude of humble and generous faith, with the sole desire that each faithful person may experience the love of the Father».

After finishing his speech, Pope Francis greeted as usual the cardinals, the bishops present, and the course organizers. «Later, we had the surprise that the course participants began to pass by the line to greet the Pope. I was one of the first and certainly came prepared to thank him for all he does for us, to ask for some intentions, and to present him with an apostolate from a family of the Movement in Mexico», comments Brother Sebastián Rodríguez.

[caption id=”attachment_6736″ align=”aligncenter” width=”300″> Brother Sebastián Rodríguez greets the Pope and presents an apostolic project of a family of the Regnum Christi of Mexico.

«More or less my words to him were: “Holy Father, I wanted to ask you to pray a lot for my family… Also, I wanted to present you this apostolate carried out by a married couple from Regnum Christi in Mexico…”, and I briefly explained what it consisted of. This family tried unsuccessfully, in Philadelphia and in Mexico, to deliver a letter addressed to the Holy Father with the document called “Our Project” (explanation of the apostolate). I offered to try to deliver it knowing that he would have this Audience. The apostolate arises after observing the increasingly growing absence of parents in the lives of children and their influence on society. Members of this apostolate seek to reverse this situation and do so through conferences and family accompaniment, helping many families to join the project, forming groups of families that help each other to live and promote true family values by example. They are convinced that this will lead to enrichment for the formation of their children and will have a positive impact on society», explains Brother Sebastián.

The course program included talks by various priests and bishops working in the Apostolic Penitentiary, including Fr. Pedro Fernández Rodriguez, O.P., who gave a lecture titled “The confessor: a privileged witness of God’s merciful love”; Bishop Juan Ignacio Arrieta, canon lawyer of the Apostolic Penitentiary, spoke about censures, irregularities, and impediments to the confessor and penitents; Don Paolo Carlotti, S.D.B., discussed the formation of moral conscience in the sacrament of reconciliation; and Don Roberto Dotta, O.S.B., abbot of the Abbey of San Pablo Extramuros, explained the liturgical and spiritual aspects of celebrating the penitential rite. The lectio magistralis opening and closing speeches were given by Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, Major Penitentiary.

[caption id=”attachment_6737″ align=”aligncenter” width=”300″> Brother David Parker, L.C. greets the Holy Father.

In his speech, the Pope recalled: «It is therefore important that the confessor also be a “channel of joy” and that the faithful, after receiving forgiveness, no longer feel oppressed by guilt, but taste the work of God that has freed them, living in thanksgiving, ready to repair the evil committed and going out to meet their brothers with a good and available heart». And finally, he urged those present: «Dear brothers, in this our time, marked by individualism, by so many wounds, and the temptation to close in on oneself, it is a true gift to see and accompany the people who approach mercy. This also entails, for all of us, an even greater obligation of evangelical coherence and paternal benevolence; we are custodians, and never owners, of both the sheep and grace».