To Be Reconciled to God

Reconciliation

The need for reconciliation can be seen everywhere. Scientific discoveries and respect for the person have to be reconciled, liberty and fraternity, economy and justice, contemporary art and the public at large… Peoples and social groups must be reconciled among themselves instead of waging war against each other or just ignoring each other. Above all, human beings have to be reconciled with each other in their daily lives: in the family, at work, in the groups where they belong. Wherever they are, agreement between individuals is the key to success.

All this is easy to understand. Whether in the world of nature or in the world of human beings, there are conflicts. On the other hand, without conflict, there is no progress. Conflict between generations did not begin yesterday. Conflict is not necessarily war. Reconciliation, unity, and peace are possible. They cannot be obtained without some effort; you have to try to understand the other person and accept them as they are. You must see the other person’s point of view rather than concentrating on your own, to accept the existence of the other person in spite of all the prejudices, the blockages and past conflicts that might exist.

This should work as well within a household just as between two nations; in Europe during the 20th century, the greatest example has to be the reconciliation that has taken place between France and Germany.

But what is reconciliation with God?

When Paul was speaking to the Corinthians, he began with an observation: your relationship with God is not good. Sometimes you forget him, other times you carry out the opposite to what he asks of you. At other times, you are tempted to reject him altogether. You must renew the dialogue. You must rediscover trust. You cannot achieve this alone. Perhaps you have the idea or you think that you are too far away to repair the link. Through his Son, Jesus Christ, God gave you a sign in one who went as far as giving his life for you. Allow Christ to reconcile you to God. To sum up: “Be Reconciled with God!”

From Reconciliation to Conversion

When we spoke earlier about reconciliation on the human level, we said that it required a “conversion”. The same word can be used in our relationship with God. The Gospel, the “Good News”, is that God our Father is at work in Jesus, his Son, to reconcile us to Himself. He has crossed the infinite distance that separates us from Him. Through his Son, He has come among us. Jesus was like us. He is our brother. He opens the House of God for us.

But he can do nothing without us. We must change, be converted. What does conversion mean?

  • First of all we must change our image of God. God is neither an uncompromising judge nor an indifferent onlooker towards what we do. He requires a response in faith, hope and love from us. He is the father of the prodigal son who waits impatiently for his son to return and runs to meet him once he sees him.
  • We must change our outlook on life and the world. God enlightens us by the voice of our conscience. But this can often be difficult: have crimes been committed in good conscience? This is why God enlightens us in giving us the “ten words” better known as the “ten commandments”. They are accepted by all people, even though they have come to us through Israel. Jesus gave the “Beatitudes” to his disciples. The Beatitudes are not a code of conduct. They are the entrance to the Kingdom of God.
  • Finally, we must, change our outlook towards ourselves. We must accept that we have often taken the wrong path, that we have acted wrongly or that we have not acted as we should. We repeat these faults but this is not a reason to be resigned to them. Finally, we must accept not to look at ourselves only in order to condemn ourselves or to justify ourselves. We must, in trust, place ourselves before God who knows us better than we know ourselves.

      • From Conversion to Penance

      “To convert” can also mean “to repent” or “to do penance”. Penance has taken on a very restricted and almost ridiculous meaning. “To do penance” makes us think of children in school when the teacher puts them “in the corner” for misbehaving. Penance is the opposite of pleasure which dominates everything today. In fact, our western civilisation realises that in some ways it has things upside-down. Bold liberalism creates new poor, new frustrations, sexual violence and new forms of protectionism. When the Blessed Virgin invited Bernadette to penance, the 19th century was beginning to move into dangerous “-isms”: capitalism, (Marx wrote Das Capital ten years later), scientism, nationalism.

      Most people will say that they feel happy with their situation because they are richer and in good health, yet society is anxious, uncertain about its unity and its future. This can be seen in the difficulties we have in trying to build political projects. In short, the idea that attitudes should be changed, even if is means renouncing certain illusions, becomes obvious when one reflects on it.

      There are many things which are painful, but at the same time liberating, involved in the conversion process. When the prodigal son decided to return to his father, he didn’t do so with a joyful heart (Luke 15:17). However, it was the only solution for him and he trusted his father enough to know that he would not be vengeful towards him. It was the same for Peter. He denied Jesus three times after his arrest. The following morning, when Jesus came out of the High Priest’s house, their eyes met and this look was, undoubtedly, both a look of reproach as well as an invitation to trust. The evangelist tells us that Peter went out and wept bitterly. (Luke 22:61-62)

      The path to conversion or change is difficult. This is why Our Lady asked Bernadette to pray for sinners. Throughout her life (Bernadette lived for a further 21 years after the Apparitions), she would pray for sinners. She would offer her daily pain, her suffering and every moment “for sinners”. This is part of catholic faith; everyone is responsible for themselves but we are not alone, we have Christ and the saints in heaven, as well as our brothers and sisters in our earthly community who help us in an unseen way. Together, we make up the communion of saints, of all the saints.

      Lourdes - a Special Place for Conversion

      In Lourdes, there are many starting points for the road to conversion.

      • The simplicity of Lourdes: The number of people who come here shows that the question of the ultimate meaning of our lives is not an outdated question. Lourdes is a place where everyone, even those who are outside the Christian faith, are able to look at their lives and find some form of answer.
      • The person of Bernadette also leads us to see things differently in our ordinary life. Bernadette is a very attractive person through her freedom of spirit and word. But from a human point of view, without any formal education, delicate health, living in destitution with her family, then in the hospice of Lourdes followed by the convent of Nevers, Bernadette was not extraordinary. However, for nearly one hundred and fifty years, thanks to her, the lives of millions of people have been changed.
      • Mary, the Immaculate Conception: even without properly understanding what is meant by the Immaculate Conception and even if the statues that represent her do not make you very enthusiastic, the Blessed Virgin Mary represents beauty, light and holiness. She is a woman. Jesus has given her to us as a mother. A mother encourages and reaffirms trust. In Lourdes, the Lady smiled frequently when she was with Bernadette. She appeared sad when she spoke of penance: She who is without sin knows better than us that sin is a blockage. With Jesus on the Cross, she also suffered for us.
      • The sick and those who care for them. Sickness, old-age, and disability imprison us. Very often, they are hidden. Here, in Lourdes, people are amazed to see that they have pride of place. The members of the different hospitalities who look after them appear happy to do so at their own expense by sacrificing part of their holidays. This leads us to question the real value of things and to see how often the voids in their lives are filled by appearances.
      • The Grotto: People come to pray at the Grotto at all hours. It was the same at the time of the Apparitions; Bernadette was surrounded by people who were praying, while there were others who came to observe as well as the sceptics. But the experience is to go through the Grotto. I am not alone: while some pray before the Grotto, others go before me and others follow me in the slow procession that allows me to enter the Grotto. I see the spring of pure water that reminds me of my baptism, the new life of a child of God. At the back of the Grotto I am in darkness – sin prevents me from seeing clearly. But I come out towards the light, passing by the candle stand – Christ and the saints. I have followed this passage under the watchful eye of the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose statue is in the crevice of the rock and who, according to Bernadette, is not far from us. The passage through the Grotto is a wonderful path of conversion.
      • The Water Walk and the Baths. Facing the Grotto, nine taps distribute water from the spring. They are not there to fill water bottles but for us to copy the actions the Lady requested of Bernadette: “Go drink of the spring and wash yourself there.” Each tap carries the name of a well from the Bible and gives the reference to that particular place. Some of these names help those who wish to carry out a conversion process. More symbolic again are the actual Baths.
      • The Ways of the Cross. The title is in the plural because there are several Ways of the Cross in Lourdes: on the Espélugues Hill, on the meadow, in the Underground Basilica of St. Pius X, in St. Joseph’s Chapel, etc, … Whatever their artistic value may be, the Way of the Cross engages us better than any sermon. Who is this innocent man who is put to a humiliating death? In this drama which continues, we are beside Pilate who washes his hands of the affair, the onlookers who laugh and mock the condemned person or with Simon of Cyrene who helps him carry the Cross, Veronica who wipes his face, the centurion who admits that this man is indeed the son of God.

          • The Sacrament of Reconciliation

          Whilst in Lourdes, many pilgrims receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

          After his resurrection, on the evening of the first Easter Day, Jesus said to his apostles: “Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven”. Through the gift of the Holy Spirit, on the day of their ordination, priests receive this power which they do not exercise in their own name but in the name of Christ himself. Through his death, Jesus shows us how much God loves us. Through his resurrection, he shows us that evil has been overcome.

          The following is the formula of Absolution used by the priest for the forgiveness of sins:

          God the father of mercies, through the death and resurrection of his son has reconciled the world to himself and sent the Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sins: through the ministry of the church, may God give you pardon and peace, and I absolve you from your sins, in the name of the Father X and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit Amen

          Normally, the priest asks the penitent to carry out a “penance”. It is normally an action or some prayer to show that our wish to be converted is serious; even though we know our weaknesses and that we wish to allow the grace of God, which we have received in the Sacrament, to work in us.

          Reconciliation and Reconciliations

          Let us return to our point of departure, the need for different levels of reconciliation. Jesus linked the forgiveness of God to the forgiveness we show towards others. We find this especially in the Our Father:

          … forgive us our trespasses or sins As we forgive those who trespass or sin against us.

          Forgiveness, like peace, does not cause division. We cannot ask for peace from God while continuing to entertain thoughts of vengeance. Moreover, if I wish vengeance on others because they have harmed me, I risk wishing the same on God who sent me this trial.

          Pardon would appear to be beyond my abilities. In Lourdes, in front of such suffering but, at the same time, such love and faith, my feelings and my problems fade into nothing. The grace of the Sacrament, if it is received with a sincere heart, is powerful enough to displace hate. Lourdes is a place where reconciliation is either decided upon or put into practice.

          “Be Reconciled with God”: the process suggested this year is not the easiest but in following it, we can find peace. It can also lead us to rediscover, in a new light, the wonderful Sacrament of Reconciliation

          Mgn Jacques Perrier
          Bishop of Tarbes and Lourdes