Since I’m on retreat this week, I’m trying to give myself a little break from writing bulletin articles. Instead, I include below an email from a friend who only became Catholic last year at Easter. Over the course of the last couple of years, she has devoted a large amount of her time in prayer and in trying to grow in her awareness of what the Church teaches. Right now she’s learning a great deal about the Sacrament of Confession. She knows it isn’t easy, but she understands it pretty well:
This week I’ve had a couple friends come to me with things they are struggling with. They know that I’m not one who is easily surprised and am not one to be judgmental no matter how crazy their situation… not much phases me. I’m a good listener. So anyways… two different guys (both Catholic) have come to me and told me how they feel like such hypocrites. When I hear that I always laugh and reply “Well, who isn’t? We are human!” That tends to get a laugh out of them and opens the discussion up. The discussion seems to lead to the Sacraments. The Sacraments are really cool. There often seems to be this idea out there that we have to be “good enough” before we can come to God. Yeah, good luck with that one! That’s just not realistic. That’s what’s so cool about the Sacraments… we aren’t expected to be held up to some unrealistic standard… we are being helped every step of the way if we are willing to accept it. Of all the things I don’t understand about protestants… this is the big one. Why would anyone want to protest the Sacraments? It makes no sense to me.
