There’s always been something about a clean space that has made me think, work, and create better. Perhaps that’s one way I am made in the Image and Likeness of God; for, He too began with a clean slate… actually, He began with a “formless wasteland and darkness covered the abyss.”
Now, I’ll admit my iMac may at times seem like a formless wasteland as I get in a rut of saving things too quickly to my desktop, but what a wonderful feeling to see it all wiped clean and actually witness the beauty of the picture that lies underneath.
This is how I feel in life sometimes. I get in a rut with sin: same old sins, just increasing in quality and quantity and piling up on the desktop of my soul.
How blessed I am to have the forgiveness of my Heavenly Father. To know, without doubt, that the Sacrament of Reconciliation brings forgiveness of sins and a restoring to God’s grace is one of my favorite things about being Catholic.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us that those receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation with a contrite heart experience a true spiritual resurrection, which is followed by a peace and serenity of conscience. That’s it! That is the beauty I experience as I am joined in an intimate friendship with my Creator. That is the wiping clean of my spiritual desktop and a revealing of the beauty God has place in me… the beauty of His image… the ultimate screensaver!
On the heels of the world Synod of Bishops on the New Evangelization, members of the gathering submitted 58 propositions to the Holy Father for him to use as he writes the Post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation.
Guess what one of the ways proposed to promote evangelization was? Yep, you got it, the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
“The sacrament of penance and reconciliation is the privileged place to receive God’s mercy and forgiveness, it is a place of healing and strength, and it is the sacrament that can bring people back into full communion with the church,” the synod members said.
Sometimes a clean desktop is all I need to ensure a good night’s sleep, but a clean soul is always what I need to ensure serenity of heart and safeguard me from having to undergo a total reboot.
Copyright © 2012, Kelly Wahlquist
Kelly Wahlquist
Kelly Wahlquist's great passion is spreading the message of Jesus in the New Evangelization, so much so, she's been called joyfully labeled über-evangelist by friends. Assistant Director of Parish Evangelization for the Association of Marian Helpers, she manages the new and exciting Hearts Afire Parish-based Programs for the New Evangelization. Kelly is the Program Manger for the Archbishop Harry J. Flynn Catechetical Institute in St. Paul, Minnesota, where she lives with her husband and three awesome kids. Kelly is a contributing writer for The Integrated Catholic Life, CatholicMom.com, The Divine Mercy, and The Crossroads Initiative.
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