Psalm for Sunday, June 16, 2013

Reflections
 
Psalm 32:  1-2, 5, 7, 11
 
“Then I declared my sin to you, and
 you took away the guilt of my sin.”
 
A simple act of confession, which sometimes
is so difficult for us, is how we get rid of the
torment in our lives that is a consequence of
unconfessed sin.   We all know the peace that
we obtain when we receive the Sacrament of
Confession, when our burden of guilt is lifted.
We are convicted of sin as was our psalmist
King David (1st reading), whose sins against
Uriah resulted in horrible consequences for
his family.  
 
We may not be able to avoid the consequences
of sin, but we can lift up the burden of sin and
give it to Jesus, our Savior.   After all, as scripture
tells us, Jesus came to heal the sick, and to forgive
sinners like us.  Having received the Lord's
forgiveness, we become the happy sinners that
our Psalmist talks about.  And that joy inspires us
to sing out and praise the Lord.
 
In this Psalm, one of David’s penitential psalms,
our Psalmist sings out about the heaviness of his sin,
that weighs upon him so long as he keeps silent.
David's sins were hidden in his heart.
Then when he declares his sin, and confesses his faults,
his burden is lifted and his guilt is taken away.
 
David is compelled to cry out “unclean, unclean”
and to seek God’s forgiveness in order to be healed.
We too are called to kneel before Jesus and beg
for mercy in order to receive His grace during
the Sacrament of Confession.
 
As Jesus says, it is what's inside our hearts
that needs to be purified.  And having been
cleansed from within, we really have something
to be joyful about.
 
We are all pitiful in the sight of Christ, but
once on our knees, having confessed and repented
of our sins, there is hope for us sinners whose sin
is forgiven.  As it says in the Psalm,
“Blessed is he whose fault is taken away,
whose sin is covered.”
 
We all need a spiritual cleansing from time to time
if we are to obtain a pure heart.  They say confession
is good for the soul and from what we know from
the Psalm, confessing our faults will lead us
to be glad in the Lord and rejoice.

Amen


Discussion Questions for Reflection

1.  Speak of the peace you obtain after having
received Absolution for your sins when you
participate in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

2.  Our psalmist, David, is convicted of his sins
and acknowledges his faults before the Lord.
What is it in your life that inspires you to confess
your sins before the Lord?