Repentance is God’s gift and the work of the Holy Spirit. As an aid to cultivating a spirit of repentance, I would share two bits of advice. First, Let us stop looking at our life and our vocation in terms of efficiency and immediate results, and being caught up in present needs and expectations; instead let us view things against the greater horizon of the past and the future.
The past, by recalling God’s fidelity, being mindful of his forgiveness and firmly anchored in his love. The future, by looking to the eternal goal to which we are called, the ultimate purpose of our lives. Broadening our horizons, dear brothers, helps to expand our hearts, to spend time with the Lord and to experience compunction.
My second bit of advice follows from the first. Let us rediscover our need to cultivate prayer that is not obligatory and functional, but freely chosen, tranquil and prolonged. Brothers, how is your prayer life? Let us return to adoration. Have you been forgetting to adore the Lord? Let us return to the prayer of the heart.
Let us repeat: 𝑱𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒔, 𝑺𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝑮𝒐𝒅, 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒚 𝒐𝒏 𝒎𝒆, 𝒂 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒓. Let us sense God’s grandeur even as we contemplate our own sinfulness, and open our hearts to the healing power of his gaze. Then we will rediscover the wisdom of Holy Mother Church in having our prayer always begin in the words of the poor man who cries: 𝑮𝒐𝒅, 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒚 𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆!
Dear brothers, allow me to conclude by returning to Saint Peter and his tears. The altar we see above his tomb makes us think of how often we priests—𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒅𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒂𝒚: 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔, 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒊𝒕, 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒚 𝑩𝒐𝒅𝒚, 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒖𝒑 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖—have disappointed and grieved the One who loved us so greatly as to make our hands the instruments of his presence.
We do well, then, to repeat those prayers we say in silence: 𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒘𝒆 𝒃𝒆 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑾𝒂𝒔𝒉 𝒎𝒆. 𝑶 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅, 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒎𝒚 𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒆 𝒎𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒎𝒚 𝒔𝒊𝒏. Yet in every way, brothers, we are comforted by the certainty spoken of in today’s liturgy: the Lord, consecrated by his anointing, came 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒖𝒑 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒓𝒐𝒌𝒆𝒏𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒅 (Is 61:1).
If hearts are broken, surely they can be bound up and healed by Jesus. Thank you, dear priests, for your open and docile hearts. Than you for all your hard work, and your tears. Thank you for bringing the miracle of God’s mercy…May the Lord console you, strengthen you, and reward you.
-Pope Francis, Chrism Mass 2024
