Looking back into the future

As the novel moved backwards in time, the author showed me that the assumptions that I had made at the time when I first began reading the story without enough knowledge of the past were all wrong. Those characters that I thought were good turned out to be bad, and many of the apparent “bad” guys were actually good. As we reflect on our lives, Jesus has provided us with a wonderful opportunity by which we can review our past. The sacrament of penance and reconciliation provides us with this very significant opportunity to review, have sins forgiven and move into the future with God’s graces. After Jesus rose from the dead, he imparted upon the apostles the ability to forgive sins: “Peace be to you! As the Father has sent me, I also send you.’ When he had said this, he breathed upon them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit; whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained.” Although our sins are forgiven and grace provided through the sacrament of penance and reconciliation, I see an equally important benefit from our receiving this sacrament. We are provided with the opportunity to reflect upon our lives and relationships, to determine where we have strayed from the teachings Jesus. I am convinced that we are also afforded the opportunity through an assessment of our past to find times when we have done good things and be pleased with ourselves. In addition, we are offered the chance to find times in our past when God has been good to us and we can use this remembrance as a time to thank God for all the gifts he has given to us. And, as an added benefit, we can combine this examination of our past with the reception of a sacrament. In the same way that I learned more about the characters by reading the novel backwards, may you look back at your life and enjoy the view, moving forward confidently into the future!