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From the Pastor’s Desk
The Church recommends that at the end of each day we take a few minutes for what is called an examen. This is a quick review of the day that places before each of us, in a kind of examination of conscience, this question: How have I made known the Lord today in my words and deeds? But that will also bring to mind the times when we have not done so, the times when we have sinned either by acts of omission or commission.
When I am honest with myself in making a daily (or, at least, a regular) examination of conscience, I will realize the sins that weigh me down. The Old Testament’s Psalm 130 is one of the so-called “Penitential Psalms” – a prayer which laments how much sin has really affected my life. Like all of the great lamentation prayers of Judaism, it does not permit the person to wallow in self-pity. Rather, the psalm also recalls that “with the Lord is mercy and the fullness of redemption (Ps 130:7).
So each day, before you drift off to sleep, consider making an examen. (If you put the word “examen” in a Google search, you’ll find several sites that can assist you in this spiritual exercise.) Then, consider praying Psalm 130 or an Act of Contrition. Then, especially if your sins may be serious or mortal in nature, get to the Sacrament of Penance as soon as possible.
Love,
Father Tom