Third Saturday of Advent

For he is like the refiner's fire, or like the fuller's lye. He will sit refining and purifying silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi, Refining them like gold or like silver that they may offer due sacrifice to the LORD. Then the sacrifice of Judah and Jerusalem will please the LORD, as in the days of old, as in years gone by.

These words have been used to describe John the Baptist and Jesus, but they also describe what the sacrament of reconciliation does for all of us. It offers us a chance to be refined and purified. It removes our impurities by burning them away. In a similar way, the sacrament of reconciliation can rid us of our imperfections and sins, granting us the grace to become worthy vessels of God’s Will on earth. By seeking forgiveness with contrite hearts and doing our penances, we are emptied of all our sins and transformed into pleasing and faithful followers.

Do we make ourselves available to the sacrament of reconciliation and the graces it offers us? Are we willing to allow God to burn away our imperfections and refine our souls? How can we becomes living vessels, bearing God’s Love, Mercy, and Grace to all the world?

O Lord, refine and purify us.

Amen.