I went to the dentist yesterday. I didn't want to go. I never want to go to the dentist. I'm not sure why I dread it so much. Perhaps it's a few bad memories of the dentist as a child. Or maybe it's because I let my mind run wild and envision the worst possible scenarios. Regardless of the reason for my fears, I force myself to go to the dentist regularly because I know that it is best for my teeth and that the state of my teeth affects my entire well-being. As usual, my time at the dentist was not as bad as I remembered. It went by quicker that I thought it would. Before I knew it, I was walking out, relieved that it was over but so glad that I went. My teeth were so clean! As I left, I brought with me the renewed desire to avoid anything that would stain my teeth. My teeth were perfect - clean, shiny and good as new; I was determined to keep them that way! And when I do slip up, as I am bound to do eventually, it will be time to go to the dentist again. I thank the Lord that I have the ability to go to the dentist to keep my teeth clean in spite of my failings to avoid all that threatens to rot them.
Now, read this paragraph again, only substituting "confession" for "the dentist" and "soul" for "teeth":
I went to Confession yesterday. I didn't want to go. I never want to
go to Confession. I'm not sure why I dread it so much. Perhaps it's a
few bad memories of Confession as a child. Or maybe it's because I
let my mind run wild and envision the worst possible scenarios.
Regardless of the reason for my fears, I force myself to go to Confession regularly because I know that it is best for my soul and that
the state of my soul affects my entire well-being. As usual, my time in Confession was not as bad as I remembered. It went by quicker that I
thought it would. Before I knew it, I was walking out, relieved that
it was over but so glad that I went. My soul was so clean! As I left, I brought with me the renewed desire to avoid anything
that would stain my soul. My soul was perfect - clean, shiny and
good as new; I was determined to keep it that way! And when
I do slip up, as I am bound to do eventually, it will be time to go to Confession again. I thank the Lord that I have the ability to go to Confession to keep my soul clean in spite of my failings to avoid all
that threatens to rot it.
If you (like me) are taking better care of your teeth than your soul, you might want to hie it to Confession. 39% of Catholics that attend Mass weekly go to Confession less than once a year (see statistics here). What percentage do you think go to the dentist at least once a year? I bet it's more than 61% (this article suggests that 66% of Americans do).
Good post.
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Interesting perspective although I haven't been to the dentist in years since I haven't had insurance and now I have a discount plan but I don't want to take off work to go :( One thing I hate about confession is many parishes only have it 30min-1hr before mass and I hate going then b/c I feel rushed. I really need to get better about going though.
ReplyDeleteI wish more priests and parishes offered Rite of Reconciliation more than a few minutes before mass. Thanks for putting into words my perspectives! <3
ReplyDeleteI usually try to find a parish that has it on Saturday mornings; I hate feeling rushed as well! (And I did have a priest tell me to hurry up once.) I always go during Lent, but not enough.
ReplyDeleteI haven"t been to confession in years. I keep a list at my bed side table of what I need to ask forgiveness for, but I can"t bring myself to jump in and do it. I know that once I do it, I'll be so relieved and so happy that I did it, but it still hasn't happened.
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