By Joe LaCombe
“I love you Dad…” That was what my son said to me the other day at home, just in passing. We tell each other we love each other every day, but it’s usually at times like bedtime, or before we part ways in the morning. But this time, it was different. It was out of the blue, and it made me pause, and smile. I thought to myself how much I love him, and how great it was to hear his voice, and hear those words.
I think we forget sometimes that this is how God feels when we take the time to talk to Him, and simply say “I love You”, out of the blue. I think the joy I felt was only a tiny fraction of the joy God feels when we tell Him we love Him.
But how often do we really take the time, to sincerely say I love You, to God? This makes me think of another thing, again with my son. Any time he gets into trouble, or he knows that he has disappointed us in some way, he’ll come up to his mom and I, multiple times, and simply say I love you, or, I love you guys… We can tell when he’s genuinely sorry for something, just by him doing that.
Of course, we like to hear why he’s sorry, and hear that he won’t do it again, but deep down, I know that he is sorry, I know that he is going to try to do better simply through the simple, heartfelt, apologetic, I love you. And it softens and melts my heart when he does that.
Imagine how God feels, when we tell Him we love Him because we’re sorry, that we’re sorry for disappointing Him. We can’t imagine it. We can’t imagine the joy and love He feels when we come to Him and tell Him we love Him in this way.
Guys, all God wants to hear from us is an I love you Dad, in passing, out of the blue. All Jesus wants to hear from us is a simple, heartfelt I love you, especially when we’re sorry, in the times we’ve failed. The Holy Spirit knows what we’re sorry about, what pains us, the ways we’ve disappointed Him, failed Him.
And sure, He wants to hear us actually spell it out, and ask for forgiveness, because its healing for us to say it out loud and state we will not to do it again, but He knows us better deep down than we know ourselves. And He knows that we need His help. Not only for actual forgiveness, but to whether the storms, the temptations that come our way.
This is what the Sacrament of Reconciliation is – an intimate, heartwarming, and healing experience with God. A time to simply tell God we love Him, a time to come to Him, to say we’re sorry.
It’s a time for healing, to get back on track, and be filled with His love and His grace for the road ahead. And in the end, it is a time for joy. And I just know that when we do this, as His kids, our Heavenly Father is beaming with joy in Heaven, and a love we simply cannot comprehend.
Take some time this month, maybe out of the blue, to go spend time with God, to tell Him you’re sorry, and that you love Him. He just wants us to talk to Him, to hear our voice, and hear those words.