'Reco' at WYD

WORLD YOUTH DAY SERIES

World Youth Day Cross and Icon.

The Sacrament of Reconciliation is fondly known as 'Reco' at WYD. It is a very important aspect of the week, since it provides pilgrims with a whole week of chances to turn to God and repent and receive the sacrament of Reconciliation and be at rights with God.

'Reco' at WYD can be a wonderful, life changing experience. It does not matter whether pilgrims are regular penitents (weekly, fortnightly, monthly) or have not received it for 10-15 years. God is waiting to welcome for you in the priest.

'Reco' at WYD is special- although there are queues, there is no need for any penitent to hurry (especially if it has been a while since your last confession).  If you need an hour or two- then if that is what it takes. then you have your hour or two.  No one is hurried or told only to confess a few sins.

There are three other glorious aspect of 'Reco' at WYD is that God provides for you in your language through the huge variety of priests from different nationalities. After all, this sacrament is definitely for the vernacular as we want to say what we need to say in whatever way we say it don't we!!! 'Reco' is such a personal sacrament.  Priests from so many countries are present, willing and able to hear confessions.  Many come to be there specifically for this purpose- to sit and hear confessions all week. That is an amazing effort. 

Not only is there a priest for your own nationality or at least can understand your language, the other interesting aspect of the 'reco' experience is that pilgrims are drawn to a priest who is 'just right' for them.  What makes a priest 'just right for reco' is again a personal consideration, but there is too much anecdotal evidence to ignore the fact that penitents seem to find the 'right priest' whatever their situation.  Of course, there seems to be a also a referral system too- pilgrims talk and share something of their reco experience- eg 'go to that priest- he's great..told me what I needed to hear' or 'had not been for zonks- he was so kind and took all the time in the world with me'

If some pilgrims recommend a priest to you, keep it in mind but do your research also- what might be great for them might not be who God has chosen for you.  I believe having been to two WYD in Rome and Sydney that God does chose an appropriate priest for you- I believe He puts that priest in your path or leads you to him.  So stay tuned to the working of the holy Spirit and ask God to help you in this matter.  I know that the priest is standing in for Christ- you are confessing to Jesus- but lets face it, the priest is the other party in the conversation- it does make a difference and a good match between confessor and penitent enhances the sacrament significantly.

The third glorious aspect of the 'Reco' experience is seeing other priests receiving the sacrament of 'Reco' too. It is such a beautiful experience and a heart-warming sight to behold.  They are human and need God's forgiveness too. It is glorious to see them in both roles as confessor and penitent.

As part of my 08 WYD in Sydney, I decided to explore the sacrament of Reconciliation as though I was about to receive it for the first time.  Why did I choose to do this- I realised that I  had been receiving the sacrament for 40 years and I felt I needed an overhaul of the sacrament. After all, we do not do something for 40 years on a regular basis and not become stale at some point.  The effort of reading many books on the sacrament, exploring the Catechism of the Catholic Church, talking with priest friends about the sacrament and trying out different styles and methods enhanced my spiritual life considerably.  The key for me was to place myself in the frame of mind that I was learning this sacrament for the first time.

So, if you are hazy with the sacrament of Reco, or are a regular penitent, but have not given yourself a refresher in years, consider making 'Reco' a focus in your spiritual preparation. Need some motivation to inspire you to get started, then why not explore these two resources in this post as a starting point.  

Jesus wants to give you His abundant blessings at WYD. Make the best preparations you can on the physical, emotional, spiritual and financial spheres.  You will not be disappointed that you made the effort. God loves you and will reward your effort.

As scripture says' May the Lord who has begun this good work in you, bring it to completion'.