Accept Forgiveness

This quarter, our mission at Christ the King Catholic School is to “Accept Forgiveness.” This mission has multiple meanings for our community. Primarily, it is a reminder that God is always there to hear our confession and grant us forgiveness for our sins, with our firm intention to sin no more. This is an important concept for our students to understand—that no matter what wrong they have committed God is willing to accept them back into His arms. It is a reminder for us as teachers and parents to show the same kind of love for even our most wayward children.

Last school year, Sr. Colleen Clair, a Salesian sister, came and spoke to our students. She told a powerful story of St. John Bosco illustrating the importance of confession and forgiveness. It has been documented that Don (Father) Bosco had many prophetic visions and dreams. One morning at Mass, he noticed that some of the boys were not paying attention, fidgeting in their seats, and even whispering to each other. As he looked more closely he noticed little monkeys whispering into the ears of these boys. As he approached the boys, the monkeys disappeared. After another week and much prayerful reflection about what he had seen, Don Bosco saw the same sight at the weekly mass. However, the number of inattentive boys—and the number of whispering monkeys--had doubled. Upon seeing this, he made the decision that all the boys should make an honest confession before next week’s mass. The boys did as Don Bosco asked, and at the next mass the monkeys were gone and the boys reverence for mass was restored.

Sr. Colleen’s story is a great reminder why it is important to “accept forgiveness.” Like the monkeys in the story, our sins can be a constant distraction, taking our focus away from God. However, through confession, God is willing to take these distractions away from us. In exchange, with a clear focus, we can rededicate our attention to God, who has spiritually taken the monkey off our back. Through the acceptance of His Love, no matter how far we have strayed, we can always return to Peace.

If you are interested in seeing more of Sr. Colleen’s work, she has a YouTube channel with many entertaining and educational videos. You can even see what some of the Salesian sisters who served at CKS are doing now: https://www.youtube.com/user/happynun.