We began this Lent being told to: “Repent and believe in the Gospel.” But have you ever thought of repenting as a way of life? Repentance does not mean being gloomy or down on oneself. It means to face the facts of who we are as sinners, and do something about it. Perpetual repenting is an interior stance, an interior work. 

I recently heard a priest say: “God’s love is unconditional, but His mercy is not. It requires repentance.” God’s relationship towards us is one of pure mercy, but it won’t help us unless we respond through repentance. Here’s a chilling thought: If we’re not sinners, we don’t need Jesus.

It’s important to differentiate psychological and therapeutical matters from spiritual states. If someone suffers from low self-esteem, doubts their self-worth, is depressed, etc., focusing on sinfulness may not be advisable. However, facing spiritual realities can also be part of the cure. If we were never taught about God, His love, His will, His Word, His beautiful plan for our lives; if we have been gaslit by an unbelieving world, then discovering the truth can be the most healing and freeing thing of all. 

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If we are living in error, that means we are not living in reality, and that alone can be crazy-making. As helpful as certain branches of the helping professions are, they must be grounded in the bedrock of what God has revealed to us. Pop psychology and pop spirituality can overtake and even contradict our living the Catholic Faith. Remember that clever poster of a badly bruised and bleeding crucified Jesus with the words: “If I’m OK and you’re OK, what’s this?”

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Repenting is not a dead end of simply feeling bad about sin. It is not wallowing in sorrow and sadness for its own sake, with no hope or light at the end of the process. It’s a positive step, a purification, a reparation, a cleansing, a renewal. It can involve making amends or restitution, asking or offering forgiveness. We can even speak of the “joy of repentance.” Who doesn’t know the vivifying feeling of jumping into a cold lake, a pool, or even the shower; the gratifying sweat during an intense workout? Repenting used to be serious business. In Biblical times, in order to repent, folks put on sackcloth and ashes, fasted from food and water, and sometimes even made the animals do it, too. Back in the good old days of Christendom, prescribed penances were epic. Public sinners had to do public penance, whether they were princes or paupers—even if that meant standing outside the local church barefoot in the snow for everyone to see. Today, if we only get three Hail Mary’s in the confessional, we would be wise to add a few more weighty penances of our own.

We are all big sinners, big fish, because every sin is an offense to an infinitely holy and loving God. When we meditate on Jesus’ Passion, we can truly say: “My sins caused this. He’s dying for me and my sins.” If we’re unconvinced about truly being a sinner, we have to remember that God Himself is the standard. Exorcist Fr. Carlos Martins, CC, has noticed a current, widespread, spiritual ailment where people think if they “haven’t murdered anyone,” they’re doing OK. He reminds us that life is not just about avoiding big exterior sins, but also little interior ones. Furthermore, we are called to do as much good as we can in our lives, so to only concentrate on avoiding evil without simultaneously “storing up treasure in heaven” by our good deeds is the sin of omission. Fr. Martins explains that if we are not burning with the love of God and neighbour on earth, Purgatory is where we will be “salted with fire,” that is, stoked into fervor.

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Not sure how to examine your conscience more deeply in order to repent more profoundly? Ask God to reveal your “hidden faults.” (Psalm 19:12) Ask Our Lady of Sorrows to expose to you areas of your life that are not pleasing to God or need correction. I did this recently and (gulp) it wasn’t pretty, but I was so thankful to see some more of my shadows and get to work disinfecting with the sunlight of repentance.

Sr. Helena Raphael Burns, fsp, is a Daughter of St. Paul. She holds a Masters in Media Literacy Education and studied screenwriting at UCLA. HellBurns.com  X/Twitter: @srhelenaburns  #medianuns MediaApostle.com  Instagram: @medianunscanada