The Fourth Sunday of Lent
Year C
204. WHAT GOD THINKS OF SINNERS (LK 15:1-10)
“The Word spoke, and by these words he turned man away from disobedience, not enslaving him by force or necessity, but inviting him to choose freedom of his own accord.”
- St Hippolytus
Luke 15:1-10
The tax collectors and the sinners, meanwhile, were all seeking his company to hear what he had to say, and the Pharisees and the scribes complained. ‘This man’ they said ‘welcomes sinners and eats with them.’ So he spoke this parable to them: ‘What man among you with a hundred sheep, losing one, would not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the missing one till he found it? And when he found it, would he not joyfully take it on his shoulders and then, when he got home, call together his friends and neighbours? Rejoice with me, he would say I have found my sheep that was lost. In the same way, I tell you, there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one repentant sinner than over ninety-nine virtuous men who have no need of repentance. Or again, what woman with ten drachmas would not, if she lost one, light a lamp and sweep out the house and search thoroughly till she found it? And then, when she had found it, call together her friends and neighbours? Rejoice with me, she would say I have found the drachma I lost. In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing among the angels of God over one repentant sinner.’
CHRIST THE LORD If one of the self-righteous Pharisees had possessed the power and authority of Christ, he would have destroyed all the “sinners.” But Christ deploys all his power and authority to bring them back into communion with God. Once again we see that the Pharisees’ idea of God is off base. They see God as harsh and judgmental, when the truth is that God is a dedicated shepherd. The return of a sinner actually makes God rejoice – as the shepherd rejoices upon retrieving his sheep, and as the woman rejoices upon recovering her coin. The parables show us that God feels anxiousness in regards to sinners, not anger; he wants them back, he doesn’t want to condemn them. The Pharisees can’t understand this, because they have painted their image of God in their own likeness. They enjoy condemning others for being less perfect than themselves, because it feeds their vanity, making them feel superior. But the Lord has no vanity, only love. If we are to be his followers, we need to see him as he really is and work to become more like him.
The Pharisees were impossible to please. They found fault with everything Jesus did. But he never gave up trying to win them over. Here, when they complain about his rubbing shoulders with tax collectors and sinners, he responds by telling them some of the most beautiful stories in all of Scripture – pleading with them to soften their hearts and accept God’s mercy. The Lord rules, but he rules wisely and mercifully, and his patience never wears thin, no matter how sorely we try it.
CHRIST THE TEACHER The parables always teach us about ourselves. The lost sheep is helpless and vulnerable; it needs the flock and the shepherd to protect and guide it. Just so, every person is created to find meaning and fulfillment in communion with God and others – thus the two great commandments of loving God and loving neighbor. The lost coin is completely without value unless it is possessed by its owner. Even if it had been a gold piece worth 1000 drachmas, it would be completely worthless buried in the dust under the sofa – of absolutely no use to anyone. Likewise, each of us has a mission in life, a purpose and a task, but its proper place is within Christ’s Kingdom. Outside of the Kingdom we can do wonderful things and have exciting adventures, but everything we do is utterly unsubstantial, like a puff of smoke, unless it’s plugged into eternity through God’s saving grace. Our lives only have real meaning through Christ, with Christ, and in Christ – otherwise they’re just tasteless wafers of unleavened bread.
These parables also show the truth about the sacrament of confession. Far from a drudgery or manipulative coercion, this sacrament is God’s way of making it as simple and direct as possible for us to come back into the fold and set the bells of his heart ringing.
CHRIST THE FRIEND These two parables teach us more about the heart of God than a whole library full of theological treatises. God cares about each one of us (he will not rest if only one sheep is missing, or one coin is lost). He cares deeply enough to go out of his way to save us when we are lost (it was certainly an inconvenience to go bushwhacking after the foolish stray sheep, and to light the lamp and sweep the dirt-floored house trying to find the lost coin). He rejoices when we return to him – he actually rejoices. Every sinner who returns to God causes joyful celebration in the halls of heaven and in the heart of the Father.
A shepherd counts his sheep after a long day of grazing, as the sun goes down. One is missing. He counts again. Yes, one sheep has wandered away from the flock. High on the mountainside pasture, the air is already getting cold as daylight fades. The flock huddles together. The shepherd leads them into a natural hollow under an overhanging cliff. He turns around and retraces his steps; he sets out to find the lost sheep. He stumbles over sharp rocks in the lengthening shadows. He has to climb off the path, pushing through brambles and thorns. He pulls his cloak tighter around him to keep out the chill. It starts to drizzle. Will the wolves come out in the rain? There is no moon tonight, and the clouds block out the stars. Maybe he should turn back while he can still find his way. He will come and search for the lost sheep in the morning. A wolf howls. The morning may be too late. He trudges on. The mud is slippery. The wind picks up. Water drips down the back of his neck. Soon he is soaked to the skin. The night crawls on. He will find his sheep. That’s what matters. He is a good shepherd.
CHRIST IN MY LIFE Unless you make my heart more like yours, I will continue judging my neighbor just like the Pharisees. Unless you give me a deeper experience of your goodness, I will keep slipping into the wrong idea about you. I see the Pharisee in myself, Lord, and I don’t want him to win out. I want to be your ambassador, not your adversary…
I was that lost coin, and you found me. I have been the lost sheep many times, and you have always come after me. Thank you, Lord. I don’t thank you as often as I should. I am glad you haven’t given up on me. Now, please teach me to be like you, to seek and find lost coins and lost sheep, so I can repay your love to me by bringing joy to your heart…
How patient you were with the stubborn, self-righteous Pharisees! Pour some of that patience into my heart, Lord. I have too short a fuse. I know I’m acting like a fool when I harp on others and become exasperated with them – as if I were perfect. Help me to think more about the good of my neighbor than the satisfaction of my own desires. Teach me to love as you love…
QUESTIONS FOR SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION
1. What struck you most in this passage? What did you notice that you hadn’t noticed before?
2. In what areas of my life do I tend to try God’s patience?
3. As faithful followers of Christ, we should do our best to go after the lost sheep and look for the lost coins on his behalf. In what ways can we improve our imitation of Christ the Good Shepherd?
4. What does popular culture tell us to base our self-esteem on? How does that compare with Christ’s message in these parables?
Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1468-1470 on the effects of sacramental confession; 210-227 on God’s mercy and other qualities
205. COMING HOME (LK 15:11-32)
“On the basis of this way of manifesting the presence of God who is Father, love and mercy, Jesus makes mercy one of the principal themes of his preaching.”
- Pope John Paul II
Luke 15:11-32
He also said, ‘A man had two sons. The younger said to his father, Father, let me have the share of the estate that would come to me. So the father divided the property between them. A few days later, the younger son got together everything he had and left for a distant country where he squandered his money on a life of debauchery. When he had spent it all, that country experienced a severe famine, and now he began to feel the pinch, so he hired himself out to one of the local inhabitants who put him on his farm to feed the pigs. And he would willingly have filled his belly with the husks the pigs were eating but no one offered him anything. Then he came to his senses and said, How many of my father’s paid servants have more food than they want, and here am I dying of hunger! I will leave this place and go to my father and say: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as one of your paid servants. So he left the place and went back to his father. While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with pity. He ran to the boy, clasped him in his arms and kissed him tenderly. Then his son said, Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son. But the father said to his servants, Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the calf we have been fattening, and kill it; we are going to have a feast, a celebration, because this son of mine was dead and has come back to life; he was lost and is found. And they began to celebrate.
‘Now the elder son was out in the fields, and on his way back, as he drew near the house, he could hear music and dancing. Calling one of the servants he asked what it was all about. Your brother has come replied the servant and your father has killed the calf we had fattened because he has got him back safe and sound. He was angry then and refused to go in, and his father came out to plead with him; but he answered his father, Look, all these years I have slaved for you and never once disobeyed your orders, yet you never offered me so much as a kid for me to celebrate with my friends. But, for this son of yours, when he comes back after swallowing up your property – he and his women – you kill the calf we had been fattening. The father said, My son, you are with me always and all I have is yours. But it was only right we should celebrate and rejoice, because your brother here was dead and has come to life; he was lost and is found.’
CHRIST THE LORD Many leaders in the world are “in it for themselves.” Christ isn’t. His greatest glory is winning people’s hearts for God, which also happens to be the best thing for them. When the Pharisees complained about his generosity to sinners, he made the most of their attention to try and teach them a lesson. He didn’t have to – they certainly didn’t deserve his mercy, but he chose to. Then, within the parable itself, Christ profiles his own heart – the heart of God – in the behavior of the father, who lived only for his sons’ wellbeing. “All I have is yours” is no empty rhetoric: in Christ, in the Church, in the Eucharist, God has held absolutely nothing back from us. Jesus is Lord, but he is the Lord of love, longing for hearts that will submit to his gentle and life-giving reign.
CHRIST THE TEACHER This parable teaches us that it is possible to live “in the father’s house” without really getting to know the Father. If the younger son had truly known how much his father loved him, how generous his father was, how eagerly he wanted to bequeath to him prosperity and joy, he would never have paid him the insult of asking for his share of the inheritance while his father was still alive. That was equivalent to saying that his father would be of more use to him if he were dead. And if the older son (the dutiful one who seemed to do everything just right) had known how much his father cared for him, he would not have resented the celebration at this brother’s return. So although they had lived their entire lives under the same roof, they had not opened their hearts to their father; instead they had closed themselves into the little world of their egoism.
We can easily do the same – spend our whole lives as “practicing” Catholics, going through all the right motions and looking great on the outside, but not opening our hearts to the grace and love of God, not getting to know him on a personal, intimate level. If we operate this way, we run the risk of some day abandoning the Father, convinced that he is treating us unjustly, when the truth is that he is giving us everything he owns.
CHRIST THE FRIEND “While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him…” God never stops hoping that we will come to him. He has his eyes on us all the time – not to pounce on us when we mess up, but to run to us, embrace us, kiss us, and clothe us with the robe of his grace and the sandals of divine sonship (servants went barefoot in ancient households, but family members wore sandals). The devil likes to make us forget about this – especially when we most need to remember it; let’s not give him that pleasure.
We can also please the father by going in search of our prodigal brothers and sisters. The rebellious son abandons his father, and his father respects that – he won’t go out and try to force his son to come back home. But if the older brother had really cared for both his father and his younger sibling, he could have made a trek or two in search of the unfortunate youth. We can imagine the conversation they would have had at the pig farm. The older brother, “We miss you and we would love for you to come back.” The younger brother, “But how can I, what I did was so horrible?” “Don’t worry, just come back – trust me, we’ll work it out. You don’t have to stay here eating corn husks…”
How many lost and sorrowful younger brothers are all around us, if only we would open the eyes of our hearts to see them! And how easy it would be to invite them back to the father’s house, if only we could see beyond our self-centered preoccupations!
CHRIST IN MY LIFE While the Pharisees needed to understand your goodness and mercy, I think that at times I need to be more aware of the evil of sin. I have been infected by the prevailing mentality that forgets about personal responsibility, and about the wounds selfishness causes to others. Lord, why do I act as if self-centeredness were okay? Free me, Lord, to love…
Something made that younger son come back to his senses. You are working in mysterious, hidden ways in every heart. I have placed my hope in you, because I believe that you are the way, the truth, and the life. But sometimes I have less confidence in your ability to help others, who seem so far from the truth, to come to their senses. Increase my hope, Lord…
I don’t have to go far to find people who are in trouble, who are sad, who need to come back to you and don’t know the way. Open my heart so I can reach out to them. Will you not use my slightest effort, even if it’s clumsy, as a channel of grace? I don’t want to hoard the treasure you have given me – knowing your love. The more I give away, the more you will give to me…
QUESTIONS FOR SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION
1. What struck you most in this passage? What did you notice that you hadn’t noticed before?
2. Which son do you think caused the father more sorrow? Which son do you tend to resemble more?
3. In what ways does our society encourage us to fall into a merely exterior, routine living out of our faith, instead of a heartfelt, loving relationship with God?
4. What do you think made the younger son “come to his senses”? Does that apply to us in any way?
Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1461-1470 on God’s forgiveness in the sacrament of confession; 2084-2100 on what it means to love God
“The Word spoke, and by these words he turned man away from disobedience, not enslaving him by force or necessity, but inviting him to choose freedom of his own accord.”
- St Hippolytus
Luke 15:1-10
The tax collectors and the sinners, meanwhile, were all seeking his company to hear what he had to say, and the Pharisees and the scribes complained. ‘This man’ they said ‘welcomes sinners and eats with them.’ So he spoke this parable to them: ‘What man among you with a hundred sheep, losing one, would not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the missing one till he found it? And when he found it, would he not joyfully take it on his shoulders and then, when he got home, call together his friends and neighbours? Rejoice with me, he would say I have found my sheep that was lost. In the same way, I tell you, there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one repentant sinner than over ninety-nine virtuous men who have no need of repentance. Or again, what woman with ten drachmas would not, if she lost one, light a lamp and sweep out the house and search thoroughly till she found it? And then, when she had found it, call together her friends and neighbours? Rejoice with me, she would say I have found the drachma I lost. In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing among the angels of God over one repentant sinner.’
CHRIST THE LORD If one of the self-righteous Pharisees had possessed the power and authority of Christ, he would have destroyed all the “sinners.” But Christ deploys all his power and authority to bring them back into communion with God. Once again we see that the Pharisees’ idea of God is off base. They see God as harsh and judgmental, when the truth is that God is a dedicated shepherd. The return of a sinner actually makes God rejoice – as the shepherd rejoices upon retrieving his sheep, and as the woman rejoices upon recovering her coin. The parables show us that God feels anxiousness in regards to sinners, not anger; he wants them back, he doesn’t want to condemn them. The Pharisees can’t understand this, because they have painted their image of God in their own likeness. They enjoy condemning others for being less perfect than themselves, because it feeds their vanity, making them feel superior. But the Lord has no vanity, only love. If we are to be his followers, we need to see him as he really is and work to become more like him.
The Pharisees were impossible to please. They found fault with everything Jesus did. But he never gave up trying to win them over. Here, when they complain about his rubbing shoulders with tax collectors and sinners, he responds by telling them some of the most beautiful stories in all of Scripture – pleading with them to soften their hearts and accept God’s mercy. The Lord rules, but he rules wisely and mercifully, and his patience never wears thin, no matter how sorely we try it.
CHRIST THE TEACHER The parables always teach us about ourselves. The lost sheep is helpless and vulnerable; it needs the flock and the shepherd to protect and guide it. Just so, every person is created to find meaning and fulfillment in communion with God and others – thus the two great commandments of loving God and loving neighbor. The lost coin is completely without value unless it is possessed by its owner. Even if it had been a gold piece worth 1000 drachmas, it would be completely worthless buried in the dust under the sofa – of absolutely no use to anyone. Likewise, each of us has a mission in life, a purpose and a task, but its proper place is within Christ’s Kingdom. Outside of the Kingdom we can do wonderful things and have exciting adventures, but everything we do is utterly unsubstantial, like a puff of smoke, unless it’s plugged into eternity through God’s saving grace. Our lives only have real meaning through Christ, with Christ, and in Christ – otherwise they’re just tasteless wafers of unleavened bread.
These parables also show the truth about the sacrament of confession. Far from a drudgery or manipulative coercion, this sacrament is God’s way of making it as simple and direct as possible for us to come back into the fold and set the bells of his heart ringing.
CHRIST THE FRIEND These two parables teach us more about the heart of God than a whole library full of theological treatises. God cares about each one of us (he will not rest if only one sheep is missing, or one coin is lost). He cares deeply enough to go out of his way to save us when we are lost (it was certainly an inconvenience to go bushwhacking after the foolish stray sheep, and to light the lamp and sweep the dirt-floored house trying to find the lost coin). He rejoices when we return to him – he actually rejoices. Every sinner who returns to God causes joyful celebration in the halls of heaven and in the heart of the Father.
A shepherd counts his sheep after a long day of grazing, as the sun goes down. One is missing. He counts again. Yes, one sheep has wandered away from the flock. High on the mountainside pasture, the air is already getting cold as daylight fades. The flock huddles together. The shepherd leads them into a natural hollow under an overhanging cliff. He turns around and retraces his steps; he sets out to find the lost sheep. He stumbles over sharp rocks in the lengthening shadows. He has to climb off the path, pushing through brambles and thorns. He pulls his cloak tighter around him to keep out the chill. It starts to drizzle. Will the wolves come out in the rain? There is no moon tonight, and the clouds block out the stars. Maybe he should turn back while he can still find his way. He will come and search for the lost sheep in the morning. A wolf howls. The morning may be too late. He trudges on. The mud is slippery. The wind picks up. Water drips down the back of his neck. Soon he is soaked to the skin. The night crawls on. He will find his sheep. That’s what matters. He is a good shepherd.
CHRIST IN MY LIFE Unless you make my heart more like yours, I will continue judging my neighbor just like the Pharisees. Unless you give me a deeper experience of your goodness, I will keep slipping into the wrong idea about you. I see the Pharisee in myself, Lord, and I don’t want him to win out. I want to be your ambassador, not your adversary…
I was that lost coin, and you found me. I have been the lost sheep many times, and you have always come after me. Thank you, Lord. I don’t thank you as often as I should. I am glad you haven’t given up on me. Now, please teach me to be like you, to seek and find lost coins and lost sheep, so I can repay your love to me by bringing joy to your heart…
How patient you were with the stubborn, self-righteous Pharisees! Pour some of that patience into my heart, Lord. I have too short a fuse. I know I’m acting like a fool when I harp on others and become exasperated with them – as if I were perfect. Help me to think more about the good of my neighbor than the satisfaction of my own desires. Teach me to love as you love…
QUESTIONS FOR SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION
1. What struck you most in this passage? What did you notice that you hadn’t noticed before?
2. In what areas of my life do I tend to try God’s patience?
3. As faithful followers of Christ, we should do our best to go after the lost sheep and look for the lost coins on his behalf. In what ways can we improve our imitation of Christ the Good Shepherd?
4. What does popular culture tell us to base our self-esteem on? How does that compare with Christ’s message in these parables?
Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1468-1470 on the effects of sacramental confession; 210-227 on God’s mercy and other qualities
205. COMING HOME (LK 15:11-32)
“On the basis of this way of manifesting the presence of God who is Father, love and mercy, Jesus makes mercy one of the principal themes of his preaching.”
- Pope John Paul II
Luke 15:11-32
He also said, ‘A man had two sons. The younger said to his father, Father, let me have the share of the estate that would come to me. So the father divided the property between them. A few days later, the younger son got together everything he had and left for a distant country where he squandered his money on a life of debauchery. When he had spent it all, that country experienced a severe famine, and now he began to feel the pinch, so he hired himself out to one of the local inhabitants who put him on his farm to feed the pigs. And he would willingly have filled his belly with the husks the pigs were eating but no one offered him anything. Then he came to his senses and said, How many of my father’s paid servants have more food than they want, and here am I dying of hunger! I will leave this place and go to my father and say: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as one of your paid servants. So he left the place and went back to his father. While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with pity. He ran to the boy, clasped him in his arms and kissed him tenderly. Then his son said, Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son. But the father said to his servants, Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the calf we have been fattening, and kill it; we are going to have a feast, a celebration, because this son of mine was dead and has come back to life; he was lost and is found. And they began to celebrate.
‘Now the elder son was out in the fields, and on his way back, as he drew near the house, he could hear music and dancing. Calling one of the servants he asked what it was all about. Your brother has come replied the servant and your father has killed the calf we had fattened because he has got him back safe and sound. He was angry then and refused to go in, and his father came out to plead with him; but he answered his father, Look, all these years I have slaved for you and never once disobeyed your orders, yet you never offered me so much as a kid for me to celebrate with my friends. But, for this son of yours, when he comes back after swallowing up your property – he and his women – you kill the calf we had been fattening. The father said, My son, you are with me always and all I have is yours. But it was only right we should celebrate and rejoice, because your brother here was dead and has come to life; he was lost and is found.’
CHRIST THE LORD Many leaders in the world are “in it for themselves.” Christ isn’t. His greatest glory is winning people’s hearts for God, which also happens to be the best thing for them. When the Pharisees complained about his generosity to sinners, he made the most of their attention to try and teach them a lesson. He didn’t have to – they certainly didn’t deserve his mercy, but he chose to. Then, within the parable itself, Christ profiles his own heart – the heart of God – in the behavior of the father, who lived only for his sons’ wellbeing. “All I have is yours” is no empty rhetoric: in Christ, in the Church, in the Eucharist, God has held absolutely nothing back from us. Jesus is Lord, but he is the Lord of love, longing for hearts that will submit to his gentle and life-giving reign.
CHRIST THE TEACHER This parable teaches us that it is possible to live “in the father’s house” without really getting to know the Father. If the younger son had truly known how much his father loved him, how generous his father was, how eagerly he wanted to bequeath to him prosperity and joy, he would never have paid him the insult of asking for his share of the inheritance while his father was still alive. That was equivalent to saying that his father would be of more use to him if he were dead. And if the older son (the dutiful one who seemed to do everything just right) had known how much his father cared for him, he would not have resented the celebration at this brother’s return. So although they had lived their entire lives under the same roof, they had not opened their hearts to their father; instead they had closed themselves into the little world of their egoism.
We can easily do the same – spend our whole lives as “practicing” Catholics, going through all the right motions and looking great on the outside, but not opening our hearts to the grace and love of God, not getting to know him on a personal, intimate level. If we operate this way, we run the risk of some day abandoning the Father, convinced that he is treating us unjustly, when the truth is that he is giving us everything he owns.
CHRIST THE FRIEND “While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him…” God never stops hoping that we will come to him. He has his eyes on us all the time – not to pounce on us when we mess up, but to run to us, embrace us, kiss us, and clothe us with the robe of his grace and the sandals of divine sonship (servants went barefoot in ancient households, but family members wore sandals). The devil likes to make us forget about this – especially when we most need to remember it; let’s not give him that pleasure.
We can also please the father by going in search of our prodigal brothers and sisters. The rebellious son abandons his father, and his father respects that – he won’t go out and try to force his son to come back home. But if the older brother had really cared for both his father and his younger sibling, he could have made a trek or two in search of the unfortunate youth. We can imagine the conversation they would have had at the pig farm. The older brother, “We miss you and we would love for you to come back.” The younger brother, “But how can I, what I did was so horrible?” “Don’t worry, just come back – trust me, we’ll work it out. You don’t have to stay here eating corn husks…”
How many lost and sorrowful younger brothers are all around us, if only we would open the eyes of our hearts to see them! And how easy it would be to invite them back to the father’s house, if only we could see beyond our self-centered preoccupations!
CHRIST IN MY LIFE While the Pharisees needed to understand your goodness and mercy, I think that at times I need to be more aware of the evil of sin. I have been infected by the prevailing mentality that forgets about personal responsibility, and about the wounds selfishness causes to others. Lord, why do I act as if self-centeredness were okay? Free me, Lord, to love…
Something made that younger son come back to his senses. You are working in mysterious, hidden ways in every heart. I have placed my hope in you, because I believe that you are the way, the truth, and the life. But sometimes I have less confidence in your ability to help others, who seem so far from the truth, to come to their senses. Increase my hope, Lord…
I don’t have to go far to find people who are in trouble, who are sad, who need to come back to you and don’t know the way. Open my heart so I can reach out to them. Will you not use my slightest effort, even if it’s clumsy, as a channel of grace? I don’t want to hoard the treasure you have given me – knowing your love. The more I give away, the more you will give to me…
QUESTIONS FOR SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION
1. What struck you most in this passage? What did you notice that you hadn’t noticed before?
2. Which son do you think caused the father more sorrow? Which son do you tend to resemble more?
3. In what ways does our society encourage us to fall into a merely exterior, routine living out of our faith, instead of a heartfelt, loving relationship with God?
4. What do you think made the younger son “come to his senses”? Does that apply to us in any way?
Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1461-1470 on God’s forgiveness in the sacrament of confession; 2084-2100 on what it means to love God