Repentance is important for all of us. That's why God is reminding us of it today.
One of the ways the Church encourages us to give repentance its proper place in our life is by making an examination of conscience every night before we go to sleep.
Christians have had this habit for centuries.
- It's a way to make sure that we never let a sin or a habit of selfishness take root in our hearts and obstruct God's plan for our life.
- [Here you can make reference to the illustration you used, e.g. never let that seed of sin grow roots and leaves and start clouding our vision].
- A nightly conscience exam is like brushing your teeth. It doesn't take much time, but if you do it every day, it makes a big difference in your health (and in your breath).
An examination of conscience is a prayer. An easy way to do this prayer is by following the simple formula of T-plus-3.
- The "T" stands for "Thanks".
- First, before we go to sleep, we thank God for whatever blessings were most apparent during the day.
Then comes the "3".
- That stands for taking a quick look at how we lived our three most important relationships throughout the day.
- Did we live them as Christ would have you, or did we slack off?
- The first relationship is with God. Did I pray today? Did I pay attention to God? Did I obey my conscience?
- The second relationship is with other people. Did I love my neighbor as myself? Did I do unto others what I would have them do unto me?
- The third relationship is with our self. Did I give in to pleasure-seeking, laziness, procrastination, or irresponsibility?
As we review these three relationships we always find both victories to rejoice in and failures to repent from. That gives God a chance to heal and strengthen us for tomorrow.
In today's Mass, as Christ renews his promise of love and forgiveness, let's ask God to help us give repentance its proper place, so that [here you can reference the illustration you used, e.g. like Leonardo Da Vinci, we will be free to give our best in life] he can do wonderful things in us.