When we fall…

By Daniel Francis

Last year, I had the goal of going to Confession once every three months. Yet, last year, I only made it to Confession once. This year, I told myself I had to do better. I recently went to Confession and, as I am in a more intentional phase of my life, I spent a lot of time before thinking about my sins.

I didn’t want to confess and then return to the same old routine of sinning right after. I thought to myself that I am doing God a great disservice if I confess my sins and then go right back into routine like nothing ever happened. I needed to go into truly believing that I was going to put my best foot forward and try my best not to sin.

After Confession, I felt a level of motivation I had never felt before. My intentional approach made a huge difference. Even while doing my penance, I reflected on the detrimental impact my sins had on me, and I felt a renewed sense of purpose behind my actions moving forward. I felt like the Devil had no sway over me in this new mission.

Fast-forward two weeks or so and there I was again, wallowing in sin, disappointed in myself and wondering how I had returned here. In all honesty, I felt a bit defeated and discouraged but God knows when to interject.

That morning, continuing my habit of delving into the Bible readings for the day and watching the daily homily, God had encouragement for me. It was a Thursday or Friday homily, and I watched Archbishop Charles Jason Gordon give this homily on, would you believe it, Confession. Our God is a funny God indeed.

Archbishop Gordon talked about the body being a temple and many of the things I was accustomed to hearing, but then the focus shifted to purifying ourselves through Confession. Not only that but not to be discouraged if or when we sin. If we allow ourselves to be discouraged after we sin, then we can spiral into more sin. In turn, we can dig our hole deeper by leaning into discouragement.

The shining light of encouragement was the reminder that God leaves the 99 to search for the one. He never tires of giving us mercy, but we must still do our best. He rejoices when we come back to Him. You see, I had a decision to make at that moment. I sinned and I felt discouraged, but do I spiral into more sin, or do I dust myself off, ask God for forgiveness and try again? The choice was mine and it was clear which path God was leading me.

Yes, we may fall back into sin, but we know God’s mercy is endless and I strongly believe that once we keep being intentional, we can build our resilience against sin. When the focus is God, it becomes easier. So, if you have slipped back into sin, dust yourself off, ask God for forgiveness and get back to it with renewed faith.

Daniel Francis is a millennial helping other millennials. He is a two-time author of the books The Millennial Mind and The Millennial Experience, and an entrepreneur. Over the past four years, he has served as a Personal Development Coach whose work targets Millennials and helps them tap into their full potential. He is also a self-publishing coach and has guided hundreds on self-publishing their book successfully.

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