November 20.  Anne Marie used to sit by herself in her room with a little picture of Mary holding a tiny unborn baby in her hand. “I did this to my child,” she would say to herself, over and over again and cry bitter tears.   Her mom had tried to discourage her from having the abortion but she hadn’t listened and now her mom was angry with her.  A school counsellor who had heard the story came to visit and spoke to Anne Marie about her own experience. “I suffered for a long time too, but was able to go to speak to the priest, go to confession and receive absolution during a special programme of healing.  Come let me take you.  That is the only way I know of that can bring you back to life.”

Reflect, share, act. Scripture:  At that time when Jesus drew near and saw the city he wept over it and said  “Would that even today you knew the things that make for peace.” Luke 19:41-44  Pope Francis:  From the first moments of their lives, many children are rejected, abandoned and robbed of their childhood and future.  This is shameful!  AL166. In 2016, at the end of the Year of Mercy, Pope Francis signed a decree that allowed all priests the ability to absolve the sin of abortion. He stated, “Given this need, lest any obstacle arise between the request for reconciliation and God’s forgiveness, I henceforth grant to all priests, in virtue of their ministry, the faculty to absolve those who have committed the sin of procured abortion.”  Jubilee. The sacrament of Penance assures us that God wipes away our sins. We experience those powerful and comforting words of the Psalm: “It is he who forgives all your guilt, who heals every one of your ills, who redeems your life from the grave, who crowns you with love and compassion… The Lord is compassion and love, slow to anger and rich in mercy… He does not treat us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our faults. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so strong is his love for those who fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our sins” (Ps 103:3-4.8.10-12). The sacrament of Reconciliation is not only a magnificent spiritual gift, but also a decisive, essential and fundamental step on our journey of faith. SNC23.        Act and pray for compassionate concern for those suffering loss in their families.