We are invited at the start of every Holy Mass we attend to make an examination of conscience: to call to mind and acknowledge our sins and our sinfulness. This is a great and wonderful grace that many people lose, because they are either late to the Holy Mass, or they are so used to doing it that they do not realise how important it is, and they do it almost automatically.
For that reason, I would like to bring you into the deep meaning of what the "Acknowledgement of our Sinfulness" actually is, and of how it could transform the way we pray and live the mysteries that are right in front of our eyes — in the renewal of the one and great sacrifice of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ: his Unbloody Sacrifice of the Holy Mass.
As good Catholics, we are taught from the moment we start to step into the spiritual and Church life about the Ten Commandments, about mortal and venial sins, and about how they do interfere in our life and in our relationship with God. And we should bear in mind that everyone commits sins (apart from Jesus and Our Lady).
"For though the upright falls seven times, he gets up again; the wicked are the ones who stumble in adversity."(Proverbs 24:16)
"No distinction is made: all have sinned and lack God’s glory." (Romans 3:23)
If the upright falls into sin about seven times a day imagine ourselves who are not as such upright. Because of our sins we all have lost and lack God’s glory. This is an absolute disgrace. Much more because our sins are the reason why God’s face is taken away from us.
The prophet Isaiah is who teaches us how does that happen:
"No, the arm of Yahweh is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear, but your guilty deeds have made a gulf between you and your God. Your sins have made him hide his face from you so as not to hear you, since your hands are stained with blood and your fingers with guilt; your lips utter lies, your tongues murmur wickedness." (Isaiah 59:1-3)
Many people as Christians — mainly Catholics, to be fair — sometimes complain that God does not listen to their prayers, or that he does not want to do what is good, and to intervene, for his own sake, in the story by changing it and bringing about something essential — like healing those who are sick, bringing back to life those who are dead in sin and in the shadows of false doctrines and misleading religions. It is a big mystery really; but our duty is to be in a holy condition, in which we could also be used by God in order to help or contribute in this sense.
And how is this to be done, if we are all sinning all the time? We will acknowledge our sins, recognise what we are and what we do, regret and repent for such things, and ask God for his forgiveness.
Those are basically the four important and necessary steps we need to take in order to achieve our goal with this first reflection. We will arm ourselves with the power of the Holy Bible and ask the Holy Spirit to come and help us understand and put it into practice in our lives.
Let’s start with the wonderful letter Saint John wrote that will generate hope in our hearts, for many times we have the temptation to hide our sins or pretend we did not do that or did not have the intention to do such and such thing. Let’s make something very concrete: stop lying or pretending! First to ourselves, then to God and after all to others as well.
"If we say, 'We have no sin,' we are deceiving ourselves, and truth has no place in us; if we acknowledge our sins, he is trustworthy and upright, so that he will forgive our sins and will cleanse us from all evil. If we say, 'We have never sinned,' we make him a liar, and his word has no place in us." (1 John 1:8-10)
God knows that at times we are not lying or pretending something we are not. It is just a matter of actually not knowing how to acknowledge our sins since we don’t even know what are they. And Jesus knows we are small and wicked and hopeless. That is why he sends to us the one that helps us, the wonderful third person of the Holy Trinity: The Holy Spirit, our Paraclete!
Jesus left us with such wonderful words during the Last Supper, before his Passion, Death and Resurrection. It is a word for his apostles, for his followers, for those who are part of his mystical body and for all men of good will.
"Still, I am telling you the truth: it is for your own good that I am going, because unless I go, the Paraclete will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will show the world how wrong it was, about sin, and about who was in the right, and about judgement: about sin: in that they refuse to believe in me; about who was in the right: in that I am going to the Father and you will see me no more; about judgement: in that the prince of this world is already condemned." (John 16:7-11)
The Holy Spirit helps us to recognise our sins, since he shows us what sin is and what our sins are, as long as we let him do whatever he wants to do in us. The first thing we need to do is to ask for his help. He was not sent by Jesus in order to be forgotten. Many Catholics nowadays keep forgetting about the Holy Spirit, or treat him as something unworthy. Let me help you to remember: he is God, and not merely a power or a whisper. He is God!
Jesus said he will send the Paraclete to be our help and guide but he also said we need to ask the Father for the Holy Spirit!
"So I say to you: Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; everyone who searches finds; everyone who knocks will have the door opened. What father among you, if his son asked for a fish, would hand him a snake? Or if he asked for an egg, hand him a scorpion? If you then, evil as you are, know how to give your children what is good, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" (Luke 11:9-13)
It is the wonderful Holy Spirit of God who will help us to recognise and call to mind our sins and acknowledge them. Put them in front of our own eyes. My brothers and sisters, how important that is! It is only when we recognise our sins that God can forgive us. It is through the power of the blood of Jesus Christ that our sins are cleansed — but we need to take that step of recognising them.
To recognise and acknowledge our sins is not a sign of weakness, but of faith and hope. It is a sign of maturity and of great confidence in the One who makes his light shine upon us — and when we are in that light, we share the life of God and the life of our brethren.
"This is what we have heard from him and are declaring to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. If we say that we share in God’s life while we are living in darkness, we are lying, because we are not living the truth. But if we live in light, as he is in light, we have a share in another’s life, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin." (1 John 1:5-7)
That is wonderful news, but it may be that you knew about all of that even before reading all this. The big thing you are invited to do today is not to know about all of this, but to do something. Knowing about sin does not make you righteous; you are justified by asking for forgiveness and humbling yourself before the face of God.
Even if you knew about everything you read and nothing is new to you, make a commitment with God now: to renew and once again renounce your evil ways and get back to his wonderful light. Let his grace come upon you.
We need to take the first step in that direction, and God himself will take seven steps in our direction: guiding our feet onto the right path, pouring down his grace upon us like an impetuous rain — and his mercy and love will cleanse us altogether, and we will be his beloved children, set free from sin.
"When you stretch out your hands I turn my eyes away. You may multiply your prayers, I shall not be listening. Your hands are covered in blood, wash, make yourselves clean. Take your wrong-doing out of my sight. Cease doing evil. Learn to do good, search for justice, discipline the violent, be just to the orphan, plead for the widow. 'Come, let is talk this over,' says Yaweh. 'Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. If you are willing to obey, you shall eat the good things of the earth." (Isaiah 1:15-19)
Just as the acknowledgement — to recognise our sins and to ask for forgiveness — is a grace from the Holy Spirit, so the contrition of heart that produces regret and leads to a repentant soul is also a grace from him. So, inspired by the Holy Spirit, with great confidence in the love of our God, we want to approach him and ask the Holy Spirit to guide and lead our hearts deep into those four important and essential steps: to acknowledge our sins, to recognise what we are and what we do, to regret and repent with all our hearts, and to ask for his forgiveness.
Let us take advantage of the Holy Scriptures and pray with the Psalm David wrote after having sinned with Bathsheba. Pray with that, and do not be too attached to what is written: bring it to your own life and ask God to forgive your personal sins. That is the most important thing — make it personal to your own life. If you feel that at any stage you feel something from your own where you identify yourself with David stop there and pray over (even though you don’t pray with the whole Psalm).
"Have mercy on me, O God, in your faithful love, in your great tenderness wipe away my offences; wash me clean from my guilt, purify me from my sin. For I am well aware of my offences, my sin is constantly in mind. Against you, you alone, I have sinned, I have done what you see to be wrong, that you may show your saving justice when you pass sentence, and your victory may appear when you give judgement, remember, I was born guilty, a sinner from the moment of conception. But you delight in sincerity of heart, and in secret you teach me wisdom. Purify me with hyssop till I am clean, wash me till I am whiter than snow. Let me hear the sound of joy and gladness, and the bones you have crushed will dance. Turn away your face from my sins, and wipe away all my guilt. God, create in me a clean heart, renew within me a resolute spirit, do not thrust me away from your presence, do not take away from me your spirit of holiness. Give me back the joy of your salvation, sustain in me a generous spirit. I shall teach the wicked your paths, and sinners will return to you. Deliver me from bloodshed, God, God of my salvation, and my tongue will acclaim your saving justice. Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will speak out your praise. Sacrifice gives you no pleasure, burnt offering you do not desire. Sacrifice to God is a broken spirit, contrite heart you never scorn. In your graciousness do good to Zion, rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Then you will delight in upright sacrifices, -burnt offerings and whole oblations -- and young bulls will be offered on your altar". (Psalms 51:1-21)

"I made my sin known to you, did not conceal my guilt. I said, 'I shall confess my offence to Yaweh.' And you, for your part, took away my guilt, forgave my sin." (Psalms 32:5)

May God bless you and give you strength and wisdom to get into this battle against sinning and to get back to normality of pureness and holiness: the kind of life that please God and the one we were made to live - preparing ourselves to the kind of life we are going to live in the eternity with our Lord.
Praised and blessed be God forever!