In the Mass section of our prayer Cenacle 8 days ago, Father Louis presented an interesting and somewhat unique analogy in his homily . He wanted us to reflect on the subject of sinning, but the example we were given centered around pancakes . He asked us to try for a moment, finding ourselves in the shoes of the young boy (or girl) at a given moment in his example.It went like this :

A young boy went to spend the day with his grandmother. His grandmother was so happy to see him. She said to him, “Because this is such a special day, because you are here, I would like to make you something special to eat . . .Now, what would you like ?”
 
“Pancakes !”, came the reply, without a moment’s hesitation . “Pancakes it shall be then”, said grandmother.  “Oh grandma, they’re so delicious when you make them . . . do you think I may have more than one pancake.”  “Yes”, said the grandmother, “You can have two.”

After her grandson had consumed two pancakes, she asked him several more times if he would like some more pancakes , and the answer was always “Yes”, - He even seemed to be eating them faster than he ate the first two. And so it continued for roughly another half hour or so. Finally, there came a  point when grandmother asked her grandson , “Would you like some more pancakes? ” , and he replied , “No.”   “Are you sure you wouldn’t like some more pancakes?” she persisted . “No thanks grandma” answered the boy candidly – “I don’t even want the ones I already ate ! “

And so it is with sin and with us.

 St. Augustine says “God hears the cry of our heart even before we repent.”   Regarding sin, when we’ve reached  the point where we admit we don’t even want the sins we already ate (committed) , then it is us who are hearing the cry of our own heart ; a cry of repentance.


. . . Metaphorically, we might say we’ve been given the grace to admit that we are suffering from a self-inflicted type of acute spiritual indigestion .


 It would seem the opportune time to open the medicine cabinet, and reach for the sacrament of Reconciliation.