Advent Penance Service
Thursday, December 11, 2025
Prince of Peace Catholic Church
Luke 15:11–24
I led our parish’s Advent Penance Service last night. We had 155 people attend, close to our pre-COVID attendance of 180. What a wonderful way to prepare for the coming of Our Lord.
Opening Prayer:
Loving God,
You sent us Jesus your Son to show how great is your love and care for each one of us. Give us the courage to face the things we have done that separate us from your friendship. Help us to welcome your love and forgiveness once more. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
All: Amen.
Gospel
Jesus said, “A man had two sons, and the younger son said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of your estate that should come to me.’ So the father divided the property between them.
After a few days, the younger son collected all his belongings and set off to a distant country where he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation.
When he had freely spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he found himself in dire need.
So he hired himself out to one of the local citizens who sent him to his farm to tend the swine. And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed, but nobody gave him any.
Coming to his senses he thought, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers have more than enough food to eat, but here am I, dying from hunger. I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as you would one of your hired workers.”’ So he got up and went back to his father.
While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him.
His son said to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son.”
But his father ordered his servants,
‘Quickly bring the finest robe and put it on him;
put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.
Take the fattened calf and slaughter it.
Then let us celebrate with a feast,
because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again;
he was lost, and has been found.’”
Homily
Tonight we listen to one of the most familiar and comforting parables Jesus ever told — the story of the Prodigal Son. A young man rejects his father, wastes everything, sins spectacularly, and then, at his lowest moment, comes to his senses and decides to return home. But what matters most in this story is not the son’s sin, or even his decision to return. What matters is the father’s response.
Before the son can even speak his confession, the father runs to him. He embraces him. He kisses him. He interrupts the son’s rehearsed speech and clothes him with dignity. Jesus tells this parable so that each of us might know exactly how the Father responds when we come before Him in humility.
You are here tonight because, like the Prodigal Son, you desire to “come to your senses” and return fully to the Father. And like the father in the parable, God has been watching for you — not to scold you, not to shame you, but to embrace you. Nothing you confess tonight will shock Him. Nothing will cause Him to turn away. His heart moves toward you with mercy.
Repentance begins with honesty. Sin loses its power the moment it is named. Yet we sometimes hesitate. We may fear admitting our sins out loud, or we may downplay them, thinking we’re not “that bad.”
But the Prodigal Son shows us the path: humble honesty leads to freedom. The moment he admitted the truth — “Father, I have sinned” — his life began again.
Tonight is a sacred moment. A moment to let go of excuses, rationalizations, and fear. A moment to acknowledge that our sins, whether small or great, burden us and distance us from God. An opportunity to encounter a Father whose mercy is infinitely greater than our failures.
In the confessional, you will not meet a judge waiting to condemn you, but a good shepherd seeking the lost. These priests have heard everything. They will not be surprised by anything you say. Their joy — and God’s joy — is to absolve, to lift burdens, to restore peace.
So take courage. Let the Father run to you tonight. Speak your sins with humility and trust, and experience the embrace of our God who says, “My child was lost and now is found.”
Now, let us quietly call to mind our sins…
Examination of Conscience
- Does God come first in my life, or are other things too important to give him the time he deserves?
- Have I used God’s name in vain?
- Have I educated myself concerning the teachings of the Church and followed all of them, even those I may disagree with?
- Have I received holy communion without confessing serious sin such as missing Sunday Mass or Holy Days of Obligation without a good reason? (because of a game? I’m tired? I don’t feel like going today?)
- Do I arrive late for Mass or leave early?
- Am I friendly or kind with everyone, not only the people I like?
- Do I gossip or hurt others by the things I say?
- Have I told lies, even small white lies?
- Have I cheated on my taxes, not reporting all of my income?
- Have I shared my faith with others, or do I keep it to myself?
- Have I denied my Catholic faith by remaining silent when others are speaking falsehoods about it?
- Have I failed to practice the corporeal and spiritual works of mercy?
- Have I been truthful and fair to others and myself?
- Have I entertained impure thoughts and acted upon them?
- Have I neglected my duties to my husband, wife, family or parents?
To further assist you with your personal examination, we’ve provided this handout to review prior to your confession. Take courage and know that honest humility is the road to freedom and the only way to experience justification before God. If you are honest with yourself and with God, you will surely make a good confession this evening.
Act of Contrition
And now let us pray together our Act of Contrition so we will not have to do so in the confessional…
My God, I am sorry for my sins, with all my heart.
In choosing to do wrong and failing to do good,
I have sinned against you whom I should love above all things.
I firmly intend, with your help, to do penance,
to sin no more, and to avoid whatever leads me to sin.
Our Savior, Jesus Christ, suffered and died for us.
In his name, my God, have mercy. Amen.
Here is the handout of the Examination of Conscience based on the Beatitudes: