Wednesday of Lent III - Penance
Sin in human life is manifested in the inability to escape alienation in the denial of the victory of Christ over sin. The church, correspondingly, is the privilege place where alienation is overcome by experiencing the victory of Christ in community …. When someone validly and authentically assumes a place at the table, the person is fully incorporated into the community. It is a matter of engaging the heart and the mind, of inspiring action and conviction. To gather validly and authentically at the community's table means an acceptance of the life of the community. That acceptance is not merely a passive consent; it is an active involvement in the common life of apostles and witnesses who recognize the risen Lord in the breaking of the bread. It is an acceptance of the end of alienation and inertia. Valid and authentic gathering at the table, then, is the goal of any process of reconciliation taken up by the church.
James Lopresti, Penance: Reform Proposal for the Rite. A Reconciliation Sourcebook, Liturgy Training Publications, pg. 93.
