Possibly the greatest pain that I have ever experienced in my life was when I was in need of a root canal. The pain was so great in my jaw that I was woken up in the middle of the night and could not fall back asleep. It is one of the few days in my memory that I called off work due to actual sickness. That morning, I made an emergency trip to the dentist where they diagnosed my problem, scheduled me for surgery the next week, and gave me narcotics so that I could function until I could get my root canal. When I finally received my root canal, I felt like a new man.
But that’s not the only time I have been to the dentist. As is recommended, I go to the dentist every six months for a routine checkup and cleaning. The hygienist and dentist make sure that my dental health is normal, and after the checkup, I know that my teeth are clean because I can feel the grooves in between my teeth extra well. I undoubtedly leave with the admonition from my hygienist to floss more.
Just as there are two types of trips to the dentist, there are also two types of trips to the sacrament of reconciliation. There are moments in our lives when we know that we have fallen into mortal sin, and we need to rush to true contrition and the sacrament of reconciliation as quickly as possible so that our communion with Jesus and His Church can be restored as quickly as possible.
There are also trips to the confessional that are routine. The frequency of these vary depending on the individual, but the church mandates that we should go at least once a year. While a daily examination of conscience and frequent reception of the Eucharist is sufficient for the forgiveness of venial sins, the practice of weekly or monthly reconciliation is one that is recommended within the Church, because it is good to clean the ‘plaque’ of the soul. If we let our sin build up too much, even if it is minor, we may be in danger of falling into more serious sin.
The correlation between physical health and spiritual health can be obvious. But a small tidbit that we sometimes forget to value in our process of trying to be spiritually healthy are the low moments of spiritual unhealthiness that can lead us to greater faith in God. Hopefully these moments cause us to run to him, and not trust in our own strength to try healing ourselves. In the case of my root canal, I had complete trust in my dentist, and did whatever he told me to do to heal me of my pain. The experience allowed me to have a greater appreciation of him, especially since I had to wait a week until he could schedule me for my surgery.
When we are stuck in sin, this should cause us to do the same for God. We should run to Him in trust, and do whatever he tells us in order to be healed of our sins. We should appreciate him more even when we may have to wait to get to confession. It can be the temptation in these moments to trust in our own ability to check the sacramental box. We can be satisfied in just completing the ritual rather than putting our trust in our Father who meets us in the ritual. It is a small delineation, but it can be the difference in becoming a grateful child of God or a slave to a rule.
So go to the dentist, but more importantly go to the sacrament as frequently as it makes sense for you. Do not do this for the sake of completing a task, but as a means to good spiritual health and growing in love with our heavenly Father.
