One day the angels up in heaven had a meeting. And, at the meeting, they picked out the youngest angel. They told this young angel to go down to the earth, and find the most beautiful thing in the world, and bring it back to heaven.
So, the angel left heaven. He came down to this world, and walked for miles and miles, looking for the most beautiful thing on earth. He walked out into the Country, and there he found a beautiful flower garden. In the garden there was a beautiful red rose, and thinking that this was the most beautiful thing on earth, the angel picked it, and hurried back to heaven with the rose. Of course, the other angels liked the rose, but they shook their heads “No.” The rose is not the most beautiful thing in the world. And so, the young angel was sent back to earth, to find the most beautiful thing in the world.
This time, the angel was more particular. He looked at everything that was beautiful, the rivers, the mountains, parks, nice dogs, pretty birds, pictures, everything. At last, the angel found a beautiful baby; a baby with blue eyes, brown hair, rosy cheeks. A baby who laughed and smiled all through the day! “Ah,” said the angel, “now I have found the most beautiful thing in the world, a pretty baby!” Quickly the angel picked the baby up in his arms, and hurried back to heaven. Oh, the angels couldn’t help loving the beautiful baby, but the young angel was told to take the baby back to earth. The baby was not the most beautiful thing in the world.
The poor young angel was tired, but back to earth he came on his third trip. This time the angel stopped in a church, and there in the back seat, he found an old man. The old man was getting ready for confession. He was thinking about his sins , and the old man was so sorry for his sins that great big tears came out of his eyes and ran down his cheeks. The angel stooped over and picked up one of the tears and hurried back to heaven with it. And when the angels saw the tear, were they happy? They danced, and they sang all day long, because at last, the angel had found the most beautiful thing in the world- a man who was so sorry for his sins that they made him cry.
Boys and girls, that’s a grand story. And that’s just the way Jesus feels. To Jesus, the most beautiful thing in the world is someone who is really sorry for his sins. That’s why Jesus loves us so much when we go to confession. You know, every time you make a sin, it hurts Jesus; it makes Jesus feel that you don’t like Him anymore. And then, when you go to confession, and Jesus sees that you are sorry, why, He forgets all about you hurting Him. Why, He’s so happy, that He loves you more than He did ever before.
But, remember this about confession, boys and girls. The most important thing about confession is being sorry, and, if you are really sorry, sorry all the way through you, sorry right down to your toes, then your confession is real good. If you are sorry, then you won’t go out and make those sins again.
Some boys and girls think that in order to make a good confession, all that they have to do is tell their sins to the priest. That’s wrong. The big, big thing is to be sorry. And, if you are sorry, Jesus will forgive and forget.
The next time you go to confession, and every time you go to confession, as long as you live, take your time. Think about your sins. Would’nt it be grand if some day your gaurdian angel would find you crying over your sins, and would catch one of your tears, and carry it up to Heaven? That would make Jesus so happy. We don’t want to hurt Jesus. We want to make Jesus happy. Isn’t that true?
