The training to make someone into a Spiritual Warrior is not a one-time event, nor is it a program to be completed. In other words, it is not merely a matter of being baptized, nor is it having completed a confirmation class or an adult instruction program. No, it is a cyclical ongoing and lifelong endeavor.

The training to make someone into a Spiritual Warrior is not a one-time event, nor is it a program to be completed. In other words, it is not merely a matter of being baptized, nor is it having completed a confirmation class or an adult instruction program. No, it is a cyclical ongoing and lifelong endeavor.

The training to make someone into a Spiritual Warrior is not a one-time event, nor is it a program to be completed. In other words, it is not merely a matter of being baptized, nor is it having completed a confirmation class or an adult instruction program. No, it is a cyclical ongoing and lifelong endeavor.

The training to make someone into a Spiritual Warrior is not a one-time event, nor is it a program to be completed. In other words, it is not merely a matter of being baptized, nor is it having completed a confirmation class or an adult instruction program. No, it is a cyclical ongoing and lifelong endeavor.

At times, you might have experienced the agony of being forsaken. You may have felt that no one loved you or cared about you. You might have felt neglected, taken advantage of, abused, or abandoned, maybe even by your own flesh and blood.

But in this life, you will never, ever be forsaken by Mauna.

People are the same the world over. And yet God loves all people. While God loves all people, He still hates sin. He is just and does not merely look the other way. Someone must (and already did) pay the price. Jesus, the Son of God, suffered so people of every tribe, nation, and language could seek His mercy and receive His grace.

Father, You know my sin and my need for forgiveness. Give me comfort in the Keys that Jesus has given to His Church. Bring me always to repentance, to joyful faith, and to the forgiveness of all my sins. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

It is hard, but so good, to hear words of confession from our own mouth, and from the mouth and heart of someone who has hurt us. Relationships begin to be rebuilt when we truly own who we are as sinful people, accept and give the forgiveness of Jesus that is for us and lives through us, and then, through presence, truly understand what that forgiveness does for us.

It is quite easy to know the difference between right and wrong, actually, God's Word states that the Law is written on our hearts. It is quite different to admit to our own failures to do what is right. In the first part, confession, though difficult, is necessary.

The second part, accepting that one's sin is forgiven, is just as necessary, and at times, just as difficult.