St. Paul in his First Letter to the Thessalonians writes, “Encourage one another and build one another up” (1 Thes 5:11). I remember some years ago hearing a priest say that every week when a particular parishioner would leave Mass, she’d tell him how wonderful his homily was. One particular day, he knew he had not preached particularly well, and as the woman was approaching him, he thought to himself, “Please don’t let her praise my homily, because if she does, I’ll never be able to believe another single compliment she ever gives.” When the woman approached with her usual smile and joy, the priest braced himself, but she said, “Father, those vestments are absolutely beautiful!” True encouragement always has to be rooted in the truth. Telling someone who just struck out each time at bat that he really hit the ball well is patently untrue. As such, it doesn’t really encourage the person. In that situation, perhaps true encouragement might be more like, “Tough game, but I admire your perseverance and how you get up at each bat and give it your all.” Encouragement goes a long way in the Christian life. Encouragement points out the ways in which someone is responding to the graces that the Lord is giving to that person. We should never encourage a person to commit sin or to remain in sin. That is always a disservice to the person. That would be like the Good Samaritan seeing the person beaten up by the side of the road and saying, “You’re fine.” That is patently false and unhelpful. Instead, true encouragement stops and acknowledges the wounded person. The man left by the side of the road for dead was in a bad situation. But, the Good Samaritan offers hope. He not only shows the wounded man that there is a way out of his situation, he brings him to a better place. True encouragement helps us to move forward by showing a way forward. The way forward is often identifiable by pointing out where the Lord is present here and now. This is especially true in the confessional. Probably one of my most often repeated phrases in the confessional is, “No discouragement.” Sin is bad, but discouragement is worse! There is always a way forward from sin. A person is never locked in the past. The confessional shows that there is a way forward. Mercy moves us forward. Step by step. The person who doesn’t pray much? Well, I’d want to encourage them by pointing out that here they are in the confessional praying for mercy. The person who confesses pride? I’d want to encourage them by reminding them that they are now humbly kneeling before God asking for forgiveness... What could be more humble than that? The person who struggles with purity and chastity? I’d encourage them by pointing out that in a culture that mocks purity and chastity, what a wonderful grace the Lord has given to them that they actually desire it. To the person who hasn’t been to confession in a long, long time? Isn’t it great that you responded to God’s grace to be here now? To the person who lies? I’d want to encourage them by pointing out that here they are confessing the truth. That’s God’s grace at work. Encouragement is not flattery. Encouragement is to spur someone forward by pointing out the truth that holiness is possible. To encourage someone is to say, “The Lord is doing this good thing in you. I see it. Keep going!” Flattery isn’t about helping the other person. It is about making me look better to the other person. Encouragement, on the other hand, is about helping the other person to move forward. It is for them. Encouragement is not only about helping someone move away from sin. It is also about helping them to advance in the life of grace. Pointing out the ways in which someone is living the Christian life is a source of encouragement for that person. It helps them to remember that they are walking along the way, and that way is Christ Himself. It pulls them along. I am encouraged by all of you. All the ways that the Lord is filling you with His graces and all the ways that you respond to those graces is a source of encouragement to me. It makes me want to follow this Way even more and to never be discouraged by my own weakness. As we draw closer to Holy Week, let us be more firmly resolved to the Way that is Christ. And let us help one another to stay on this Way. “Let us encourage one another and build one another up.” Your Brother in Christ, Fr. David Barnes