This week’s Life Teen Staff Pick comes from Christina Mead, Web Content Editor. It’s weird talking about myself in third person, by the way, since I’m the one writing this. This is what she (and by she I mean myself) had to say about this music video:

“I’m so excited for you to watch this video if you haven’t already seen it! I love this band and when I first heard this song I couldn’t help but play it over and over again. It’s a great reminder of the way that the Sacrament of Reconciliation wipes our soul clean and in God’s eyes we are an innocent and pure as the day we were baptized. We aren’t defined by what we’ve “done.” God only wants us to look forward at what we can become – saints in His kingdom.”

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Audio recording of “Good Thief, Bad Thief” from XLT in Phoenix, Arizona.

I am a thief. The question is which one?

God is not okay with your sin. He’s not. At all. Ever. We are living in a time when people will say, “That’s not a sin,” or, “God’s love is bigger than that sin.” The first one’s a lie. There is sin. The second isn’t, but it’s twisted.

God’s love is bigger than sin, but he’s not okay with it. A lot of times we mistake God’s mercy for weakness. Make no mistake, He is not weak, and He is not okay with your sin, but you think He is and so do I.

Why do I say that? Because most churches that I go into there’s no line for Confession. If we really believed that God was not okay with our sin we wouldn’t even have to stand up at Mass and say “I confess to Almighty God and to you my brothers and sisters that I have sinned.”

You know how people would know? They would see the imprint of the carpeting on our forehead. If we really understood that God is not okay with our sin.

A lot of the time our exterior posture is a reflection of our interior posture. Jesus is going to come into your midst. You’re supposed to kneel before God. Do you do that because you believe its God? Do you do it because you know you have sin? Do you because you that your sin means death and He is your only shot?

I think most of the time I’m the thief on the left cross. I’m tempting Jesus. I’m yelling at Him. I’m talking to Him like he’s my equal. “Hey if you’re really God do this. Hey Jesus, if you really love me, get me out of (insert impossible situation here). And if you do, (insert impossible promise here that I’ll break in a week).” I’m the thief on the left.

Do you know what I want? I don’t want His salvation because that means I’m going to have to change. What I want is His healing. I want Him to make my life right. I want Him to take away the bad things that are happening, take away my pain, take away my bitterness, take away my anger, take away my loneliness, take away all those other frustrations. “Take them away God. You can heal me, but you cannot save me.” I’m a patient in need of healing. And God’s happy to heal you, but be careful because if you’re going to ask Him to heal you. If you’re going to be a patient you’d better be a penitent that wants Salvation.

We have a lot of patients in our world, in our homes, in our schools, and in our churches. People who want to be healed. We don’t have very many penitents. I am a thief God. I have stolen, and I need you to save me.

Photos are from Camp Tepeyac summer camp 2010, Week 11, for Life Teen. The camp theme is “Behold the Mystery.” Hosts are Tricia Tembreull and Marc Leon. Musician is Matt Miller.

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Some people will argue that it’s not worth going to church because the pews are filled with hypocrites–people who say one thing and do another. This is a valid point, but critics are missing the whole reason you go to church. You go to church because you need God, not because you are perfect. You go to church because you are bad at being holy.

So what’s the difference between a church full of sinners and a church full of hypocrites? Pride. Pride makes one more concerned with looking holy than BEING holy. It’s pride that corrupts a church to the point where nobody feels welcome because everybody is judged. But above all, pride prevents us from experiencing God’s grace.

This is where we, as Catholics, have a unique source of healing and grace: the sacrament of reconciliation. I mean think about it, the whole experience of confession is humbling, leaving no room for pride. We are expected to spill out all of our issues, our problems, and our sins. Sometimes it’s the embarrassment alone that can prevent one from sinning in the first place. The act of confessing with our lips is so powerful that even non-Catholics see the healing that can come from it.

Many Christian denominations have made “accountability groups” or “accountability partners” as a critical part of forming their congregations. People are paired off and asked to meet to talk about their sins–to confess their sins–with hopes that once we are brutally honest about our sinfulness, we might have our first chance of true healing. But we can’t just think of reconciliation as a rite of humiliation that discouraged from sinning.

Reconciliation is a sacrament, a way that God shares real grace that helps us get through this earth so we can eventually be with Him. Think of grace as an energy drink for the exercise of holiness. It’s only when we experience God’s grace do we have a chance at not being a hypocrite. And surrounded by his grace, we are able to be more loving and accepting of anyone who comes through our church doors.

A great saint said it the best: “The church is not a waiting room for saints, it’s a hospital for sinners.”

A: First…don’t wait anymore, just get a priest and tell him that you haven’t been to Confession for a long time and you have to go now (it helps if you get that face that little children get when they’re trying to convince their parents to take them to the bathroom)! Don’t worry you can’t “do it wrong.”

Sure there’s a formula: ‘Bless me father, for I have sinned. It has been a really long time since my last Confession and these are my sins.’ And you can do that if you want, but most of the priests I know will not hold it against you if you can’t remember those exact words. The most important thing is that you tell God your sins and receive his forgiveness. “What do I do?” Be sorry for your sins, confess them to God, receive forgiveness and go live His love.

I’ll be praying for you and you’ll do great.