None of us are perfect, none of us live perfect lives. We all make mistakes, we all sin, we all hurt God, our neighbor, and ourselves. However, there are two realities in life. There are people who refuse to change:

• “This is who I am, you have to accept me.”
• “ I was born this way.”
• “At this age, is change even necessary?”

When we hear this, we know that these people will never change. On the other hand, when one acknowledges the sin, mistake, and shortcomings and is truly sorry, the person is on his or her way to repentance (pagsisi).

In the Gospel, Jesus was so angry at Bethsaida and Chorazin. Why? After all the blessings, after all the healings, after all the miracles, after all the kindness and love shown, what was the response? “We were born this way… You have to accept us for who we are… this our culture.” A refusal to change.

Hence, the challenge is to repent, and five ways to do so:

• Be honest that we need repentance. Humility is the mother of all virtue. It takes a lot of courage and humility to admit that there are mistakes, sins, and errors. That is the first step to renewal and repentance.
• Acknowledge the wrongs we have done and how they have affected other people. All of our lives are intertwined. Even the most private of sins affect people and society. That is why confession is not only straight to God because the priest represents humanity as well.
• Confess fully. How beautiful is the sacrament of confession whose authority comes from God. “What sins you forgive, are forgiven. What sins you retain, are retained.”
• Thank God. A truly repentant person knows that there is no sin that God will not forgive and his mercy is as far as the east is to the west.
• Be a Better Person. The mark of a truly repentant person is that the person changes for the better. The mark of a truly repentant person is that as he or she has experienced forgiveness, he or she can forgive as well.

We are reminded that we can be a better person and better Christians, no matter how difficult or painful our past was. God’s mercy, providence, and love will surely be there in abundance. Yes, we may have been born this way but with repentance, it doesn’t have to remain that way.