"Call to mind how you accepted what you heard, keep to it and repent."

These words, written to the Church in Sardis many centuries ago, like all the words of Scripture, are spoken to us in our day by the Holy Spirit to renew our spirit and to call us to greater fidelity to the faith we professed at Baptism and greater commitment to the life of love which that faith entails. Through the voice of Pope Francis and the Year of Mercy which he established, the Spirit repeats the call to repent, a call which Jesus issued as he began to preach the Gospel.

The Church teaches that there are basically four functions of prayer: adoration, contrition, thanksgiving, supplication [intercession]. One of the key ideas guiding Vatican Council II was that the Church is continually in need of renewal. So, too, for the individual Catholic, conversion may occur at a definite moment in life, but it must be an ongoing answer to God's call and grace through our practice of prayer. We must frequently acknowledge our sins, for example by reflecting whether we truly keep to the Gospel of salvation which we hear again at every Eucharist. Contrition will deepen our adoration and thanksgiving.