The Sacrament of Confession
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January 25, 2023After the Eucharist, this is the sacrament received most frequently by the faithful. Confession, also called The Sacrament of Penance and The Sacrament of Reconciliation, fulfills a great need in our relationship with God. You see, when we sin, we damage or destroy our relationship with God, just like when we hurt another person we damage our relationship with them. When we hurt another person, we can go to them and apologize and actually receive forgiveness, thus beginning to repair that relationship. Confession and Reconciliation is the way that we apologize to God and receive His forgiveness.
The grace of the sacrament, like all of the sacraments, flows from the Cross. Through the Paschal Mystery of his death, Resurrection, and Ascension the Lord redeemed us from our sins and brings us back into friendship with God. Confession is itself a sort of death and Resurrection. Confessing our sins is like crucifying a part of ourselves, and receiving absolution is like the Resurrection bringing us back to life in Christ. Going to Confession can be difficult, but not going results in something much worse.
Some people wonder why they can’t just do that in private. Why do we need to go to a priest? First, when you apologize to someone you don’t demand that they come to you; you apologize on their terms. This is how God has chosen to offer forgiveness to people, as we read in the Gospel of John, when the disciples were in the upper room “he breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained’” (John 20:22-23). Jesus gave the apostles the power to forgive sins, and they passed it on to their successors. Second, if you confess to God directly, how do you know that your sins are forgiven? When you confess to a priest, as long as you made a genuine confession, are sorry for your sins, intend to amend your life, and intend to do penance, you have assurance that your sins are forgiven.
Remember, though, that God doesn’t just forgive our sins in confession, He also gives us grace to strengthen us against them. Many people complain of confessing the same sins over and over again, but the Sacrament of Confession can help with that. I’ve often found that I’m better able to resist temptation, even ones that I normally struggle with, after I’ve gone to confession. I also find that I slowly get better and better at fighting sins that I regularly confess. This is partially because I’m fighting against it and not just giving in, but it’s also because I’m actively asking God for help with it. Try it, you have nothing to lose but your sins.
As always, the saints give us the best example. All the saints that we know about went to confession regularly if they had the chance. Saints like Mother Teresa, Pope St. John Paul II, and Pope St. John XXIII (called Good Pope John because of his kind nature) went to confession every week. Reportedly, Pope Francis goes to confession every other week. I strongly recommend regular confession, at least monthly, so that you can get in the habit of examining your conscience, confessing your sins, and making use of the grace of the confessional. Don’t worry if you don’t remember how, there’s a copy of the Act of Contrition in the confessional and instructions on what to do. You can also just ask the priest what to do next; most priests will be happy to guide you through it. There’s a priest available for confession 30 minutes before Sunday Mass, 3:30-4:45 Saturday, and after 9:00 AM morning Mass on Tuesdays.
