Accountability: the longest four-letter word in the English language.
How long has it been since your last confession? Let’s talk…
A lot of Catholics question the need for the Sacrament of Rec- onciliation. Why do I need to go to a priest? Why can’t I just confess to God directly? Let me be clear: There is nothing wrong with personal prayer and certainly, every single time we attend Mass we always do a short examination of conscience and ask the Lord for mercy and forgiveness. Nevertheless, there are some compelling reasons for going to the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession). Let me share a few of them with you.
Confession prompts us to examine our conscience.
Who doesn’t need some good old fashioned self-examination? Would you really want to hang around or have a relationship with someone who never looked honestly at his or her life and sought to make adjustments? In any human endeavor, wheth- er it be in business or sports or relationships, it is always imper- ative and vital to honestly evaluate where you are, what you are doing wrong and what you can do better. I believe that last part is especially important because if you are not improving, you are probably getting worse. Most people seem like they are doing OK in their spiritual lives, but if you are stagnant, you are at an extremely dangerous juncture in your life. It becomes exceptionally easy to slide. The Sacrament of Reconciliation gives us an opportunity to look at ourselves honestly, openly and, at times, brutally. It is a moment for God’s grace to trans- form our hearts and heal them.
Confession of sins lets us know if we are too easy or too hard on ourselves.
Whenever someone comes into the confessional, I can almost immediately sense if they are too lax and soft about their sin, or too stringent and severe. Talking with a real life human being and opening your soul to them, often keeps one on a healthy path. Without breaking the seal of confession, I remember times when someone comes in and confesses something, and then immediately says this: but I don’t consider that a sin. It is part of a confessor’s job to let them know that maybe they need to look at this or that aspect of their sin or consider how some- one else (a parent, a child, a spouse, a sibling) might feel about their actions. Often, they walk away realizing that what they did just might be a bigger problem than they thought it was. On the other hand, there are a few individuals who are way too scrupu- lous, who beat themselves up needlessly. There are a lot of reasons for this behavior, most of them very bad. The Sacra- ment often helps these individuals find a healthy balance in their lives.
The Sacrament of Reconciliation can be an occasion for (quick) counseling.
The confessional is really not the place for psychological coun- seling, although some of that may occur. The confessional is really not the place to solve all of life’s problems, although it may be a start. The confessional is not the place for therapy, although I (and many others) have found it very therapeutic. If the Sacrament takes longer than fifteen minutes, it may be time to set up another appointment outside of the confessional or even some professional counseling. The Sacrament is a reli- gious ritual, one where someone may speak freely in the most sacred place of confidentiality. (There are few places in our society that offer that.) I consider the Sacrament helpful when someone tells me: I’ve never thought about it that way.
(A quick word about the Seal of Confession. From the Code of Canon Law: Can. 983 §1. The sacramental seal is inviolable; therefore it is absolutely forbidden for a confessor to be- tray in any way a penitent in words or in any manner and for any reason. Can. 984 §1. A confessor is prohibited completely from using knowledge acquired from confes- sion to the detriment of the penitent even when any danger of revelation is excluded. Priests may not reveal what they have learned during confession to anyone, even under the threat of their own death or that of others. Punishment for breaking the seal of the confessional is conferred by the severi- ty of the violation: “a confessor who directly violates the seal of the confessional,” that is: explicitly connects a sin to a penitent, “incurs a latae sententiae (automatic) excommunication.” Got it?)
The Sacrament of Reconciliation gives us a human, objec- tive assurance of forgiveness.
The idea of Sacraments is that they are physical, tangible gifts of grace. You do not have to wonder if God really forgives you
because you actually hear the priest pronounce it. Ego te absolvo a peccatis tuis in nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spir- itus Sancti. Amen. “I absolve you of your sins in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.” After First Reconciliation with our second graders this year, I went over to their classroom the next morning to congratu- late them. (They all had their Act of Contrition perfect!)
One of the boys began marching around the room and pro- claimed: I HAVE ZERO SINS! It was awesome. We need to have that same blessed assurance because it is a necessary grace to move beyond our faults, beyond our sins, beyond our failings, in order to grow.
Other quick reasons for the Sacrament:
- We receive grace to resist sin through the Sacrament, as well as
- We learn humility by having to confess to another
- There is built-in
- Our relationship with the rest of the Church is
This week, priests will be available in the confessional on Tues- day, Wednesday and Thursday, after 8:15 Mass in the morning and 7 pm in the evening.
Prepare for the coming of Christ in a new way in your life. Cel- ebrate the Sacrament of Rebirth. And dare I say it: be account- able!
Father Kevin