Get Thee to a Confessional!

It has been 4 months since my last confession. After each confession I come out thinking, “I am going to do a monthly confession.” And then a few months go by and here I am. I finally had to schedule “Confession” on my calendar to ensure I would get in there. I decided to read up on the Sacrament of Reconciliation/Penance/Confession at New Advent. It is good to read what they have to say. Here are a few bullets that jumped out at me.

• While this sacrament as a dispensation of Divine mercy facilitates the pardoning of sin, it by no means renders sin less hateful or its consequences less dreadful to the Christian mind; much less does it imply permission to commit sin in the future. In paying ordinary debts, as e.g., by monthly settlements, the intention of contracting new debts with the same creditor is perfectly legitimate; a similar intention on the part of him who confesses his sins would not only be wrong in itself but would nullify the sacrament and prevent the forgiveness of sins then and there confessed.
• Strangely enough, the opposite charge is often heard, viz., that the confession of sin is intolerable and hard and therefore alien to the spirit of Christianity and the loving kindness of its Founder. But this view, in the first place, overlooks the fact that Christ, though merciful, is also just and exacting. Furthermore, however painful or humiliating confession may be, it is but a light penalty for the violation of God’s law. Finally, those who are in earnest about their salvation count no hardship too great whereby they can win back God’s friendship.

I am sure I am not the only one who dreads the Confessional so I will share a few thoughts with you about how I get myself in there.

1. Years ago I broke my ankle. In order for the doctor to make sure it healed correctly, he had to twist my ankle to the right position and set it before he put the cast on it. THE PAIN! Oh my goodness, the pain! It was excruciating to have my foot set, but completely necessary if I ever wanted to be healed correctly. The Sacrament of Penance is a soul cleansing that hurts. The pain comes from having to tell someone our deepest, darkest secrets, that maybe our spouses don’t even know about. Our pride takes a hit, because during the day we tell ourselves that we are good people, but in the Confessional, all is stripped away and we are vulnerable before God and another human being.

2. Father has heard it before. Nothing I say will surprise Father and if I do surprise Father, well, that will help a future person who won’t HAVE to surprise el Padre.

3. God already knows what I have done. It is useless to pretend things did not happen. He knows. So, I might as well be bluntly honest and tell Him I know He knows what I have done and that I am sorry.

4. Being forgiven is fabulous! There are no words to describe the peace one has after a good soul cleaning. If I want to receive the fabulous grace from the Sacrament, I have to first get myself in there.

5. No matter what I have done God forgives me AND He allows me a second and third, and infinite number of chances to get it right.

6. I have received some terrible, against the Church advice in the Confessional before. Since that experience, I always pray that God sends me to the right priest and will prepare the priest for Confession. In the Confessional Father, I don’t want to hear what I want to hear, I want to hear what I need to hear. Since I have started to pray for my priest before I get into the Confessional, the results are very powerful.

7. Now that I am a mom, it is not just about me. I have to demonstrate to my daughter how to be a Catholic. Using the Sacraments is a good place to start.