On Saturday afternoons, confessions at my parish run from 3:00 to 3:45. We got to church at 3:02 and found 12 people ahead of us in line. I stepped into the confessional at 3:44, but the priest said, "I'm sorry, I have to prepare for Mass." I was so disappointed. This is why.
1. Because Jesus is there. From St. Faustina's diary: When you approach the confessional, know this, that I Myself am waiting there for you. I am only hidden by the priest, but I Myself act in your soul.
2. Because there is wisdom and perspective waiting for you, from someone who hears all about human failings. I have been offered so much good advice in the confessional, running the gamut from easy and practical all the way to really hard but worth the struggle.
3. Because you might be approaching things backwards without even suspecting it. For about a year, I kept hearing a consistent but puzzling message in the confessional. I bet four or five different priests told me the same thing. Once after confession I told Elwood how exasperated I was that I kept getting the same message. "Jamie," he said, "that's because they're right."
4. Because God can use even a cold or distant priest as an agent of mercy. It isn't always magical, but it's always worthwhile. Three times in 21 years confession has left me feeling worse rather than better, but in each case there was something important I needed to learn from that interaction.
5. Because forgiveness transcends language, culture, and emotional barriers. Once a Vietnamese priest who was trying to be especially quiet heard my confession. I have no idea what counsel he gave me, and I probably had to ask him to repeat my penance. The grace, regardless, was tangible.
6. Because knowing that you'll have to sit down with another human being and tell him exactly what stupid thing you decided to do can make you less likely to do that stupid thing. I mean, it would be better if I did the right thing out of pure-hearted love for God, but sometimes the unwillingness to confess a particular sin to my pastor yet again keeps me on track.
7. Because in a world that increasingly allows you to buff your image, confession prompts humility. I don't post it on Facebook when I lose my temper, but I lose my temper too often. The freedom to present a tidier version of ourselves online can feed the sin of pride. Settling onto my knees and acknowledging the ways I have fallen short is exactly the antidote I need.
8. Because mercy is life-changing. Pride and fear can serve as short-term spurs to act and think in a particular way, but a daily choice to walk in redemption and freedom can come only from experiencing God's great mercy.
9. Because grace is real. I think it's in David Currie's book-- he talks about asking his wife not long after the family's conversion from evangelicalism whether she thought the sacraments were making a difference in him. She said, "Oooohhh, yes." No question about it.
10. Because the more you go, the better it gets. I tell my younger kids that saying "I don't want to go to confession" is like saying "I don't want to take a bath." You get in the bathtub and you're like, "Oh, yeah, this is great! Warm water! Rubber ducks! Bubbles!" Confession is just the same, minus the warm water/rubber ducks/bubbles. The longer it's been, the greater the resistance. But I'm always glad I went.
1, reprised. Because -- this one bears repeating -- Jesus is there, waiting for you. I went looking for a quote I heard a long time ago and was surprised to discover that it came from Ven. Fulton Sheen: When the priest raises his hands in absolution over you, the blood of Christ is dripping from his fingers. We priests are hardly conscious of this great power. I think we would almost be shocked to death if we ever really realized it. But that is how the sin is absolved, by this blood of Christ.
In my search for the Sheen quote I came across this great post from a priest's perspective.
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