There are many good practical guides for the preparation and form of the sacrament of confession. As a complement to them, here are a few insights on how to make a good confession – not just the practical, but from the heart.
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I JUST WANT TO BE CLEAN.
Wolfbauer
is pastor of St.
John Parish in
Foley and St.
Patrick Parish
in Minden
Township.
One of the many blessings of the ministry of the Church is to go into places where the world might not see and bring the healing graces of our loving God. On one recent visit to someone who is incarcerated, the man said before we began the formal confession, “Father, I just want to be clean.” There was little I could offer physically for this man who was facing years of time in confinement. Yet, the man’s own desire to know God has forgiven him brought him to lay it all down at the feet of our Lord in confession.
Our own state in life or situation may feel confining without sensing practical ways of external change in the near future. Do not underestimate the graces of the sacrament. The kingdom of God is near when we begin again through the pardon and peace of Christ.
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GO THE DISTANCE.
For most of us, the potential for participation in the sacrament is no more than 10-15 miles away from our homes. We certainly would have little hesitation to travel that distance “for the big game” or our favorite activities.
The other day I was blessed with a person who traveled more than 240 miles with a request for confession. Now before you believe I am some St. John Vianney, it had less to do with me and more to do with her response to God. Here was a person who felt stuck in life, had been away from the Church and needed help. A friend, who is a parishioner, interceded and offered the woman the services of her parish priest (she did ask me first). It doesn’t mean you need to drive hours to make a good confession. However, if it gets you there, or helps someone you know, go for it!
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HERE WE GO AGAIN.
One of the most frequent statements I hear in confession is, “Father, I have the same sins…” Many of us do have particular sins we struggle with. If we find ourselves saying it has been six months or longer between confessions, it might be helpful to avail ourselves to the sacrament more frequently. Our Catholic faith invites us to confess our sins at least once a year. If we decided to clean our home only once a year, it may seem like it is always in the same state. When we are truly working on a particular sin or poor habit, it may be helpful to seek the sacrament more frequently. A confessor can assist you with the determining what might be best for your situation.
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THE VOICES OF GUILT AND SHAME.
Some hearts say, “I don’t do anything that bad. God loves me anyway.” Others say, “I will never be able to change, I will never be loved.” In a spiritual sense, guilt is a gift of the conscience which reminds us we have done wrong but nudges us to repent and change. Shame in the spiritual sense is from the evil one, and is the voice expressing we are no longer worthy of being loved nor could ever change. In discerning spirits, it is helpful to ask ourselves the origin of the voice. We denounce the voices of shame. The voices of guilt should move us to reconcile and change aided by the graces of the sacrament.
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COME AS YOU ARE.
“Where sin abounds, grace all the more!” This was the personal mantra of a woman I once knew. This woman knew her own struggle and was stumbling in her Christian walk. The phrase comes from Romans 5:20, in which St. Paul reminds us that whatever we have done, wherever we find ourselves, however low we have sunk, that is where God can shower us with graces overflowing all the more when we repent.
Coming humbly to the sacrament “just as we are” is a key to a good confession. Preparing ourselves through an examination of conscience categorizes our sins and assists in finding remedy. Bringing all our brokenness, our scars, our pain, our sins to our God, who is the Father of mercy, is the remedy. We do not need to explain all the reasons and means for our sins. We need to come with a contrite heart, confess our sins, promise and do our penance, and God will do the rest. Now is the time! Through confession we walk forward in peace knowing God’s mercy endures forever!