Our Sins, Our Confession

By Fr. Conor Donnelly

(Proofread)

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

My Lord and my God, I firmly believe that you are here, that you see me, that you hear me. I adore you with profound reverence. I ask your pardon for my sins and grace to make this time of prayer fruitful. My Immaculate Mother, Saint Joseph, my father and lord, my guardian angel, intercede for me.

In the Book of Isaiah, we're told, “Prepare the way of the Lord in the wilderness, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up and every mountain and hill be made low.; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain.”

The best way of getting our souls ready to receive Our Lord at His coming is to make a really well-prepared confession. This Sacrament is a source of grace and mercy throughout our entire life, but its necessity is especially obvious in this season, and through her liturgy, the Church urges and encourages us to prepare to commemorate the birth of Our Lord at Christmas.

She puts on our lips a prayerful petition in the liturgy: “O God, who sent your Son into the world to free the human race from its former sinfulness. As we faithfully wait for His coming, fill our hearts with your grace, so that we may live in true freedom and attain its reward.”

Confession is also the sacrament which, together with the Blessed Eucharist, prepares us for that all-important meeting with Christ at the end of our life. Our whole life is, in this sense, a continual Advent, a preparation for that final moment for which we are unceasingly, day by day, getting ourselves ready.

It’s comforting to realize that it is this same Lord who urgently desires to have us with Him in “the new heaven and the new earth” which He has prepared for us.

Every well-made confession is an impulse which Our Lord gives us to go ahead, freed from our miseries, with new courage and joy. Christ says to us once more: “Take heart, your sins are forgiven” (Mt 9:2), my child, begin again.… It is He Himself who forgives us when we have humbly told Him our faults.

Pope St. John Paul said we confess our sins “to God Himself, although in the confessional, it is a man—the priest—who listens to us. That man is the humble and faithful servant of this great mystery which has been enacted between the son who returns and the Father.

“The causes of evil are not to be found outside man, but, above all, in the depth of his heart. Its cure also comes from the heart. Consequently, Christians must rebel against the debasing of man, through a sincere determination to be truly converted themselves, and must show forth in their own lives the joy of being truly freed from sin...by means of their sincere repentance, their firm resolution of amendment, and the courageous confession of their faults.”

For those who have fallen into mortal sin after they have been baptized, this Sacrament of Penance is as necessary for their salvation as is Baptism for those who have not yet been reborn into supernatural life.

“It is the means to satisfy man, but the righteousness that comes from the Redeemer Himself.” The Church holds its importance to be so great that “lack of time may oblige priests to postpone or even to omit other activities, but never that of hearing Confessions.”

All mortal sins committed after Baptism, together with any circumstances which may affect their nature, must be brought to the tribunal of Penance in an individual confession made privately to a priest, followed by individual absolution.

Pope St. John Paul asks us to do everything that we can “to help the ecclesial community to appreciate fully ‘the value of individual Confession’ as a personal encounter with the merciful and loving Savior, and to be faithful to the directives of the Church in a matter of such importance. We cannot forget that conversion is a particularly profound inward act in which the individual cannot be replaced by others and cannot make the community a substitute for him.”

As well as being complete in regard to serious sins, Confession must be supernatural: we have to remember that we are coming to implore forgiveness from the same Lord whom we have offended, because all sins, including those committed against our fellow man, are direct offenses against God.

A confession made with consciousness of its supernatural nature is a real act of love for God. In the depth of our soul, we hear Christ say, as He said to Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” And we too can answer, in the very words of the Apostle, “Lord, you know everything, you know that I love you—in spite of everything.

Next to mortal sin, venial sin is the soul's greatest misery, because it prevents us from receiving many actual graces. Each small unfaithfulness is the loss of a great treasure: it decreases the warmth of our love; it increases our difficulty in practicing the virtues, which seem harder and harder each time. And it makes it easier for us to end up committing mortal sin, unless we react promptly.

Our greatest help in the struggle to avoid venial sin comes from Holy Communion and frequent Confession. In Confession we are given special graces to avoid precisely those defects and sins which we have confessed and repented.

To value frequent Confession is a sign of spiritual refinement and love of God. To despise it or to be indifferent to it suggests inward coarseness and frequently a real blindness to supernatural realities.

How often we should go to Confession depends on the needs of each individual soul. Anyone who is seriously determined to fulfill the Will of God in everything and to belong entirely to God will feel a real need to come to this sacrament more often and more regularly.

Pope St. John Paul says: Confession periodically renewed—the Confession of devotion—has always accompanied the ascent to holiness in the Church.

In the Sacrament of Penance, each person is reconciled with God and with the Church. It's one of the most intimate and personal of human acts, and brings about many fundamental changes in the sanctuary of each man's conscience.

At the same time, this Sacrament also possesses a deep and inseparable social dimension and also brings about many changes in the family circle, in studies, in our work, in the friendly relationships of the person who goes to Confession.

Scott Han tells a story that after he had converted to Catholicism—his wife had not yet converted—when one Saturday afternoon, she came to him and asked, “How long has it been since your last Confession?”

He said he felt a bit irked by this rather personal question coming from his wife, who didn't even believe in the Sacrament of Confession. He more or less said to her, “Why, what's it to you?” And she said, “All I know is that when you come from Confession, you're kinder to me and the kids.”

He said very sheepishly, “I had to admit, three weeks.” Later that afternoon, with a great humility, he said, “I looked for my car keys and I went off to find my confessor.” It was a testimony from his wife of the social benefits of being in the state of grace and of getting to the Sacrament.

The greatest tragedy in any man's life is sin because the result of sin is a far-reaching disorder that starts in the very center of his being and spreads outward to affect all those around him. In the Sacrament of Penance Our Lord sorts out all those misplaced elements; in addition to pardoning the sins, he restores to the soul its lost order and harmony.

A well-made confession brings much good to all those who live and work with us. It's a benefit to very many other people with whom we come into contact in the course of the day. The grace that we receive in this sacrament means that we say and do everything in a very different way.

Not only that, but when a Christian goes to Confession, the whole Church receives an incalculable benefit. Every time a priest pronounces the words of absolution, she rejoices and is mysteriously enriched, because every Confession, through the Communion of Saints, sends blessings which resound through the whole Mystical Body of Christ.

In the intimate life of the Church—whose cornerstone is Christ—every member supports all the others with his good works and merits, and is at the same time supported by them.

We all need to be, and in fact we all are, continually receiving a share in the spiritual benefits which are common to us all. Our own merits are helping our fellow men in every part of the world.

In the same way, sin, lukewarmness, venial sins, and self-satisfied mediocrity weigh down every member of the pilgrim Church: “If one member suffers,” St. Paul says, “all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.”

In his apostolic exhortation, Reconciliation and Penance, Pope St. John Paul II says: “This is the other aspect of that solidarity which, on the religious level, is developed in the profound and magnificent mystery of the Communion of Saints, thanks to which it has been possible to say that ‘every soul that rises above itself raises up the world.’”

“To this ‘law of ascent’ there unfortunately corresponds the ‘law of descent.’ Consequently, one can speak of a ‘communion of sin,’ whereby a soul that lowers itself through sin drags down with itself the Church and, in some way, the whole world.

“In other words there is no sin, not even the most intimate and secret one, that exclusively concerns the person committing it. With greater or lesser violence, with greater or lesser harm, every sin has repercussions on the entire ecclesial body and on the whole human family.”

Whenever anyone makes a sincere and repentant Confession it is a moment of rejoicing, not only for the penitent but for everybody. When she had found the lost coin, a lady in Scripture “called together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me’” (Lk 15:9).

The saints in Heaven, the holy souls in Purgatory, and the Church which is still on pilgrimage through this world rejoice together every time an absolution is given. To loosen the chains of sin is at the same time to tighten the bonds of brotherhood.

We should go to this Sacrament more joyfully and more regularly when we know that by the very fact of making a good Confession, we are helping so many other Christians, and especially those who are closest to us.

Our Lord, knowing that we were fragile, left us the sacrament of Penance, where the soul not only comes away healed, but, if it has lost grace, rises with a new life.

We need to go to the sacrament with a sincerity that is complete, humble, contrite, and with the desire of reparation. A well-made Confession presupposes a deep examination of conscience. Deep does not necessarily mean long in a time sense, especially if we go to confession frequently. If possible, it can be in front of the tabernacle, and always in the presence of God.

In his examination of conscience, the Christian sees what God has expected his life to be and what in reality it has been. He sees the goodness or the malice of his actions, the omissions, the opportunities he has let slip..., the gravity of the fault committed, the length of time he has remained in it before asking for forgiveness.

The Christian who wants to have a refined conscience, and so goes to Confession frequently, will not be content with a Confession that is simply valid, but will aspire to be a good Confession which is an effective help to the soul in its aspiration towards God.

For frequent confession to achieve this end, we need to take this principle in all seriousness: without repentance there is no forgiveness of sin.

This gives rise to the fundamental norm of anyone who goes to Confession frequently—not to confess any venial sin without first seriously and sincerely repenting of it.

We are told by one writer: “There is a ‘general repentance.’ This is pain and detestation for all the sins committed in one's past life. This general repentance is of exceptional importance for frequent confession,” since it helps to heal the wounds that our weakness has left behind, it purifies our soul and makes it grow in love with God.

Whenever necessary, sincerity will lead us to get down to those little details that enable us to acknowledge our weaknesses better:

How? When? Why? For how long?

We have to avoid insubstantial and prolific detail just as much as generalization. We need to say simply and delicately what has happened, what is the true state of our soul.

We have to flee from digressions such as I wasn't humble, I was lazy, I lacked charity: things that are applicable to almost every human being. When we practice frequent confession, we have to make sure it's always a personal act in which we ask God's forgiveness for very real specific weaknesses, and not generalizations.

This sacrament of mercy is a sure refuge: in it our wounds are cured. What was already worn and growing old is rejuvenated. All our errors, large or small, are cured, because Confession is not only a judgment in which our transgressions are forgiven, but also a medicine for the soul.

Confession that is impersonal often hides a point of pride and of self-love that seeks to camouflage or to find justification for anything that is humiliating and leaves us, humanly speaking, looking bad.

It can help us to make this act of penance more personal if we're careful about the way we make our Confession: “I accuse myself of...”, for this sacrament is not to woefully relate things that have happened; it is humbly and simply to accuse oneself of one's errors and weaknesses before God Himself, who will forgive us through the priest and will inundate us with His grace.

St. Josemaría in The Forge, Point 238, said, “‘Blessed be God,’ you said to yourself after having finished your sacramental Confession. And you thought: it is as though I had just been born again. You then continued calmly: ‘Lord, what would you have me do?’ And you yourself came up with the reply: ‘By the help of your grace I will let nothing and no one come between me and the fulfillment of your most Holy Will: Serviam—I will serve you unconditionally."

I will serve you, Lord, as you have always wanted me to: with simplicity, in the midst of all the ordinary, everyday events of my life.

There are many reasons why this sacrament is an incredible gift. These reasons should move us to be thankful to Our Lord and to love this sacrament more every time we receive it. Prayerful consideration of those reasons can help us to be faithful to a plan for frequent confession.

We should realize that Confession is not merely a spiritual remedy by which the priest can heal a sick soul or revive a soul dead to the life of grace. This is a lot, but to our Father God it seems very little.

Remember how in the parable of the Prodigal Son the father did not forgive his son by means of an emissary. He ran right up to him to forgive him in person. So it is with Our Lord. He seeks out the sinner. He makes himself present in the person of the confessor. It is Jesus who absolves us, since every sacrament is the action of Christ.

We can also give thanks for the universality of this power granted to the Church in the person of the Apostles and their successors. Our Lord is ready to forgive everything in everyone, always, as long as He finds the proper dispositions.

St. Thomas Aquinas says, “God's omnipotence is particularly shown in sparing and having mercy, because in this it is made manifest that God has supreme power, that He freely forgives sins.”

We can ask Our Lord in this time of Advent, in the words of the Church: “Listen favorably, Lord, to our prayers, and help us in our need. This coming of your Son brings us comfort. Grant that we may be freed from the taint of our old habits of sin.”

I thank you, my God, for the good resolutions, affections, and inspirations that you have communicated to me during this meditation. I ask your help to put them into practice. My Immaculate Mother, Saint Joseph, my father and lord, my guardian angel, intercede for me.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

DWM