One of the greatest gifts that our merciful Savior gave to the world, that first Easter Sunday, was the Sacrament of Confession . Jesus passed through the walls and then breathed the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and said:“Receive the Holy Spirit; whose sins you shall forgive shall be forgiven; whose sins you retain shall be retained.”(Jn. 20:21-23)
In this moment, with these words and with the breathing forth of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles Jesus instituted the Sacrament of His infinite mercy that we call Sacrament of Confession, Penance, Reconciliation, forgiveness, and Sacrament of His infinite mercy.
In this brief essay we would like to encourage all to have great trust in God’s mercy and to approach with trust, confidence, humility and faith the Sacrament of Confession. We will offer ten short encouraging words or suggestions to help us to receive this great Sacrament.
1. TRUST IN GOD’S INFINITE MERCY. Jesus complained to Saint Faustina saying that the greatest sin that wounds His Sacred Heart most is the lack of trust in His infinite mercy. Jesus said that if the sinner had as many sins as the grains of sand on the seashore, if he were to simply trust in Jesus’ mercy then that would be enough to engulf and swallow these sins in the ocean of His infinite mercy. St Paul reminds us: “Where sin abounds God’s mercy abounds all the more.” Indeed the greatest sinners can become the greatest saints if they simply trust unreservedly in God’s mercy. Examples abound: Mary Magdalene, the Good thief, Saint Augustine, Saint Margaret of Cortona, St Ignatius of Loyola, St. Camillus de Lelis, Saint Mary of Egypt, and many more…
2. PREPARATION. Prepare yourself well for the reception of the Sacraments. In fact sacramental theology enunciates this important principle: one receives graces in proportion to the disposition of the heart and the prior preparation before receiving the Sacrament. Have a good examination of conscience booklet at hand. Give yourself time to prepare to encounter the loving and merciful Savior. Do your examination in silence so that you can meet yourself with the merciful Savior in your soul-searching. Write down the sins on a sheet of paper so that when you go in to the priest who represents Christ, due to nervousness, you will not draw a blank. Usually, the better the preparation the better the results—as is the case in any practice!
3. PERSONAL ENCOUNTER WITH CHRIST. Strive to understand that our religion is fundamentally a personal relationship and friendship with Jesus. Jesus indeed is the friend who will never fail us. If we can understand that the essence of sin is hurting the one who loves us, the one who desires a deep friendship with us, the one who died on the cross for us, then it will be much easier to avoid sin in the future. At the Last Supper Jesus called the Apostles friend; we are the friends of Jesus. Sin is not so much that of breaking a rule, but breaking the loving Heart of Jesus.
4. APPRECIATE THE SACRAMENT, THE GRACES AND THE OPPORTUNTIES. A constant danger for practicing Catholics is to take the Sacraments for granted. As in a marriage, it is always possible to take one’s spouse for granted. Likewise, we can take Jesus and His Sacraments for granted. Our attitude should be such that every time we receive the Eucharist as well as Confession we should receive it as if it were our last time and that we will be judged upon the way we received the Sacrament this time. As the sign in the sacristies remind us: “Say Mass as if it were your first Mass, last Mass and only Mass.” So may we strive to receive Confession as if it were our first, last and only every time we approach this Sacrament of God’s mercy.
5. FIRM PURPOSE OF AMMENDMENT. There are five steps in making a good confession: 1) Examination of Conscience; 2) Sorrow for sin; 3) Firm Purpose of Amendment; 4) Confession of sins to the priest; 5) Carry out the penance given by the priest. The third step, in many penitents, should be improved. By this we mean this: that to confess well there must be a firm commitment on our part to avoid any person, place or thing or circumstance that could lead us into the snares of sin. This demands self-examination, self-knowledge, humility, and fortitude. This also demands a rewinding the film of our life to see where, why, when, how, with whom, and where that led us into the falling into sin. There are many sayings that spell this out: “He who does not know history is condemned to repeat the same errors.” Socrates stated: “A life that is not examined is a life that is not worth living.” A key proverb of the desert Fathers says it in two succinct words: KNOW THYSELF! If you like, using an image from SUPERMAN: We have to know our own kryptonite—our own weak point, our own Achilles heel!
6. PRAY FOR THE PRIEST CONFESSOR. On one occasion Saint Faustina left the confessional and felt intranquility, lacking the peace that she usually experienced after making her sacramental confession. Jesus appeared to her and told her the reason for this lack of peace was because she did not pray for the priest confessor before entering the confessional. A short prayer for the priest Confessor—Hail Mary, prayer to the Holy Spirit or prayer to the Guardian angel—can drastically improve one’s confession. Try it!
7. QUALITIES OF A GOOD CONFESSION. In the Diary of Saint Faustina Jesus highlights three indispensable conditions for a good confession. They are: transparency, humility and obedience. When we confess to the priest, who really represents Jesus the Divine Physician, then we should be as clear and transparent as possible. Then we should never try to justify, rationalize or blame others for our sins and that means we should be humble. Finally, we should obey whatever advice or counsel that the priest gives us recognizing that the priest acts in the person of Christ.
8. CONFESS FREQUENTLY. It is of capital importance in the spiritual life to receive the sacraments well but also with great frequency. The Church allows as well as encourages frequent Confession as a most efficacious means to grow in holiness. One is obliged to confess mortal sins in number and species. However, the saints and Popes strongly encourage us to confess even venial sins; this is called the “Confession of devotion.” One could also confess past mortal sins and renew sorrow for them. All too often sins leave a deeply engrained habit or stain in our soul. Frequent Confession serves to gradually expunge and eliminate the stain! The warning however is to avoid making mechanical, routine or perfunctory confessions—to confess without any firm purpose to amend our ways!
9. CLARIFY DOUBTS. If it is such that there is some moral confusion, doubt or uncertainty about some moral matter, or personal behavior then you should be humble and forthright to ask a good confessor to clarify the doubt. In other words moral theology teaches us that we should never act on a doubtful conscience. On the contrary, we should clarify the moral question with our confessor before acting. Having a well-formed conscience, having a pure and clear conscience, having interior peace of soul is one of the greatest gifts that one can experience this side of heaven.
10. THANKSGIVING. After you have completed your confession then make sure that you thank God abundantly for His infinite mercy, for His kindness, for His compassion, for the gift of the sacrament of Confession. God rejoices in the hearts of those generous souls who render Him constant thanksgiving. May the prayer of the Psalmist be our prayer: “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; His mercy endures forever.”
Father Ed Broom, OMV, is Associate Pastor of St. Peter Chanel Church in Hawaiian Gardens, California. He is a member of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary and was ordained by Saint John Paul II on May 25, 1986. Fr. Ed teaches Catholic Ignatian Marian Spirituality through articles, podcasts, a radio show, retreats and spiritual direction.
