“Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God: ‘This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.’” – Mark 1: 14-15
I love going to Confession.
Seriously.
It feels like taking a hot shower after a long day digging in the mud. Every time I receive this sacrament, also known as Reconciliation, I leave feeling refreshed, renewed, and reminded of God’s love and mercy. I’ll admit that I sometimes get nervous before Confession, but I always leave feeling ten times better and glad that I went.
Over the past few years I’ve been blessed to be able to go to Confession at many parishes and with several different priests in and around Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Some of these priests I knew quite well, and others were complete strangers. Sometimes I would speak with them face-to-face, and other times I would confess behind the screen.
And, in all these instances, what did the priest give me? Encouragement. Not once have I felt like the priest was judging me or thinking less of me, despite all the not-so-good stuff I’ve done. Instead, in every case, he was a compassionate doctor caring for a wounded patient.
That’s because the goal of the Sacrament is not simply to admit our faults, but to be truly reconciled and reunited with God. The challenge is that in order for a doctor to heal our wounds, we must first let him see the wounds, and this takes some guts. That is why Saint Pope John Paul II said, “Confession is an act of honesty and courage – an act of entrusting ourselves, beyond sin, to the mercy of a loving and forgiving God.”
At its root, sin is simply a break in our relationship with God. The only way to fix a broken relationship is to be honest and say, “I’m sorry.” Well, can’t we just say that to God? Why must we confess our sins to a priest? Of course we should ask God for forgiveness whenever we pray, but if we are “one body in Christ and individually parts of one another” as Saint Paul tells the Romans (12:5), then even our seemingly most private sins actually hurt the whole Church. Thus, we need not only be reconciled with God, but also with each other.
Here is where the priest comes in. Scripture tells us “confess your sins to one another” (James 5:16). Like any baptized Christian, a priest is our brother in Christ and a member of the Church. But, as a priest, he is called to be a pontifex, or “bridge-builder,” a mediator between God and mankind. The priest does not exercise his own authority in this regard, but that of the High Priest, Jesus Christ.
A priest is ordained into the Priesthood of Jesus Christ through the imposition of hands by a Bishop, one of the successors of the Apostles, to whom Jesus gave the authority to forgive sins in His Name (John 20:23). As such, a priest stands in persona Christi capitas – in the person of Christ, the Head of the Body.
Thus, a priest acts as a representative of both God and the Church, so only by confessing our sins to a priest can we be fully reconciled and restored to right relationship with God and each other.
This gift of reconciliation should bring us great joy! I know that it has for me. Yet, it also gives us a responsibility. Just as we have been forgiven, we must also forgive others. Just as we have been reconciled, we must also go forth to repair worldly relationships that are broken by poverty, injustice, and isolation.
Father, forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Reconcile us to Yourself and grant us pure and repentant hearts that we may see your Holy Face. We ask this through Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
