The last few weeks, I have made a reference to going to Confession in my articles.  The reason is that I have discovered Confession as a beautiful sacrament in which we can find forgiveness for our sins.  How incredible is it that we can go to a priest, and through the words of absolution, all our sins are forgiven by God? 

The concept of Confession is based on the Bible passage from John 20:23, where Jesus tells the apostles, “whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”  If this is the case, then why do so many of us not take advantage of the sacrament? I think the primary answer would be fear. 

The first reason that we are afraid of the sacrament is that we are afraid the priest will change his opinion about us or judge us in the confessional.  There are jerk priests out there who scold people in the confessional (I have experienced these priests firsthand several times), but most are not like that.  Most priests know that a person who goes to Confession recognizes that they have done something wrong, and that is why they are in need of forgiveness.  While in the confessional, we, the penitents, should show our contrition. The priest, in turn, shows God’s mercy so that together we may rejoice in the love of God.  Most priests do this, and they do this well; if they do not, find one that will.  There are a lot of priests out there.  The best advice I can give is find a priest that communicates God’s mercy to you while in the confessional. 

The second fear I find we struggle with in Confession is the vulnerability of the sacrament.  We have to share the things we are most ashamed of, our lowest moments, and secrets we have tried to keep from the world.  We don’t want anyone to know these things about us. But I have discovered in my faith that it is more important to find the forgiveness than to hide in shame like Adam and Eve did in the Garden after they ate of the Tree of Knowledge.  From my experience, the experience of the grace of forgiveness outshines the shame.  The devil wants us to keep our sins secret.  In St. Ignatius’s thirteenth rule for discernment of the spirits, he compares the evil one to a false lover who wants to keep a relationship secret.  Keeping something secret typically increases the likelihood of us repeating the sin.  We convince ourselves that what someone does not know cannot hurt them.  However, we are hurting ourselves.  Once the secret is revealed, there is an initial feeling of shame, but the compassionate mercy of Confession overcomes the shame through love.  So, the shame is there, but from my experience, the mercy received outshines the shame.

Going to Confession is a fearful thing.  It takes a lot of courage to take the step to walk into the confessional.  The grace that awaits us is worth more than anything else.  It helps us find the peace of Christ we look for in our lives.