A Sunday Thought to Start the Week Off Right
Last Sunday we began a discussion of the Sacrament of Confession. We noted two specific reasons for opening up this discussion First, many, if not most, Catholics don't bother with Confession anymore. The second reason has to do with something I recently learned: There are other ways to obtain forgiveness for our sins.
But wait, aren't these two ideas somewhat at odds? The first implies that we should bother with Confession. Yet some may think the second implies we needn't bother to go to Confession at all. Of course, it doesn't. What it does imply is this: Confession is not simply a means of cleansing our souls of sins, like some sort of spiritual car wash. So today we'll try to better understand how these two really fit together by looking at: why we should bother with Confession; and how those of us who already do bother with Confession can and should benefit from the full efficacy of this Sacrament. And with this in mind, let's begin with the fact that Confession is a sacrament.
Recall that Sacraments are visible signs, instituted by Jesus Christ, to give grace. Confession is one of seven Sacraments Christ gave us: Baptism, Confession (a/k/a Penance or Reconciliation), Holy Communion, Confirmation, Marriage, Holy Orders, and the Sacrament of the Sick, once known as Extreme Unction.
Let's also recall that to get to heaven you must be in a state of grace. The sacraments give us that grace. Of the seven sacraments three may be received once, and only once: Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Orders. the others can be received more than once. Of those that can be received more than once, two - marriage and Extreme Unction - are not commonly received more than once. The other two, Confession and Holy Communion, can be received many times throughout our lives.
Now let's put this all together:
- If getting to Heaven depends on being in a state of grace,
- and the Sacraments give us this grace,
- and Holy Communion and Confession are the two Sacraments we can receive most frequently to obtain grace,
- shouldn't it follow that we'd want to receive these two Sacraments frequently?
And yet, as we've noted, many Catholics, while they may receive Holy Communion once a week on Sunday, maybe even more frequently, simply don't bother with Confession.
Given that we know that the graces we receive from the sacraments play a critical role in assuring that we get to Heaven, and given that the Sacrament of Confession is one of only two Sacraments we can receive frequently, aren't we selling ourselves short if we don't receive the Sacrament of Confession on at least a regular, if not frequent, basis?
So why do so many Catholics avoid Confession?
We could dedicate an entire series of posts to this subject, but let's try to summarize what seem to be the main reasons for this obviously disordered state of affairs.
First, and foremost, we hardly hear about the importance and efficacy of Confession from either our Bishops or our priests. Sure, the subject pops up at times. But, as a rule, it's rarely discussed, never mind promoted. Doesn't that send a message - that Confession isn't important? Here's a simple illustration from our local parish.
One of our priests recently complained that no one was showing up for Confession. Our parish covers two different churches. We live near the bigger church. The smaller of the two is about a 20 minute drive away. Apparently this priest, who lives in the rectory of the bigger church was assigned Confession duties in the smaller church. He told us he goes there once a week and sits in the box for the allotted hour or so and...no one shows up. The first thing that popped into my mind was: Maybe that's because: a) you never talk about the importance or efficacy of Confession; b) Confession is only offered once a week, for about an hour.
You wonder how these guys don't put two and two together here. But they don't. Maybe they themselves don't think Confession is all that important.
Second, we hardly hear about sin anymore. Occasionally, you'll hear it referred to in a more or less generic way. "We're all sinners," or some such comment. But as for specifics - e.g., abortion, contraception, adultery, fornication, even lying, cheating, taking God's in vain, setting a bad example by using crude language, etc - nada. And if bishops and priests hardly mention any of these sins, even if they're "technically" sins, how bad can they really be, right? So why go to Confession?
So far we've got two reasons to go to Confession: 1) Confession is a Sacrament, and the Sacraments are an efficacious source of the graces we'll need to get to Heaven; 2) Because we do indeed commit sins (really, we do!), Confession provides us with the means to obtain forgiveness of those sins.
Now, before we continue, it's important that we reiterate the order of the two reasons we go to Confession: first, it's a source of grace; second, it's a means to obtain forgiveness of our sins. Here's why the order is important. Many of us focus exclusively on the Sacrament as means of obtaining forgiveness, unaware of, forgetting, or maybe ignoring the effect of the graces we receive. Recall too that if we wish to receive the full benefit of the graces given to us, we must cooperate with those graces. I'm no theologian, but I do wonder how we can cooperate with the graces that flow from the Sacrament if we're not aware of them, forget them, or ignore them. In any case, let's make sure we put the reception of grace up there with forgiveness of our sins when it comes to the Sacrament of Confession - maybe even a notch higher.
Why a notch higher? Well, this brings us right back to how we began our discussion today: There are other ways to obtain forgiveness of our sins. (We mentioned some of them last Sunday: a sincere Act of Contrition, almsgiving, works of mercy, charitable acts, etc.) To be clear, this in no way minimizes the importance of Confession. Instead, it enables us to more fully receive all the benefits provided by this Sacrament. We'll see how and why when we continue our discussion next Sunday.
But wait, aren't these two ideas somewhat at odds? The first implies that we should bother with Confession. Yet some may think the second implies we needn't bother to go to Confession at all. Of course, it doesn't. What it does imply is this: Confession is not simply a means of cleansing our souls of sins, like some sort of spiritual car wash. So today we'll try to better understand how these two really fit together by looking at: why we should bother with Confession; and how those of us who already do bother with Confession can and should benefit from the full efficacy of this Sacrament. And with this in mind, let's begin with the fact that Confession is a sacrament.
Recall that Sacraments are visible signs, instituted by Jesus Christ, to give grace. Confession is one of seven Sacraments Christ gave us: Baptism, Confession (a/k/a Penance or Reconciliation), Holy Communion, Confirmation, Marriage, Holy Orders, and the Sacrament of the Sick, once known as Extreme Unction.
Let's also recall that to get to heaven you must be in a state of grace. The sacraments give us that grace. Of the seven sacraments three may be received once, and only once: Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Orders. the others can be received more than once. Of those that can be received more than once, two - marriage and Extreme Unction - are not commonly received more than once. The other two, Confession and Holy Communion, can be received many times throughout our lives.
Now let's put this all together:
- If getting to Heaven depends on being in a state of grace,
- and the Sacraments give us this grace,
- and Holy Communion and Confession are the two Sacraments we can receive most frequently to obtain grace,
- shouldn't it follow that we'd want to receive these two Sacraments frequently?
And yet, as we've noted, many Catholics, while they may receive Holy Communion once a week on Sunday, maybe even more frequently, simply don't bother with Confession.
Given that we know that the graces we receive from the sacraments play a critical role in assuring that we get to Heaven, and given that the Sacrament of Confession is one of only two Sacraments we can receive frequently, aren't we selling ourselves short if we don't receive the Sacrament of Confession on at least a regular, if not frequent, basis?
So why do so many Catholics avoid Confession?
We could dedicate an entire series of posts to this subject, but let's try to summarize what seem to be the main reasons for this obviously disordered state of affairs.
First, and foremost, we hardly hear about the importance and efficacy of Confession from either our Bishops or our priests. Sure, the subject pops up at times. But, as a rule, it's rarely discussed, never mind promoted. Doesn't that send a message - that Confession isn't important? Here's a simple illustration from our local parish.
One of our priests recently complained that no one was showing up for Confession. Our parish covers two different churches. We live near the bigger church. The smaller of the two is about a 20 minute drive away. Apparently this priest, who lives in the rectory of the bigger church was assigned Confession duties in the smaller church. He told us he goes there once a week and sits in the box for the allotted hour or so and...no one shows up. The first thing that popped into my mind was: Maybe that's because: a) you never talk about the importance or efficacy of Confession; b) Confession is only offered once a week, for about an hour.
You wonder how these guys don't put two and two together here. But they don't. Maybe they themselves don't think Confession is all that important.
Second, we hardly hear about sin anymore. Occasionally, you'll hear it referred to in a more or less generic way. "We're all sinners," or some such comment. But as for specifics - e.g., abortion, contraception, adultery, fornication, even lying, cheating, taking God's in vain, setting a bad example by using crude language, etc - nada. And if bishops and priests hardly mention any of these sins, even if they're "technically" sins, how bad can they really be, right? So why go to Confession?
So far we've got two reasons to go to Confession: 1) Confession is a Sacrament, and the Sacraments are an efficacious source of the graces we'll need to get to Heaven; 2) Because we do indeed commit sins (really, we do!), Confession provides us with the means to obtain forgiveness of those sins.
Now, before we continue, it's important that we reiterate the order of the two reasons we go to Confession: first, it's a source of grace; second, it's a means to obtain forgiveness of our sins. Here's why the order is important. Many of us focus exclusively on the Sacrament as means of obtaining forgiveness, unaware of, forgetting, or maybe ignoring the effect of the graces we receive. Recall too that if we wish to receive the full benefit of the graces given to us, we must cooperate with those graces. I'm no theologian, but I do wonder how we can cooperate with the graces that flow from the Sacrament if we're not aware of them, forget them, or ignore them. In any case, let's make sure we put the reception of grace up there with forgiveness of our sins when it comes to the Sacrament of Confession - maybe even a notch higher.
Why a notch higher? Well, this brings us right back to how we began our discussion today: There are other ways to obtain forgiveness of our sins. (We mentioned some of them last Sunday: a sincere Act of Contrition, almsgiving, works of mercy, charitable acts, etc.) To be clear, this in no way minimizes the importance of Confession. Instead, it enables us to more fully receive all the benefits provided by this Sacrament. We'll see how and why when we continue our discussion next Sunday.
Happy Sunday!
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