The Healing that comes with Confession of Sins
"We are in a supernatural struggle" with evil, the pope said, "even though we already know the final outcome will be Christ's victory over the powers of evil. This victory truly takes place every time a penitent is absolved. Nothing drives away and defeats evil more than divine mercy."-Pope Francis
It is very difficult, even humiliating to go before a priest, or minister, or a trusted friend, and to confess one’s wrongdoing, or sin. After all these years of using this Catholic Sacrament, I can still find it difficult to go. To make a good confession is to reveal to another one’s struggles, sins, and yes indifference to doing God’s will in one’s life. Yet I feel that it is important to confess, and those who don’t miss out on a great deal of inner healing, as well as the growth in self-knowledge.
Confession is not about making excuses for one’s behaviors, as well as private thoughts, that can move in directions that are harmful to the one having them if allowed to freely develop. Our actions flow from our thoughts. To admit guilt is healthy, to deny it is to become stuck an endless cycle of frustration and pain. To deny one’s healthy guilt is to become a victim and therefore there can be little if any progress. Humility and Self-knowledge go together.
For Catholic’s the process of confession allows another human to hear about your struggles. and failures, in doing so it gets it out of the subjective world that can get one stuck. To have another see you in your struggles, is to allow mercy to work at a deeper level. The priest who represents Christ Jesus gives the words of absolution setting one free of endless dialogue over guilt, and regret. There is no need to defend oneself, God sees it all and yet still shows us mercy.
Sin is like a cancer that will only grow larger if not acknowledged before the grace of God. True, one can do it privately, but the grace of confession is deep healing and the growth in humility which can free one from self-preoccupation. Jesus gave the church the power to forgive sin, and in the epistle of James, we are told to confess our sins to one another because it is good for the soul.
The sacraments are a grace, and those who participate in them with understanding what they are doing can only lead to deeper trust in God’s love, compassion, and mercy.
Yes, confession is difficult, but the rewards are many. Deepen your faith and trust in God and confess your sins to another. Be it a priest, if one is Catholic, or to a minister, or a friend who shares your faith, and can listen and not judge. You need to use discernment when you seek out someone to confess to.-Br.MD
