Confessing Our Sins
Posted on: February 5, 2015
- In: Everyday Life | Faith | Sacraments
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Reading Psalm 32* the other day reminded me of the value of confession.
The psalmist tells us how he suffered under the weight of his sin:
When I declared not my sin, my body wasted away
through my groaning all day long. (v. 3)
And then he tells of God’s forgiveness when he confessed his sin:
I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not hide my iniquity;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD”;
then you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah (v. 5)
Not for nothing is Psalm 32 subtitled “The Joy of Forgiveness” in the Revised Standard Version:
Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. (v. 1)
So if we know that our sins will weigh on us, that God will forgive us when we repent of and confess them, and that his forgiveness will bring us joy, why wouldn’t we want to receive the sacrament of reconciliation more often?
The second precept of the Church,“You shall confess your sins at least once a year,” obliges us to receive the sacrament. But knowing that (as s. 2042 of the Catechism notes) reconciliation prepares us to receive the Eucharist, why would we limit ourselves to having our confession heard only once a year?
Why not take advantage of our parish’s regular scheduled times for reconciliation? Or if these just don’t fit into our schedule, why not find a church near our workplace or school or errand stops that offers a reconciliation time that does work?
If we think of reconciliation as something just for Lent, something we have to get through, or even something to dread, we’re forgetting about the joy of being forgiven and having a weight lifted from our shoulders, be it large or small. We’re forgetting that the priest isn’t there to judge us but to help us be reconciled to God.
I pray that we would make time for reconciliation not only during Lent, but also at other times of the year so that we may know the joy of God’s forgiveness and draw closer to him.
(*Scripture quotes taken from the Holy Bible, Revised Standard Version, Second Catholic Edition.)
A Catholic Convert in Ottawa 