These words of St. Paul call us to integrity. Catholic understanding of preparation for Holy Communion follows this teaching of Paul.  We approach the altar to receive the Body and Blood of Christ only if we are prepared to receive Him.  We first examine our consciences and if we have any serious sin on our hearts, we need to confess in order to be reconciled to God and His Church.  Our reception of Holy Communion affirms that our lives are in communion with the teachings of Christ and His Church. Confession of grave or mortal sins brings us back into communion with Christ and His Church.

 

“Why must I confess to a priest? Why can’t I just go straight to God?” 

 

Questions like these are important questions for Catholics to be able to answer. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) #1420-1498 presents a thorough teaching about this sacrament, also called “Penance” or “Reconciliation.” I will offer brief answers to these important questions in the paragraphs that follow.   

 

Jesus came into the world to save it. He established His Church on the foundation of the Twelve Apostles to continue his saving work. When Jesus’ time on earth came to an end, He sent the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles giving them authority to baptize, offer Mass, forgive sins, and to carry out all of Jesus’ saving actions throughout history. The Apostles and their successors, the bishops, make present the saving mysteries of Christ. Priests share in the ministry of the bishops, and so have the authority to minister most of the sacraments.

 

When Jesus walked on earth, many people challenged his authority to forgive sins: 

 

…they let down the mat on which the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their faith he said to the paralytic, ‘Child, your sins are forgiven.’ Now some of the scribes were sitting there asking themselves, ‘Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming. Who but God alone can forgive sins?’ [Jesus said]…‘But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins on earth’– he said to the paralytic, ‘I say to you, rise, pick up your mat, and go home.’   (Mk 2:3ff)                                                                         

 

The scribes could have asked: “why can’t the paralytic just go straight to God?” The paralytic could have. However, God has chosen to communicate his healing power in a special way through the concrete physical interaction that Jesus had with people. In the Gospels God prepared His people for the ministry of priests who act in the person of Christ. In this way, God’s love is much more accessible, personal, effective, and fruitful. Because our God is a personal God, He gives priests to minister personally to us. Priests mediate God’s healing presence in the sacraments to us, keeping them intensely personal encounters. 

 

One might just as well ask, “Why did God have to come to the earth in the person of Jesus Christ? Why wasn’t the God of the Old Testament powerful enough to forgive sins?” He was powerful enough to do so, but chose to come among us as a man to show us personally the way to life, and to share with us through the ministry of the Apostles and their successors the living waters of sacramental grace to help us on the way.

 

In John 20:22-24 Jesus appears to His apostles after the resurrection: “Jesus breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.’” Jesus gives power to forgive sins to His chosen men. 

 

Yes, confessing to a priest is difficult. I confess regularly and it is difficult, no doubt. However, good confessors never roll their eyes or judge us for our weaknesses. The priest is there to mediate the joy of new life in Christ, the mercy of God. Confession should be an experience of joy and freedom, not shame and guilt. Do not be afraid to be bold and dig deeply. The deeper you dig, the greater the healing and joy you will experience in your confession. Do not be afraid to give everything to God.

 

Fr. Will 

 

PS. Here at St. Mary’s, Confessions are heard one hour before every Sunday Mass and thirty minutes before weekday Masses. We will have an Advent Penance Service with individual confession on December 2.