The priest-professor who taught the course on the sacrament of Penance in the seminary I attended said that a good confessor needs to have a clear belief in two things — the mercy of God and the existence of hell.
God’s mercy makes the confessor’s task a source of healing and peace in the lives of those who own up to their sins with true sorrow and contrition. By his patience and kindness in the confessional, he makes himself available to help the many souls who believe that there is a way out of the guilt they experience for wrong they have done. The words of absolution lift the weight of sin from the shoulders of contrite penitents. The priest’s advice and encouragement help them redirect their lives to the path of virtue and holiness.
Confession is good for the soul because it restores and/or strengthens God’s grace. The humbling act of admitting one’s sins is a step in the direction of heaven. God’s mercy makes God’s punishment for sin disappear for repentant sinners. What a joyful gift from our good God.
The existence of hell means that the confessor’s task is deadly serious — he is the rescuer of those who are walking dangerously on the edge of the precipice of eternal damnation. Sin is not simply a deficient lifestyle choice with no eternal consequences. Mortal sin is akin to a pre-reservation for a one-way ticket to eternal perdition. Those who persist in their sinful ways are getting closer each day to purchasing that ticket, the cost of which is unending sorrow and despair in hell.
A priest who warns sinners not to take a casual approach to mortal sin runs the risk of being called a rigorist. Such criticism should be ignored. Catholics who come to Confession are looking for pardon for offenses they have committed. Minimizing the gravity of sin is a mistake and disorients those who have come to seek God’s pardon in Confession precisely because they feel crushed in spirit by the weight of their sins.
The priest-professor I mentioned above was named pastor of a parish a few years after I was ordained. One of the good changes he made in the parish schedule was to start hearing Confessions before Mass on Sunday. He would sit in the confessional as people entered the church before Mass began. He realized that priests need to make it easy for people to get to Confession, so why not offer it when people are already going to be in church? The doughnut salesman is wise to set up his shop next to the coffee shop.
I preach about Confession with some regularity, but the numbers coming to Confession are relatively small. We need to remind ourselves that there are two sacraments that we can and should receive frequently: Holy Communion and Confession. I suspect that many people who attend Mass regularly have decided that since they have not committed any mortal sin, they do not need to go to Confession. It is true that venial sin is forgiven by asking God’s pardon without need for Confession. Yet the sacramental grace received when one confesses even just venial sin is a great help in developing a closer union with Christ.
My seminary professor was a holy priest who loved Christ and His Church. That is why he taught us that Confession is a great gift from God that bestows peace, joy, and salvation from eternal damnation upon His children who seek pardon in this sacrament of God’s mercy. Let’s take God up on his offer and make a good Confession on a regular basis.