“Why Do We Need Confession?

”
March 17, 2010, St. Albert the Great

In answering the question, “Why do we need confession?” I am going to

offer a few possible answers.

1) First, from Scripture. Why do we need confession? Because God says

so. Look at the Old Testament and see how much of it is geared at
conversion, change of heart. At its heart the Old Testament is a story of how
God’s people broke their covenant with Him and need to return to Him.
This is the tradition of the Prophets who called the people of their own time
to conversion.

I am reminded of the beautiful passage from the Prophet Ezekiel (11:19-20):

“I will give them a new heart and put a new spirit within them; I will remove
their stony hearts, and replace them with natural hearts, so that they will live
according to my statutes, and observe and carry out my ordinances; thus they
shall be my people and I will be their God.” I will take away their stony
hearts and give them natural hearts – that’s conversion – that’s turning from
the people that WE sometimes want to be and instead become the people
that GOD wants us to be.

And we can also look to the words of the author of the 51st Psalm which is as
much of an “act of contrition” than any words ever said: “Have mercy on
me, God, in your goodness; in your compassion blot out my offense. Wash
me more and more from my guilt; cleanse me from my sin. For I know my
offense; my sin is always before me. Against you alone have I sinned; I
have done such evil in your sight. You are just in your sentence, blameless
when you condemn. Cleanse me, that I may be pure; wash me, make me
whiter than snow. Let me hear sounds of joy and gladness; let the bones you
have crushed rejoice. Turn away your face from my sins; blot out all my
guilt.”

And in the New Testament, the theme of conversion continues – John the
Baptist preached a baptism of repentance. And Jesus begins his own
ministry proclaiming (Matthew 1:15): “This is the time of fulfillment. The
Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel.”

You may think at this point . . . conversion – OK, that’s in the Bible, but not
confession. There are many Christians and maybe even a significant number
of Catholics who say – “I don’t need to confess my sins to a priest, I can tell
Jesus and he will forgive me.” I don’t need any kind of mediator.

What is interesting, however, is that the Bible attests to the need for
mediators. And even non-Catholic Christians use mediators for baptism;
think about it – Christians denominations – even those who celebrate
baptism in adulthood and not infancy – don’t allow someone to baptize
themselves. The sacred is always mediated – at least here on earth. In
heaven, there won’t be any mediation because we’ll be in God’s presence.
So unfortunately, as a priest I will be out of work!

But here on earth, we need mediation, we need to confess our sins to one
another – someone who stands in the place of Christ. Of course, it’s not that
I who forgive sins in confession; but Christ working through the priest. I
know a priest who often says in confession: “What do you want to tell Jesus;
and please allow me to listen in.”

The importance of confession and the need for a priest – a human mediator
-- is attested to in the New Testament. The passage that the Church often
cites as proof of Christ instituting this sacrament is John 20:21-23: “‘Jesus
said to his disciples, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I
send you.’ And when he had said this, he 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.’" Whose sins you forgive, are forgiven.
And we believe that Christ couldn’t have wanted this form of ministry to
simply stop at the death of the apostles and disciples but was meant to
continue through those chosen to minister in His name.

But there is other evidence: The Letter of James 5:15 which explains the
origin of both the sacrament of confession and anointing of the sick: “Is
anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone among you sick?
He should summon the priests of the church, and they should pray over him
and anoint (him) with oil in the name of the Lord, and the prayer of faith will
save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed any
sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and
pray for one another, that you may be healed.” Confess your sins to one
another.

The Old Testament prophets prefigure it and Christ and the early Church
witness to the need for us to confess our sins and receive forgiveness.
2) We know we need to be forgiven – not because of the Scriptures – but
because we know innately – in the core of our being. I remember before I
was ordained, I spent a summer as a chaplain at the Veterans Hospital in
Cincinnati as part of my training for the priesthood. I visited people of all
faiths or no faith at all. I remember encountering a man who knew he was in
the last weeks of his life – he recounted to me his life story, and not just the
good times, the things he was proud of, but also the bad things, the choices
he made, actions he had done, things he hadn’t done – all for which he was
sorry. I remember thinking – this is like confession – except that he’s not
Catholic and I’m not a priest.

Confession is naturally cathartic – a form of cleansing – that has not only a

divine dimension, but a human one as well. And that’s how we were created
– to have our sins forgiven (the divine part) and free ourselves of our
mistakes and misdeeds (a very human reality).

And it’s been my experience that those who return to the sacrament after 10
or 20 years don’t do so because of preaching or teaching or the Scriptures –
but because of an inner restlessness, a sense of shame, the pain that comes
with sin. And that’s when they seek out the Lord through confession – when
they’ve bottomed out in a way and want a new start.

As a priest, it’s an amazing moment when someone approaches the

sacrament after so many years – desiring a new start – desiring conversion of
life.

3) We need confession – not because we have it all figured out – but because
it is a mystery. If we could humanly understand this sacrament – if we knew
how sins were forgiven and if we could all forgive sins – well then we
wouldn’t need God. But because it’s a mystery – His mystery – it shows we
need Him. Sometimes I say that before I say the words of absolution. I say
something like – “We may not be able to understand how it is possible, but
we trust that these are the words that forgive sins: “God the Father of
mercies, through the death and resurrection of his son, has reconciled the
world to himself and sent the Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of
sins. Through the ministry of the Church may God give you pardon and
peace and absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the
Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”
4) Lastly, we need confession because it promises MORE than the
forgiveness of sins. Forgiveness would certainly be enough of a reason to
approach this sacrament, but confession promises STRENGTHENING to
avoid sin in the future. Many aren’t aware of this . . . that Christ strengthens
us with His grace to avoid sin – even the ones that we often feel tempted to
fall into.

And now some practical issues –

Examination of conscience (be specific)
Frequency – at least twice a year (every few months is probably better)
(helps us to remember our sins)
Penances – do them and ask for another if you can’t complete it
Trust in God’s forgiveness – that’s one way the devil words, convincing us
that we aren’t forgiven