Snatched from the gates of Hell
I’ll never forget what the priest told me after my first confession at age 38:
“You’ve been snatched from the gates of Hell.”
This was March 25th, the Feast of the Annunciation, 1999. My 38 years worth of sins filled several pages. When I got home, I burned the paper.
Yes, it was humiliating to say out loud all the terrible things I’ve done. Yet you can’t imagine what a blessed relief it was (and still is) to hear the priest say:
“I absolve you from your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”
Many people say:
“I don’t need to confess my sins to a priest—I go straight to Jesus.”
Let’s examine that statement, shall we?
Confessing your sins to a priest is confessing your sins to Jesus, because the priest stands in persona Christi, that is, in the person of Christ. But confessing your sins out loud to a priest forces you to face squarely what you have done. And gives you the opportunity to receive counsel and do the penance the priest gives you.
When you skip the priest and whisper your sins to Jesus as you drift off to sleep, you don’t get any counsel or penance. It’s not nearly embarrassing enough. Plus it doesn’t require any discipline or firm purpose of amendment.
Do you think Jesus doesn’t already know your sins? Of course, He does. So confession is primarily an exercise in humility for you, the sinner, to realize and be sorry for what you have done.
To make a good confession, you must:
- Examine your conscience.
- Be sorry for your sins.
- Resolve not to sin again.
- Tell your sins to the priest.
- Do the penance the priest gives you.
