DESPITE THE FACT THAT I KNOW I WOULD BE HAPPIER IN THE LONG RUN IF I JUST CLEANED MY ROOM

Last night was the diocesan wide Night of Confessions.  For three hours Fr. Anthony, Fr. Miller and I manned the confessionals at St. Sebastian and heard pretty steady confessions all night.  Fr. Pfeiffer joined us for dinner after and we talked about what a wonderful experience it was for us.

But more importantly it was the satisfying experience of those who went to confession.  The absolute relief many people expressed when they finished was an honor to witness.  I made the comment that I wonder why more people don’t take advantage of this.

Well, maybe I don’t wonder that much.  First, there is the courage it takes to make a good confession.  No matter much relief there may be after, you still have to have the courage to go in the first place.  One of my relatives just had knee surgery.  Now she is SO glad that she had it done.  Life is so much easier (and pain free.)  But still, before hand she had to work up the gumption to go into the hospital and have the surgery done in the first place.

Then there are all of the typical arguments that people have:  Why should I tell my sins to another human being?  Why do I need a priest to absolve me?  I can just tell my sins to God . . . and there are all kinds of responses to this but here is one very human reason why should do this:

It works.  Jung who was developing his psychological treatments in Vienna found that most of his patients were Protestants and Jews despite the fact that most of the population was Catholic.  This led him to speculate that the Sacrament of Reconciliation makes psychiatry much less necessary.  The sacramental practice already largely handled (and had for 2,000 years) what psychiatry was developed to do.  No wonder Jesus gave it to us.  It is good for us.

Not that we do it in order to feel good.  But it is a nice side benefit.  So why don’t more people do it?  Why don’t they exercise and diet more?  Why not read better books?  Why not expose themselves to well produced art?  Why not fix up their houses?  We know we would be so much happier in life.

Why not?

GUEST BLOGGER - IS IT TIME TO RETURN TO THE SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION?

Guest Blogger:  I am happy to have as our Guest Blogger today Deacon Michael Petkosek.  He won't be a deacon much longer as he will (if God wills it!) become a priest for the Diocese of Cleveland this spring.  Here is a reflection he gave on returning to Confession in the advent season.  Thank you Deacon Petkosek.  Please keep him & his class in your prayers!

My return to the active practice of the faith took place on a Saturday afternoon in 2006. I was a young professional and had just begun my career at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. The ruckus of college living had by then settled into a more mature focus on career and the necessities of life. Spurred by the disciplined atmosphere at Wright-Patterson of serving something beyond oneself, I began a serious reflection on faith and the state of my life. It had been years since I last celebrated the Sacrament of Reconciliation and I knew that I had misarranged my life during that intervening time. And so it was that I turned off college football on this particular autumn Saturday, sat in the corner of my bedroom, and practiced out loud the words of an honest confession. Then I went to the local parish to come face to face with God through his priest, and found the welcoming forgiveness of the Prodigal Father. I was home.

Returning to the Sacrament of Reconciliation can be difficult if we have been away. Often, as in my case, the weight of a misdirected life compels us to return and we find ourselves finally running in desperation to the Church and her ministry. But that is not necessarily everyone’s story, and sometimes we may need the right situation to draw us toward this sacrament that we know ourselves to need. Advent is that situation.

The Season of Advent is the turning of the liturgical year for the Church. It is a time of hope that anticipates Christmas and invites us to renew and deepen our life in Christ. A feeling of resolution pervades the whole Church as she resets her calendar, and the opportunity for a fresh start calls us to make resolutions in our practice of the faith that will enrich our lives this Christmas, over the coming year, and for the eternity of our existence.

An examination of Christ’s ministry may help to lessen our fears if we are struggling with the courage to approach the Sacrament of Reconciliation. We should keep in mind that when it comes to the forgiveness of sins, we are dealing with something that Christ did during his time on earth. The Evangelists clearly regarded Jesus as someone who possessed the authority to forgive sins and exercised this divine prerogative. We need to look no further than Jesus’ encounters with the paralytic in Mark’s Gospel, the woman caught in adultery of John’s Gospel, or the sinful woman forgiven in Luke’s Gospel to find the early Church’s profession of faith in Jesus’ ministry of forgiveness. We should also be encouraged by the reality that it is this same ministry that continues in the Church. It is in John’s Gospel, where the Last Supper Narrative most directly relates to the continuation of Jesus’ work through service to others, that these words are attributed to our Lord, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you… Receive the holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them…” (20:21-23). There is not a more clear Biblical account that situates the forgiveness of sins as an action of the Church. 

Coming to grips with our sinfulness can be scary. But, we should not let ourselves be fooled by the false notion of God as an administrator of punishment. The Good News is that God loves us in the midst of our sin and is constantly at work in drawing us to himself, even when this takes the form of being called back to God—like my experience of return from a misarranged life. In the Parable of the Prodigal Son, the other half of the story is the Prodigal Father who never stops loving his wayward son. The father so hopes for his son’s return that, upon seeing him afar off, runs to meet him and never speaks of the incident in any other manner than my son has returned. The son had suffered the consequences of his actions—the effects of sin—but these are repaired upon returning to his father. The son is restored immediately by a father who longs for his presence. This Prodigal Father is God and the entire parable represents the experience of our sin. God is always eager for our return and the Sacrament of Reconciliation brings us back into the Father’s house, clothed with dignity, as the Prodigal Son was restored to his father’s house.

The celebration of the sacrament is meant to be an experience much like a Gospel encounter with Christ. We should say to the priest what we would say to Jesus if we were a penitent who encountered Jesus in a Gospel story, for indeed we are. The stern formality once associated with the sacrament exists today only as a caricature portrayed by the entertainment media. Instead, the rubrics of the liturgical rite that guide the celebration of the sacrament are almost transparent and are intended to facilitate a conversation. The priest is to serve as a visible instance of God’s welcome and mercy, someone who helps us to experience what the paralytic, the woman caught in adultery, and the sinful woman once experienced. The Church’s intention is to invite us to make a thoughtful examination of our conscience—to help us evaluate our circumstances honestly as did the Prodigal Son. We are not necessarily directed to produce an exhaustive list our venial sins, but a state of our life at the present moment; we should talk about sinfulness as much as we name specific instances of sin. Of course, any grave sins that an examination does reveal to us need to be named specifically in the confession. 

As we approach Advent, my hope is that you will desire to encounter Christ through his ongoing ministry in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The Father desires this privileged encounter with his mercy for you; the priest in the confessional is the Prodigal Father running to meet you. I can attest that that Saturday in 2006 was a Gospel story that has been added to the entirety of Christ’s work. In the Story of the Young Professional, I am as a contemporary of the Prodigal Son. May this Advent lead you to the same joy, especially if you have been away. 

15 SUGGESTIONS FOR REVITALIZING THE SACRAMENT OF CONFESSION LOCALLY

We often hear that the sacrament of confession is dead.  I don’t buy it.  I think it is like a local restaurant that I like that has inconvenient hours and even when I make it a point of going to their horrible hours it is closed on that particular day or the owners are on vacation and have a sign tacked to the door.  I show up with friends only to be turned away.  After a while it falls off of my radar screen and I don’t even think to go until some bazar thing happens like finding myself in front of the store just when I happen to be hungry.  Thank goodness the wait staff is good and they don’t run out of my choice (too often.)  How they stay open I don’t know.  Likewise it is amazing that the sacrament of confession is still in use for these same reasons!  There must be something about it that it still survives at all!  We’ve done just about everything we can do to kill yet it remains more resilient than Godzilla.  

I don’t claim to have all of the answers, but here are 15 suggestions on how (in the long term) to take the sacrament from being Wall Flower at the dance (there but not very popular) to at least being the punch bowl attendant (still not overly popular, but most will at least stop by when they are thirsty.)

1)  If you are in an area with parishes in relatively easy driving distance, don’t have confessions at the exact same time as everybody else.  If someone can’t make it to one, they can’t make it to any of them.

1. Have more than one scheduled opportunity to go to confession and at different times of the day.  Once again, if someone can’t make your Tuesday night confessions because of work, they will never have the opportunity.  Or if they work nights and you only have night time confessions . . . 
2. Don’t rely on “confessions by appointment.”  I didn’t even go to see my doctor when I thought I was having a stroke because it seemed like such a bother.  (I know, I know.)  And this is much more important.  “By appointment” is largely for trauma cases, the super comfortable person, and 5th steps.
3. When starting a new confessions time, it takes months of getting the word out for people to really start taking advantage of it.  It has to enter their consciousness.  That takes a while.  Commit for at least half of a year (part of it in a penitential season) before deciding if it is a poor time to have the sacrament.
4. Do NOT cancel confessions.  Think of the poor soul hanging on the faith by their fingernails that FINALLY worked up the nerve to go to confession only to show up and find out that there are no confessions that day for some mysterious reason.  But if there are times that you must cancel, make sure that it is well announced and advertised and that there is a sign on the door explaining the extraordinary circumstances.
5. Nothing will work if you don’t preach it.  There are great events that I want to attend in my own area of West Akron - BIG ONES - and I miss them because they don’t cross my mind.  I get on with life and the next thing I know I’ve missed them for another year.  You don’t have to beat people over the head with sin - but we do need reminding.
6. Advertise.  Make sure that the bulletin, the parish signs and the web site all list confession times clearly and that the information is accurate.
7. Pray for those who would benefit from going to confession.  Ask their guardian angels to get them there.
8. Even if you are a lion in the pulpit, be encouraging and merciful in the confessional.  Your reputation will proceed you.
9. The biggest and most common complaints that I hear in the confessional are:  The priest talks too much, the priest didn’t let me finish, the priest told me I don’t need confession for one reason or another (my sins weren’t big enough).  I’m sure there are grave deficiencies in my methods that this or that person does not appreciate.  That’s why it’s good to have other priests available when possible.  
10. Find ways to stop someone who is at confession more for counseling than confession.  Can you imagine showing up early for confessions that only lasts for a half an hour and the person two people in front of you being in there for 20 minutes?  Sometimes I will say to such a person, “This sounds like it needs attention outside of the sacrament.  Let’s continue this conversation later in the rectory.”
    
11. Do what you can to make confession obvious and welcoming. Make the church look open.  (Have the lights on.)  Have confessions in an obvious place (not a side room that people should just know to go to.)  Make it as private (sound proof) as possible.  
12. Let people know that if they have not been to confession in a long time and are afraid that they forget how to go or don’t remember prayers that you will talk them through it.  It will be just fine.  In this case getting to confession is more important than remembering how to do it exactly correctly.
13. Let people know where they can find an examination of conscience.  (There are oodles of them on line for various persons and vocations.)
14. Advertise the times of surrounding parishes (if there are any close) for people to go to if they are ashamed/embarrassed/uncomfortable/just-plain-not-of-a-mind to go to their parish priests.
15. When handling large groups of confessions such as for a school, do not rely all the time on the rite for group confessions.  From the start, people need to learn how to and be comfortable with going to confession on their own.  
    

Yes it’s a pain.  Yes, it’s time consuming.  Yes, there are more and more things required of priests.  Yes, it can be trying sitting in the box on a day that is slow on confessions.  But really there are few things more important than for the father of a congregation to be with his people when they need healing.  

I FIRMLY RESOLVE

If you are Catholic and you didn’t make a New Year’s resolution may I suggest that you don’t bother.  They are quite ridiculous for the most part.  When was the last time you heard anybody at a New Year’s Eve party talk about being successful at fulfilling the previous year’s resolutions?  Most resolutions are wishes and seem so big that after trying for a month (or a day) they are conveniently forgotten.  

Far more realistic are the resolutions we make

all during the year particularly when preparing for and celebrating the sacrament of confession.  For those who practice regularly (monthly) we have the constant reviewing of what is going well in our lives and where we are missing the mark, to identify weaknesses, build on strengths, and making resolutions to do better over the next four weeks.  Unlike a New Year’s resolution, it isn’t fixing everything with one day’s fell swoop resolve, it is the inching every day toward that better version of the self with the constant help of self review and Divine assistance.  It is a far better plan than a once-a-year promise made after one glass of champagne too many.

So perhaps there is a great New Year’s resolution after all: to make better and more regular use of the sacrament of resolutions: The sacrament of Penance. 

WELL, THAT WAS WIERD

It wasn’t a nightmare, but just the same it was a disturbing dream last night and its been difficult to shake.

The place of the dream was my sister’s house, the cast of characters was her cat and me.  I was working on some kind of project when it the thought came that what might solve the problem is a cat’s paw.  So I reached over to the cat, and remember, this was a dream, snapped off it’s front, right paw.  Being a dream, there was no blood, no mess, the cat didn’t even seem to mind that much.

Almost immediately it became clear that the problem with the project was not going to be solved by a cat’s paw.  It seemed so obvious that it would before hand but having done the deed, the futility of it became apparent.

Then the reality of what I had done became clear.  My sister would be home soon and she would see the cat.  There was no way to re-attach the leg even in such a wacky dream.  The cat seemed to be doing well on it’s three remaining legs and I knew that many four legged animals had lived happy lives on just three legs.  But none of the would help when my sister came home.  This was a gross act of selfishness and her disappointment was already palpable in my imagination.

The cat problem couldn’t be solved or covered up.  There was only one course of action.  I would have to confess to my selfishness.  But the thought of doing so was unbearable - that I had done something so horrible to my sister who does so much for me.  I was ashamed and desperate to find a way out but it seemed so hopeless.  I would have to face her.

Then the happy thought came that I could simply wake up.  What a relief!  And then I did much to my great joy.

It bothered me for some time after: Why would I have this dream in the first place?  The thing that clicked in my mind is that this is what facing our sins before God is like.  If we sinned and then were to see God as He is, He Who is Love, Life, Compassion, Mercy and Joy, the weight of our own sins would crush us.  They would be too much to bear.  Thanks be to God that He gave us the wonderful sacrament of confession to rid us of these terrible weights.  When we realize the gravity of our sins, we have a way to wake from them - shake them off with the morning dreams, and start anew.  

MONDAY DIARY: ALMOST EXCRUCIATINGLY TRUE STORIES: IN KNEW I SHOULD HAVE TAKEN THE LEFT TURN AT ALBUQUERQUE

I think the rumors of the death of the sacrament of reconciliation are greatly exaggerated.  I've been hearing about experiences at other parishes (at least from my confreres around the Akron area) and the news is good!  So good that I beg you to pray for and encourage vocations before things get too desperate!

Last week alone, at St. Sebastian, we had over ten hours of confession not including confessions for school, PSR, appointments, and helping at other parishes.  And lines were long, constant, and we often went over.  It led to this conversation with a parishioner:

JUST HOW EXCITED SHOULD WE BE?

NPR had a story on yesterday.  Later this year, Pope Francis is going to declare a year of mercy.  During that year, a priest may absolve penitents for the sin of abortion.  "But it is a limited time offer," NPR reminds us.  At the end of the year, things revert to they way they were.

Now, it is true that abortion is a reserved sin that may only be forgiven by the bishop.  This is because it is seen as an attack on the most vulnerable among us.  It is doing away with a life that can be hidden, legally protected, and forgotten.  And it is being reported as an extraordinary moment in the life of the Church, not to signal a change in Church teaching or to say this sin is any less severe, but to show mercy to those who need it.

The problem is, most Catholics will not notice a difference before the Year of Mercy, during the Year of Mercy, or after the Year of Mercy.  That is because as a practice, bishops have already given that authority (which is within their authority) to their priests.  It is a long standing practice already.  What does make this extraordinary is that the practice is coming all the way from the pope (for there are some bishops in the world that still adhere to this.)  Also, remember, John Paul II gave the same permission in 1983.  So although pastorally this is phenomenal, most people won't notice any real changes here.

The bigger news in my estimation (one that will show a change before, during, and after) is the recognition for a priest of the Society of Saint Pius X to hear confessions at all.  During this Year of Mercy the faithful may approach priest of SSPX, and go to a valid confession.

Wow.

Wow.

Wow.

That is news,

But it is not the Year of Mercy yet.  Go to you local priest until December and then you have a year, if you should so desire, to go to an SSPX priest.

FRIDAY POTPOURRI: MEA MAXIMA CULPA

GIRM paragraph 51

 

"Before we get started I just want to apologize for any way in which I may have offended you."

 

That was easy enough to type, a lot more difficult to say in person.  Employers and politicians are wary of apologizing.  It might make them liable to a law suit because they have admitted to some fault. 

 

For an individual to apologize is often difficult.  It seems to place one at an instant disadvantage.

 

The Church is sometimes cautious about apologizing.  It took a long time, in many cases, for the right people to apologize for the sexual scandal.

 

We have had three popes now that have done an awful lot of official apologizing for the corporate body of the Church.  Granted, for many, no matter how much they apologize and attempt to change things, it will never be enough.  On the other hand, the cleared air makes many more ears open.  The strain and tension that closed ears off can open those ears and hearts once more to hear.  I know that if someone at least acknowledges that I have been hurt in some way, I can then hear them better.  It is a means of repairing relationships, opening pathways, clearing the air, calming troubled brows enough to make new progress.

So it is with us and God and the Mass.  Before we enter into the big stuff, we take a moment to recall our sins. 

 

"Brethren (brothers and sisters), let us acknowledge our sins, and so prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries."

 

So, a couple of important things:

 

1. This is an opportunity to which you are invited.  If someone chooses to think about the grocery list instead of their sins at the moment, he misses out.

 

2. If a person misses out, will he be fully disposed (healed, aware, open) to all of the graces available at the Mass?

 

3. And the inviter NEEDS TO GIVE PEOPLE TIME TO CALL TO MIND THEIR SINS IF HE IS GOING TO ASK THEM TO DO SO.  In the General Instruction it calls for a brief pause for silence and in the place where the prayer is located it says again, "a brief pause for silence follows." 

 

If we don't do these things, can we continue to believe they have any efficacy (even if the absolution that follows does not have the same efficacy as the sacrament of Penance.)

 

As  side note, from time to time the Penitential Rite can be substituted with other things.  One in particular mentioned in this paragraph is the blessing and sprinkling of holy water which reminds us of our baptism.  This may be done "from time to time" and only on Sundays, but particularly in the Easter season.

HOW TO WIN A WAR

 

What is the best way to get over a chronic sin?

 

A)    Stop going to confession until you have it handled?

B)    Skip confessing the particular sin because it is an addiction?

C)    Confess it regularly over and over and over?

 

I think intellectually Catholics would say “C” but in practice choose “A”.  It can be embarrassing and humbling to confess the same sin regularly.  It dents our self-esteem.  It bursts the bubble of our self-mastery.  But you don’t get over a toothache by avoiding the faulty tooth.  You don’t mend a relationship by taking time apart.  And healing from sin comes through the Church with touch and prayer – the interaction of persons in community with God.

 

I had a chiropractor for a spell that I would go to see when my back hurt.  I would tell him that I had some big work to do and that I didn’t come to see him until after it was done so he could fix my back.  He chided me and said that the time to come to see him was BEFORE I did the “back breaking” work so that I could do the work more healthily. 

 

Do you have a problem with sin “A”?  Go to confession at least once a month even if you don’t “need” it.  Have the graces to see you through the temptation to come.  Pray for strength when you are strong.  Don’t wait until you are lonely, angry, hungry, or tired – don’t wait until temptation is pulling on your arm and whispering in your ear.  Don’t get caught at battle time naked.  Be prepared!

 

And don’t despair the lost battle.  It is not about the battle, it is about the war.  Go to confession.  Confess boldly.  Receive your new breastplate, new sword, new helmet, and charge out into battle.  If your sword is broken or your helmet dented, come back and get a new one.  Employ what you learned in battle.  Try a new strategy.  Nerve your arms and head back out into battle.  Do so bravely, confidently, prayerfully, dutifully.  Your opponent is counting on your discouragement.  Laugh at him as you stand in the confessional line.

 

N.B.  This weekend is Divine Mercy Sunday!  Check out your parish’s confession schedule!

MONDAY DIARY: ALMOST EXCRUCIATINGLY TRUE STORIES: OMG

Being advent it is confession season again.  Lot's O' school confessions, long lines at regular confession times, and extra confessions such as this coming Sunday when St. Sebastian, St. Vincent and St. Bernard will have a night of confessions at each of our places from 6:30 to 8:30.

 

That also means listening to the Act of Contrition a lot . . .

It is more difficult than you might imagine helping someone "finish" any particular Act of Contrition.  It depends how old they are, where they went to school, and what was in fashion at the time.  If they employ "Thee"s or "You"s is only a minor consideration.  Sadly, the grand, awe inspired, pleasings sounding "O" seems to be passing away.  When someone is stuck, it was easy to say, "O" and they would run on with, "my God I am heartily sorry . . ."  Oh "O", I am afraid that you have gone out of fashion.  But I shall keep you in my trunk of "old fashioned" things (such as vinyl records) until such day we discover we have no idea how we lived without you.

 

Trying to figure out from where some of these Acts of Contrition are coming, I (actually) looked on Wickipedia to find out.  (Not a place I would normally go for such things.)  But lo!  There they were!  They were titled:

 

"Popular American English Version"

"Popular Catholic American English Version"

"Another Popular American English Version"

"Popular Canadian English Version" (Which seems to be the one making the rounds now.)

"Modern Version Taught in Religious Education"

 

Most of them are SO close.  And often people mix them up anyway half way between the one they learned in grade school and what they are currently teaching their children.  So when they get stuck in the middle and say, "Ugh!  What's the next line Father?" I don't know.  The chart below shows why.  It is all the possible directions it might go.

Sometimes I try.  Sometimes I say, "You know, you can make it up."  Sometimes I say, "Just repeat after me."  But here is a sure winner from the Rites book:

EVEN THOUGH THEY SAID NOT TO, I ALWAYS FEARED THAT I WOULD LOOK AT THE FLASH

Do you remember fire drills?  Do you remember tornado drills?  Do you remember nuclear bomb drills?  Welcome now to the age of deranged shooter drills.  Statistically, none of these things will happen to your school or the schools around you, but it happens often enough that it is wise to be prepared.  Statistics are not really 10%, 20%, or even 70%.  For you, it is either 0% or 100%.

I remember seeing this movie in gradeschool.  Somehow I never believed my desk would protect me from a bomb.

 

I hate that we have to practice lock downs and evacuations.  But what I do like is what a Catholic parish school can bring to the mix that nobody else can.  It is the same balm that is of aid for those going to help with the Ebola virus, the wars we are continually gearing up for, and freaky things like the school bus driver who died yesterday saving a 9 year old from the path of a runaway bus.  It is the sacrament of confession.

 

If you are part of the 100% statistic instead of the 0%, some may see it as simply tragic.  But we believe in everlasting life and being prepared for it whenever it should come.  This sacrament makes us always prepared.  Our goal is not to be here forever.  We are waiting in the airport terminal.  Granted, it is a great airport and is meant to be enjoyed.  But it is an airport, not our destination.  In this crazy age when planes are cancelled, rescheduled, or change locations, we must be prepared.  It doesn’t matter when the plane leaves, the point is to be on the plane when it does.  That means being vigilant; making sure the bases are covered; and having soul and body ready to go when the time comes.

IN THIS WORLD AND IN THE NEXT TO COME

I was thinking some more about the topic of yesterday’s post and whereas the points made yesterday may have some impact for society at large, there is another factor that is of particular concern for Catholics.  There was a time when the state and the Church were more united and at a time (as we still do today) when state executions took place.  One of the most grave punishments was to be executed without benefit of confession.  The (faulty) theory was that not only would you be separated from the community and be punished in this life, you would be separated from the communion of saints and punished in the next.  The consequences for the crime would be eternal.

 

Side note:  Of course there are some faulty points in this theory.  The persons so mentioned were being denied confession, they were not avoiding it.  God Who is so powerful and merciful that He can work through His sacraments can also work outside of them in necessity.  So if there was a person who was sincerely repentant and desired greatly to go to confession but the powers that be denied him access to the sacrament out of a sense of justice, do you really think God would then punish the truly repentant person for all eternity for something outside his power?

 

But what if we change the scenario a bit?  Let’s say the person who committed a crime has no intention of confessing his or her sin.  The person has great opportunities to go to confession, to be forgiven, but chooses not to.  What then?  “I know I can be forgiven and I have opportunity, but I choose not to.”

 

Ouch.

 

So revisiting yesterday, let’s say we start breaking the seal for very good reasons.  For certain crimes, Rome starts giving permission for priests to report to the authorities what was said.  (It won’t happen, but what if?)  Aside from what was talked about yesterday, it would also mean persons most in need of confession would stop coming.  They have access, but choose not to make things right with God.  So now, not only will they not speak with a person who might press them to make things right in this world, they will also not speak with the person who will help them make things right in the next.

ALWAYS CONSIDER THE BLOW BACK

You may have heard that the Louisiana Supreme Court has ordered a priest to violate the seal of confession.  You can read more about that story here.

 

Now here’s the thing: The argument is that the penitent is said to have agreed that priest who allegedly hear her confession may reveal what was said.  Also, it sounds as though there was the possibility that the priest gave her really bad advice (an understatement if it is true.)  And would it not be great to have evidence against a child molester?  Why not then, in this one instance, allow the seal to be broken?

 

Here are a number of reasons why: First, the breaking of the seal of confession brings with it the automatic censure of excommunication.  No trial.  No paperwork.  It’s done when the acts occur and nothing can reveres it except a direct action of the pope.  And can you imagine calling the pope and saying, “Excuse me.  I broke the seal of confession.  Would you please let me back in to practice again?  I’ll get it right this time.”

 

More importantly for the greater world society however is that once the seal is broken for one really good case, it is broken forever.  Right now, people who have done truly horrendous things and would not tell anybody on the face of the earth (save for those who think what they did was Okay) would tell a priest in confession knowing the information dies right there.  The advantage of this is that here is one of the only places on the face of the earth where such a perpetrator can meet with another human being and be told, “That was wrong.  You need to do something about it.  Your very soul is at stake.”  Break the seal and that doesn’t mean these people will be reported, it means they will no longer speak to the one person who might convince them to do something.

 

Another thing to consider is the girl’s desire to have her seal broken.  She gave up the right did she not?  But think of pornography.  The persons filmed and displayed freely give up their human dignity so there really isn’t a problem right?  Wrong.  Their dignity is not ours to play with even if they freely reject it.  We owe them their dignity whether they seem to want it or not.  The seal is fixed even if someone decides they want it broken.  That is why when someone tells me something in the confessional I remind them that I cannot act on that information and if they want to talk about outside of the confessional they will need to tell me the story again.

 

Lastly, to break the seal is like relieving yourself in the pool.  You can say all that you want that is was only in the corner.  But everyone knows it affects the whole pool. 

ONLY ONE PER PERSON PLEASE

“That’s about all I got Father unless you have some suggestions.”

 

Occasionally this is a statement that comes up at the end of someone’s confessing of sins.  And sometimes I might offer a few suggestions of commonly unconsidered things.

 

Here is one example:  Remember when you were a kid and you abused your toys and received a lecture about, “Do you know hard your parents had to work to pay for that?  It is not going to be replaced simply because you abused it.  You need to learn to take care of your things . . . etc. . . “

 

In a similar vein I ask, “Are you taking care of your body?”

 

ü  Do you get enough sleep?

ü  Are you eating well?

ü  Are you exercising?

ü  Are you following the advice of your doctor?

ü  Are you dressing modestly?

ü  Are you careful about using your senses in what you read, watch, touch . . .

 

Your body is a great gift.  Through it you receive all the graces of God and in particular the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ.  It is a Temple of the Holy Spirit.  And it was a free gift to you.  No matter how far science advances, you only really get one body.  Like the rest of your possession it should be respected and treated well, given regular maintenance (like your house or car), and honored as a sacred gift given to you by Someone you love and Who loves you. 

THE ADVENT OF ADVENT

Advent is almost upon us and time to start thinking about what you might do to mark this oft neglected season.  Many people take advantage of making “straight the way of the Lord” by going to confession.  As you spend a little time over the next weeks considering what you have to confess, here is a short list of sins often looked over:

 

Praying daily.  The most used analogy in Scripture of how Jesus relates to His Church is bridegroom and bride; Jesus being the bridegroom and we the bride.  If that is so, how do you communicate with the divine spouse?  Would your spouse (or you) put up with it?  Would you go days without any intentional communication or when you do just grunt out a request for something?  If you’re not praying daily and adding thanks and praise and contrition along with petition, that is something that might need changed and confessed.

 

The Body:  Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit.  How do you treat your body?  Do you have the opportunity for enough sleep and not take it?  Do you eat enough (and not too much) and is what you consume good for you?  Do you get enough exercise?  Do you dress modestly?  Do you follow proper medical advice?  This body of yours is a gift.  How do you treat that gift?

 

Intake:  Are you careful about what comes in through the senses?  What do you listen to?  What do you look at or read? 

 

There was a holy day of obligation lately. 

 

Have you fulfilled your roles adequately?  These may include spouse, parent, friend, worker, student, son or daughter, sibling, citizen . . .

 

When someone has some heavy sins to confess, these are often overlooked.  And when people ask me, “Can you help me think of anything else?” I mention these and more often than not they hadn’t considered these.  So I offer them to you.  Hope they help.

I HAVE SOMETHING I NEED TO CONFESS TO YOU

“Yes, I saved America from complete annihilation.  But you have to understand, I was having a good day, my spouse was being extra kind, I was caught up at work and just received a raise, my son had just told me that he loved me and all that combined with a little bit of grace and luck made it all possible.  But yes, I did it.”

 

Okay, once in a blue moon you might hear someone speak thusly, but most of the time it’s, “Yah, I did that.  It was difficult, but I pulled it off in the end.  Thanks to everyone who helped me achieve such a great thing.”

 

The opposite seems to happen when we have sinned.  In a way, I think this is good.  We strongly desire to be aligned with the good and so want to identify the good more closely with ourselves.  And realizing that evil is ugly, disordered, destructive, and disdainful, often a person will, perhaps even unwittingly, try to distance himself from the action.

 

“Yes, I tried to annihilate America.  But you have to understand, I was having a very bad day, my spouse was nagging me, I was swamped at work and my boss was breathing down my neck, my kids were rebelling, and all that combined with a little drink and some sleepless nights led me to do it.  But, yes, I tried to do it.”

As a confessor, though in this latter scenario I can see true symptoms of goodness, (they are confessing after all!  Fantastic!  And they are trying to distance themselves from evil.  Good.) it seems to me they are just one final step away from greatness.  Responsibility and freedom.

 

Let me preface this by saying that confessions is not supposed to be a counseling session as an emergency room is not a place to have physical therapy.  Different arrangements are made for each of these.  The confessional is an emergency room for the soul.

 

So when someone comes in who is serious about finding healing for their wounds, it can be pretty impressive, but not as much so when followed by, “But . . .”  The “but” might be completely legitimate, but in this moment, is the penitent taking ownership of their actions, or are they saying that in some great extent, it really wasn’t their fault?  If it really wasn’t the penitent’s fault, that he was coerced, or forced, or deranged, then it really wasn’t completely in their free will that the person acted and then, perhaps, if completely coerced, not really a sin at all.  Put away the tickertape and the streamers, this heroic confession just turned ordinary.

 

In truth, I don’t think that the penitent really wants to deny that a particular action was really a sin (he or she is confessing it after all) and perhaps he is just trying to understand how he could have done such a thing.  So it isn’t really something on which to dwell in the confessional.  But here is a secret – according to the laws of the universe in relation to Free Will, we can only love to the extent that we can hate.  Not that we have to actually hate (or love) but we must be capable of it.  If we can not but love, then we have no Free Will – we are puppets on a string and we do not need a Savior.  But as it is, we are capable of hate (Sept. 11^th) and therefore capable of astronomical acts of love (World Youth Day).

 

In 1521 Martin Luther said, “If you sin, sin boldly!”  I do not hold to his advice but rather, “If you have sinned, confess boldly!”  In this way we take full ownership not only of our good works but of our sinful ones.  Presenting ourselves naked as it were before God, we can trust more boldly in his mercy, be that much more open to His grace, that much more unburdened, have that much more joy, be much more healed, experience that much more freedom, and be reminded also how great a capacity we have for love.