I have a confession to make … I love Confession. Throughout my life, the sacrament of reconciliation has been a consistent place of restoration and reminder of God’s enduring love for me. There’s something so powerful and human about expressing, out loud, our sinful thoughts and actions, and then hearing, out loud, the words of absolution. Our entire selves are activated in those brief moments: body, mind and spirit. We enter the confessional broken, bruised and in some way separated from God and leave healed, forgiven and re-connected with our loving and generous Father. But we need to address the elephant in the room: confession can be intimidating and even a bit scary. It’s completely understandable that the prospect of admitting our sinful behavior to another human being seems daunting, unnecessary or traumatic. However, the sacrament is one of Jesus’ great gifts to us, so here are a few reminders to help us approach confession with a bit less trepidation!

The priest represents Jesus, he’s heard it all before, and he doesn’t keep thinking about your sins after you’re done.

The Catechism reminds us that “the priest is fulfilling the ministry of the Good Shepherd who seeks the lost sheep, of the Good Samaritan who binds up wounds … The priest is the sign and the instrument of God’s merciful love for the sinner.” (1465) In other words, Jesus meets you in the confessional.

All mortal sins need to be sacramentally confessed, but the grace of the sacrament also strengthens us to avoid venial sins.

Very often if we are struggling with a particular temptation, frequent confession can equip us to be more victorious. Parents, if your kids are struggling with respect or honesty, bring them to confession.

Sin festers in the darkness, thrives on secrecy and grows by being ignored.

Like some viruses that are destroyed by sunlight, the light of Christ shines into our hearts as we receive the words of absolution. Jesus extends the mercy of his Father; we are drawn deeper into God’s heart and supernaturally empowered to carry on. The devil tempts us to avoid the sacrament out of shame, fear or pride, and when we do, we allow our wounds to grow, our hearts to harden and our spiritual strength to weaken. Bring your hearts into the loving, gentle warmth of the light of Christ – it’s exposure therapy for the soul!

The Church grows stronger and healthier when the people of God run to him with their struggles, sins and wounds. The Sacrament of Confession is not an optional life-enhancement strategy; it is a foundational gift from our Lord. Don’t overthink it; just go. I’ll hopefully see you there!