03/11/2018
Ephesians 2:4-10 Brothers and
sisters: God, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love he had for us,
even when we were dead in our transgressions, brought us to life with Christ —
by grace you have been saved —, raised us up with him, and seated us with him
in the heavens in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the
immeasurable riches of his grace in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For by
grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the
gift of God; it is not from works, so no one may boast. For we are his
handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in
advance, that we should live in them.
Catholics love to come up with
excuses why they should not go to confession. Therefore, it is the job of
priests to convince them they should go to confession. I recently read the
story of a German soldier who had been sentenced to death by the French
authorities after World War II. But a young priest named Gaston wants to hear
his confession before he meets his Maker. Here is how the story unfolds: “The
soldier confesses his passion for women and the numerous amorous adventures he
has had. The priest explains that he must repent to obtain forgiveness and
absolution. The soldier answers, ‘How can I repent? It was something I enjoyed,
and if I had the chance I would do it again, even now. How can I repent?’
Father Gaston, who wants to absolve
the man who has been marked by destiny and who is about to die, has a stroke of
inspiration and asks, ‘But are you sorry that you are not sorry?’ The young man
answers impulsively, ‘Yes, I am sorry that I am not sorry.’ In other words, he is
sorry for not repenting. That sorrow is the opening that allows the merciful
priest to give the man absolution” (The Name of God is Mercy, xxv-xxvi).
Catholics use their creative juices to cook up excuses for not confession;
therefore priests must find even better recipes of reasons why they should
confess. God only needs the smallest crack in the armor around our hearts to
pour in his merciful love. Sometimes, just being sorry we are not sorry
suffices.
St. Paul, one of the early pastors
of the church, puts forward the best reason why Christians should approach
Jesus’ merciful love and seek forgiveness of sins. He writes to the Ephesians:
“God, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love he had for us, even when
we were dead in our transgressions brought us to life with Christ.” Pope St.
John Paul II in 1980 wrote a papal document called “Dives in misericordia,”
(rich in mercy), based specifically on this passage from Ephesians. St. Paul
and the pope both argued that the greatest reason to confess is the
overwhelming mercy of God, next to which our sins shrink to insignificance.
Sometimes in confession, after someone has listed their sins, I smile and
reply, “That’s not so bad.” That always brings a smile to the penitent’s face.
I do not say that to minimize the seriousness of sin, but I do want to maximize
the greatness of God’s mercy. Imagine how tiny a golf ball would be next to the
blazing sun, and that would be the size of our sins next to God’s burning
merciful love. He is “dives in misericordia,” and with the slimmest of cracks
in our armor, he can pour his mercy into our hearts.
Let me give you three good reasons
to go to confession this Lent. This is the same advice I give to the school
children. First of all, little children are scared to death that the mean old
priest in confession is going to yell at them when they fess their faults. That
may seem like a childish fear, but adults feel that as well. So, let me assure
you that no priest will yell at you in confession. They teach us in seminary not
to exclaim, “You did what??” in confession. You only see that in the movies.
The second thing is that priests
can never reveal anything we hear in confession. We must take those sins to the
grave. This is called the “seal of the confessional,” meaning our lips are
sealed. For example, if a police officer put me in handcuffs and demanded,
“Tell me what Dc. Greg said to you in confession!” Would I tell him? No. What
if someone offered me a billion dollars to tell them what Dc. Charlie said in
his confession, would I tell him? Well, maybe for two billion I would. No, of
course I would not even for two billion, or three, or any amount of money. What
if the pope himself asked what someone said in confession, would I tell the
Holy Father? No, never. Of course, he would never do that, but you get my
point. That is probably why God called only men to be priests: men have such
terrible memories that we would never remember anything important someone tells
us. You are safe coming to a male priest for confession.
And the third thing is the peace
you feel after confession. I will never forget how one child was so nervous
about making her first confession. But after she finished, she ran back to her
mother waiting in the pew, and squealed, “Can I do it again??” God in his
infinite wisdom, knowing how hard it is for us to swallow our pride and confess
our sins, has hidden a special grace in his sacrament. For all who humbly
confess their sins, they know the unique peace that comes from God’s pardon. I
am convinced that in the sacrament of confession you can literally feel God’s
grace, his embrace of love, he who is “dives in misericordia.” You may not
leave confession and squeal “Can I do it again??” But you will feel good, and
know God’s peace.
What are your excuses for not going
to confession? We all have them and they are a mile long. However, they are
only excuses for not being as happy as God wants you to be. In a word, it is
happiness you will find when you go to confession. God does not need much of a
crack in your armor to pour his rich mercy into your soul. He only needs you to
be sorry that you are not sorry.
Praised be Jesus Christ!
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