PURPOSE

The purpose of this document is to shed some light on a fundamental issue of Catholicism and other Christian denominations: The “why” of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, how “it works” and its benefits.


INTRODUCTION

The Sacrament of Reconciliation is traditionally called “Confession” in the Catholic Church – East and West. This Sacrament is fulfilled by a prescribed interaction between the penitent and the priest. It consists, after adequate preparation by the penitent, in the confession of all sins committed by act or omission since the last time the Sacrament was entered into. This confession of sins/misdeeds is followed by spiritual instruction/illumination by the confessor priest for the benefit of the penitent’s soul and concluded by the general absolution granted to the penitent by the confessor, granted in the Name of God.

Gallons upon gallons of ink have been utilized in Catholic doctrinal books, catechisms, apologetics, etc. expounding the need, benefit, etc. for such Sacrament. We do not intend to recopy or rewrite all of that. We are going to try to explain, from a very practical point of view, why it really is a good idea.


DETAILS

This Catholic Sacrament obviously is not an absolute requirement for the salvation of the soul. Otherwise, the Catholic Church Administration would be spiritually liable before the Throne of God for all the souls lost as the result of the abysmal Evangelization effort they have put forth in the last 1600 years. (1)

However, as we have written elsewhere (2) about the great merits of the Roman Catholic Faith, the Sacrament of Reconciliation contains all the elements to better assist a soul in finding and keeping its way Home. Of course it has been misused and abused by some of the men who claim to be at the service of God (3)(4), nonetheless, we cannot allow such sad reality to destroy something which at its core is an excellent Evangelization tool.

A post Vatican Council II battle cry, obviously introduced by the enemies of God and not by the Council itself, to demolish the benefits that may be found in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, is: “I don’t need to confess my sins to a man, I confess them to God directly.”

The destructive subtlety hidden in such position may be found at the core of the psychological make up of a human being:



We do not need to launch into a psychological treatise to support/prove the above described human condition. It would be as superfluous as launching into a geophysical treatise to prove to the reader that the force of gravity exists. This is precisely what Spiritual Direction is all about – to help a human being see/dissect/evaluate/expose (not to dictate) the real reasons behind our thoughts and intentions, thus avoiding becoming a pawn to satan.

What is the Catholic faithful then to do about the Sacrament of Reconciliation considering the sad moral and legal condition that the Roman Catholic Church finds itself in today? The answer is quite simple: Resort to God! Ask Him to cross your path with the appropriate confessor or a trusted Spiritual Director. In either case: Prepare yourself and the confessor/trusted individual through prayer (5) and allow God to do His part.

What if you are on the proverbial “deserted island” without hope to find any confessor or a trusted individual or one simply does not seem to appear even while standing in Times Square at rush hour? We must then assume that such is the Will of God then...

Your burning desire to make amends with God, through the “proper channels”, and not to be deceived by yourself or the wrong individual, your voluntarily baring your soul to God and seeking His forgiveness and assistance to prevent you from sinning in the future, will be more than sufficient. You will be forgiven, for ultimately —and to the chagrin of certain members of the Roman-Catholic Hierarchy who like to “play God” (6)— it is God who grants the forgiveness and not man.

Penitents, take note: “God”, as the saying goes, “was not born yesterday” and we recommend highly that no one tries to play games with Him and use the above illumination to come up with a creative loop hole to avoid the safeguards of sharing/baring/discussing those “dark secrets” with another human being in an effort to return to the right path to the Father.

Confessors, take note: For the same reason mentioned above, we recommend highly that no one tries to utilize this “power” for personal gain lest you find out the full meaning of: “It would be better for him if a millstone were put around his neck and he be thrown into the sea...” [Luke 17:1-2]









En Español:  El Sacramento de Reconciliación