Overall, I hope that the image I have given of this sacrament is of a joyful celebration of God’s merciful love. Reconciliation is a wonderful experience when we get into the habit of going. I suspect many of us may still think like former New York Governor Alfred E. Smith, who in 1928 was the first Catholic to be nominated as a major party’s candidate for President. One day, so the story goes, Governor Smith got in line for Confession at his parish church. One of the other parishioners, thinking that such an important man should not have to wait, offered him his place in line. Smith stayed at the end of the line as he responded, “I’m no more eager than you to go in there.” I hope that we can develop a love of the sacrament so that we look at it as something we can indeed look forward to.
Toward that end, I would like to offer another suggestion to anyone receiving the sacrament. I offer this thought for you, but I’m sure it’s going to become more important to me as the years go on – try not to whisper. My hearing is still good enough to handle the whispers, but I do sometimes wonder how priests with diminished hearing are able to celebrate the sacrament. More importantly, though, the whisper sets a tone. Many of us probably began whispering in the confessional when it was a dark box and there was another penitent on the other side of the priest. Please do speak in a lower tone of voice so that your voice does not travel, but speak in a conversational tone. What I find is that the whisper sets the tone of a deep, dark secret. Yes, your confession is secret, and every priest is taught to regard the “seal of Confession” (by which we promise never to repeat anything we hear) as an ultimate obligation. But the whisper seems to me to make it sound as if we are here only out of a sense of shame.
When I say that I do not want to sound ashamed, I do not mean that we should be proud of our sins. There is an old story of the man who was going on and on, in great detail, about his sins. Finally, the priest interrupted him and said, “My son, you’re not confessing; you’re bragging.” Rather, we want to come with a spirit of confidence. We know that God will forgive us, and there is no reason to be afraid. We can admit our sins frankly, knowing that they will soon be gone.
Once again, I hope that these reflections on the Sacrament of Reconciliation over these past few weeks have been a help. There is nothing quite so joyous as coming out of the Confessional with our sins forgiven, and there is nothing quite as satisfying for a priest as knowing that we have helped someone get a fresh start. There are two weeks left in Lent. If you have not yet been to Confession, the God is waiting for you with open arms.
Father H
