“Do not be afraid to go to confession!” - Pope Francis

“Do not be afraid to go to confession!”  - Pope Francis

When was the last time you went to confession?  If it’s been a while, listen to what Pope Francis said in his instruction on the sacraments on February 19, 2014, “Be courageous and go to confession… If a long time has passed, don’t miss another day, go, the priest will be good.  Jesus is there, and Jesus is much better than the priests, Jesus receives you.  He receives you with so much love.  Do not be afraid of confession!  When one is in line to confess, they feel these things, even shame, but when confession is ended, they feel free, great, beautiful, forgiveness, clean, happy.  And this is the beauty of confession!”  

Some may say, I only confess to God by myself.  I don’t need to confess to a priest.  That is true for less serious (venial) sin, but for serious (mortal) sin, it is necessary to be formally reconciled with God and the Church through the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession).  Pope Francis explains, “Yes, you can say to God “forgive me” and say your sins, but our sins are also against the brothers (and sisters), against the Church.  For this it is necessary to ask forgiveness from the Church, from the brothers (and sisters), in the person of the priest.”  Jesus said to his disciples, “Receive the Holy Spirit.  If you forgive men’s sins, they are forgiven them; if you hold them bound they are held bound.” (John 20:23)  Implicit in this statement is the need for a person to confess his/her sins to the priest in order for the priest to either forgive or “hold bound.”  In fact, confession is a necessary first step before receiving Holy Communion when one has sinned seriously.  Think of it this way.  It’s only fitting to express sorrow to God and the Church first by going to confession if one has sinned seriously before celebrating friendship/union with Christ and His Church in the reception of Holy Communion.  As I sometimes tell children, you can’t punch your brother and then shake hands with him in friendship before you say you’re sorry.  That doesn’t make sense. 

In this season of Lent, we seek to grow in our relationship with God, with one another and with the Church.  We strive to be all that God has made us to be.  Take advantage of this important gift Jesus has provided to help in this effort.  He offers it as a source of divine healing, reconciliation, freedom and peace.  During Lent here at Holy Family we offer several opportunities for a person to receive God’s mercy in confession.  The season of Lent will begin on Ash Wednesday, March 6 with Day of Open Doors when our church will be open from 5:00 am to 9:00 pm for confession as well as the distribution of ashes throughout the day, three Masses (8:15 am, 4:15 & 7:00 pm) at which ashes will be offered, Eucharistic Adoration in our chapel all day and Stephen Ministers available to pray and offer support to individuals in need of a caring outreach.  Confessions are also available on Thursdays during Lent from 6:30 – 7:30 pm in our church Reconciliation Room as well as our regular Saturday confession times: 4:00 – 4:45 pm and First Friday, April 5 from 6:30 – 7:30 pm and First Saturday, April 6 from 7:30 – 8:00 am, and we’ll have confession available with visiting priests at the end of a Lenten Evening of Reflection with Fr. Bob Johnson, SVD on Tuesday, March 19 at 7:00 pm.  As always, one can contact Fr. Tom or me to go to confession by appointment.   

Confession is a wonderful opportunity to receive God’s grace and true peace… and it’s free!  There’s no better deal you can get out there than that.

Fr. Bob