“So Mary Magdalen brought news to the disciples, of how she had seen the Lord, and he had spoken thus to her. And now it was evening on the same day, the first day of the week; for fear of the Jews, the disciples had locked the doors of the room in which they had assembled; and Jesus came, and stood there in their midst; Peace be upon you, he said. And with that, he shewed them his hands and his side. Thus the disciples saw the Lord, and were glad. Once more Jesus said to them, Peace be upon you; I came upon an errand from my Father, and now I am sending you out in my turn. With that, he breathed on them, and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit; when you forgive men’s sins, they are forgiven, when you hold them bound, they are held bound.” (John 20: 18-23)
G. K. Chesterton once said the reason he joined the Catholic Church to get rid of his sins. The Sacrament of Confession is indeed a wonderful gift, a way to start fresh, a way to make things right with God and bring the profoundest possible peace to one’s soul. I never feel better than I do walking out of the confessional: it is as if I am walking on air, truly.
It amazes me that people dread going to Confession. Yes, it can be embarrassing. Yes, it forces us to be self-critical and (gasp) admit out loud we have made mistakes. Yes, we forget that we are not being absolved by a mere man, but by Christ Himself through the mediation of a priest.
But all of these stumbling blocks are nothing compared to the joy of a clean conscience, the joy of being forgiven, the joy of being given the opportunity to start over, the joy of doing penance and setting things right.
Yes, we can (and should) pray directly to God for our sins to be forgiven. But as I ponder the verses from John shown above, I cannot help but think that Jesus gave the Apostles these parting instructions because He prefers us, for whatever reason, to ask forgiveness through them and their successors. If this is the way Jesus wants to handle the forgiveness of sins, it’s good enough for me.
Reflection
Is my conscience clean? Am I ignoring the small sins I have committed, or failing to see how they are piling up and weighing down my soul?
