What is Catholic confession and why do we need it?
“For all have sinned, and do need the glory of God”
Romans 3:23
“If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
John 20:23
I wrote a super brief post about confession a little while back and wanted to expand on it. Quite frankly, you can’t emphasize confession enough, in my opinion.
Catholic Confession, also known as the Sacrament of Reconciliation or Penance, is a central practice in the Catholic faith. It provides a way for Catholics to confess their sins, receive absolution, and reconcile with God.
Confession is based on the belief that sin, both mortal and venial, harms a person’s relationship with God and damages their own spiritual well-being. Through confession, Catholics acknowledge their sins, express remorse, and seek forgiveness. The priest, acting in persona Christi, absolves the person of their sins and offers spiritual guidance and advice.
Confession is also a way for Catholics to receive spiritual support and guidance from a priest. The priest can offer advice and help the person to develop a plan for avoiding sin in the future. Catholics believe that confessing their sins to a priest helps them to receive healing grace and become closer to God.
How long has confession been a part of the Church?
In the early Church, public confession of sins was common. When a person committed a serious sin, they would publicly confess their sin before the entire congregation (yikes!) and receive a penance, which was a form of punishment or restitution. This practice eventually evolved into private confession to a priest.
The Sacrament of Penance, as it is known today, was formalized in the 12th century. At that time, private confession became mandatory for all Catholics at least once a year. The Fourth Lateran Council of 1215 established the requirement for annual confession. The Council of Trent confirmed this in the 16th century.
In the early Church, only serious sins were confessed, and the penance was often severe, including excommunication or even exclusion from the Church community. However, over time, the Church moved away from severe penances and instead focused on spiritual guidance and healing.
Today, the Sacrament of Reconciliation involves confession to a priest, who offers guidance and absolution. Confession allows Catholics to seek forgiveness, receive spiritual healing, and deepen their relationship with God. The Catholic Church recognizes that the practice of confession has evolved over time and has encouraged Catholics to continue to participate in the sacrament throughout history.
Here is a great article from Catholic Answers with more.
How does Catholic confession work?
In the Catholic Church, confession, also known as the Sacrament of Reconciliation, involves several steps:
- Examination of Conscience: Before going to confession, the person examines their conscience and reflects on their thoughts, words, and actions. They acknowledge their sins and express genuine contrition and a desire to make amends. Father Z has a boatload of resources on the examination here.
- Confession: The person goes to a priest and confesses their sins. Confess sins in both kind (what you did) and number (how many times did you do it). The priest listens and offers guidance and spiritual advice. Please don’t ramble (remember those behind you in line!) and remember that temptation to sin is not sin.
- Penance: The priest assigns a penance, which is a prayer, an act of charity, or some other good deed.
- Act of Contrition: The person expresses their sorrow for their sins and their commitment to avoid sin in the future by saying an act of contrition. Here are some examples from Vatican News.
- Absolution: The priest offers absolution, which is the forgiveness of sins by God through the priest. The priest says the prayer of absolution, which absolves the person of their sins and reconciles them with God and the Church.
After confession, the person should perform their penance as soon as possible. They should also strive to avoid sin and the near occasion of sin in the future.
What are the benefits of confession?
Confession has benefits that reach into eternity! Some of the other benefits of confession include:
- Forgiveness of Sins: Confession allows Catholics to receive forgiveness for their sins and reconcile with God and the Church. A good confession removes the stain of mortal sin and reconciles the penitent to the Church. “To die in mortal sin without repenting and accepting God’s merciful love means remaining separated from him forever by our own free choice” (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1033).
- Spiritual Healing: Confession can provide spiritual healing and comfort to those who are struggling with guilt, shame, or other spiritual burdens.
- Guidance and Direction: The priest who hears the confession can provide guidance, advice, and support for the person seeking confession. The priest can help the person to identify areas where they can grow spiritually and develop a plan for avoiding sin in the future. Having a good spiritual director can help also.
- Grace: Confession is a way for Catholics to receive grace and become closer to God. Catholics believe that through confession, they can receive the grace necessary to live a holy and virtuous life.
- Community and Connection: Confession is an opportunity for Catholics to connect with their community and with God. It is a way for Catholics to acknowledge their faults and seek forgiveness, which can help to strengthen their relationship with God and their community.
What are some misconceptions about Catholic confession?
There are several common misconceptions about Confession.
- Confession is unnecessary since Catholics can pray directly to God for forgiveness: While Catholics can pray directly to God for forgiveness, the Catholic Church teaches that the Sacrament of Reconciliation is necessary for the forgiveness of serious sins and that Catholics should confess their sins to a priest. Check out this article at Catholic Answers.
- Confession is only for Catholics who have committed mortal sins: While the Catholic Church teaches that confession is necessary for the forgiveness of mortal sins, confession is also encouraged for venial sins. Confession is viewed as a way to receive spiritual healing and deepen one’s relationship with God, and it is not limited to only those who have committed mortal sins.
- The priest will judge or shame the person seeking confession: The priest is there to offer guidance, support, and spiritual direction, not to judge or shame the person seeking confession. The priest cannot reveal what is said in confession because they are bound by the seal of confession. They cannon tell anyone else. Priests have heard it all and they’ve already likely forgotten what you confessed before the next penitent walks in to the confessional.
- Confession is a one-time event: Confession should be a regular practice, not just a one-time event. Catholics should confess their sins at least once a year, and more frequently if necessary (it’s necessary). See this article at Aleteia for more info.
- Confession is only for Catholics: While confession is a sacrament of the Catholic Church, non-Catholics are welcome to speak to a priest for spiritual guidance and support. The priest may offer words of comfort and advice, but non-Catholics cannot receive the sacrament of confession as it is reserved for baptized Catholics. A priest will not provide absolution to a non-Catholic except if there is danger of imminent death.
Do not let these misconceptions prevent you from seeking the spiritual healing and guidance that confession can offer.
Wrap up
Confession is important. After baptism, it is the only way back to a state of Grace. St. Faustina wrote, “My daughter, just as you prepare in My presence, so also you make your confession before Me. The person of the priest is, for Me, only a screen. Never analyze what sort of a priest it is that I am making use of; open your soul in confession as you would to Me, and I will fill it with My light.” (1725)
St. Maximillian Kolbe has a sublime quote regarding sin. Read this and learn it, live it, love it:
Whenever you feel guilty, even if it is because you have consciously committed a sin, a serious sin, something you have kept doing many, many times, never let the devil deceive you by allowing him to discourage you. Whenever you feel guilty, offer all your guilt to the Immaculate, without analyzing it or examining it, as something that belongs to her…My beloved, may every fall, even if it is serious and habitual sin, always become for us a small step toward a higher degree of perfection.
In fact, the only reason why the Immaculate permits us to fall is to cure us from our self-conceit, from our pride, to make us humble and thus make us docile to the divine graces.
The devil, instead, tries to inject in us discouragement and internal depression in those circumstances, which is, in fact, nothing else than our pride surfacing again.
If we knew the depth of our poverty, we would not be at all surprised by our falls, but rather astonished, and we would thank God, after sinning, for not allowing us to fall even deeper and still more frequently.
Go to confession!