Celebrating Mercy & Reconciliation

Yesterday, the Holy Father wrote in a letter written on the occasion of Italy's 60th National Liturgical Week, being held in Barletta that the Church needs "wise and holy spiritual teachers" who are able not only to hear confessions, but also to educate consciences. He also noted that it had been 35 years since the new Rite of Penance came into force.

This month in the US there is a bit of a hubbub regarding another anniversary - the 40th anniversary of Woodstock. Many are talking about various musical events, there's even a new movie coming out. All are waxing nostalgic for the bygone days of beads, bell-bottoms, peace signs, "free love", and sweet-smelling smoke everywhere one went...

It's a stark contrast. Licentiousness and "do what thou wilt", versus developing a "well-formed conscience" and striving for holiness in one's life. The Holy Father writes that the "sense of sin is lost [and] feelings of guilt increase which people [then] seek to eliminate by recourse to inadequate palliative remedies." I have seen for myself, for decades, the physical, mental, moral, and spiritual destruction such "palliative remedies" wreaks on not just the individual, but entire families. I have looked into those lost and despairing eyes, in the dark of the night, as they weep, and wonder how things got so bad. Why do they feel so lost, why does it hurt so much, if they're having so much "fun"?

The Holy Father urges priests to make use of the spiritual and pastoral tools they have available to them to contribute to the healthy formation of consciences. "Like all the sacraments, the sacrament of Penance too requires catechesis beforehand and a mystagogical catechesis for a deeper knowledge of the sacrament: 'per ritus et preces.' … Catechesis should be combined with a wise use of preaching, which has had different forms in the Church's history according to the mentality and pastoral needs of the faithful."

Oh, would that our bishops and our priests would only actually DO this! I have heard horrible stories of priests in the confession over the years - not the stories of priests who are too hard on a person, or the nasty stories of the old priest who yelled at the poor penitent - but priests who don't listen, who try to play pop psychologist, who brush off a person's sense of sin or guilt as if they are mistaken or even mentally ill for admitting to such a thing.

About a year ago, I went to confession, and after stating one or two sins, as I paused to collect my thoughts, suddenly found myself being given absolution and shoveled out the door of the confessional. I was so shocked, I did leave, and immediately went and found the rector, and asked for another confession, explaining that I  hadn't finished, hadn't been actually listened to, and didn't feel that I merited absolution until I could actually complete my ENTIRE confession - he acquiesced, and then tried to tell me that "some of the older priests don't hear all that well". Trust me, the man wasn't hard of hearing – he just apparently thought that 1 or 2 things, and I was all done. He didn't wait for me to say, "for these and all my sins I am truly sorry" – he just assumed I wasn't going to do a particularly in-depth examination of conscience, didn't try to help me examine my conscience, just shoveled me out the door… The second priest, on the other hand, did listen, and then, rather than offering pop-psychology, talked about grace, and allowing Divine Mercy to work in my life, and actually gave spiritual direction!

Recently, I went to a priest who is well-known for his conservative homilies. He is a very dear man, who reaches out to many in his parish. Yet, in sharing with him my dismay at having repeatedly failing to avoid sin, and thus "injuring Christ", he looked at me like I was crazy. I told him I remembered the story of one of the children at Fatima, Francisco, and he was so touched by the thought that every sin wounded Christ, that he resolved not only do his best to never fall into sin again, but to do "sacrifices", in reparation for the sins of the world - he said he wanted to comfort Jesus. I told this priest that I really wanted to do this - that I wanted to live my life this way, and it was painful to me that I couldn't do better. He asked me if I was seeing someone for my "depression".

The Holy Father is urging the priests of the church to "celebrate" the Sacrament of Penance, to assist with "adequate formation" of conscience, so that they can "foster in the faithful the experience of spiritual support".

I know that in many parishes Confession are offered in a desultory fashion, one tiny window of time per week, or "by appointment" - that no one ever makes. And lines are short, even in large parishes. In parishes where the sacrament is offered more frequently, or even multiple times per day, the people come in droves, and the lines are long.

It's hard, in this day and age of "self-help-ism" and "fix-it-ism" to actually find a priest who is willing to sit back and actually be a spiritual director, instead of trying to be a psychologist. When I talk to my friends, we tend to agree – when we go to confession, we aren't looking for a psychiatrist – we are looking for God. We are looking for spiritual direction, not cognitive therapy! And we all tend to feel that the parishes where we have the best experiences with Confession are not only offering the sacrament more frequently, but are offering less Stephen Covey and Wayne Dyer and more Christ, scripture, and saints.

I am praying, that these "wise and holy spiritual teachers" that the Holy Father is looking for will be brought forward by the Holy Spirit, to bring a renewed love of the Sacrament of Penance into the Church - not in a spirit of pain and guilt and, in the language of Woodstock, a drag and a bummer - but in the spirit of hope. For it is in recognizing where we've fallen down that we can pick ourselves up and start all over again - this is what Reconciliation is all about. It is not a laundry list of "bad", but a paean of joy, celebrating the Divine Mercy of the Lord, as we reach out for His hand!

Quotes from the Holy Father taken from:

http://www.zenit.org/article-26685?l=english