Recommended by Father Pisut

USCCB Media Blog: 10 points in favor of going to Posted on 11 July 2011 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I am all for any official entity of the Church promoting the Sacrament of Penance.

The media blog of the USCCB has a post by Sr. Mary Ann Walsh about the Sacrament of Penance.  Shall we have look with my usual approach of emphases and comments?

Confession: It puts you straight with everyone

Penance, aka confession, is the sacrament of the forgiveness of sin. You can’t beat it for convenience. [Not to mention salvation.] It’s available practically whenever. Tell a priest you want to go to confession and you’ll get his attention. One bishop I know was cornered on an airplane. Another passenger figured out what was going on and asked if he could confess too. It must have been an interesting game of musical seats. An interesting question for priests might be: Where was the strangest place you ever administered the sacrament of penance? The answers I’ve gathered include “in a sports bar, at a graduation party” and “on the golf course, walking up the fairway.”

Confession has benefits. Here are ten:

1. Confidentiality guaranteed. There’s nothing like confessing your sins [That's the key, isn't it?  Forgiveness of sins.  I am glad to see that the word was mentioned at the top.] to someone guaranteed not to tell anyone else. Sometimes you need to talk in absolute confidence. Even under subpoena, a priest can’t tell anyone what’s said to him in confession. He can’t even hint at it. Now that’s confidentiality.

2. Housekeeping for the soul. It feels good to be able to start a clean life all over again. Like going into a sparkling living room in your home, it’s nice when clutter is removed – even if it’s your own.  [Again, it is about forgiveness of sins.]

3. A balm for the desire for revenge. When you have been forgiven you can forgive others. If the perfect Jesus forgives me, who am I to want to avenge the slights in my life. Think: “Why did they promote him over me?’ or “Mom played favorites!”

4. Low cost therapy. It’s free, which makes it cheaper than a psychiatrist for dealing with guilt.  [To a certain extent yes.  But some people need the help of a professional as well.  The confessional is more the "tribunal dock" than it is the "couch".]

5. Forced time to think. Socrates said that the unexamined life is not worth living. Toexamine our lives and acknowledge failings marks the first step of making things right with God, others and ourselves. Life can be more worth living when you ponder the meaning of your own life.

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