Becoming Saints

Do you want to become saints? Here is the secret: confession is the lock; confidence in your confessor is the key. This is how you open heaven’s gates.

St John Bosco (1815-88)

According to The Catechism of the Catholic Church, those who receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation “obtain pardon from God’s mercy for the offense committed against him, and are, at the same time, reconciled with the Church which they have wounded by their sins and which by charity, by example, and by prayer labors for their conversion.” (1422)

A key element of the successful reception of this sacrament, the Catechism tells us, is interior penance, which is a radical reorientation of our whole life, a return, a conversion to God with all our heart, an end of sin, a turning away from evil, with repugnance toward the evil actions we have committed.” (1431)

As a consequence of the Fall of Adam, sin came into the world, which adversely affects us all:

“All men are implicated in Adam’s sin, as St. Paul affirms: ‘By one man’s disobedience many (that is, all men) were made sinners’: ‘sin came into the world through one man and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all men sinned.’” (402)

With the entry of sin into our world, so also came the need to resist sin and Satan, which we call spiritual warfare or combat. The Catechism continues:

“This dramatic situation of ‘the whole world [which] is in the power of the evil one’ makes man’s life a battle: The whole of man’s history has been the story of dour combat with the powers of evil, stretching, so our Lord tells us, from the very dawn of history until the last day. Finding himself in the midst of the battlefield man has to struggle to do what is right, and it is at great cost to himself, and aided by God’s grace, that he succeeds in achieving his own inner integrity.”

Reconciliation is a vital tool in this battle, as it weakens Satan’s grip on us and re-commits us to Christ. The Catechism explains:

“’The whole power of the sacrament of Penance consists in restoring us to God’s grace and joining us with him in an intimate friendship.’  Reconciliation with God is thus the purpose and effect of this sacrament. For those who receive the sacrament of Penance with contrite heart and religious disposition, reconciliation ‘is usually followed by peace and serenity of conscience with strong spiritual consolation.’ Indeed the sacrament of Reconciliation with God brings about a true ‘spiritual resurrection,’ restoration of the dignity and blessings of the life of the children of God, of which the most precious is friendship with God.” (1468)

HEALS THE WOUNDS OF OUR SOUL

St. John Vianney (1786-1859), the Curé of Ars, declared, “It is a beautiful thought, my children, that we have a Sacrament that heals the wounds of our soul!” He lamented that many did not take advantage of this sacrament. He offered the reflection, “If one said to those poor lost souls that have been so long in Hell, ‘We are going to place a priest at the gate of Hell: all those who confess have only to go out,’ do you think, my children, that a single one would remain? The most guilty would not be afraid of telling their sins, nor even of telling them before all the world. Oh, how Hell would soon be a desert, and how heaven would be peopled!”

St. John Vianney, like Padre Pio, St. Philip Neri, St. Joseph Cafasso, and many other priest-saints in the history of our Church would spend long hours hearing confessions, making it a priority in their ministries. St. Francis de Sales (1567-1622) recommended weekly confession, which he said not only results in the forgiveness of our sins, but the sacrament also gives “great assistance in avoiding them, new light to perceive them, and abundant graces to win back the ground you have lost owing to them. Further, you practice the virtues of humility, obedience, simplicity and love, so that by the act of confession you exercise more virtues than by any other means.

Pope St. John Paul II asserted that Confession was essential to achieving personal holiness. He said, “It would be illusory to desire to reach holiness, according to the vocation that each one has received from God, without partaking frequently of this sacrament of conversion and sanctification,” that, together with the Eucharist, “accompanies the path of the Christian towards perfection.”

It is Catholic belief that Christ gave His Church sacramental Confession on the first Easter Sunday.  Appearing to His Apostles, the Risen Christ said:

(John 20:21) “’Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.’  And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.  If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

We find it referenced in other places in the New Testament, such as in 1 John 1:9:

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

It can be found in the earliest Christian writings outside the Bible, such as in the Didache:

“Confess your sins in church, and do not go up to your prayer with an evil conscience. This is the way of life. . . . On the Lord’s Day gather together, break bread, and give thanks, after confessing your transgressions so that your sacrifice may be pure.” (Didache 4:14, 14:1 [A.D. 70])

When we approach the priest and confess our sins, we are not merely confessing to a man, but one ordained to minister to us in the place of Christ. The Catechism tells us that “the priest, by virtue of the sacrament of Holy Orders, acts in persona Christi Capitis [in the person of Christ the Head].” (1548) The priest acts as the tool or instrument of Christ, forgiving sin and reconciling us to the Father. And, we must go to the priest to receive absolution, the Catechism continues, as “Confession to a priest is an essential part of the sacrament of Penance.” (1456)

And, we can be confident that the priest will never reveal because of the “sacramental seal”: “the Church declares that every priest who hears confessions is bound under very severe penalties to keep absolute secrecy regarding the sins that his penitents have confessed to him.” (1467)

CRITICAL TO OUR SPIRITUAL GROWTH

Reconciliation is critical to our spiritual growth and overcoming trials and adversity. It is tragic that many do not understand this, believing they don’t need to receive the sacrament. We think we are good people, that we couldn’t have done anything that bad or that it is embarrassing to tell your sins to a priest you may not even know.

The truth is so different. How often do we sin? When we do any daily examination of conscience, however brief, we realize we sin all day long! These sins are a turning away from God in thoughts, words or actions. However, they also include sins of omission. When do we simply ignore the Lord when He wants us to minister to someone or do what He is whispering for us to do? Do we desire to be in the will of the Lord? Do we truly seek Him with all our heart, soul, might and strength?

Reconciliation gives us the grace to overcome trials that come from the enemy, the wisdom to turn to God in prayer and the strength to avoid sin.

Adam Blai is a peritus of religious demonology and exorcism in the Diocese of Pittsburgh. Among his duties, he trains exorcists nationally.  When he’s asked how one may best resist the power of Satan, among his first suggestions are staying in a state of grace and receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation regularly. “Mortal sin causes spiritual death and a separation from God. We restore our spiritual life by repenting in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.”

At times in my life I have gone to Confession weekly, or even daily. That may seem radical to many. But for me, if I am laboring under a severe trial, I am not trusting God as I need. Reconciliation gives me the strength to do the many things God is calling me to do.