St. Mary Parish, Manchester at 210 West Main Street, Manchester, MI 48158 US - The Importance of Sacramental Confession

A Normal Part of Catholic Life

Prior to the Second Vatican Council

Prior to the Second Vatican Council it was not unusual for there to be long lines for confession every Saturday.  Catholics went to confession on a regular basis.  It was a normal part of Catholic life.  There always seemed to be a strong understanding in the minds of Catholics that in order to receive Holy Communion they needed to be free from mortal sin.  The majority of Catholics took this very seriously.  When the Second Vatican Council reformed the sacramental rituals of the Church, there seemed to be a dramatic drop in the number of Catholics that attended the Sacrament of Penance.  What happened? 

Poor Catechesis

It seemed like it was a rare occasion for a priest to talk about sin and evil after the Second Vatican Council.  There was a shift from attending to individual sin to solely focusing on social sin.  Many priests played down the need for the Sacrament of Penance.  When Communal Penance Services with General Absolution were allowed in the 1980s, many Catholics only attended these services and few went to the individual celebration of the Sacrament.  Many Catholics were not properly catechized regarding the importance of also celebrating the Sacrament of Penance outside of the Communal Penance Services with General Absolution.  In a way, many were led to believe, by default, that Communal Penance Services were the only way that they were to celebrate the Sacrament.  Pope John Paul II became so concerned about the abuses surrounding the use of General Absolution during Communal Penance Services that he asked Bishops to halt this practice in their Dioceses.  The Holy Father was becoming increasingly concerned about the loss of the sense of sin and the neglect of the individual reception of the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation.   Pope John Paul II has called for all priests to make the reception of the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation an important part of their own spiritual life and to educate their people about the importance of this practice.

How Often Should I Go to Confession

It is a good spiritual practice to confession venial sins on a monthly basis.  Not only does the soul receive sacramental grace and a strengthening of sanctifying grace, but also the moral conscience continues to be shaped and directed.  If a mortal sin is committed, Catholics are required to confess these serious sins by number and kind prior to the reception of Holy Communion.  You do not want to delay in the sacramental confession of a mortal sin.  The Church still teaches that to die with a mortal soul on the soul means the loss of heaven.

With the reform of the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation a new form of this Sacrament was introduced to the Church: Communal Penance Services. This form of the Sacrament was meant to give a broader understanding that sin has a communal dimension, that when we sin we do harm both to our relationship with God and the Mystical Body of Christ, the Church. The communal form of Penance and Reconciliation was meant also to help the members of the Church to more clearly understand that we are all sinners in need of God’s mercy and grace. Sin is not a private affair; its effects are far reaching.

When the Church allowed for a communal form of the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation to be celebrated, the intention was never to do away with the first form of the Sacrament, which is the one-on-one celebration. Over the past dozen years, the majority of Catholic parishes in the Diocese of Lansing have settled into celebrating the communal form of the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation during the liturgical seasons of Advent and Lent. While the communal form of the Sacrament has had many positive results, one major negative has been the decline in the use of the Sacrament by Catholics during the rest of the year. I encourage Catholics to make use of both forms of the Sacrament throughout the year.

It is not uncommon for the average Catholic to be stumped about the recognition of sin in their lives. It is not uncommon for a person to go through an entire year and then go to confession and to say only one thing. Now, it is hard for me to imagine as a priest and a human being who struggles with sin, that this person does not have any other struggles or sins that they are grappling with. The problem is recognition. The problem according to Pope John Paul II is a loss of the sense of sin. This is where moral formation is vital. As Catholics, we need the proper tools to assist us in the examination of our conscience so that we can begin to see the sin that we might be blinded to. The Catechism of the Catholic Church is an important resource for moral formation, especially the section that covers the Ten Commandments. Outside the confessional room at St. Mary’s there as booklets for your taking entitled A Guide to Confession. This helpful tool does some basic catechesis on the Sacrament of Penance. It contains an excellent examination of conscience as well as the order of the celebration of the First Form of the Sacrament.

On the night of His Resurrection, the Risen Christ walked through the door of the upper room. He confronted with mercy the sin that had allowed the Apostles to betray and abandon Him on the way to Calvary. The Risen Christ established the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation on that most joyous night. He did so because He knew that it would be needed. He did so to continue to heal the wounds of sin and division. The Risen Lord knows the battle of human nature. Even though our elevated human nature already shares in the fruits of His redemption, the soul, human nature, will have to do battle with evil until His return in glory. Christ gives this Sacrament to the Church in order to keep all of her members strong in Baptismal grace and in the ongoing process of conversion. This is why we need to go to sacramentally confess our sins, so that we can be saved!