So today I made my first confession to a priest, as opposed to a kind of general confession to other people -- as I sometimes have confessed to you. It was a remarkable experience. I'm not sure what I expected it to be. What it was instead was a remarkable lightening, a genuine release of weight. I can't quite explain it, but perhaps some of you know what I mean. My sins have been grave, and greatly regretted; and to be absolved of them turns out to be moving in ways I did not expect.
I mention this in case any of you have been thinking about it. I wouldn't have thought that it would make any difference, but it turns out that it matters a lot.
6 comments:
Though not Catholic, as a charismatic evangelical I understand the freedom that comes from being absolved of sin. Welcome to freedom!
Thank you, brother. I am amazed at how free it really is. All my life I've heard about grace, but in a way this is my first encounter with it.
Now that formula "...may the grace and peace of Jesus Christ..." makes a little more sense, eh?
Congrats!
I've never tried it. For Episcopalians, confession to a priest is optional and rather rare. Nevertheless we confess internally, and the priest absolves us every week or so as part of the Eucharist. I don't really believe it's the priest who makes it happen, of course, but it's a way of doing things. Nevertheless, although I understand why Protestants abandoned confession, I do think we lost something by it. It's one thing to confess internally and another to say it out loud to another human being standing right there. I certainly can tell the difference between regretting something and apologizing directly to the person I harmed.
Texan99, we are still to confess our sins to one another, even though it is not as formal as with a priest.
Grim, a few verses for you.
Matthew 11:28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”
There is undeniably a huge weight lifted when I confess a wrong -- especially if I'd been hiding it -- and ask another person for forgiveness.
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