One of the ministries of the priest is to hear confessions.
This service is undeniably tiring, especially when it means listening to people for several hours. But it is also true that confession is a beautiful moment in which the priest has the opportunity to witness how the love of God touches people's hearts.
Not all confessions are alike. Sometimes, the penitent is familiar with the sacrament, while in other cases, the person has left the sacraments years ago and does not even remember what confession is about. But all of them come to the priest because they have burdens in their hearts that can only be lifted with God's help. I have even seen non-Catholics come to me to share their heavy burdens, knowing that I could not give them absolution. Nevertheless, they were happy to hear the forgiving message of the Gospel and to receive His blessing.
One of the inexplicable mysteries of our lives is the presence of evil. This reality is evidently active in the world. Wars, injustice, misery, and discrimination are signs of this presence. But evil is also present in our hearts, and this is more unbearable. It is easier to accept the evil outside of me, but how difficult is it to accept that evil is also in my heart and that my bad deeds contribute to the suffering of many. I think that everyone, especially those who are closer to God, feels the scandalous reality of being unholy and choosing evil instead of Him.
Nevertheless, evil is not the last word, and our personal sin does not dominate our whole being. Sin is a reality that affects our lives and the lives of others, but at the same time, it does not trap us in a permanent state because we can always turn to the mercy of our heavenly Father to start again. And we can experience this forgiveness in a special way in the sacrament of reconciliation. For this reason, I often go to confession because I have realized how helpful this sacrament is for my spiritual journey.
Hearing confession is often a beautiful and moving experience. People who come to me for confession are sometimes very frightened. Their posture and facial expressions often reveal fear, worry, confusion... Then, the confession of sins is already the beginning of the healing process. The person feels that in the secrecy of confession, he or she can openly say what is weighing on his or her heart. Sometimes, these burdens are great mistakes, broken relationships, inability to forgive... kept inside for years, crushing the person under a sense of guilt, regret, and powerlessness. The very act of revealing them to a priest is a liberating act.
After listening to the penitent’s suffering, he or she can receive the forgiving message of the Gospel. I often remind the person of the story of the Prodigal Son, the story of that child who tried to live far from his father but finally realized the impossibility of being far from him and then decided to return home. What is striking in this parable is that the child surprisingly discovers that his father is not angry with him, does not seek revenge, and does not want to punish him. He only wants to embrace him, who was lost and is now found. In fact, the father is overwhelmed with joy because his only concern is to have his son back home. The forgiving love of the father restores the awareness of being a beloved child, an awareness that the son of the parable probably felt for the first time in the final welcoming embrace. The child’s dignity, therefore, is restored, but probably the happiest of the two is the father.
This story is incredibly powerful. I have seen many times how it helps the penitent in confession. After explaining that the experience of the prodigal son, who discovers the forgiving love of his father, is exactly what happens to him or her in that very sacramental confession, the person begins to change: the anxious becomes more relaxed; someone cannot hold back his or her tears; some others change their expression and begin to smile, relieved of a heavy burden; there are those who leave confession jumping for joy because they have discovered a new image of God in their lives…
I am truly grateful for the opportunity to witness the discovery of God’s infinite love in the hearts of so many people in confession. Each time, a great transformation takes place: the person comes to the priest as a sinner and then leaves confession more conscious of being a child of God. It is always a miracle… especially when the penitent who goes to confession is me.