An Honest Confession

I walked into the church and found a seat close to the confessional to sit in. The church had a peaceful and reflective ambiance. Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, no doubt, contributed to the atmosphere and I found it easy to sit in prayer and contemplate my sins, even with my three kiddos next to me in the pew.

Sin. How easy it is to break my beloveds heart with my sin. So often my confessions are very similar time and time again. My personal struggles continue to get the best of me as much as I don't like it. This particular day, however, I had decided to confess my sins a little differently than usual. You see, it's hard to admit our sin and easy to make it sound not as bad as it really is, and for those reasons I admit that sometimes I would be a little vague in confessing my sins. I reasoned, "Why go into details? God knows it all anyway and I'm confessing to Him." Sadly, my rational only gave the sin more of a stronghold and deepened the hurt it causes. So, instead of being illusive, I decided to be completely clear, open, and upfront about all of my sins. If Jesus was serious enough to die for my sins, then I should be serious enough to die to myself as well and not only make an honest confession, but also try my best to avoid every occasion of sin. I left the church that evening forgiven and with grace to help me sin no more. 

Enter: daily life. It always happens, right? The daily hustle and bustle often lends itself well to Satan's tactics and invitations to sin. Things get busy and sometimes godliness isn't always at the forefront of our mind or our actions. Well, thankfully, that's not always true. You see, after that confession, when the temptations for certain sins presented themselves, I was able to reject them. The grace from confession gave me the strength to remain strong and sincere to God. He was faithful in providing me with what I needed to flee from sin once I was faithful in confessing it! Not only that, but my distaste for my sin becomes stronger each time I confess and align myself with God's Will, through prayer and confession, to grow in holiness and reject Satan and all his works and empty promises.

I share all of this because it helped show me how incredibly awesome the Sacrament of Reconciliation is. There is true grace given in it! Jesus truly meets us there and not only forgives us, but helps to continue refining us to become more like Him! No matter how hard it is, I encourage you to take time for an examination of conscience and in prayer asking our Lord to help us see our sins for what they are, to confess them, and then live holy lives worthy and acceptable to God who is Holy and Worthy.