I’ve been thinking a lot about this sacrament of late. I feel I forgot to mention it in my last post, and I happened on this post on The Anchoress on Confession:
Writes Mills:
. . . we need to recover the use of the word “confession,” while quietly dropping “the sacrament of reconciliation.” We need to hear the blunt word, because, before everything else, we want to say, “I did this and I’m really sorry.” That’s the appeal of confession, the chance to get it all out in the open. To emphasize the result is a bit like renaming the emergency room the “healing center.” It’s true, but not as helpful or as encouraging as you’d think, particularly when you really have an emergency.
Emergencies. Sin makes you stupid. When you are in a situation where you need graces, when you need to keep your wits about you, when you need a confessor to help you through, this sacrament has so much to offer.
The problem in my diocese is this (along with Confirmation) has become one of the scarcest sacraments. Of course you can request it. Yes, there’s a chapel that does Confession nearly constantly 25 miles away. But a 45 minute window on Saturday afternoon? Is that really enough?
Why is this sacrament so brushed under the carpet?