To the modern-day ear, the concept of admitting one’s wrongs aloud to a clergyman may sound strange, also archaic. Why not simply admit calmly to God? The short answer is straightforward: since Jesus Christ, our Lord, set it up in this manner. The longer answer entails a tapestry of biblical theology, apostolic practice, and the lived witness of the saints. Confession isn’t simply a human development– it’s a divine invitation to recovery. The Scripture Reading for the 28 th Sunday in Ordinary Time gives insight to this Divine Sacrament.
Authority Given by Christ
The number 10 in the Scriptures often signifies fullness and magnificent authority. God provided Moses 10 rules, a recap of the moral law written by the actual hand of God. In guide of Discovery, a beast with 10 horns represents full dominion and life power. In the Gospel of Matthew, phases 8 and 9 recount 10 wonders Jesus does– recovery the sick, soothing tornados, casting out satanic forces– all indicators of magnificent authority over body, nature, and spirit. Then, in Matthew phase 10 , the evangelist writes, “Jesus summoned his twelve devotees and provided authority” (Mt. 10:1
This authority had not been obscure or symbolic. It was genuine and active. Jesus, the magnificent medical professional, not just recovered but handed down His power to others. He passed on. He shared. And this consists of the power to forgive transgressions.
“Show Yourself to the Clergyman”
This Sunday’s Gospel informs the story of 10 lepers that sob out to Jesus for grace. He excitedly recovers them– yet he doesn’t quit there. He advises, “Go and program yourselves to the clergymans (Lk. 17:14 Why the clergymans? In the Old Agreement, the priest was the one that stated a person tidy, restoring them to the neighborhood and holy place prayer. Jesus honors and transforms this custom.
The story of recovery doesn’t end there. After His Rebirth, Jesus breathes on the Apostles and states, “Obtain the Holy Spirit. Whose wrongs you forgive are forgiven , and whose transgressions you maintain are kept” (Jn. 20: 22 -23 This is not simple event. This is Magnificent power left to guys– especially, to the followers of the Twelve Apostles.
The Ministry of Reconciliation
St. Paul affirms this in his Second Letter to the Corinthians: “All this is from God, who through Christ resolved us to himself and provided us the ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:18 Settlement– what we now call Confession or Penance– is not just individual therapy. It is sacred. The Church, with her priests, acts in the individual of Christ to cause healing and grace.
St. James gives us a clear pastoral guideline: “Consequently, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed” (Jas. 5:16 The Greek word for “senior citizens” in this flow is presbyteroi , from which we obtain the English word “clergyman.” The very early Church recognized this not as an allegory, yet as a real method.
What the Saints Have Said
The saints, those most intimate with the methods of God, have always treasured this sacrament.
St. John Vianney, the patron saint of church clergymans, claimed: “When we most likely to admission, we need to accuse ourselves of our worst sins first, and of those which we are most embarrassed; since the adversary conceals them, and makes us ashamed to confess them.”
St. Augustine boldly stated: “Let no person say: I do penance privately, I do penance before God. Is it then fruitless that Christ has said, ‘What you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven’?”
St. Faustina, the apostle of Divine Grace, composed in her journal: “When you most likely to admission, to this fountain of My grace, the Blood and Water which appeared from My Heart always streams down upon your spirit and ennobles it.”
And Pope St. John Paul II when mentioned: “The sacrament of Penance is one of the Church’s the majority of lovely and gaming consoling gifts. It restores and enhances the poise of our Baptism, and allows us to go back to the joy of our first encounter with Christ.”
In admission, the clergyman is not a barrier to God. He is a bridge. He pays attention not as a plain guy yet in persona Christi — in the person of Christ. He attests to your grief, provides advice, and pronounces the saving words: “I absolve you from your transgressions.” Because minute, it is Christ that talks.
Return Home
If it’s been a while given that your last confession, consider this your invitation The Lord is waiting– individual, merciful, and all set to forgive. His authority, passed on to the Church, is not to embarassment yet to heal.
As the Catechism perfectly educates:
The admission (or disclosure) of wrongs, even from a merely human perspective, releases us and facilitates our reconciliation with others. With such an admission, guy looks directly at the transgressions he is guilty of, takes duty for them, and therefore opens himself again to God. (CCC 1455
Christ is calling. The confessional is not a court. It is a health center for the spirit. Go to it– and be made new.
Picture by Grant Whitty on Unsplash