The other day someone came to my office and asked me if there was an easier way to do reconciliation. I discover that one of the most difficult things to do is to go to confession because is hard to sit in front of a priest and tell him your sins. How do I know that… well I go to confession too and believe me it is not an easy task.
I have a friend, who happens to be a deacon, who kept saying this phrase: the devil will remove your shame to sin and will give it back to you at the moment of confession. I think that if we keep this little phrase in our mind all the time it will be hard for us to sin. Because if we know that something is going to be dangerous for us… do we do it, or we will think about it before?
Here is the problem we don’t take seriously our soul. We cover our mouth when we cough and take many precautions so we don’t get the flu, and we do this because we know how uncomfortable are the symptoms, and how awful and miserable we feel when we become sick.
If we knew what’s going to happen to our soul if we don’t take care of it, we will take better care of it. There are many saints that have visited hell; God gave them this grace so they can tell people what’s next if you don’t take care of your soul. We don’t know when we going to die, but we need to be ready.
Padre Pio, The Cure of Ars, Don John Bosco are just an example of saints that, while they walked among us, helped a lot of souls to recognize how important is the sacrament of reconciliation, and more important, why we need to mention all our sins to the priest in order to get absolution and peace.
Other priest told me that this sacrament is the best way to get a plastic surgery, and is free. He told me to look at the line of the people waiting to go to reconciliation, and look at their faces after they confess and received absolution… they don’t look miserable anymore.
My guess Is that we are getting closer to the time of advent, do a good examination of conscience, go to confession, Christ is waiting for you in the confessional with open arms.
No, there is no other way, you have to talk to the priest, but remember that is Christ who is listening and forgiving.
I would like to close whit this phrase from St. John Bosco : When do you going to break the devils horns with a good confession?
Let’s keep praying for one another
F. Héctor
