Restoration of Communion: Admonish the Sinner
When I was a student priest studying in Rome, I was invited to become a confessor for the novices of the Missionaries of Charity, young women who were in formation to become religious sisters in the religious community Mother Teresa founded. I would hear their confessions every week. Helping them grow in their spiritual lives had a profound impact on my own. In fact, as I would listen to their sins, I would often think to myself, “Oh my, I do that too, and I never thought of it as a sin.” These sisters did not know it, but they were doing for me a great Spiritual Work of Mercy: they were “admonishing the sinner.” They were convicting me of my own sin and helping me grow closer to the Lord each week. As a result, I started going to confession more often myself so I, too, could grow in freedom from my sins.
I can’t imagine living without regularly confessing my sins in the Sacrament of Penance. It is such a great help to deal with the reality of sin in my life.
Confession as an Aid on Our Journey
Anyone who begins to truly seek a relationship with Jesus realizes that sin is a profound reality in their life. As we spend time with God’s Word and in prayer, we realize that we don’t love the way he does. We often fail to relate to ourselves and others in the truth of his love. If we don’t realize that we fall short in our life with Jesus, it is a sign we are not seeking to live a real relationship with him! St. John the Evangelist says in the Bible, “If we say, ‘We are without sin,’ we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we acknowledge our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from every wrongdoing” (1 John 1:8–9).
