The two most important actions that we can do on earth, the two most directly related to our eternal salvation are these: receiving the Holy Eucharist and receiving the Sacrament of Confession. Our eternal salvation depends on our preparation, disposition, and reception of these sacraments. This being the case, we should make a concerted effort not only to receive these frequently, but also to constantly improve our reception of them. The more we learn about Confession, the better the odds are that we can make a good one and improve our reception of this monumental sacrament.
The abundance of graces (or lack thereof) depends on our own interior disposition in their reception. The fault is never in the sacrament itself but in the recipient. May we strive ardently for greater openness to God’s infinite ocean of graces and mercy!
So, let us commence our exploration of the ten C’s of making a good confession…
1. CLARITY (BEING CLEAR): An evident sign of the Holy Spirit at work is clarity, clearness, and transparency. On the contrary, the devil can often be detected by confusion, ambiguity, and uncertainty. As Jesus said, “Let your speech be yes, yes, or no, no.”
2. CONCISE: Confessions need not be long and drawn out. In fact, many confuse confession with mere conversation, spiritual direction, and spiritual counselling. True, at times, counselling and education can play a role in confession—but only in a secondary fashion. The essence of the sacrament lies in simply stating our sins. In the old series Dragnet, Joe Friday would state: “Just the facts ma’am, just the facts.” In a parallel sense, in confession it should be the following: “Just the sins ma’am, just the sins.” Don’t beat around the bush; be quick and to the point.
3. CONCRETE: Another essential quality for a good sacramental confession is to be concrete, not vague or abstract. For example, a person that confesses, “I am sometimes a bad person,” or “I am not as saintly as I should be”—well, welcome to the club! Everyone in the world (except Jesus and Mary) would have to admit this! So be concrete in your confessions, confessing the sinful thoughts, words, or actions and any strictly relevant surrounding information, such as intention and circumstances.
4. COMPLETE: The Church states in Canon Law and in the Catechism that all mortal sins—in species (type) and number—must be specified. For example, if one purposely misses Holy Mass on Sunday, then the number of times should be specified. This is what we mean by complete!
5. CONTRITE: For a sacramental Confession to be legitimate and efficacious, there must be true contrition of the heart. In other words, we must be sorry and willing to renounce and avoid the sin in the future. Saint Augustine states that we are all beggars before the Lord. Like Bartimaeus, the blind beggar from Mark 10, we should humbly beg for the grace of true contrition of heart in order to make valid confessions.
6. CONVICTION: We must be permeated with the utmost trust and conviction that the Lord truly loves us, wants the absolute best for us, and can help us be freed from sin. His mercy and love are truly more powerful than our sin, and may any thoughts otherwise be condemned.
7. CORRECTION: Related to contrition is correction. We must be ready and willing, with the help of God’s infinite graces, to correct our bad habits, to take the necessary steps for correction, and to avoid any person, place, thing, or circumstance that can easily lead back into that trap of sin. In the words of Jesus, sin is spiritual slavery. He came to set us captives free so that we can truly experience the liberty of being sons and daughters of God.
8. COMPENSATION: We will all likely recognize this step: you have to carry out your penance given by the priest! If we have damaged someone’s property or their good name, then there should be some form of compensation carried out. This falls under the cardinal virtue of justice, or giving to each his due. Another example would be that if a man steals an apple, then he ought to go back and pay for the apple. By this act, he practices retribution, paying back what he had taken unjustly. Although we can never “pay God back” for the offenses committed against Him, we can, through our penance, show Him a small act of restitution.
9. CONVERSION: One of the most efficacious fruits of Confession is conversion, turning away from sin and towards Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. An authentic change of heart, renunciation of evil, and conversion from sin to virtue depends on the grace of God and our correspondence with that grace. Confession is truly an encounter with Jesus, who is God, and that He, the Divine Physician, is the only one who can truly heal our souls. In countless passages in the Gospel, we contemplate Jesus healing and reforming not only sinners, but big sinners! St. Mary Magdalene had seven devils within her; Jesus not only healed her, but she was transformed into a great saint!
10. CONFIDENCE: One of the most salient teachings in St. Faustina’s Diary of Mercy in My Soul is that Jesus insists on all, especially the most hardened sinners, to have limitless confidence in His infinite and inexhaustible mercy. The greatest sinner can become the greatest saint—under one condition: TRUST, TRUST, TRUST in the Mercy of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In the painting of the Image of Divine Mercy, Jesus insisted that the words “Jesus, I trust in You” be written on the painting itself. As we approach the Sacrament of Confession, also known as the Sacrament of God’s Mercy, let us approach not with partial trust but an infinite and limitless trust. The abundance of grace we receive will be in proportion to our trust in the mercy of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
We invite all of us sinners, striving to grow in holiness through frequenting the Sacrament of Confession, to review these ten suggestions. If done consistently before approaching the confessional, then the fruits of the sacrament will abound! May Our Lady of Mercy pray for us!
Photo by Josh Applegate on Unsplash
