While many Catholics have stopped receiving this Sacrament, some Protestants are beginning to discover the gift that this Sacrament can be in the spiritual life.

The following are excerpts I recently read on an article which seemingly appeared in the Orlando Sentinel.

The sign at the church door read: “Confession: Thursdays, 1-3 pm.” But this wasn’t a Catholic parish—it was a Methodist church. It may be a sign of the times. A growing number of Christians—including Protestants—are looking to confession as a spiritual practice that offers comfort and healing.

“The tradition of confession fell on hard times...but is today making a comeback,” says Jim Forest, author of Confession: Doorway to Forgiveness.” “Frequently, people will come to me asking for counseling or spiritual direction,” says Natalie Van Kirk of Southern Methodist University’s Graduate Program of Religious Studies, “but what they really want is to make confession.

Individual confession to a priest has long been a tradition in Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches. But Protestant reformers of the 16th century largely threw the practice out, offering only communal prayers of confession. Now, some wonder whether Protestantism threw the baby out with the bath water.

“Making confession in the presence of another human being keeps us honest,” says the Rev. Brian McPherson, senior pastor of Munger Place United Methodist Church in Dallas. “We all know kings and queens of denial. Confession removes that denial and makes us healthy.” The Rev. Thomas Q. Robbins, senior pastor of University Park United Methodist in Dallas, offered one-on-one confession a few years ago. With no Methodist ritual for individual confession, he wrote his own, and put on his robes to meet with church members. While there were few takers, he still believes that Methodism needs a liturgy for individual confession.

“Protestants tend to reduce everything to a logical exercise,” Robbins says. “A ritual would help penetrate our rational defenses and allow more healing to take place.” It may be that Robbins was just a bit ahead of the curve. Best sellers in spiritual formation, such as Richard Foster’s Celebration of Discipline and Marjorie Thompson’s Soul Feast, include sections on confession. “You have people, who didn’t typically think of themselves as ‘going to confession'; reading more and more about it,” says Rev. Frederick Schmidt, an Episcopal priest and director of spiritual life and formation at Southern Methodist University Perkins School of Theology.

Ecumenical dialogue, he adds, fuels the fire. Foster is a Quaker and Thompson is a Presbyterian minister writing for a Methodist publishing house. “People are more willing to look at spiritual disciplines across Christian traditions,” Schmidt says. “Admission and forgiveness are biblical principles,” says Becky Tirabassi, author of Change Your Life, a Christian self-help book. As a recovering alcoholic who has been sober since 1979, Tirabassi thinks Twelve Step programs, such as Alcoholics Anonymous, work because they require participants to confess. The fifth step instructs recovering addicts to “admit to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.”

The Rev. Michael Baxter, a theology professor at the University of Notre Dame, witnessed a surge in confessions after Sept. 11 and says college students have generally been more receptive to the idea in recent years. “I think they are wary of a culture that’s pandering to them, that’s saying, ‘Do whatever you want to do,’” he says.

Why the new interest? Many Christians who once dismissed confession as a punitive or rote exercise now see it as a path to healing. “I think we’re rediscovering its potential for a deeper relationship with God,” says SMU’s Van Kirk, an Episcopalian. She cites a verse from the New Testament Letter of James: “Confess you sins to one another...so that you may be healed” (5:16).

Dianne May has mixed feelings about the word “sin,” but she’s convinced that confession heals. After joining an Episcopal church in Coppell, Texas, her priest suggested she make confession as a way of addressing ongoing emotional issues. She spent two weeks reviewing her life and compiled a list of memories that elicited regret. “It was a very intense, very emotional experience,” she says. “Afterward, I literally felt a physical sense of relief. There was this heaviness in my heart that was lifted.”

Joe Matyus of Garland, Texas, a lifelong Catholic, says he was “lukewarm” about confession when he was young. Recently a deeper study of Christian theology convinced him of its value. “More Catholics are wanting to know why we do things like confessions,” he says. “When they understand the reason for confession, they’re more interested.”

Catholics returning to confession may find it a different experience from that of their childhood. “It’s not what you see on TV,” says Denise Phillips, director of campus ministry at the University of Dallas, a Catholic school. “The priest isn’t behind a screen in this dim, dark box. Most churches have ‘reconciliation rooms’ instead of confessionals. You can choose to sit face to face with the priest.”

Of course, the Catholic church continues to offer the anonymous style confession.

“Confession is good for the soul” is an old and wise dictum. This is especially true when one’s soul is burdened with guilt. (end of excerpts from article)

Shame Holds Us Back.

Shame holds lots of people back for going to the Sacrament of Reconciliation. People think that the priest sees them at their worst in confession. Recently, I read an interesting twist on this widely held perception. The fact is that everybody sins, including the priest; however, only some sinners are moved to confess and repent of their sins. When we tell our sins to a priest and express our sorrow for our sins, the priest sees us at our best. In the Sacrament of Reconciliation the good confessor sees you not in your sinning, but; in your repentance. What a wonderful way to look upon this sacrament for both the priest and penitent alike.

Not a lot of time

One of the drawbacks of a Communal Penance service, is that there is not a lot of time to pour out ones heart to the priest. When lots of people are waiting in line, we have to get right to the point. This works fair enough for most people. They have no need to chat. They just need to name some sins, receive a penance and hear the words of absolution. But, sometimes people need more time to talk about stuff. In these cases individuals should call the priest for an appointment.

“The Firm Purpose of Amendment”

The firm purpose of amendment refers to our sincere intension to turn away from our sins and turn to the ways of Christ. This is a tough one for all of us because all of us are only too well aware that we will fall back into the same old sins over and over. But, it doesn’t have to be that way. Through our cooperation with the grace of Christ, we can achieve victory over our individual weaknesses. The problem is that most of the time we are not very motivated to work at it. If we really want to overcome a particular sin or weakness we can make great strides if we do the following:

Clearly name the area of sin or weakness, e.g., bad temper, stealing, lust.

Begin each day by admitting to God ones weakness in this area and ones need for help. “Jesus, you know how I struggle with…..name the area of weakness. Today, grace me with the strength to resist my tendency to lash out and hurt others with my words and actions.”

As you move through the day, be vigilant and be ready to do all you can to say ‘No’ to giving into your area of weakness. Every time you achieve a small victory, take a moment to thank Jesus for helping you.

At the end of the day, do a quick check (examination of conscience) to see how you did. Thank God for the victories, express contrition for the failures and ask for renewed strength and motivation to resist this weakness.

All things are possible with God’s grace and with strong motivation and focus. It is amazing what we can do when we are truly motivated and truly working with the Spirit.