Transcript

When you're sorry for some mistake or fault, basic expectations for interpersonal relationships, the man that you ask for forgiveness.

You state what you did wrong, you apologize, you ask to be forgiven.

That is the essence of confession.

It's necessary in our relationships with other human beings, and it's necessary for our relationship with God and His Church.

In earlier episodes of Aquinas 101, we discussed how the Sacrament of Penance involves three acts by the penitent.

These constitute the matter of the sacrament.

First, the penitent grieves for past sins.

Second, he or she confesses those sins to a priest.

Third, the penitent performs a work of satisfaction, a penance.

Working with those three elements, the priest perfects the penitent by forgiving the penitent with the words, I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

In this video, we will focus on the second act by the penitent, confession.

'Cause confessing one's sins is such a noteworthy part of the penitent's experience, the sacrament is often called confession, even though confession is just one of the penitent's acts.

Confession is the sacramental manifestation of sorrow for personal sins committed since baptism, a manifestation made to a priest in order to be absolved of sins.

Confession scares some people.

It reveals sensitive matters.

It's embarrassing.

But sacramental confession is also moved by God's grace.

God takes the initiative to reconcile us to Himself and His people.

He turns us from sin to sanctity.

While confession is personally challenging, God moves and supports us throughout the process.

So have confidence in God and in confession.

We confess externally to another person, specifically a priest, for a couple of reasons.

On a human level, every sin is personal and social.

Even so-called private sins wound not just the sinner.

They also offend God, and at the least, let down fellow human beings.

Even private sins prevent us from being the human beings we're supposed to be, saints.

For example, if someone wastes all of his time playing video games in his bedroom, or privately gets drunk, that person fails to serve God and neighbor.

There can beEd sins of commission, for instance, the active use of drugs, and there can be sins of omission, for instance, letting down our neighbors.

But the world needs saints.

Christ calls us to be saints.

So if we sin, we should correct the situation by confessing our sins to a Catholic priest, who is a representative of God and neighbor.

Sin is social and repentance is social.

Jesus' Christ teaching on the Ministry of Reconciliation builds upon our sociability.

Jesus says in the gospel of Matthew, If you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go.

First, be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

In other words, to be reconciled, go and talk with your brother.

Similarly, Saint James exhorted in his letter, Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed.

From our confession, Christ priests can forgive us.

As Jesus told His apostles, If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven.

If you retain the sins of any, they are retained.

We confess so that Christ ministers and Christ Himself can forgive.

One commonly asked question is, can confession and absolution work through a live video chat or a telephone call?

The answer is no.

Confession and absolution must be in person, not remote.

Why not?

Over great distances of miles and miles, you and I can have an intellectual union by thinking the same idea at the same time.

For instance, we can talk about chocolate chip cookies, and we can both know what we're talking about.

And over great distances, we can have a moral union by choosing the same good.

We can both want a cookie.

But over the telephone or internet, I cannot physically share with you a cookie.

That limitation highlights that the fullness of human reality is physical.

Christ wants to save us in both soul and body, so His sacraments respect our anthropology as living, enfleshed beings.

The sacraments depend upon live, physical, personal actions and objects.

The Sacrament of Penance is a live conversation between a penitent and a priest.

And because you and the priest are enfleshed beings, and because God's forgiveness to you includes physical effects over the long term, including in heaven, your confession must be live in the flesh.

That confession involves sound waves produced by your vocal cords, or if you cannot speak physically, written signs or physical gestures that express your present sorrow for past sins.

Before we go to confession, it can be helpful to make an examination of conscience.

We ask God to reveal how we have fallen short of being saints.

We review the time since our baptism or last good confession, recall any sins, repent for them, and resolve to confess them sacramentally.

To examine our consciences, we can benefit from printed or online questionnaires or lists of common sense.

Some apps provide prompts for an examination of conscience as well.

You can also review the virtues and the vices or the Ten Commandments.

Having examined our conscience, we confess our sins according to the type of sin, the number of times that we've committed that sin, and any special circumstances.

That is a complete confession that shows our integral sorrow.

The life of holiness requires that we regret and confess all of our grave sins.

We cannot pick and choose.

I cannot tell my grieved friend, Well, I'm sorry for stealing from you, but I'm not sorry that I made hurtful jokes about you.

I cannot say that if I want to be friends again.

So we confess each of our grave sins.

We also can confess our light small sins, our venial sins.

Confession is humbling, but remember that God helps us to confess, and the divine reward of forgiveness is sweet.

Confession liberates us to be saints.

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