Horoscopes and Confession

One of the greatest aids to a good spiritual life is a good confessor. I can't count how many times I have gone to confession and received a feel-good, general dose of spiritual advice that would apply to just about anybody. It was kind of like reading a horoscope - not that any good Catholic would read a horoscope, since that would be a sin against the first commandment. We all know that this commandment forbids idolatry, which is offering a creature or object the supreme worship that belongs to God alone; or ascribing to a creature or thing any of the attributes that belong to God alone. The first commandment also forbids sins of superstition and sacrilege, as well as sins against faith, hope & charity. Which is why Catholics don't read horoscopes.

Anyway, back to my story. A good confessor is hard to find, and I have finally found one. This priest is the assistant pastor at my church, and his confession line ups are long. We have two priests; the one who is not saying Mass sits in the confessional hearing confessions right up until Communion time, then he goes to the Sanctuary to help distribute Holy Communion to the faithful. (It never ceases to amaze me at how quickly two priests can distribute Holy Communion to a full church without the aid of lay people masquerading as Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion).

God has most certainly given this young priest a great gift; the gift of being a good confessor and the gift of counsel. Today I learned from him the reason God allows us to have memory flashes of serious sins we committed in our youth that have already been confessed and forgiven. It is not to make us scrupulous and to invoke despair over our unworthiness. It is to humble us. We are to use these memories as a reminder of how God pulled us up out of our state of sin and welcomed us back into His grace. We are to forever be humbled at His goodness in calling such a wretched sinner to a state of repentance. The devil will use these sins as leverage against us in any way he can, especially when we are on our deathbeds, and he is tempting us to despair over past sins. That is when we are to say to the devil, "It has been confessed. I am forgiven."

Now, isn't that better than a horoscope?

Confession made easy

There was a new priest in the confessional today, at least he must have been new, because even though I couldn't see him, I had never heard his voice before. After I made my confession, he asked questions based on the seven cardinal sins, most likely to stir my memory so that I could make a better and more complete confession. This is the first time I have had a priest do that, and it is certainly a beneficial practice. Through his questioning, I was able to recall a few things that had slipped my mind, and I know that some will say that forgotten sins are forgiven anyway, but I found this to be very helpful in making a better confession. I do wonder why more priests don't do this.

I hope he sticks around.