Feature Articles
Reconciliation and the Doctor's Office
Reflections on a Sacrament of Healing
Reflections on a Sacrament of Healing
A few weeks ago, I gave a talk to the parents of some First Reconciliation students.
I asked these parents if they enjoyed going to confession, if they looked forward to it and wanted to do it as often as possible. I asked for a show of hands… come on, how many of you enjoy confession? NO ONE raised their hand.
Maybe its because one of the images people have of Reconciliation is that the sacrament is something like a court of law. You go before the Judge (God, with his representative, the priest) to declare your guilt and then you receive a sentence that provides the appropriate penalty for the crime. Confession is the witness stand, and penance is your punishment.
Let me propose a different way of looking at this sacrament. Reconciliation is really more like a visit to the doctor's office. While no one looks forward to a doctor's visit, you know that sometimes it is the only way you are going to get better. So you see the doctor, tell him what ails you, and get the appropriate treatment. In Confession, the infection of sin is cured, and the medicine given is a penance to aid in healing and getting better.
Sometimes doing our penance is inconvenient, and makes us stop and take a time out with God or to do something in particular. Just like a medicine that might taste yucky, make you drowsy, or have some side-effect, a penance is not always pleasant. But it does help make you better.
When God sees how we have injured ourselves with our sin, he doesn't want to make us suffer more. He wants us to be healed and to be made better.
So if you have a little spiritual ache or a pain in the soul, stop in the confessional. And be sure to finish all of your medication so you can help avoid a reinfection of those nasty germs of sin. Of course, you can always help your spiritual health by taking a daily supplement… of prayer. Stop by your neighborhood confessional… God our "Doctor" is in.
I asked these parents if they enjoyed going to confession, if they looked forward to it and wanted to do it as often as possible. I asked for a show of hands… come on, how many of you enjoy confession? NO ONE raised their hand.
Maybe its because one of the images people have of Reconciliation is that the sacrament is something like a court of law. You go before the Judge (God, with his representative, the priest) to declare your guilt and then you receive a sentence that provides the appropriate penalty for the crime. Confession is the witness stand, and penance is your punishment.
Let me propose a different way of looking at this sacrament. Reconciliation is really more like a visit to the doctor's office. While no one looks forward to a doctor's visit, you know that sometimes it is the only way you are going to get better. So you see the doctor, tell him what ails you, and get the appropriate treatment. In Confession, the infection of sin is cured, and the medicine given is a penance to aid in healing and getting better.
Sometimes doing our penance is inconvenient, and makes us stop and take a time out with God or to do something in particular. Just like a medicine that might taste yucky, make you drowsy, or have some side-effect, a penance is not always pleasant. But it does help make you better.
When God sees how we have injured ourselves with our sin, he doesn't want to make us suffer more. He wants us to be healed and to be made better.
So if you have a little spiritual ache or a pain in the soul, stop in the confessional. And be sure to finish all of your medication so you can help avoid a reinfection of those nasty germs of sin. Of course, you can always help your spiritual health by taking a daily supplement… of prayer. Stop by your neighborhood confessional… God our "Doctor" is in.