And miles to go

Confession of Sins

The world famous crooner, Frank Sinatra, left the world his signature, autobiographical insight into his life when he recorded, "I did it my way." Always a fast-action, high profile star on the edge of the law, "Old Blue Eyes" wanted future generations to know he was an authority unto himself; he was in charge of his own universe.

Something of Sinatra's self-proclaimed independence permeates the Diocese of New Ulm as we struggle to regain the Catholic Church's theological understanding of the Sacrament of Penance/Reconciliation after decades of General Absolution. Despite the fact that the repeated use of General Absolution was never approved as being valid by the Church Universal and never officially sanctioned by my predecessors, it took on a life of its own.

Why is General Absolution for serious sins an illegitimate form for celebrating the Sacrament under normal circumstances? 

The answer to the question, of course, must go back to Jesus. St. John the Evangelist records (Jn 20:19-23) that on the very night of his Resurrection, Jesus appeared to his disciples hiding behind locked doors. His greeting is "Shalom" - peace, not the absence of violence or the tranquility of a bucolic scene, but the restoration of reality to its original condition (i.e. the watchmaker who fixes a broken timepiece brings "shalom" upon it). Next, Jesus commissions his disciples with the breath of the Holy Spirit and says, "If you forgive men's sins, they are forgiven them; if you hold them bound, they are held bound."

Is it somehow circumstantial that Jesus' first post-Resurrection instruction focuses on the forgiveness of sins? Not at all! Having just suffered an ignominious and a tortuous death for the sins of mankind, Jesus was intent to see his liberating power of sins' forgiveness put into action. He begins with his descent among the dead (see Acts 3:15, Rom 8:11, 1 Cor 15:20), proclaiming the Good News to the spirits imprisoned there (CCC 632), and spreading his work of redemption to all men and women of every time and place (CCC 634). Being raised from the dead on the third day, Jesus cannot wait to bring his power of forgiveness to those on earth, yet he chooses to mediate it through those whom he has chosen as his priests in an incarnational mode. To these he entrusts the authority of judging a true spirit of contrition on the part of the one who confesses. How else are we to understand the notion "to bind and loose"? 

The German theologian, Adrienne von Speyr, writes: "Living transparent and without sin before the Father, the Son knows what is good for men. The Son is he who lives in a state of purity. The sinner lives more or less in a state of sin; he does not really believe that he can break with sin, but he feels its burden and yearns - at least in certain moments - to be rid of it. The sacrament of confession is the ever-new moment of purification; if a man's faith is strong and effective, it can encompass whole areas of his life" [see Von Speyr, Confession (San Francisco, Ignatius Press, 1985, 93)]. 

Transparency is likewise the reason behind the Church's insistence on a full and integral confession. It is one's whole life that is placed before the transforming power of Christ's forgiveness and nothing ought to be hidden or held in reserve. The confession of sin makes no sense without the desire for conversion.

This desire for conversion begins with a recognition that one no longer wants to sin, but likewise feels powerless himself to overcome the hold that sin maintains. 

There are, I believe, two other factors that have contributed to the malaise characteristic of our contemporary devotion to the Sacrament: a denial of personal responsibility for sin and a dearth of effective confessors. 

Many Catholics today, while theoretically acknowledging the problem of evil, are unwilling to see their own participation in it. Part of this phenomenon is due to a false understanding of psychology that would place the burden of blame for individual wrongdoing on someone other than the perpetrator. But another strong influence is a strong mistrust of those in authority to name as "sinful" what those authority figures are themselves guilty of doing. In those instances, the authority figure has failed to convey that the criteria for sin is set by God and not by man. 

Just so, penitents have not often found in confessors the same level of aptitude and professionalism (i.e. holiness) that they might find in their doctor or lawyer. Surely the wisdom of a sensitive and helpful confessor comes with age and experience. Yet, I believe the Church can do better than she has in training priesthood candidates in the skills and art of listening to penitents and assisting them to experience the merciful love of God. 

I do not wish to imply here that confessing one's sins is not difficult or that it doesn't require personal effort. When forced to go, many Catholics revert to telling the same sins that they did as children, while knowing that these no longer apply in depth. Yet, to examine where one's rebelliousness against God as a mature adult lies today - well, that takes thought, reflection and careful self-examination. It also requires growth in adult religious education and formation, which again the Church must somehow provide. Above all, it takes a certain humility to acknowledge Jesus' lordship over one's life. 

It is only normal and terribly American to seek forgiveness with little or no effort. But the Sacraments are not magic and sins do not disappear because the wand of a blessing is passed over a crowd. In every instance in the Gospels of Jesus' forgiving someone, we find a situation of one-on-one with Jesus drawing the sinner into deeper repentance and contrition.

Finally, Jesus never betrayed an attitude of "doing it my way," for he did everything according to the Father's way. So, when it comes to the Sacrament of Penance/ Reconciliation, a Catholic is indeed free to risk doing it "his or her way," but to do so means never experiencing the full impact or experience of Easter joy.

God love you!

(March, 2005)

Falta Mucho por Recorrer

¿Porqué la absolución general para pecados serios es una forma ilegítima de celebrar el sacramento bajo circunstancias normales?

La respuesta a la pregunta, por supuesto, la podemos encontrar en Jesús. Segun el evangelio de San Juan (Jn 20:19-23) la misma noche de su Resurrección, Jesús se le apareció a sus discípulos que se ocultaban detrás de las puertas. Su saludo fue - paz a ustedes, no a la ausencia de violencia ni a la tranquilidad de una escena campestre pero la restauración de la realidad a su condición original. Después, Jesús comiciona a sus discipulos con un soplo del Espíritu Santo diciendo, a quienes ustedes perdonen los pecados, les quedarán perdonados, y a quienes no se lo perdonen, les quedarán sin perdonar.

¿Es de alguna manera circunstancial que en la primera instrucción de la post-resurrección de Jesús se enfoca en el perdón de los pecados? ¡En lo absoluto! El haber padecido de manera cruel por los pecados de la humanidad. El objetivo de Jesús fue poner en acción y liberar el perdón de los pecados. Él que resucito de entre los muertos (ver Actos 3:15, Ro 8:11, 1 co. 15:20), proclamando la buena nueva a los apricionados en espíritu (cc 632), y propagando su trabajo de salvar a toda la humanidad. (cc 634). Después del tercer día de haber resucitado de entre los muertos, Jesús no puede esperar para traer su poder de perdón a todo ser humano que se encuentran en la tierra, aún, él escoge para interceder y quien a escogido como sus sacerdotes como manera de encarnación. A ésto, él confía la autoridad de juzgar el verdadero espíritu de contrición del que se confiesa.

El teólogo alemán Adrianne von Speyr, escribe: vivir de manera sencilla y sin pecado ante los ojos del Padre, el Hijo sabe todo lo bueno para el hombre. El Hijo es él que vive en una condición de pureza. El que comete pecados vive más o menos en un estado de pecado; pero creé que no puede parar de pecar, pero siente una carga y anhela de no pecar más. Al menos en ciertos momentos. El sacramento de la confesión es un momento nuevo de purificación; si la fe del hombre es fuerte y eficaz, puede abarcar areas enteras de su vida." [ver Von Speryr, Confesiones (San Francisco, Ignatius Press, 1985, 93)]

Así mismo la transparencia es la razón detrás de la insistencia de la Iglesia a una confesión completa e integral. Es la vida entera de uno que se pone antes de transformar el poder del perdon de Cristo y por ende nada debería estar oculto ni ser reservado. La confesión de los pecados no tendría sentido sin un deseo para la conversión.

Este deseo de conversion comienza con reconocer que uno ya no quiere pecar, así mismo se siente impotente de no cumplir y no mantener la promesa de no pecar. 

No deseo implicar aqui que confesarse no es una tarea dificil ya que require un esfuerzo  personal. Cuando muchos católicos son forzados a confesarse, ellos tienden a decir los mismos pecados de cuando eran niños, sabiendo que estos ya no se aplican en profundidad. Aún, el examinar donde se revela contra Dios como persona adulta se ve hoy en día, eso toma reflexión y un examen de conciencia cuidadoso. También requiere crecimiento en educación religiosa y formación, y que de alguna manera la Iglesia proveé eso. Sobretodo, toma cierta humildad para reconocer a Dios en la vida de uno.

Es solamente normal y de estereotipo Americano buscar perdón con un poco o con ningun esfuerzo. Los sacramentos no son mágicos y los pecados no desaparecen como por arte de magia. En cada caso, en los evangelios de Dios perdonar a alguien, encontramos una situación, de uno en uno con Jesús que guia al pecador a un profundo arrepentimiento y contrición.