And miles to go

by Bishop John C. Nienstedt

Praised be Jesus Christ now and forever! I was a little embarrassed that so much ink was spilled about me in the last issue of the Prairie Catholic. However, my Mom and Dad in Detroit loved it!

One of the highlights of my life that wasn’t mentioned, however, is the fact that for the past thirteen years I have taught the Penance Practicum for transitional deacons about to be ordained priests and celebrants of the Sacrament of Penance/Reconciliation.

Teaching this course made me realize how poorly I was prepared in the seminary to be a good confessor. In fact, I was never encouraged to memorize the Prayer of Absolution before ordination and thus found myself fumbling around when I heard my very first confession! We did learn well the post-Reformation principle of ex opere operato, which is to say that the effectiveness of the Sacrament does not depend on the personal, spiritual merits of the confessor (and hence, the Sacrament is validly celebrated with the words of Absolution), but we missed the beauty and depth of the sacramental moment in the dialogue that takes place between confessor and penitent in the confession of sin and the gentle counsel offered. Christ is present in this dialogue and can be experienced - at times even palpably - by priest and penitent alike.

In my class, each student takes the role as confessor in three different confessional situations that I make up and he invites someone to take the part of the penitent for each. These encounters are videotaped and evaluated by the whole class. The first area we discuss is that of moral content, asking where was the sin that was confessed. Often the heart of the sin is not the focus of what the penitent at first confessed. With skilled and gentle probing, the student learns how to uncover where the resistance, the rebellion, the self-centeredness truly lies and then he helps the person articulate that reality. I always point out that this is not a counseling session, but a spiritual search to locate and purge those obstacles that block our growth in faith, hope or love.

Why is it important to express our sin in so many words? Members of Alcoholics Anonymous learned the answer to this a long time ago. As intelligent beings, we can often deceive ourselves by various forms of rationalization. If you were to call AA and ask for help, the representative on the end of the phone would say, "Are you an alcoholic?" If you reply, "Well, no, I just seem to be drinking more than I should",

the rep says, "Fine, call us back when you think you are an alcoholic." Now that’s tough love!

Something happens psychologically and spiritually when I speak a difficult reality about myself. That word becomes objective once it is spoken. In a sense, it takes on a life of its own. I can then distance my subjective self from it. I can also let go of it and allow God to forgive the sin.

Given this powerful human dynamic, which is thoroughly penetrated by the Holy Spirit, we begin to appreciate why it is that the Church relegates General Absolution to emergency situations only. Sacraments are not magical, but deeply interpersonal. In the mystery of the Incarnation, God chose to use our humanity to communicate his salvation. Therefore, the Church’s expectation (and mine) is that we offer the full potential of the Sacrament in Form One and Two, with Individual Confession and Individual Absolution.

I constantly told my students that the noble task of renewing the Sacrament of Penance/Reconciliation as called for by the Second Vatican Council has been left to them. Obviously, it has not fully happened and that is to be pitied. But, our hope lies in the Lord who will not abandon his Church, despite our weakness and even our desire, at times, to control His Spirit.

God love you!

November 2001