One Saturday night years ago I went out to a bar for a good time in Belmar, NJ. It was a place not unlike the one that sometimes keeps me up at night these days. This is God’s sense of humor. But this particular night I finally hit bottom after many years of living a very disordered life. Being thrown into the drunk tank sobered me up quickly, and out of desperation I prayed from my heart: God please help me. It was the beginning of a slow conversion process. After about two and a half years I finally got up the courage to go to confession. It took me that long to make up my mind to try to live my life God’s way and not my way. It had been about 15 years since my last confession. I cried like a baby.

I walked out of the confessional noticing that I really did not feel any kind of emotional high. But I knew that my sins were forgiven, that I was right with God. With time I came to be more aware of a peace deep inside that can only come when we are reconciled with Our Creator. This experience was a big motivation for me when I eventually began to experience a call to the priesthood. I wanted to be able to help other people find that peace.

Many ask why they have to go to a priest to confess their sins. They prefer to go to Jesus directly, to cut out the middle man. It is a good question because it is true that only God can forgive sins. But Our Lord clearly delegated that authority to His first priests, the twelve apostles on the very night of His Resurrection. (Jn 20:23) And they have passed that power on through the Sacrament of Holy Orders. So the first answer is the one that none of us like: because Jesus said so.

But God does not do things for no reason. The Sacrament of Confession is given to us because it is something we need. There are several good reasons why this is so but I will mention only one for now. As human beings we normally communicate using our bodily powers and senses. The voice speaks, ears listen, the face frowns, the eyes give a cold stare. If I offend someone that I love, I need to say “I’m sorry.” And I hope to hear with my ears, “I forgive you.” Otherwise, the obstacle between us remains. In Confession we say with our mouths, I did this and I am sorry. Then we hear Jesus speak to us through the priest: “I absolve you of your sins…” This is how relationships are healed, especially our relationship with Our Lord.

Holy Rosary Shrine has many hours each week where Confession is available. Come and find that peace. God bless you.

Fr. Peter