Ego Te Absolvo

     
        Advent is a season of anticipation and preparation. We anticipate the birth of Christ at Christmas, and we prepare ourselves by doing penance and good works. Many people avail themselves of the Sacrament of Confession or Reconciliation.


       Tonight there was a Reconciliation service where several priests from the Diocese gathered at my parish to hear peoples confessions. Being a bit of a roamer, I flitted from line to line until I finally decided to sit in a pew and see which one dwindled the fastest. I was at the back of the church so I wasn't able to hear anything, but I did watch the priests and the penitents as the Sacrament was celebrated. Some people cried, some seemed angry or hurt, but they all had the same look as they left the priest. It was a look of relief, as if a great stone had been lifted from their hearts. Not a few of them almost seemed to float out of the church.


       This makes a great deal of sense because the Sacrament of Confession is one of the Sacraments of healing, the other being the Anointing of the Sick. In the Sacrament the priest acts "In persona Christi' or in the person of Christ, and so Christ continues his healing work of forgiveness through the ministry of the priest. Christ conferred this power of forgiveness to his Apostles when he said to them "Receive ye the Holy Ghost, whose sins you shall forgive they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain they are retained." The Apostles passed this authority on to those they ordained, and through that Apostolic succession the ministry remains.

        Another thing that struck me as I watched the confessions was the the look on the faces of the priests. When the penitent first sat there was a look of welcoming, and it was apparent that they were trying to make the person feel at ease. As the confession progressed there was concern and pity, and finally at the act of absolution there was joy. It reminded me of the parable of the prodigal son when the father had his servant prepare a feast "Because this my son was dead, and is come to life again: was lost, and is found." The lost lamb that had left the flock was now home, and the son who was dead is alive again.