Sacramental Confession is truly a phenomenal supernatural treasure given to humanity by our loving and merciful God. Making a sincere, honest, and thorough confession is truly a group effort between the soul and the three Persons of the Blessed Trinity. That is why I suggest addressing all three Persons individually - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - when beginning one's confession.
Each distinct Person of the Blessed Trinity offers us something unique for our individual soul's welfare, and every time we go things are slightly different.
Perhaps it is because going to confession is such a personal experience that some people don't explore in greater detail the richness of what is said between the beginning script and the ending words of absolution.
Oh, so much is meant to happen in between! And the contents are meant to be deeply personal, very intimate, and incredibly powerful.
Some suggestions have been offered in precious posts about what to consider saying while making a sacramental confession, with actual examples provided, to encourage you to make your examinations of conscience beforehand very meaningful to you and to God so that your actual confession is so spiritually rich it releases absolute torrents of graces from heaven.
This particular post highlights the role grace plays in the quality of our sacramental confessions.
We know our adversary seeks our ruin and absolutely does not want us to go to confession. He battles us because he does not want us to be forgiven of our sins, be reconciled with God and the Church, grow in humility, and have our souls cleansed completely by the Sacred Blood of Christ, nor does he want us to obtain such valuable graces for ourselves and for others.
The quality of our confessions also depends upon what we know and what we have been taught.
Not nearly enough information is shared among Catholics about how to make sacramental confessions more deeply personal, intimate, and incredibly powerful.
Many people go to confession and don't even know how to make what they say to the Lord in between the scripted parts much more meaningful, personal, and powerful.
Such information is very beneficial for souls, and providing it for them is very necessary.
So many people don't even like going, and that is a great tragedy. The Lord does not want this. He did not institute Sacraments so we would hate them!
God wants our relationship with Him to grow deeper and more meaningful through His Sacraments.
The following story is shared to encourage you to change your perception of the Sacrament of Reconciliation if need be, to help you fall in love with the Sacrament of Divine Intimacy, and to encourage you to make your sacramental confessions even more fruitful.
Several years ago the Lord summoned my children and me to a parish He mentioned by name. We became members per His request but it was another six months to a year before we began going to confession there. The Lord knew and understood my reasons for waiting and when He wanted us to wait no longer, He gently orchestrated our transition.
The spiritual growth was tremendous and it happened in a hurry.
As a result, the demon's assaults intensified, indicating that great good was being accomplished by our going and by growing in sanctity.
In the beginning I knew something quite supernatural was taking place but still didn't know what I was doing. My confessions were amateurish at best. But the key was that I was obedient to what the Lord wanted, I was trying and actually made tremendous effort to go, and my confessors are holy priests who hear confessions often at the parish and so the graces just stream from the Lord in torrents.
After so many years of personal struggle and trying to survive plenty of trauma, I was not used to being completely open about personal things involving the heart in front of anyone, not even God. It seemed too risky. But this sacrament is the Sacrament of Divine Intimacy, of Divine Union! And being honest and open is what wonderful relationships are all about.
I do believe that any training or suggestions would have been beneficial to me at that time and the Lord agreed because He provided it, and would like this information shared to help you. +
I totally planned on taking my personal issues that kept me on the wrong side of that barrier to the grave with me. It's funny to think about it now after having crossed over to the other side. What seemed so insurmountable from the other side of the barrier seems so insignificant now.
It's hard now to imagine I ever felt that way. I had even resolved that my final confession before death would involve some emotional holding back. God will understand, I convinced myself. After all, He made me! He knows everything already, and His love for me is unconditional.
But as I later learned, these thoughts originated as temptations of the devil. He is happy to provide us with suggestions about confessing and rejoices to be the only one providing them to us. Then, there's no competition! He does not want us going to confession, ever, and if we do go, he tries so hard to manipulate us and get us to hold back during our confessions. He tries to get us to be secretive, embarrassed, put up our defenses because our hearts have been injured, and warps our understanding of this sacrament he knows is of so much value to mankind. One of his favorite strategies is to make us feel too ashamed to confess the very things the Lord is so willing to forgive. The devil is well aware that our honesty and genuine remorse will merit the graces we need to overcome our faults and to defeat sin.
If that doesn't work, he operates in the reverse and tries to get us to be prideful!
Once the devil lost his grip on me and I was able to be totally open and honest with my feelings, he switched strategies. You see, when his stranglehold on me was broken for good and I passed through that barrier, I absolutely fell in love with the Sacrament of Divine Intimacy. He won't ever get me to change my mind about being in love with God.So now he tries very, very hard to make me proud, tries to get me to hate my confessor, not listen to him, not agree with what he says, feel that he should be saying something else or something more, and even tries to convince me to get up and walk out. Get up and walk out!! He (the confessor) doesn't care about you! He could care less!
The devil went so far once as to tell me not to take a prayer card from my confessor before I had even gone into the confessional. Don't take it! Don't take it!! Tell him you don't want it! Refuse it. Leave it there. Leave it right there on the kneeler and walk out!! What a moment that was when I reached out and took a card from Father's hand after having received absolution. It wasn't a prayer card, but a card on which he had written some important information.
I will tell you that the devil can be very convincing, and that is why we must keep returning to confession to grow in humility and obtain much needed graces. The devil has harassed me on the way to church, well aware that I was on my way to confession, and has harassed me while I awaited my turn in the confessional. The devil even follows me in sometimes and lets me have it while I confess. Once I had to pause during my confession to collect myself because he was battling me so viciously to get me to stop confessing.
Can you identify his various attempts to prevent you from going? You do know that God does want you to go, and His grace is sufficient to accomplish all things.
Going to confession is sacrificial. It is a willful act of surrender, the humble submission of one's will to God. Sacrificial love is the most powerful force in the universe. It is so strong that the bonds formed by it cannot ever be broken. It is so strong that the gates of hell cannot prevail against it.
Make use of it to change lives, including your own.
This grace was granted to me by the Sacred Heart of Jesus because He knew I was trying. This grace was obtained through the loving and maternal intercession of Blessed Mother, by
my saint friends in heaven, the prayers of my angel guardian, and the efforts of countless good people through all time who prayed and suffered for sinners (me).
I had no intention of making that major spiritual leap on the particular day it happened. All of a sudden, without warning, just before leaving the house for the church, I could feel God's grace in a very profound way. It was made very clear to me what was happening.
All of a sudden I had a tremendous desire to be totally honest and open in the confessional. There were no fears or inhibitions, and I felt immersed in the love and mercy of God. It was a very beautiful experience.
As a result, I very comfortably stated my confession that morning and for the first time ever, was totally genuine. What a moment that was! So loving, and so significant. After being absolved of my sins I asked my confessor, who had guided my soul to that point so well, if I could come around and give him a hug on such a momentous occasion. He said sure, and as we hugged I said with such joy, "We're making progress!"
Finally, I was making progress!
Once I had passed through that invisible barrier, my perception changed entirely and I could not believe that I had held back for so long, that it seemed like such a big deal, and that there was ever a time when I had resolved to go to my grave willing to accept so little.
That is what God's grace can accomplish in an instant.
The devil had me fooled for so long, but heaven and good people interceded for me and now there is no going back, not ever.
Once, the Lord even said that the devil's stranglehold on my family is being broken, and this is happening in part because of the power of making deeply personal, intimate, and thus powerful sacramental confessions.
Humility is a very powerful choice of the will and a necessary weapon in the battle to overcome evil.
By valuing the Sacrament of Reconciliation, going often, and striving to make our confessions personal, intimate, and powerful we must embrace humility. Every time we go we have the precious opportunity to grow in humility through the practice of self mastery. Eventually, with the help of God's graces, we grow in sanctity. We get much better at it. It is possible for our spiritual growth to be tremendous.
There have been several more times since when I have experienced the power of grace at work in my soul which was the direct result of just having made a very meaningful, intimate, and thus powerful sacramental confession.
So, so much happens during each sacramental confession. We admit our faults, promise to do better, obtain the grace to make good on our promise, our souls are cleansed from sin, we reconcile with God and with the Church, forgive ourselves, forgive others, and ask for forgiveness for all those we have hurt by our actions or inactions. We grow in sanctity, we become better people. We become more humble, more tolerant, more understanding. We obtain the grace to practice fraternal charity. We obtain grace for ourselves and for others, we spend very meaningful time with the Lord, and we tap into the supernatural where with God, all things are possible.
Discover or rediscover the Sacrament of Christ's Peace. God is so in love with you!!
For more suggestions on making your sacramental confessions more personal, intimate, and powerful, visit: The Sacrament of Divine Intimacy .
© Joseph Karl Publishing/ Michele Bondi Bottesi
