Fr. Lawrence OGUNDIPE, SDV

 

There is a question every sincere Catholic must face from time to time. When last did you go for confession? Not yesterday. Not last year. But truly, when last did you kneel in humility and allow mercy to touch your wounds. Are you aware death comes without warning? What if you die today or tomorrow where would your soul be, heaven, purgatory, or hell?

 

Many of us carry burdens. We live with quiet guilt, hidden shame, and interior restlessness. Yet the door of mercy remains open. Instead of going to the Father like the prodigal son we remained in the foreign land of sin.

 

THE BOY WHO CARRIED A SECRET

 

In a small village lived a poor widow with her two children, John and Chioma. As Christmas approached, the widow could not afford much, so she bought a live turkey and decided to rear it carefully for the celebration.

 

John was a good and obedient boy, but he loved hunting with the small catapult his mother had given him. One day he went hunting but returned empty handed. His sister Chioma laughed and mocked him. Stung by embarrassment, John acted rashly. He struck and killed the family’s turkey. Chioma saw everything.

 

I will tell Mummy, she warned, unless you do whatever I ask. Fear entered John’s heart, and he agreed.

 

From that day forward, John became a quiet slave to his sister. Days turned into weeks. Weeks into months. He swept, fetched, washed, and obeyed every command, all because of one hidden sin.

 

Then one Sunday, courage finally rose within him. He went to his mother and confessed everything, expecting anger and punishment.

 

But the mother simply smiled and said, John, I saw you that day. I already knew. I only wondered why you did not come to tell me. In that moment, John was free.

 

This story is our story. Many Christians today live exactly like John. God already knows our sins. Heaven is not shocked by our weakness. Yet instead of running to the Father, we hide. We carry guilt. We become spiritually enslaved.

 

The Sacrament of Reconciliation exists precisely to break this bondage. As the Catechism teaches, “Those who approach the sacrament of Penance obtain pardon from God’s mercy for the offense committed against him” (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1422). God is not waiting to disgrace you. He is waiting to free you.

 

 

IT IS JESUS YOU MEET AT THE CONFESSIONAL NOT THE PRIEST

 

One common fear people have is this. Why should I confess to a priest? I will confess directly to God.

 

The Church answers clearly and tenderly. In confession, you are not confessing to the priest as a mere man. You are confessing to Jesus Christ who acts through the priest. After His resurrection, Jesus breathed on the apostles and said in Gospel of John 20:22 to 23, “Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” This was not poetry. It was the institution of a sacrament. Hence, the priest is an instrument. Christ is the true healer. When you kneel in confession, faith sees beyond the human voice. It is Christ who listens. It is Christ who absolves. It is Christ who restores.

 

NOTE THE WEAKNESS OF THE PRIEST DOES NOT CANCEL THE EFFICACY OF THE SACRAMENT

 

Another obstacle for many is this painful thought. But Father himself is not perfect. This is true. Priests are human. They struggle. They grow. They need mercy too. But the power of the sacrament does not come from the holiness of the priest. It comes from Christ. The Church teaches this firmly. The sacraments work ex opere operato, meaning by the very fact of the sacramental action being performed, because Christ Himself acts in them. This is taught authoritatively by the Council of Trent.

 

Even if the priest is weak, Christ is strong. Think of muddy pipes carrying clean water. The pipe may not be beautiful, but the water is still pure. So too, divine mercy flows through the sacrament because Christ is faithful to His promise.

 

The saints understood what many modern Christians have forgotten.

 

St John Paul II went to confession regularly, even weekly, despite being Pope. He knew that the closer one comes to God, the more one desires purification. St Padre Pio spent long hours in the confessional and insisted, “Confession is the soul’s bath.” St Thérèse of Lisieux approached the sacrament with childlike trust, seeing it as an encounter with merciful love. St John Vianney himself spent up to sixteen hours a day hearing confessions because he knew this was where chains are broken. The saints did not avoid confession. They ran toward it.

 

A GENTLE EXAMINATION

 

So now the question returns quietly to your heart. When last did you go for confession? Are you carrying something heavy. Are you living like John, quietly burdened, spiritually tired, inwardly restless. God already knows. Heaven has already seen. Mercy is already prepared. What remains is your step forward.

 

Do not let fear enslave you. Do not let shame delay you. Do not let the weakness of the minister distract you from the power of Christ. The confessional is not a courtroom. It is the Father’s embrace.

 

The moment John spoke the truth, he was free. The moment you kneel sincerely before Christ in the sacrament, grace begins its quiet work.

 

Go. Not because you are perfect. Go because mercy is waiting. Always remember the confessional is the only tribunal in the world where you accuse yourself guilty and the verdict is always mercy. The season of Lent is here again do not miss it Christ is waiting for you...

 

When last did you go for confession?