Childlike Trust and Confession

The Sacrament of Confession may be one of the least received Sacraments in the Church today.  Even those who go to Sunday every week might find it difficult to muster the courage to tell their faults and shortcomings to their local parish priest.  The reasons for being intimidated by Confession are many, but I would like to reach out to those who find it difficult to reconcile (pun intended!) the infinite capacity and power of God’s Mercy with the seeming gravity of their own failings.  Maybe you have been away from the Church for a long time, and you find it hard to see how God would be delighted to have you back after being away for so long.  Maybe you’ve been struggling with bad habits for years, and you are wondering whether your resolutions to not sin again are a waste of you breath, or that your contrition is simply insufficient.  As someone who must wrestle with sin, just like everyone else, I want to tell you that God’s Mercy can reach you wherever you are at.  The key, as I have learned in my own spiritual journey, is confidence, and a childlike desire to make God happy.

To prepare confession, maybe think back to the time you were a young child; who was the person you loved most in the world?  Was that person your mom or dad, or your big brother or sister?  Remember how you wanted to do whatever you could to make that special someone happy?  When you weren’t nice to that person, remember how sorry you felt, and how you wanted to make things right with them?  This is the kind of relationship and affection God wants us to have for him.  After all, God’s Word tells us “Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.”(Mark 10:15)  Because God’s mercy cannot be equaled by the quantity or depth of our sins, we can have confidence that, as long as we want to turn away from sin and come back to God, he will clear all other obstacles in our hearts.

            On that note, I want to share some of my own acts of contrition.  They came through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (at least that’s what I hope) during my own preparations for Confession.  My confessor encouraged me to write them down and maybe share them, as a way to help those who may be afraid to go to Confession find courage.  If you need some encouragement, I hope you would look these prayers though.  If they seem to speak to your heart, please reflect and internalize them.  Have great confidence in the Mercy of God!  I’ll be praying for you!

“My Dear Jesus, I’m sorry I keep offending you with the same sins over, and over again.  I want to be Your Friend and I want to make You smile, but my will is very weak, infected by original sin.  Yet I know that you leave the 99 sheep to go after the lost one, and that You are eager to save the most desperate, hardened sinner.

I call upon that Mercy, Lord.  Please bring me closer to You and make my heart more like Yours.  Please help me to be truly sorry for my sins, and to change my life for the better.”

“Jesus, I’m sorry I keep failing You in the same ways over, and over again.  I want to bring joy to Your Heart after You gave Your All for my salvation.  But my will and my resolutions are very weak.  Only Your Mercy can keep me going, so I place all my trust in it.  Lord, because You Love me so much, help me to be truly sorry for my sins, and to change my life for the better.”

“My Jesus, I'm sorry I keep making such a poor return for Your Love.  But I place all of my trust in Your Mercy and Your desire to lead me home to Heaven, in spite of all my sins.  By Your All-Powerful Grace, please help me to be truly sorry for my sins and to amend my life for the better.”

“My Jesus, I am sorry I keep coming back to You with the same sins over and over again.  I want to make Your Heart smile and to be Your Friend, but my desires are coming from a very, very weak place.  I know I don’t deserve for You to pull me back up again and to let me start over, but I know that You want to so anyway, because Your Love is so Great and so Wonderful.  So, please help me to be truly sorry for my sins, heal me from my attachments to sin, and help me to change my life for the better.”