GOING TO CONFESSION? IT'S BENEFICIAL TO YOUR PSYCHE!
Self-examination,
repentance and forgiveness of our sins is not just for Lent. It should be an
ongoing spiritual discipline for all times of the year. Each of us deals with sin in our own way. Yes,
I am a sinner, too, as we all are. I typically go to confession once a year, on
Good Friday. For some, sin is a personal matter with God alone. For others, sin
is a community matter. Many Christians, however, find private confession to a
priest helpful in unburdening one’s conscience and renewing relationships
between God and our fellow persons. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is not
reserved only for those who commit serious sins, but for the remission of all
sins. The grace that flows from confession possesses special powers of
purification and support as we resolve to amend our lives to improve ourselves
to better realize the potential with which God endowed us.
Although
traditionally, confessions were heard in a confessional booth to provide
anonymity and privacy, confessions can be heard anytime and anywhere. Often,
confession is more beneficial when done face to face with the priest. Also, any person can here another’s
confession, though a lay person or deacon traditionally cannot pronounce
absolution.
The Roman Church mandates private confession as
part of its spiritual discipline. Other churches however, encourage confession but does not
mandate it. There is no requirement to go to private confession to receive
communion, but any priest will hear your confession. All you need do is ask.
Churches of the catholic tradition hold that declaring God’s forgiveness to
penitent sinners is part of a priest’s job duties. The priest’s power to
forgive sins derives from Jesus himself, who declared after His Resurrection,
“Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose
sins you retain are retained.” (John 20:22-23)
The traditional Anglican rule regarding confession,
shared by other churches, is: “all may; some should; none must." So when
“should” one go to confession, even if it isn’t required? When you want to
unburden yourself of guilt. Many psychologists find confession a powerful tool
to unburden the conscience. Confession has a psychological element because
strong emotions can be expressed in a healthy way; if we repress them, we may
develop a neurosis. Guilt can be a strong, and helpful emotion, if we allow it
to move us to apologize. If we contain guilt within, it will explode like
toothpaste coming out from the side of the tube when the tube is squeezed
without removing the cap. Guilt will often come out as criticism, sometimes of
people we love; or we may explode in anger over inconsequential things.
Confession is, legally speaking, absolutely
confidential. In churches of the catholic tradition, a confessor must not under
any circumstances reveal the content of a confession. California Law is in
accord. Evidence Code §§1030-1034 states that both the penitent and the
confessor have a privilege to refuse to the content of a confession. However,
the Courts have interpreted that to mean that the communication must occur
during a formal sacramental confession and not a mere consultation with a
clergy member. “In order for a statement to be privileged, it must satisfy all
of the conceptual requirements of a penitential communication: 1) it must be
intended to be in confidence; 2) it must be made to a member of the clergy who
in the course of his or her religious discipline or practice is authorized or
accustomed to hear such communications; and 3) such member of the clergy has a
duty under the discipline or tenets of the church, religious denomination or
organization to keep such communications secret.“ People v. Edwards, 203 Cal.
App. 3d 1358, 1362-63. The bottom line is only if it’s a formal sacramental
confession is it absolutely confidential.
A beneficial confession requires preparation. A
succinct summary of what is required to prepare for confession comes from
Orthodox Bishop Alexander Elchaninov: “Preparation for confession consists not
of attempting to remember one’s sins as fully as possible and even writing them
down, but of trying to attain that state of concentration, seriousness and
prayer, in which our sins will become clear as daylight. In other words, one
should bring to one’s confessor not a list of sins, but a feeling of penitence,
not a detailed dissertation, but a sorrowing heart.” You won’t remember all
your sins, but reviewing the Ten Commandments and the Seven Deadly Sins (Greed,
Lust, Anger, Envy, Gluttony, Sloth, and Pride) may jog your memory. After you
confess, you will feel good about yourself. Nearly all of us have something
that nags at our conscience. Confession is about unburdening yourself so you
can get on with living the Gospel.
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