Father James Martin on the importance of going to confession (even when you’re nervous)
I go to confession a lot. To put that more
accurately, as a priest, I not only hear confessions often but also go
to a priest to confess my sins often. For some reason, I have never
found it all that difficult.
That is not the case for many
Catholics. One person I met recently has not confessed his sin for years
because he is worried about what the priest might give him for a
penance. (I tried to reassure him that penances are never impossible
and, besides, the church asks priests to give penances that are doable.)
One woman told me a few years ago that she was too worried that she
would cry. (I asked her what was so awful about that. I have cried
enough in confession.) Another person once told me that he was
embarrassed because he knew his parish priests too well. (I told him
that this didn’t seem insurmountable: I’ve gone to confession with
Jesuits I live with!)
