Confessing!

February 20th, 2016| Topic: RaMbLeS | 0

Some sins are bad, much worse than others. According to the Vatican, these involve: assassination attempts on the pope, defiling the Eucharist (the consecrated bread and wine that “become,” in Catholic doctrine, the body and blood of Jesus Christ) by spitting it out or by using it in satanic rituals, “breaking the seal of confession” (i.e., confidentiality), etc. For the longest time (since the twelfth century), those who committed such egregious deeds would had to have their cases evaluated by a secret tribunal in the Vatican, before being sent to the pope who would determine an appropriate penance.

Well, all of this has turned out to be too much work for the tribunal and the pope (too many instances of such bad sins?). So much so, Pope Francis has created a bunch of “super confessors,” 1,142 priests and monks from around the world, formally labeled “missionaries of mercy.” These folks are handpicked by the pope and sent on a global mission of “super confession” of these vile actions on this Vatican Jubilee Year. The goal is to win back the hearts of those who’ve left the Catholic Church and throw open the doors for repentant souls who’d like to return to the fold of Mother Church.

Maltese Franciscan Marcello Ghirlando, one of the supermen, said:

I think the pope wants to insist that ‘Listen, God is always going to forgive us if we turn to him with a clean heart, with a repentant heart.’ I am relishing the challenge of bringing people back to church.”

In the past we’ve had Pope F. repeatedly exhorting priests not to turn off parishioners with boring sermons (hear! hear!), by being inaccessible, and becoming overly intrusive. And now we have a new tack: they are to take a “maternal” approach to sinners, said Francis.

Remember, you are not dealing with sin but a repentant sinner, a sinner who wants to change but can’t. So cover the sinner with a blanket of mercy, so that he is no longer ashamed and can rediscover joy.”

And you can find them all over the globe, probably even in a zip code close to you. One super confessor is off to the Canadian Arctic to absolve Eskimos of their “super-sins.” Another is going around Australia in a camper. Bags are being packed and tickets being bought for Burundi, China, Lebanon, the UAE, and so on. This world is gonna be a better place!

Observed American priest, Fr. Joseph Hlubik:

People who thought they were outside of the grace of God for one reason or another—let them find us approachable and understanding.”

While I’m not so sure about “super confessors,” the Bible does encourage us to confess to one another.

Therefore, confess your sins to one another,
and pray for one another so that you may be healed.
James 5:16a

Parisian Fr. Xavier Lefebvre didn’t quite like “super confessor” assigned to him.

Anyone who takes confession should be super, or they are not doing their job right.”

He’s quite right. James 5:16 goes on to say …

The effective prayer of a righteous person can accomplish much.
James 5:16b

Yup, they should be “super,” i.e., righteous persons.

In the well-known story of David and Bathsheba, when he was confronted with his sin, David confessed to God’s representative, Nathan:

Then David said to Nathan,
“I have sinned against the LORD.”
And Nathan said to David,
“The LORD also has taken away your sin; you shall not die.”
2 Samuel 12:13

Not a bad idea at all, confessing.

But these super confessors can do their super confessing only till November 2016. So get going ….