I am writing to thank Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien and The Light is on for You campaign, regarding the sacrament of confession.
I have heard and seen his radio and TV ads inviting everyone into the confessional during Lent. What a wonderful invitation! This is not a message we hear very often, if at all – and then only in passing – from our pulpits and in our Sunday homilies. It is mentioned from time to time, but there is little effort to emphasize and explain the need, as well as the benefits. There is little specificity in instructing the congregation, most of whom will enter their parish church only once a week, thus making the Sunday homily the only time that they can be reached.
Do you realize the relief, both psychological and spiritual, that waits for you after a good confession? It is a time of great healing, and it offers those wounded psyches and consciences a real opportunity for healing.
Our priests need to know that their ministry must, by its very nature, be a sign of contradiction. That is always the way of Calvary. Let none of us shrink from the narrow path.