Pope Francis: confess sins with concreteness and sincerity
October 25, 2013 - Pope Francis on Friday invited Christians to have the courage
to confess their sins concretely without hiding them when they approach the Sacrament
of Reconciliation or Confession. The exhortation of the Pope came in his homily at
Mass, Friday morning, at the Casa Santa Marta residence. He explained that going
to Confession is encountering the love of Jesus with sincerity of heart and with the
openness of children, not refusing, but rather welcoming the “grace of shame” that
makes us perceive God’s forgiveness. The Pope noted that for many adult Christians,
confessing to a priest is an unbearable effort – that often leads one to avoid the
Sacrament. It becomes such a painful process that it transforms the moment of truth
into an exercise of fiction. Referring to the day’s reading from the Letter to the
Romans, the Argentine Pope said St. Paul publicly admits to the community that he
is a “slave” who does not do the good that he wants to do, but the evil that he does
not want to do. This happens in the life of faith, the Pope said, that “when I want
to do good, evil is close to me”. Unlike Paul, we do not always have the courage
to speak about this struggle, seeking a way of justification. But the Pope said,
if we don’t recognize this, we will never be able to have God’s forgiveness. Not
acknowledging our sins is a way of saying we have no need of God’s forgiveness. In
reality it makes us slaves. The Pope thus stressed on concreteness and honesty, and
a sincere ability to be ashamed of one’s mistakes. (Source: Vatican)