Pope urges recourse to sacramental confession

(February 16, 2009) If they are not confessed, sins reach the point of producing the death of the soul, and separate us from God, who is ready to purify us and to "restore us to communion," says Pope Benedict XVI. St. Mark’s gospel episode of Jesus healing the leper was highlighted by the Holy Father on Sunday for the purpose of once again recommending to the faithful the practice of sacramental confession. Addressing a large crowd in St. Peter's Square for the recitation of the Angelus prayer at noon, the pope explained the Jewish law which considered a leper an ostracized untouchable, living outside the community. For this reason, leprosy constituted a sort of religious and civil death, and its healing a sort of resurrection. In the spiritual realm sin is a form of spiritual and moral leprosy which separates us from God. "The sins that we commit,” the Pope explained, “separate us from God, and if they are not confessed with humility and trust in the divine mercy, they can even reach the point of producing the death of the soul.” “In his passion, Jesus would become like a leper, made unclean by our sins, separated from God: he would do all of this for love, for the purpose of obtaining for us reconciliation, forgiveness, and salvation.” “In the Sacrament of Penance,” the Pope continued, “Christ crucified and risen, through his ministers, purifies us with his infinite mercy, restores us to communion with the heavenly Father and with our brothers, and gives us his love, his joy, and his peace."