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)