Jesus’ words, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace” caused two very different reactions in Luke’s gospel.
The first was the shock of Simon the Pharisee and the second was what each one of us feels when we go to Confession and are absolved of our sins: the joy of being unburdened by God through the grace of the Holy Spirit and the work of His priest, serving in the person of Christ.
What Jesus says, we also know from experience: the greater our sins that are forgiven, the greater our gratitude to God. As many times as I have gone to Confession, as many times as I have heard Confessions, I never tire of hearing or saying those words, “Your sins are forgiven … go in peace.”
Here at the Father Peyton Center, every Monday through Friday, a priest sits from 3-4 pm in the confessional, praying and waiting for people like you and me to seek the healing power of Jesus in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. There are days when God grants my brother priests or me a good part of that hour to pray, and others when there is a steady stream of people who humbly kneel or bow their heads and ask for the Lord’s forgiveness.
Jesus encourages us to go to this great sacrament of healing. He uses the story of a woman whose faith in Jesus was stronger than the weight of her sins or the judgment of people around her.
Back in my parents’ time, going to Confession was as natural and predictable as going to the grocery store. Once a week, people like you and me examined their lives, confessed their sins, and received penance and absolution.
One of my friends, Father Matt Wescott, is known to tell his parishioners that under normal circumstances he recommends both for himself and others, every time you need a haircut get to Confession that week. For most of us that works out to once a month; we get a clean cut and a clean soul.
The more life we live, the more we seek peace and joy for ourselves and our loved ones. Yesterday, I was walking down the hall from a meeting at 3:30 pm, and when I saw that the Confessional door was open, something caused me to take a left and walk in, sit down, and say the words, “Bless me Father for I have sinned.”
Today, I’ll sit in that same Confessional in the person of Jesus; yes, a priest, but also a child of God who received the grace of God: the forgiveness, the strength to do better, and the peace to serve Him and you.
My prayer and hope for you, your families, and friends is that you, too, will walk through the door of a Confessional maybe even today at 3 pm and receive this great gift from God, one that frees us from sin and gives us the peace and joy that God is waiting to share with us all, to hear the words, “Your sins are forgiven … go in peace.”
Reverend David S. Marcham is the Vice Postulator for the Cause of Venerable Patrick Peyton, and Director of the Father Peyton Guild, whose members pray for Father Peyton’s beatification and spread his message of the importance of Family Prayer. Prior to becoming a seminarian, Father David was a physical therapist and clinical instructor, serving hospital inpatients and outpatients throughout the greater Boston area for eleven years. In 1998 he heard the call to priesthood and was ordained in the Archdiocese of Boston in 2005. Father David grew up in Quincy, MA, and has fond memories of playing soccer, tennis and running track. You’re never without a friend when Father David is around, as he welcomes everyone into his circle with a smile on his face!
