Quickly

“Go quickly to Confession…” (Saint Josemaria).

Children of Fatima (Jacinta, Lucia, Francesco)

The other day someone was speaking about the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  And they said that they felt no need to confess their sons because they simply needed to make a good reconciliation prior to their death in order to receive forgiveness for their sins.

And of course, it is very true that we must confess our sins before we die in order to be forgiven those sins and to have a chance of meriting salvation.  However, there are a few flaws with this friend’s logic here. 

One is of course that we do not know when we will die.  A few months ago a young man who I had taught when he was just a schoolboy was killed in a random and violently senseless act.  He was out with his girlfriend visiting a home that he had visited many times before, and within a few moments strangers who knew nothing about him (and who had probably mistaken him for someone else) had stabbed and killed him.  He died within moments of this attack.  This young man would have had no idea at all that his Earthly life would be coming to an end that night.  He would have been planning for tomorrow and dealing with his problems.  If he had decided to wait until his dying days to make his confession, then he would have had no chance of salvation as he would not have had enough preparation or warning to get to a priest.

The other problem is that we may forget our sins.  I do not know about you, but I find that the longer I wait between confessions, the less I can remember to confess.  When little Saint Francesco of Fatima was dying of influenza, he called his younger sister, Saint Jacinta and his older cousin, Saint Lucia to his bedside and he asked them to try to remember any of his sins so that he would not risk forgetting any and he could be assured that he had confessed every sin.  Those two children tried their best to help him to prepare and recall all his sins.

I have been thinking of that today.  That image of the three Saints – little children – innocently together trying to help each other by recalling sins.  Saint Francesco working hard to try to cover off anything that he may have forgotten.  I can see the sickness and weakness in the room at the same time as I can see the beauty of the Saint’s love for God.  I can imagine his attempts at concentration as he tried to recall any offences given to God.  I can imagine the rejoicing of the angels as they watched this child prepare for God.

And I can see my own miserable and sinful state.  I can see how little effort I make to prepare for my God.  I can see that I am not trying to concentrate and think back on my past offences.  Instead, I am spending my time on earth justifying my sins rather than repenting for them.

And it seems the words of Saint Josemaria bear merit today when I recall that he said, “Go quickly to Confession…  If ever you fall, my son, go quickly to Confession and seek spiritual guidance. Show your wound so that it gets properly healed and all possibility of infection is removed, even if doing this hurts you as much as having an operation.” (“The Forge”, at 192).

And I pray for the Grace to go quickly to confession.  To go very very quickly…

For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.