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Confession
- By Anne Van Tilburg
- Published 05/15/2008
- Sacraments
- Unrated
In the Sacrament of Confession, God's mercy is on tap, so those who need it and who commit sin again and again, and commit the most serious sins, can turn to Him again and again, and receive His merciful forgiveness. In spite of what some people may think, a man can commit the same sin a thousand times, and a thousand times turn to God with real repentance, and I may say with probably more humility than when he first sinned. Those sins will be expiated in Purgatory, but his humility will measure forever the degree of his union with God.
Sometimes I have the impression that God leaves some people with some sins in order to get them into Heaven. Maybe He sees that but for some venial sins, which He does not give them the grace to forsake and which keep them humble, they would come to a pride which would prove fatal.
I knew an old tramp once, he had a great drinking problem and all his life he had been struggling with it. He told me that some nights he had been kneeling at the back of the church, praying hard: "Lord, keep me away from it," and then he would go out and get drunk again. When he got drunk he used to steal and then he would be in and out of prison. He died with the Little Sisters of the Poor and I used to think that this weakness kept him holy. He must have been a fine looking man when he was young, and I suppose he could have done very well in a material sort of way and got rich and proud and drifted away from God. As it was, this humiliation that happened again and again all through his life, kept him humble, it kept forcing him back to God and to the sacraments, and it seemed to me that this is what God had allowed him to bring him safe to Heaven.
After all, virtue comes from God, and if God chooses not to give it, then it must be for our good for the time being. Fulton Sheen tells a marvelous story about a time when he was in a plane and the man next to him got talking and said: "Father, I've got all sorts of troubles." So Fulton Sheen said: "What are they now?" The man started telling him all his woes, and after a time Fulton Sheen said: "You know, from the way you talk you might be a lapsed Catholic." And the man said: "Well, Father, I suppose you could call me that." Fulton Sheen said: "How long is it since you went to Confession?" And the man said: "About twenty years." Fulton Sheen said: "Are you married?" "Yes" the man replied. "Are you living with your wife?" "Yes." "Are you having an affair with another woman?" "No." "Well, fasten your seat belt, and I'll hear your confession."
When he had been to Confession, the man said: "You know, Father, I reckon God wanted me to sit here because I had a seat reserved on a previous plane but I missed my connection, and I had to ring my wife and say I was coming in the next plane. This seat I am sitting in now was the only empty seat left on the plane." Fulton Sheen asked him: "Does your wife go to the sacraments?" The man answered: "No, she does not." Fulton Sheen said: "Is it long since she went to Confession?" He answered: "About the same as me." "When we get off the plane you must introduce me," said the Bishop.
Sometimes I have the impression that God leaves some people with some sins in order to get them into Heaven. Maybe He sees that but for some venial sins, which He does not give them the grace to forsake and which keep them humble, they would come to a pride which would prove fatal.
I knew an old tramp once, he had a great drinking problem and all his life he had been struggling with it. He told me that some nights he had been kneeling at the back of the church, praying hard: "Lord, keep me away from it," and then he would go out and get drunk again. When he got drunk he used to steal and then he would be in and out of prison. He died with the Little Sisters of the Poor and I used to think that this weakness kept him holy. He must have been a fine looking man when he was young, and I suppose he could have done very well in a material sort of way and got rich and proud and drifted away from God. As it was, this humiliation that happened again and again all through his life, kept him humble, it kept forcing him back to God and to the sacraments, and it seemed to me that this is what God had allowed him to bring him safe to Heaven.
After all, virtue comes from God, and if God chooses not to give it, then it must be for our good for the time being. Fulton Sheen tells a marvelous story about a time when he was in a plane and the man next to him got talking and said: "Father, I've got all sorts of troubles." So Fulton Sheen said: "What are they now?" The man started telling him all his woes, and after a time Fulton Sheen said: "You know, from the way you talk you might be a lapsed Catholic." And the man said: "Well, Father, I suppose you could call me that." Fulton Sheen said: "How long is it since you went to Confession?" And the man said: "About twenty years." Fulton Sheen said: "Are you married?" "Yes" the man replied. "Are you living with your wife?" "Yes." "Are you having an affair with another woman?" "No." "Well, fasten your seat belt, and I'll hear your confession."
When he had been to Confession, the man said: "You know, Father, I reckon God wanted me to sit here because I had a seat reserved on a previous plane but I missed my connection, and I had to ring my wife and say I was coming in the next plane. This seat I am sitting in now was the only empty seat left on the plane." Fulton Sheen asked him: "Does your wife go to the sacraments?" The man answered: "No, she does not." Fulton Sheen said: "Is it long since she went to Confession?" He answered: "About the same as me." "When we get off the plane you must introduce me," said the Bishop.