i confess

I CONFESS…
Homily for Wed of the 7th Wk in Ordinary Time,
22 May 2024, Mk 9:38-40

Somebody once asked me, “Bishop, I was told by a friend that I need to make a confession at each time I wish to receive holy communion? Is that true?” My answer was “YES and NO.”
Why NO? Because, if we really were to require people to be absolutely sinless before they can be allowed to receive communion, then perhaps nobody would receive the Holy Eucharist anymore. I’ve said this on many occasions: the Eucharist is grace; it is never something we deserve. We don’t receive communion because we are good; but rather because God is good. The Eucharist is therefore not an exclusive meal for the righteous; it is rather “a body broken for broken people”, like you and me. Actually, the more sinful we are, the more in need we are of the Eucharist.
The person who was asking was obviously attentive enough not to forget the follow-up to her question. “You said YES and NO. You explained Why NO; but now, why YES? Here’s my answer: “Can we really make a confession at the start of each Mass? No, if we think of confession as something we can do only with the help of a priest. But YES, if you remember that at the start of each Mass, there is actually a penitential rite that gives us the opportunity to “make a confession.” When the priest says, “Let us ACKNOWLEDGE OUR SINS and so prepare ourselves to celebrate these sacred mysteries.” Yes, just acknowledging that we are sinners is already, by itself, a big deal for God!
But listen to what we say after that penitential pause for silence: “I CONFESS to Almighty God…that I have greatly sinned in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done, in what I have failed to do...” ALL THAT GOD IS ASKING OF US AT THAT MOMENT OF CONFESSION IS TO MEAN WHAT WE SAY. You see, confession is not just about admitting the wrong that we have done but also the right things that we should have done but have failed to do. We call them SINS OF OMISSION in Christian