The class on confession of the faithful opened on October 13. Cardinal Piacenza, president of the Holy Innocent Church, delivered a speech, emphasizing three main aspects related to the sacrament of confession and the three super virtues.
(Vatican News Network) “I speak directly with God”; “I have had negative experiences”; “The priest is not as good as me”; “I am too shy to speak out regarding my sins”: these are the reasons why many faithful object to the sacrament of penance. In order to help the faithful to better understand this sacrament, the seminar for priests organized by the Holy Innocent Church started on the followingnoon of October 13 with the theme “‘Your sins are forgiven’: today the Sacrament of Confession”.
At the opening ceremony, Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, President of the Holy Innocent Church, delivered a speech. The cardinal emphasizes three main aspects of the sacrament of confession, all related to the three super virtues. First, confession is an act of trusting God. The cardinal points out: “If the sacrament of confession is truly lived out as an act of faith, there is no discomfort, because in this sacrament man’s soul is called to stand before God, before his Creator, before his before the one who knows everything regarding us.”
This act of faith means, on the one hand, knowing that “Christ commands His Church to forgive our sins” and, on the other hand, “putting trust into the arms of the Father.” Card. Piacenza pointed to the faithful and said, “We know very well that you came not for us, but for Christ.” In this sense, the priests who listened to the confession also performed the act of faith. To the testimony of the confessor’s faith. Needless to say, confession is also “an act of God’s trust in man and in each of us”, trusting his Church and his priests, entrusting them with the care of his flock.
Second, confession is also an act of hope. Through confession, the cardinal explained, each of us hopes to be helped by the Lord, and that this sacrament “continues to help the penitent open his mind to new life”. This act of hope also looks at immortality. Because “in a secular environment, the supernatural vision is abandoned in the realm of subjective beliefs, with an almost total loss of awareness of the importance of one’s own actions, or even of entering into immortality. Therefore, if the sacrament of reconciliation is not understood , it is not surprising that it even appears useless on the surface.”
Finally, confession is an act of charity. Card Piacenza argues that if God’s love for man is taken for granted, this is not the case when looking at “man’s love for himself and for God”. What might be better than “unloading the burden of guilt and seeing reality and yourself with fresh eyes”? Confession helps people “know oneself, truly love oneself and take control of oneself, and thus give oneself to God and to others”.
Moreover, it is also an act of loving God: confession is a way of showing God “our love, our remorse for sin, and our return to him”. Through confession, one can “review the glory due to God”. Card Piacenza speaks of all the absurd wars that engulf the world and the arms dealers that fuel it; that thousands of lives are suppressed every day, even in the arms of their mothers; food; many innocent children were brutalized, etc. Aren’t these all sins once morest the Creator?
Confession is actually compensation. The last aspect emphasized by the cardinal is to show brothers and sisters one’s willingness to repent through the sacraments. Card Piacenza concluded: “In fact, the glory of Christ on earth coincides with the expansion of his kingdom, with the zeal of all who know him, love him and serve him.”
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