“In invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent, but self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word.”

That is part of the Invitation to a Holy Lent in the Ash Wednesday service.  If you have been unable to attend one of today’s services, I hope you will read it, beginning on page 264 of the Book of Common Prayer.*  The Litany of Penitence is especially moving and an appropriate way to begin this sacred season.

You will recall from your world history classes or perhaps from Confirmation classes that the Protestant Reformation was a response to abuses and corruption in the Church.  One of those was the power priests held in the sacrament of Confession; he could chose to give absolution or not, and it was his to give.  But in some cases, the Reformation threw out the baby with the bath, as the saying goes, and Confession is one such example.

Confession is good for the soul.  Those who know anything about AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) know that Step 5 is to “admit to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.”  That’s because there is something healing to be gained from such an exercise, unlike any other.

The Episcopal Church has retained the option for individual confession, calling it “The Reconciliation of a Penitent,” found on pages 447-452.  As a rule of thumb, there’s an old saying about who it’s for: None must, all may, some should.  That’s pretty self-explanatory.  Individual confession is not required of us, but it is certainly available, any many people find it inexpressibly holy and healing. 

If you would like to know more about this sacrament, or if you would like to schedule a time to make your confession, feel free to call me to arrange a time.  Although priests who hear confessions universally experience the gift of forgetting it afterwards, and although we are bound by confidentiality, some people prefer to go to someone other than their parish priest.  In any case – whether you come to me or to someone else – I urge you to consider the Reconciliation of a Penitent as part of your Lenten journey.

As for absolution: in our tradition, the priest does not own it.  It is God’s absolution spoken – said out loud – by another human being; something we all need to hear from time-to-time in this life.

Faithfully,

Lori†