August 24, 2025

Our passage from the Letter to the Hebrews this weekend gives us an important principle to remember: God challenges those who are good. “My son, do not disdain the discipline of the Lord or lose heart when reproved by him; for whom the Lord loves, he disciplines; he scourges every son he acknowledges.”

I always have the image of a good coach or instructor in mind when I read these words. The good coach is harder on his better players. He knows they are talented and he pushes them to be even better. The coach’s discipline or sternness is not a sign of his lack of love or appreciation for his athletes. Just the opposite: his toughness means he loves them more.

“Strive to enter through the narrow gate,” says our Lord. “For many, I tell you, will attempt to enter, but will not be strong enough.” We all want things to be easy. We don’t like to suffer or see our loved ones suffer. Or, when we pray we want to feel consolation and see results. If we give into the temptation to abandon the cross or turn away from prayer because ‘it’s not working,’ then we will not enter the narrow gate. We can enter the narrow gate. It’s not impossible. We just can’t enter it on our own. We need God. And the challenges in our life are what bring us close to God.

With that in mind, I want to transition to talking about the Sacrament of Reconciliation, for I feel it is related. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is in a poor state currently in our church. Either people never go to it or people go to it too often and for the wrong reasons. We always hear advertisements and exhortations to “go to Confession.” Whether it’s on the radio or from the pulpit or on Catholic social media, we’re told more people need to “go to Confession,” like Confession is going to solve ours’ and the world’s problems and get us through that narrow gate. But there’s more to it than that.

First of all, canon law says the faithful are “obliged to confess faithfully his or her grave sins at least once a year” (Canon 989, CIC, emphasis mine). Not once a week or once a month or on every First Friday. And grave sins. So, hypothetically, if you have no grave sins, then you wouldn’t even need to go every year! Of course, the law doesn’t prohibit going more than once a year and encourages confessing venial sins (Canon 988 §2), but you don’t have to. And the law also requires that the penitent “must be disposed in such a way that, rejecting sins committed and having a purpose of amendment, the person is turned back to God” (Canon 987).

So, a person just reading a script in the confessional with no desire in their heart to be open and turn to God, is not receiving the sacrament properly. Same with a person going to confession to fulfill some other devotional or because they are scrupulous and want to ease their conscience so they feel better. All, dare I say, are abuses of the sacrament. What does Saint Paul say about receiving the Eucharist unworthily? “For those who eat and drink the body of Christ unworthily [without discernment] bring condemnation on themselves” (1 Corinthians 11:29). If that goes for the Eucharist, then all the more for Confession.

In other words, just receiving communion or going to Confession isn’t an automatic source of grace. It can actually be harmful to us. Amoxicillin is medicine for some people, poison for others who are allergic.

In the spirit of Hebrews, I’m saying all this to challenge those of you who are good. You have a good heart and want to go to Confession, but you might not fully understand what you are doing. If you have a sin(s), you should also be praying intensely about it and going to God about it in private prayer, asking him for healing and grace to do the proper work of redemption. The Sacrament of Reconciliation isn’t some magic bullet to take your sins and struggles away and redeem you. You need to do your spiritual work outside the confessional. Confession, when not done well, could actually make your soul bloated in an unhealthy way and unable to enter through the narrow gate.

And for the people who rarely go to Confession, the same applies. Do we think we can just get by on our own without the help of God’s sacramental grace? Are we so ignorant or prideful to think that we have no sins or that we’re not responsible for our sins? Are we afraid to enter our poverty and be stretched by God?

Look at how you “do” Confession, or any other religious practice in your life. Are you doing it well or might God, like a good coach, be challenging you in some way to get the most out of you? Remember, whether it’s coming from God or from me, it’s coming from love and respect…and from great hope for the potential of your soul.

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The SPC Apostolate of Women has some open spots for leadership positions. Please see inside for more details and prayerfully consider if the Lord might be calling you to serve him in this way. The AOW is a wonderful organization for our parish that not only helps oversee the various women’s guilds in the parish, but organizes spiritual, service, and social events for all the women of the parish, including the Women’s Lenten Retreat last spring. I want to thank you in a particular way Melissa Poindexter and Jessica Armour, the co-presidents of the AOW for the last several years who have done a wonderful job leading this group.

I hope the start of school went well for everyone. Especially to our college students who are leaving home, may you be safe and grow in true wisdom and holiness.

Yours in Christ,

Fr. James Wallace