5 Reasons to Make Confession Your New BFF

Confession is amazing. I think that it is easy to forget how amazing it is, probably because we associate it with the difficulty of admitting our wrongs. Well here are 5 reasons to make Confession your new BFF (and demote your current BFF to just FF):

1. It's in the Bible

James 5:16a: Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.

1 John 1:9: If we acknowledge our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from every wrongdoing.

Proverbs 28:13: Those who conceal their sins do not prosper, but those who confess and forsake them obtain mercy.

John 20:23: "Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”

2. Sometimes your car is dirtier than you think

When my car gets dirty, I barely notice until I happen to see it next to a clean car of the same model. Then I think "Ugh. When did that happen?"

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Confession is a way of keeping your soul in clean condition. Just like a sweet ride, you and I need a lot of regular maintenance, and if we skip the maintenance we start to forget how things are supposed to look. When we do go often we are more sensitive to those little spots and blemishes and quick to wipe them off.

3. Sometimes the doctor diagnoses something you were totally unaware of

Have you ever heard a story of someone going to the doctor for a small malady, only to discover a more significant health problem? This can happen with the spiritual doctor (the confessor) as well. When you confess the sin, the number of occurrences, and the circumstances, an attentive confessor can sometimes probe a little bit and help you uncover the roots of some sinful habits, and help to minister healing healing there.

4. Reinforcements would be nice

Confession not only reconciles us with Christ and the Church, and removes eternal punishment due to sin, but it also offers us "an increase in spiritual strength for the Christian battle." (CCC 1492) Could you use a little spiritual reinforcement? I could.

5. God may surprise you

At WYD Rio, Pope Francis encouraged the youth to be open to being surprised by God. Did you know that Pope Francis was surprised by God in his youth when he decided one day to go to confession? As recounted in the book Francis: Pope of a New World, the young Jorge Mario Bergoglio went to the sacrament in advance of meeting up with some friends.

''During that confession something happened to me. I cannot say what, but it was something that changed my life. I would say that it was as though I had been surprised while my guard was down."

Jorge Mario related that moment to the call of Matthew, in which Jesus looked at him with and attitdude of offering him mercy and choosing him.

"This is exactly the way I felt God was looking at me in that confession." 

This is the moment he identifies as his call to the priesthood. 

He went to confession one day, and now he's the Pope. Think about that.

The title of this post is a little bit cheeky, as it is really Jesus who you are best-friending when you embrace the practice of regular confession. It is His sacrifice which won the remission of our sins, and each confession is a participation in the effects of the Cross. It is a way of saying "I accept and treasure your gift, oh Lord. By your grace, help me never sin again."

May shame never keep us from the sacrament of confession, which is ultimately a cause for celebration (cf. Luke 15). Mother Angelica said that we should be so happy after confession we should go out for ice cream.

If you like ice cream, there's reason #6.

You may also like: 5 More Reasons to Love Confession; and Follow the Leader