Monthly Newspaper • DIOCESE OF BRIDGEPORT

Confession: Meeting God One-On-One

As a seminarian, I have had the privilege of having great spiritual directors. One of the first things that my spiritual directors have asked me, and continued to ask me throughout our meetings, was how frequently I went to confession. Before I entered seminary, I was going to confession every month and a half, sometimes even more infrequently. Not that that was bad, but considering that I was preparing to be a priest, I wanted to increase my exposure to confession and try to understand, on a more personal level, why my spiritual directors considered confession to be so special.

And what a difference it has made going to confession every two to three weeks! Before I considered confession to be more of an obligation than what it truly is: an opportunity to experience God’s mercy. Whenever I’m in line for confession, I try to imagine that I’m in line to meet God one on one. This is especially important to keep in mind as a seminarian since many priests in the diocese get to know us well and sometimes even recognize us simply by our voices. This is can be dangerous for me at times because I can easily let my pride get in the way of a good and holy confession. What I mean by this is that my pride can stop me from being completely honest with my confessor just because he may think less of me. However, this becomes less of a temptation once I tell myself that I am not simply confessing my sins to another human being, but rather to a God who is mercy and love.

I invite you then, to approach and trust our priests for the sacrament of confession, so that you too may experience our Lord’s mercy and love through them.

By: Guillermo Jiménez, Seminarian of the Diocese of Bridgeport