Divine Mercy Sunday: Confession

 

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Confession

When darkness falls at eventide,
‘Tis evil’s fiercest hour:
It’s then I’m tempted, sorely tried,
All mustered is Hell’s power.

The ancient foe comes ‘gainst my soul
With cunning hatefulness,
To rob me full of self-control,
And live in idleness.

‘Tis difficult to call on God
To save me from this test,
To walk where all the Saints have trod
And never once to rest,

Because it seems He hears me not –
This, too, I must confess –
I sense no help where I had sought;
Then comes paralysis.

And then because I turn not fast
Away from evil thought,
The time to fight will soon be past,
And battle poorly fought.

And when I fall then into sin,
I feel no hope for me,
But Sacrament of Confession
Is God’s Divine Mercy!

To confess sin with intention
To never sin again:
To combat Satan’s temptation
With grace which God doth send.

And when the Priest gives his advice,
I listen with intent,
And do the penance to suffice
And turn away from sin.

And then I make an act contrite
In sorrow for my sin,
And with his Priestly hand upright
He gives absolution.

And when I kneel in church to pray,
I thank the Lord above,
For pardoning my sinful way
In mercy and in love.

And then I go, resolved for this:
Make restitution or
To practice virtue opposite
My sin, and please the Lord.

Pope Francis

I really love how Pope Francis draws the parallel between the Paschal Mystery, Divine Mercy, and the Sacrament of Confession. Check it out:

 “The Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation flows directly from the Paschal Mystery. In fact, on the evening of Easter the Lord appeared to the disciples, who were locked in the Upper Room, and after addressing them with the greeting, ‘Peace be with you!’, he breathed on them and said: ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven’ (Jn 20:21-23). This passage reveals to us the most profound dynamic contained in this Sacrament.” (Pope Francis, General Audience, February 2014).

“Among the Sacraments, certainly Reconciliation renders present with particular efficacy the merciful face of God: it is constantly and ceaselessly made real and manifest” (Pope Francis, Internal Forum organized by the Apostolic Penitentiary, March 2015).

Divine Mercy and Confession are intimately connected. Understanding the Divine Mercy message apart from the Sacrament of Confession is impossible. However, the COVID-19 Pandemic and the attendant shutdown of Catholic Masses and gatherings across the United States gave me pause to reflect. It seems that while the Sacrament of Confession is the ordinary means of recovering or maintaining the state of sanctifying grace in our souls, in cases where it is impossible to get to Confession, the Divine Mercy Chaplet can be an extraordinary means of grace and a cause for hope in a dire situation. This Chaplet seems like it was provided to us by God by precisely our times. But the Chaplet is certainly no substitute for Confession, especially under normal circumstances. Strive to maintain the life of God's sanctifying grace in your soul; however, if you have lost sanctifying grace through sin, get to Confession now while you still can!