Peace from Penance

Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects.

--- James 5:16 (RSV)

 

The beauty of it took me aback.  Walking towards the church on the Tuesday of Holy Week for a “Penance Service,” Those leaving looked happy and lighthearted. 

Inside, what I saw both humbled and amazed me.  The aisles of the large sanctuary were filled with lines.  Lines for the priests-in-residence, stationed in their usual confessionals, and lines for thirteen additional priests who were sitting, spaced throughout the pews.

Serene piano music floated down from the loft.  A handout listed the Ten Commandments, each followed by a thought-provoking question to encourage examination of one’s conscience.  The first:  “I am the Lord your God: you shall not have strange Gods before me,” followed by the question: Have I treated people, events, or things as more important than God?  

Muffled conversations filled the sanctuary, each followed by the priest’s hand raised in blessing with the sign of the cross.

My turn.  Through the mask, my words seemed a jumbled mess, but the priest wasn’t fazed.  He spoke pragmatically, indicating acceptance of certain situations, but not in any way condoning my sins.  He reminded me to pray throughout the day, assigned a simple act of penance and then provided absolution.

Later that evening, while lying in bed, I recited the scripture he had assigned, and enjoyed the blanket of peace that resulted from the entire evening.

Lord, thank you for the humble beauty of verbally confessing one’s sins.