The Mercy of Confession

I have sinned in deed, word and thought, knowingly and unknowingly, willingly and unwillingly, thoughtfully and thoughtlessly, and it is impossible to enumerate all of my sins because of their multitude. But I truly repent of these and all others not mentioned by me because of my forgetfulness and I ask that they be forgiven through the abundance of the Mercy of God.

~St John of Kronstadt, A Preparation for Confession

Sometimes just the thought of going to confession is a ready and helpful deterrent from sin. I mean seriously, who wants to go list out what they have done to someone's face? Especially someone who is in authority over you? I sometimes joke and say it is easier to ask forgiveness than permission, but honestly, it isn't. It so isn't. It's way easier to just not think/say/do stuff that I will find myself needing to confess later. I put it off and put it off but then I just have to go do it.

Come now, let us argue it out, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be like snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. 

Isaiah 1:18

Praise God, but I think my Spiritual Father has seen and heard it all. He doesn't even blink. His gentle chiding  is always couched in kind words of guidance and love. He knows me. He knows where I have come from and what I have endured. He is so encouraging and his mercifulness when it comes to saying the truth but not in such a way as to rip me into shreds is such a blessing. Lord have mercy on my priest! He has to put up with meafter all!

Confession is one of the rites of the Church that I was most drawn to. Actually experiencing the forgiveness of God as spoken over me by the prayers that have come down to us since the earliest days of the Church is one of the greatest gifts God has ever given us. I have no idea why anyone would not want to--other than embarrassment and how minor is a few moments of embarrassment in the grand scheme of eternity?

Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.

James 5:16

The Lord does know all my sins but for some reason He has decreed we should confess them aloud to Him before a witness. Considering how clean and light-hearted and renewed I always feel afterward, I am sure there is more to this command than just the nominally preventative power of embarrassment. After all, if it is really that embarrassing to you, you could just not confess it. But the command is there: Confess your sins to one another, not just get someplace quiet and tell God what He already knows. I don't pretend to know what it is beyond the collective recognition that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)

Whatever it is, I so appreciate what the Lord has done. His gifts are always good!

Lord, I thank you for the mercy you have shown me, the chiefest of sinners!