When we are baptized, original and all personal sin are washed away; our souls are "full of grace;" and we become members of Christ's Body, the Church. If we die before we commit another sin, because of the eternal salvation Jesus Christ won for us through His passion, death, and resurrection, we will spend eternity in heaven with Him, the Blessed Mother, and all the saints.

What a tremendous gift God has given us. Yet, what a monumental challenge we face: 40, 50, and 60, even 80 or more years of life on earth without falling into sin. "Impossible!" you say. I have to agree with you---without God's help---avoiding sin is impossible. Yet, we are assured through Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition, and the Magisterium of the Church, that when we accept God's grace and allow it to work in our lives, we can reject Satan, we can avoid sin, we can grow in our understanding and love of Christ.

Saint Paul, in 2 Cor 12:7-10, asks God to "remove the thorn in his flesh." We don't know what the thorn was---illness, suffering, or sin---but God's response is eye-opening. He says, "My grace is sufficient for you." Heb 4:14-16 says, "...so let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help."

So God gives us His grace to help us avoid sin; but, should we sin, God has, in His infinite wisdom, given us the Sacrament of Penance. For after His death and resurrection and before His ascension into heaven, where He is now seated at the right hand of His Father, Jesus said to the Apostles, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained." (Jn 20:21-23)

Jesus didn't desert us and leave us unprepared to take on evil in the world. He gave the Apostles the authority to forgive our sins; and they handed on this authority to their disciples; and, down through the centuries, through the Sacrament of Holy Orders, this authority has been handed on by each successor to the Apostles.

At confession we are called to reveal all our sins, be truly sorry for them, and resolve to avoid them in the future. In Jn 20:21-23, Jesus not only gave "ordained" men the authority to forgive sin, but also to retain it. You may wonder, "Why would a priest ever retain our sins?" If he senses that we are not truly sorry for a particular sin, or that we are not determined to avoid it in the future, he will not absolve us of our sins, because Christ does not absolve unrepentant sinners.

The Old Testament (OT) passage IS 43:25 says that only God can forgive sins; and the New Testament (NT) passage 1 Tim 2:5 says that Jesus is the only mediator between God and men. So if one of our separated brothers or sisters in another Christian denomination asks you, "Why can't I just confess my sins directly to God?" what would you say? I'd reply, "Because in the Bible, Jesus gave His Apostles the authority to forgive sin. In so doing, Jesus expected men to confess their sins to the Apostles." Then ask them to read Jn 20:21-23. When they tell you that only God can forgive sins, say to them, "Amen, I agree with you. Only God can forgive sin, and He does it through His ordained priests."

Confession of one's sins was a part of Jewish tradition before Christ came to redeem us. In the OT Book of Leviticus, we see the sinful confessing their sins and priests offering atonement for those sins (Lv 5:1-6 and 9:20-22). In Mt 3:6, we read that the Jews are confessing their sins as John is baptizing them in the Jordan River.

Think about the last time you found the courage to partake of the Sacrament of Penance. Remember the joy you felt when Father, in the person of Christ (in persona Christi), said to you, "I absolve you from your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." Did you not feel forgiven? Did you not feel God's grace working within you? Did you not view the world differently? When we humble ourselves before Christ and confess our sins to His priest, we reconcile ourselves not only to Christ but to His Body, the Church, and to all members of His Church.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 1422) offers us these comforting words: "Those who approach the Sacrament of Penance obtain pardon from God's mercy for the offense committed against Him, and are, at the same time, reconciled with the Church which they have wounded by their sins and which by charity, by example, and by prayer labors for their conversion."

This week end, when you go to confess and say, "Bless me Father, for I have sinned, my last confession was..." you'll be on your way to receiving God's healing forgiveness.

For more insight read CCC paragraphs 1420-1470. Also, read the following Bible passages: Mt 9:1-8, Mt 10:40, Mt 18:18-19, Mk 2:5-12, Lk 10-16, Lk 24:45-49, Act 19:18-20, 2 Cor 2:10, 2 Cor 5:18-20, 1 Tim 2:1-5, Jam 5:13-16, 1 Pet 2:5 & 9, 1 Jn 1:6-10, .