Bless Me Father, For I Have Sinned

Posted By on May 21, 2009

You FirstFew words strike more fear and dread into the hearts of some Catholics then these: “Bless me Father, for I have sinned.”  That was clearly the sentiment of my 6th grade class last year.

Besides the standing time slot on Saturday afternoons, the parish offers the Sacrament of Penance twice throughout the year during class times for our students.  You’d think we were asking each student to hang upside down suspended by their big toes, nonstop for a week with no food or sleep followed by some tooth extractions minus the anesthesia.  The look of agony on their faces and the pleas by some to not have to participate clearly highlights a lack of understanding of the beauty of this Sacrament.

My sense is that this sentiment stems from fear, not just for my students but for other Catholics as well.  A certain fallen angel takes advantage of this fear and exaggerates it to keep people away from God’s loving mercy and grace.  Admitting your own faults and transgressions, whether big or small, is a difficult thing.  It takes humility and courage to overcome any embarrassment and to voice them to someone else.  For adults, it’s easy to make up excuses why you can put it off or worse, to rationalize why doing so isn’t really necessary.  For young people, they just don’t have that option in a Religious Education program where participation is an implied expectation.  Additionally, besides the needed virtues mentioned above, children have to overcome the added fear that they are admitting this to someone (specifically an adult) that they respect and view as having actual authority over them, creating the additional concerns of judgment and consequence.  With all of this on their minds, I can understand why they are stressed by the anticipation of the experience and therefore dread it.

Unfortunately, they are looking at it all wrong.

We are each given a Ticket to Heaven at Baptism.  Each ticket admits one, is personalized for a specific person, is non-transferable and you must present it for admission.  Most feel that Heaven is a long way away and people have a tendency to loose their tickets.  How heart wrenching is that?  Your one way into Heaven and you lost it.

But there is hope.  Holy Mother Church has given us a way to replace that lost ticket through the Sacrament of Penance.  We can go to Her, explain that we lost our ticket, explain how we lost our ticket, be sorry that we lost our ticket and Holy Mother Church will not only give us a replacement ticket but even advise us on ways to not loose it in the future.  And even if we do lose it again, we can still get another one by going back to Her for another replacement.  As long as we are truly sorry, we can get a replacement each time and She will not judge us in the process.  If this were a ticket to a concert or a ballgame, do you think we would hesitate?  Of course not, so why should we hesitate for something much more important?

Next year, each of my students is going to get a sample Ticket to Heaven.  Let’s see how quickly they lose it.  Even more exciting, lets see how quickly they can get a replacement.


St. John Nepomucene, Martyr of the Confessional and Patron Saint of Good Confessions, pray for us.

St. John Nepomucene, Martyr of the Confessional and Patron Saint of Good Confessions, pray for us.

Categories: Challenges, Ideas
Tags: , , ,


| More

About the author

My name is Carlos Torres, and for better or for worse, I am a Catechist. As a Catechist, I help supplement the religious education that parents give at home with focused and detailed lessons around Scripture and Tradition as taught by the Church. Now, I have no background in teaching, much less in dealing with a group of tweens and teens who don’t want to be with me, in a classroom, on a weeknight, learning about faith; yet week after week, I and many other Catechists do just that by letting the Holy Spirit guide us in planting those seeds and helping fulfill the Church’s mission to “go and make disciples”.

Comments

  • http://platytera.blogspot.com/ Christian

    Here’s how we treat Confession in our class (it’s not part of the course material):

    First, I mention it every time I’ve been since the last class, so they know it’s not a “do I say, not as I do” thing. I say how much my pride wants me to not go, how I drag myself in because I hate to be humbled….just like Adam and Eve. But then I feel great afterward.

    I also spend about 20-30 minutes at the beginning of Lent covering the Prodigal Son showing how it’s a model for confession. I give each student a copy of Rembrandt’s Prodigal Son which becomes part of the discussion. On the backside is the Act of Contrition and some guidelines for Examination of Conscience.

    Plus we cover John 20: 19-23 for the priest’s authority to forgive sins.

    Some of my kids have been to Confession one time, before First Communion. Lots of them would like to go, but of course their parents don’t go….it’s tough.

    • Sarah

      i think parents should go with their kids to teach them to go to church when they grow up

  • http://platytera.blogspot.com/ Christian

    Here’s how we treat Confession in our class (it’s not part of the course material):

    First, I mention it every time I’ve been since the last class, so they know it’s not a “do I say, not as I do” thing. I say how much my pride wants me to not go, how I drag myself in because I hate to be humbled….just like Adam and Eve. But then I feel great afterward.

    I also spend about 20-30 minutes at the beginning of Lent covering the Prodigal Son showing how it’s a model for confession. I give each student a copy of Rembrandt’s Prodigal Son which becomes part of the discussion. On the backside is the Act of Contrition and some guidelines for Examination of Conscience.

    Plus we cover John 20: 19-23 for the priest’s authority to forgive sins.

    Some of my kids have been to Confession one time, before First Communion. Lots of them would like to go, but of course their parents don’t go….it’s tough.

  • http://www.catechistcorner.com Carlos

    These are some great ideas, Christian. Thanks for sharing them.

  • http://www.catechistcorner.com Carlos

    These are some great ideas, Christian. Thanks for sharing them.

  • Deanna

    Thanks Carlos and Christian for your great ideas. I’ve been looking for ways to help my students see the meaning and importance of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

  • Deanna

    Thanks Carlos and Christian for your great ideas. I’ve been looking for ways to help my students see the meaning and importance of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

  • Carol

    I can relate! Most of my 10th graders hadn’t been since First Communion and dreaded it. Fear is certainly a factor. Bravado from the boys helped move them along. We will revisit this regularly! A brief talk from our parish priest beforehand did help. I’d love to know how the ‘ticket to heaven’ works out! Sounds good.

  • Carol

    I can relate! Most of my 10th graders hadn’t been since First Communion and dreaded it. Fear is certainly a factor. Bravado from the boys helped move them along. We will revisit this regularly! A brief talk from our parish priest beforehand did help. I’d love to know how the ‘ticket to heaven’ works out! Sounds good.

  • ed

    i was wander how do i go about doing confeshion…i mean .from the moment i go in the confeshenle till i leave what do i do and what do i say…can you help me….thanks ed…….its been a long time and i have forgotten it…

    • http://www.catechistcorner.com Carlos

      Ed, there are a number of resources available on the internet that walk you through the Rite of Reconcilation. Here is a link to a document created by the Archdiocese of Boston that includes an Examination of Conscience as well as the process for the Rite:

      Making a Good Confession

      You can also go to The Light is On For You for more information. This is a site from the Archdiocese of Boston on this year’s Lenten initiative which is to get people to come back to this sacrament. Even if you are not in Boston, this information will be valuable nonetheless.

      Additionally, I would recommend that you tell the Priest-Confessor that it’s been a while and that you don’t remember the steps. Most priest will gladly help you through the sacrament.

      God bless you for coming back to this wonderful sacrament.

  • ed

    i was wander how do i go about doing confeshion…i mean .from the moment i go in the confeshenle till i leave what do i do and what do i say…can you help me….thanks ed…….its been a long time and i have forgotten it…

    • http://www.catechistcorner.com Carlos

      Ed, there are a number of resources available on the internet that walk you through the Rite of Reconcilation. Here is a link to a document created by the Archdiocese of Boston that includes an Examination of Conscience as well as the process for the Rite:

      Making a Good Confession

      You can also go to The Light is On For You for more information. This is a site from the Archdiocese of Boston on this year’s Lenten initiative which is to get people to come back to this sacrament. Even if you are not in Boston, this information will be valuable nonetheless.

      Additionally, I would recommend that you tell the Priest-Confessor that it’s been a while and that you don’t remember the steps. Most priest will gladly help you through the sacrament.

      God bless you for coming back to this wonderful sacrament.

«     »

About the author

My name is Carlos Torres, and for better or for worse, I am a Catechist. As a Catechist, I help supplement the religious education that parents give at home with focused and detailed lessons around Scripture and Tradition as taught by the Church. Now, I have no background in teaching, much less in dealing with a group of tweens and teens who don’t want to be with me, in a classroom, on a weeknight, learning about faith; yet week after week, I and many other Catechists do just that by letting the Holy Spirit guide us in planting those seeds and helping fulfill the Church’s mission to “go and make disciples”.