John the Baptist was the last prophet of the old covenant, the covenant between God and the Jewish people. God raised him up to prepare the Jewish people for the coming of Jesus, and we heard his call today: “Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight his paths.” He proclaimed a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. His baptism was symbolic. It was symbolic of a person’s willingness to turn from sin. This willingness to turn from sin was necessary before the coming of the Lord because our sin blocks God’s way to our hearts. So John readied people to receive Jesus by helping them with his preaching and baptism to turn from sin. But John’s baptism didn’t do anything. It was only symbolic. It was only a preparation, but it didn’t take away sin. The Baptism that Christ brings and gives through His church is more than mere symbol. It does something. It takes away sin. John said as much: “I have baptized you with water. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” This is the baptism that we have received, a baptism which takes away the stain and guilt of original sin. However, as we all know, our baptism does not take away our ability to sin. We can still block God’s way to our hearts and lives by our own sinful choices, and so on this 2nd Sunday of Advent, John’s words are still appropriate for us: “Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight His paths.” Jesus has given us a sacrament by which He removes the sins we commit after baptism: the Sacrament of Reconciliation, also known as Confession. And so, in light of St. John the Baptist’s words today, I would like to speak to you about sin, about our need to repent, and about the great sacrament of Reconciliation. Sin is a terrible thing. When we sin, either in desire, word, deed, or by omission, what we are really saying is “I love myselfishness more than I love God” or “I love myselfishness more than I love this other person.” Sin, in other words, is perverse selfishness. Sin has a disfiguring effect on humans. We were created to love; we were created to be selfless, and, beginning with baptism, God’s grace enables us to live this way. So, sin has a disfiguring effect on humans, emotionally, spiritually, even physically, sometimes. Sin wreaks havoc on our ability to love and, if serious enough, even breaks our relationship with God. Christ Jesus wants to free us from this disfigurement that we do to ourselves. He wants to open our relationship back up to God, and He wants to do this in a real and personal way. He wants to forgive our sins in a real and personal way. That is why He has given us this sacrament of confession, so that we can have a real and personal encounter with Him when we repent and are forgiven. This is the answer to the question that we as priests hear often: “Why do I have to go to a priest to have my sins forgiven? Can’t I just say I’m sorry in my room alone?” Well, we can say we are sorry in our rooms for less serious sins, but Jesus wants even more for us than just that. Jesus wants us to meet Him in a real and personal way, a way which engages our senses, a way which fully engages our hearts, a way which prompts our contrition even more fully. Jesus wants us to hear Him speak to us and in that sacramental moment to feel His grace pour into us as the priest says “Your sins are forgiven; go in peace.” Just as Jesus said those words to many people long ago, so He speaks those words now through the priest in this sacrament - and you can’t get that in your room. He also wants for us to verbalize our sins. In doing this we are better able to claim them, to really come to grips with the reality of our own sin. We are able to say, “Lord this is what I have done; this is how I have been selfish.” This helps our contrition to be very real. Christ gives us the priest in that sacramental moment so that in and through Him we can say to the Lord with our voices and our hearts in a very real and personal way, “I’m sorry; I want you to change me” - and you can’t really do that in your room. There are some too who say that a human being like a priest does not have the power to forgive sins, but this is not what the Bible says, and this is not what the Church has always believed. The Gospel of John, chapter 20, says that Jesus breathed on the disciples and said “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven. If you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” Jesus gave human beings, the Apostles, the power to forgive sins. The Apostles passed that power and authority down through all bishops of every time and place, and every priest has received this power and authority through ordination. To deny that priests have the power to forgive sins is to be in the same boat as the Scribes in the Gospel story of the crippled man who doubted that Jesus Himself could forgive sins while on earth. What does this mean for you and me and for our practice of the celebration of this sacrament? The Church has always taught that if a person is conscious of grave sin, that person must go to this sacrament in order to be forgiven. In fact, a person conscious that they have committed grave sin should not receive communion until they have repented, confessed, and have received absolution through this sacrament. This is the primary reason for the sacrament. It is primarily for those who have committed mortal sins. But the sacrament is also for all of us. We are all sinners. We all fail in one way or another to love and give of ourselves as we were created to do. And so, even if our sins, since our last confession are venial, or light sins, it is for our spiritual health that we should bring these sins to the Lord through this sacrament on a regular basis. What are some important things to do when going to confession? Make a good examination of conscience before going. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you to know your sins and to be sorry for them and to be fully willing to turn away form them and toward God completely. If it’s been a long time since your last confession, don’t be afraid. Just tell the priest that it’s been a long time, and if you need some help getting through it just tell the priest; it’s no problem. In the confession itself, on must confess every mortal sin and how many times we committed them. If we don’t remember how many times, we should give a general idea as best we can remember. Purposely to withhold grave sin in confession is itself a grave sin and invalidates our confession. Each and every venial sin need not be confessed in order to be forgiven. One can leave it up to one’s own good judgement regarding what needs to be confessed. Don’t worry about what the priest may or may not think of you. As you know, we are bound by the seal of confession. This seal includes our own thoughts. We are not allowed even purposely to think about what we’ve heard in confession except to pray for you. And, of course, to indicate to another person in any way what we’ve heard in confession would be a grave sin that can only be fully removed by the Pope himself. So don’t worry, we priests don’t sit around the dinner table talking about your sins! The priest will give you a penance which is a sign of contrition and a true making up for sin. It’s good to know an act of contrition, but don’t worry if you don’t. The priest will help you. And then the words of absolution: “I absolve you from your sins.” I wash you clean. What a privilege and grace to hear the words of Jesus. We too have been given the gift of meeting our merciful Lord in a very real and personal way through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Don’t miss out on this gift this Advent season. Give the time. Make the effort to receive this sacrament, and have a new way made for God in your heart as you prepare for the great celebration of our Savior’s birth at Christmas.