Confession

We Confess

Most merciful God,
we confess that we have sinned against you
in thought, word, and deed,
by what we have done,
and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our whole heart;
we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
have mercy on us and forgive us;
that we may delight in your will,
and walk in your ways,
to the glory of your Name. Amen.

I Confess

I confess to Almighty God, to his Church, and to you, that

I have sinned by my own fault in thought, word, and deed, in

things done and left undone; especially __________. For these

and all other sins which I cannot now remember, I am truly

sorry. I pray God to have mercy on me. I firmly intend

amendment of life, and I humbly beg forgiveness of God and

his Church, and ask you for counsel, direction, and absolution.

They are not the same. The Roman Catholic Church knows this better than we seem to. We Confess is a general, corporate confession that includes the sins of the Church and the community, nation and culture as well as our own personal sins. It is an easy shield to hide behind, recite it with the crowd, hear the declaration of absolution, and head for the Altar rail. Nothing actually had to be faced and dealt with. Nobody knows but me. The priest waved the sign of the cross over us and I got by again. But it satisfies some Churches, including ours, well enough to admit me to the Altar rail to receive the blessed Sacrament.

I Confess is personal and private. If I am thorough and honest with self and confessor priest, it becomes deeply personal between me and the Holy Spirit. I can come away washed and clean indeed, and head for the door, again to try living out my Baptismal Covenant, my life in the Way of the Cross.

In our Church there is a saying about I Confess. “All May, None Must, Some Should.” We might ought to reconsider that.

TW+