Reconciliation, the most human of the sacraments
September 13, 2011
A fine, good priest told me recently that unless he begins the morning with 15 minutes in prayer, thanking God for all that he has been given, he simply cannot find the time in the rest of the day to do all the things he has to do. Now this is important. Not, “unless I pray first thing, I can’t find time to pray later,” but “unless I pray first thing, I can’t find time to do anything later.” It’s a vital distinction, and underlines the essence and essential importance of humility and of speaking and listening to God. We are nothing without Him, we need to thank Him and not take all that we have for granted, and without this divine communication we are dry and unproductive. Okay, okay, I need to come clean. This was said to me in confession. Where I was, of course, telling God of the usual banalities of a sinner’s existence. By the way, I don’t mean a face-to-face chat, or something equally repulsive; I mean confession. The priest is the mere conduit, and this is about something far more important than counselling. For some modernist fellow in sensible shoes, full of lukewarm understanding and ersatz empathy, to sit in front of me with nods and smiles is a horrible promotion of the self. I want to speak to God, not you Father!