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The deeper we go into this joyful season of Lent, in which we remember and celebrate the redemption Jesus Christ won for us, the more honest we generally become, or should be becoming, towards our own faults. Many of our brothers and sisters have been moved to repent from their sins and to approach the sacrament of reconciliation, the school children have had an opportunity to confess, the requests for spiritual direction have multiplied exponentially, and one can see, with great joy and satisfaction, how the Lord is moving humble hearts to repent from their sins.

Many reflections, thoughts and discourses could be extracted from the encounter of Christ with the Samaritan woman, so let us focus on one aspect: seeing this encounter as full of lessons for our reception of the sacrament of reconciliation. This I will do in three points, starting always from the words of the Lord.

“If you knew the gift of God.”[1] Jesus says this to the Samaritan woman who looks at him and speaks to him as if he were only a man. But he is not, he is God, the Son of the Most High, who has come into the world and was born of the virgin Mary.

So it is with us as regards the sacrament of reconciliation. If only we knew the gift that God has in store for us there. If only we could understand the great malice and selfishness of our sins, even the “small ones.” If only we could see the Love of God which we offend, and the perversion we insert into our nature. If only we could see how much we are ripped off by the devil, when we prefer killing our souls for just a moment of pleasure, an instant of self-gratification, or a moment of greed. And if only we could see how God is the doctor of our soul, offering us all the healing, consolation and renovation that we could ever want.

One thing that I notice in confessions is that, the more frequently souls confess, the more they confess, and the more delicate their relationship is with God. When souls who confess frequently are always on top of the slightest movement of their souls, souls who rarely confess may come in after years without confessing and have only two or three things to confess. It’s fine that they begin a process of forming a more delicate conscience, I’m not complaining that they confess even those few things, but if only they knew the gift of God that awaited them in confession, they would dig deeper and find much more, so that Jesus, the doctor of the soul, could heal them in the confessional and lift all of that evil out of their lives. And some do.

“You are right in saying, ‘I do not have a husband.’”[2] Jesus begins to tell this woman that he already knows of all of her sins, and that nothing is hidden from her eyes. She didn’t want to just come out and say, “Oh, I’ve been living with five or six men in a state of fornication and grave, scandalous sin.” So she found another periphrasis to hide her shame. For indeed, living with someone who is not ones spouse, as if they were, or in a way which could look like that to the world, is matter of grave sin and scandal; those who live so will not enter the kingdom of heaven unless they reform their lives and stop scandalizing others by their bad example. But that’s a bit beside the point: the point is, Jesus knows everything, he only needs that we repent, confess and do penance and reparation.

The lesson for us here is that we need to be honest in confession. We are really confessing to God in the sacrament. The priest does certain things not only in the name of Christ, but in his person, and this is one of them. Sometimes I’ll hear, “I did lots of things wrong.” And I need to ask, “What things?” “I did some sins against purity.” And I need to ask, “What type things?” “I had some bad thoughts.” And I need to ask what kind, for maybe they were sins of thought against charity, against purity, against hope, or of envy. It is necessary for us to confess all of our mortal sins by “species and number,” that is, exactly what we did and how many times we did it, to the best of our memory; and it is recommended to treat our venial sins the same way. Or sometimes people say things in cryptic terms, or they suddenly drop their voice so Father can’t hear well.

The hard part is when we feel great shame for something we did. Perhaps it was a sin against chastity, or an abortion, or a fraudulent deal in business, or neglect of one’s family, or a huge fight with the person one most loves. Take courage, and be honest, the only thing you will find in the confessional is forgiveness, an encouraging word, counsel and expressions of encouragement.

Be direct. Say what happened with simplicity. Excessive detail is not necessary either, just the sin committed. For Jesus knows, and when we go to confession, it is us who are in the shoes of the Samaritan woman, and the priest who is in the place of Christ. Let us state our confession, not because God doesn’t know the truth, but because by the truth we will be set free.[3]

And finally, Jesus says, “I am [the Messiah], the one speaking to you.” [4] After the Samaritan woman attempted feebly to defend her ground, setting up a wall between her and Jesus, using complicated arguments regarding theology, Jesus cut through it all. He told her everything, and she knew that for all of her artifices, this one was the Anointed, the Christ, the Messiah. He stole her heart, and he did not neglect the honest demands her intellect made on her faith.

And so when you go into the Confessional, know that you are not contending with Paul or John or Pat or anyone else. Christ himself waits there for you, with his love, his mercy and his grace. It is objectively and certainly an encounter with Christ. He and he alone reaches into your soul, rips away the sins, and heals all your wounds.

Therefore, follow the wisdom of the saints of the centuries, and attend the sacrament of reconciliation frequently. “Be converted and believe the Gospel,”[5] were the first words our Lord preached to the world when he began his public ministry. Let us not leave conversion to once or twice a year, but to daily practice; and let sacramental confession be a regular part of our spiritual diet. May Mary help us understand the gift God offers, the need for honesty, and the presence of the Messiah in this wonderful sacrament of renewal.

[1] Jn 4:10.

[2] Jn 4:17.

[3] Cf. Jn 8:32.

[4] Jn 4:26.

[5] Mk 1:15.