Ep. 11 - Confession

In this episode, Emily and Michael discuss the sacrament of Confession, God's mercy, and why we both like going to priests we know! (Even if it's a little awkward)

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hey everyone, welcome to Blazing Hearts Podcast. Today we are talking about the Sacrament of Confession, continuing with our theme of sacraments from last episode. I'm Michael.

SPEAKER_01 0:12

And I'm Emily.

SPEAKER_00 0:13

And today, like I said, we're talking about the sacrament of confession. I think for a lot of people, confession can be one of those things that's a little scary. It's a little daunting to go talk to someone, a priest that you might know well or you might not, and just kind of tell them all the ways you've kind of messed up. But I think there's something in there that's really special. But confession doesn't need to be like this big scary thing. It doesn't need to be a moment of like nerves.

SPEAKER_01 0:53

Yeah, or like it's not like a condemnation. It's more of like a just like a cleansing.

SPEAKER_00 0:58

Like Yeah, it's it's a moment for God's mercy to really shine through.

SPEAKER_01 1:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:03

So I think that's kind of what we wanted to talk about today to kind of encourage people to go to confession who might have who might be scared, encourage. You know, just more frequent use of the sacrament, especially because it's something that I think it's really easy to put off because as a high schooler, like, you know, you're busy and it's not the most comfortable or not comfortable, and also it's not really it is a requirement of the church, but it doesn't really, it's not as publicized as like, you know, going to masses.

SPEAKER_01 1:40

Yeah. Things like that.

SPEAKER_00 1:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:43

Um, yeah, I feel like like how Michael was saying, it's kind of like daunting or like scary. I feel like there's like a bad connotation around confession of like, oh, like you did this bad thing and like blah blah blah. And I think that's like why people are scared to go to confession on confession.

SPEAKER_00 2:00

Confession, right before. Think about all the times you've messed up.

SPEAKER_01 2:04

Then go tell it to somebody that you don't really want to tell it to. Yeah, but it just makes me think of I guess I said it kind of in the last episode of the time I went to confession at St. Basil, and I was like, with Father Liptech, those of you who know, shout out Father Liptech. I was sitting like in the chair, like across from him, and I was just like looking at the floor, just like you know, I was like us crying. If you know me, you know me. I was crying, I was looking at the floor, and then I just looked up, and like how Michael said it was it's like a moment of like Jesus' healing and like just grace from the Lord, like just the look in his eyes was like so full of like joy and love, and I just feel like that encapsulates the sacrament really well because in my mind how I envision it is like it's like the cross, right? And then I'm coming to the foot of the cross, and I am like there and I bring all these things, like bricks or whatever, and I like lay them there, and then like the Lord is there with me at the foot of the cross, just like holding me and like hugging me, and just like I'm so happy that you came home, and like that's kind of like everything that that look in his eyes like encapsulated to me in that moment. So, yeah, I guess that's my like thing to say it's like not that scary, and it's just I don't know. I guess it feels like I'm getting just like a big giant hug, or like I'm like being reunited with my friend that I haven't seen in a while.

SPEAKER_00 3:39

Yeah, I think that's one of the first big hurdles of confession is it not feeling like a condemnation.

SPEAKER_01 3:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:48

But I think it's still really important to understand like God wants you to go to confession, and putting I feel like putting confession off because you haven't been in a while is not the best reason to go to a while to not go.

SPEAKER_01 4:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:06

But like it's just this moment where the priest isn't there to condemn you. We'll talk more about you know, like this yellow confession. And it's just like this moment for you to kind of admit where you fall short, which is an important part of uh life, because we all fall short in some ways, but it's also really important to like you said, like reunite yourself in that mercy.

SPEAKER_01 4:41

Yeah, I think it's also just like an aspect of having a relationship with the Lord because it's just like being honest and upfront, like say you were like dating someone, right? And like, yes, like obviously we're gonna mess up, we're human, but you're not gonna hide that from them, or like you shouldn't. Like, you should like look like I messed up.

SPEAKER_00 5:01

Yeah, if you know if you know anything about relationships, hiding things is not really the key to a good relationship.

SPEAKER_01 5:09

But yeah, so I think it's just like and obviously, like the Lord knows like where you sin, like he sees you sin, but he just wants you to come to him and be honest about it and not like hide it from him, is what I'm trying to say. Yeah, so just like that further deepens your relationship with the Lord when you can be honest with him and be like, this is very messed up, but I want your grace and I want your mercy, and I'm choosing you over those sins.

SPEAKER_00 5:32

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, and I think it's really interesting too because Jesus wants to forgive sins almost like above anything else that he wants to provide for us. There's this story in the Bible of the healing of the paralyzed man. I'm not sure if it's the guy lowered from the roof or not. I'm blanking right now. But he says to him before he so his friends ask for healing. The paralyzed man's friends ask for healing, and Jesus instead the first words are uh your sins are forgiven. And this and like this causes a bit of an ups, like an upstir. It kind of shows Jesus as God, like who can forgive sins except God? Well, Jesus is God. But it also shows kind of the mercy of God and how God wants to be just like forgiving. He doesn't want you to be in sin and just to keep turning back to him. So I think it's really interesting that like the first words out of Jesus' mouth aren't a physical healing necessarily, but rather a spiritual healing.

SPEAKER_01 6:52

Yeah. Yeah, I agree. I had a thought and then I lost it.

SPEAKER_00 6:59

Um I mean, another another thing that I that's kind of important to touch on for especially those scared of confession is the seal of confession. Because it's one of those things where the church has instituted it as a means of confidentiality. You can say how you've messed up and it cannot and will not find it, yeah, find itself outside of the confessional under the pain of excommunication for the priest. Right. And to my knowledge, if you're a Catholic priest, you really don't want to be excommunicated. This is not something high on the bucket list. So I think that the seal of confession is really key because it so, like, the most simple like rule is like it can't change your relationship with a priest, which is why it really doesn't matter if you go with someone you know or don't know. We'll talk a bit about that too. But it can't the priest can't do anything with the knowledge in the confessional. But what it also means is because the seal of confession exists, there's this grace that's come along with it that I've talked to priests about, uh heard priests talk about, where it's like they're not really listening to the contents of your confession in the sense of like they're not associating them with you. They'll lit they're listening, obviously, and they like hope to give you advice so you can sin no more, but they're not like taking notes behind the screen.

SPEAKER_01 8:41

Oh, Michael did this, did that.

SPEAKER_00 8:43

And it's just this really cool grace that's associated from the priest side. That's like they don't really remember the sins. Right. Also, part of that is your sins aren't that special. Sorry. That's what I was gonna say. Sorry to break it to you. I assume most of you guys listening are teenagers. Um but also for older fans, you fit into a demographic any way that you like it. Yes, your sins are gonna be similar to others in your demographic. I'm willing to bet most teenage guys are sitting in similar areas than others, and the priest isn't gonna be like, oh my gosh. It's just gonna be okay, another teen guy. Cool. It's good that we have young people in the church.

SPEAKER_01 9:32

Right.

SPEAKER_00 9:33

So I think that's a really important aspect, too.

SPEAKER_01 9:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:36

But I mean, back to the part of going to someone, going to a priest that you know or don't know. I mean, like, what do you prefer?

SPEAKER_01 9:44

I like to go to a priest that I know because I find that I can open up better because I feel like, well, like you're saying, the sins you tell the priest like their relationship with you can't change, and I've like seen that, so like I will tell the priest my sins up to sleep, and then I like see him the next day and he's like, Oh, and he gives me a hug, and like it's like normal, like Father Ryan.

SPEAKER_00 10:10

And to be fair, they're this sins are forgiven, right?

SPEAKER_01 10:14

So, like, it's okay. But yeah, I find that I feel a lot more loved after I've said my sins, and while I'm like telling the priest my sins, because one, I know it's somebody who like actually does love me, but then two, it's like a more familiar heart or like person that I can associate with the Lord. Because obviously the priest is standing in place of the Lord, so like he is there, but then obviously, like they're just like a deeper part of that, in my opinion, I guess.

SPEAKER_00 10:48

Yeah, that's what I wanted to mention during my sale confession. Is it's not the priest necessarily yelling your can or hearing your confession, oh my gosh. It's um Jesus, but yeah. The person's like physically there, yeah, exactly. Yeah, and if you look at the form of confession, that's yeah, the form of confession where it's it starts with like God the Father of mercies through the life, death, resurrection.

SPEAKER_01 11:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:16

Uh or it might be just be through the death and resurrection. Yada yada yada. It's similar to the Mass, where the that's kind of a prayer, and then the heart of the prayer that I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, yeah. Are Jesus' words, Jesus speaking to you, not the priest. So I think that's a big part of it.

SPEAKER_01 11:37

Yeah. And another thing I think, like, with that, going to the priest I know, is like that like priest knows my heart, and so like he kind of could care less about my sins. Like, he he obviously cares because the Lord cares, but it's like my sin is like the least interesting thing about me. So like he like knows my heart and he knows that like I'm trying to do better, and then when I start crying, you know, he'll give me a hug, and then yeah, yeah. So what about you?

SPEAKER_00 12:03

I'm I mean, I think I'd agree with you. There was definitely it's definitely taken some time. So it's like throughout high school, I've started going to confession more, and just recently I found myself going like not just at retreats and kind of like seeking it out a little bit more, but there was definitely the time like early when I was I've talked about it, I wasn't necessarily that close uh with my faith in like middle school. So at that point it was like, get me a priest I will never see in the history of the earth ever again.

SPEAKER_01 12:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:41

And I think since then that's kind of evolved because I've realized like what you said, yeah, is you relate to the you can relate to the priest, it feels easier and lighter to me at least to talk to someone you know and who knows you outside of confessional. I've they can't do anything about that, you're just another person. But out like, like you said, like sin is like the least interesting part of you. Yeah, or at least it should be.

SPEAKER_01 13:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:14

Because you are son or daughter of God, and it's that's wonderful and amazing, and can never be taken away.

SPEAKER_01 13:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:21

So I think that's really cool too.

SPEAKER_01 13:23

Yeah, I agree.

SPEAKER_00 13:26

What else do we want to talk about? This is a funny thing. I keep forgetting my thoughts that I can't do. We just wing it. Yeah, a lot of these are just winged and it's really fun.

SPEAKER_01 13:40

We're like, okay, three, two, one, go. Then hit record.

SPEAKER_00 13:43

But yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:44

I lost my thought again.

SPEAKER_00 13:45

I definitely say, even if you haven't been to confession in a while or you're too busy, or like we were talking about before we hit record, confession times are just really, really inconvenient at your church.

SPEAKER_01 14:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:01

Is to not necessarily like it's fine to be nervous and it's fine to be anxious. That's kind of just natural. But to still be open to it because the grace and the mercy available in the sacrament is so much more.

SPEAKER_01 14:18

And I feel like obviously, well, maybe not, obviously, I don't know who you are listening, but I feel like for most people it's like really uncomfortable to go tell like the priests like these things that maybe aren't like the prettiest about you. Again, the least important thing about you. But I think that it's important to like step out of your comfort zone because I find that's where the most growth happens, and the most like the more and more I go to confession, the more comfortable I am with it, and it's like, oh, like I'm excited to go to confession now because I know that I'm gonna feel ten times better, and then my relationship with the Lord is gonna be ten times better on the other side.

SPEAKER_00 14:54

I think that might be part of it too, like, even if it's not necessarily getting more familiar with the priest, but like just growing closer to confession. I think just going regular really helps that, even if you don't have this big huge sin weighing on you.

SPEAKER_01 15:08

Right.

SPEAKER_00 15:08

I what I was I was gonna say this earlier, and it's okay to not fully know the form of confession. Or yeah, it's the form, the rubrics, I guess. Because the priest is there for you. Most priests aren't gonna be like, nope, can't forgive you. You didn't start with the right form. So yeah, I think that's something to be important. Like, it's okay if you forget the act of contrition.

SPEAKER_01 15:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:38

That's not what that's not the most like. Is it an important part of confession that you're sorry for your sins? Yes, absolutely. It's one of like the key things for confession is that you need to be sorry for your sins. You can't go to confession and it's like, I stole a candy bar, but it was really good, and I'm not sorry for it. Like, no, it's like, well, too bad. You can't do anything about that.

SPEAKER_01 16:00

Right.

SPEAKER_00 16:01

But, you know, that's not what the sacrament is about. It's not a sacrament of you need to get the words right.

SPEAKER_01 16:10

Right.

SPEAKER_00 16:11

At least the penitent doesn't. The priest should. The priest should absolutely get the words right. Please have the priest get the words right.

SPEAKER_01 16:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 16:20

But, you know, it's okay to not know the form. The priest isn't really gonna judge you. You can ask, like, if priests hear a confession of like, well, I haven't been to confession in like, I don't know, 10 years. It's like, good, welcome back.

SPEAKER_01 16:35

Yeah, like I'm glad you're here.

SPEAKER_00 16:37

Oh my gosh. Well, you don't know the form, you idiot. Like, it's not gonna be that way. And I think that's a really key part of confession.

SPEAKER_01 16:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 16:49

And it's like which it's available.

SPEAKER_01 16:53

Yeah, and I feel like kind of like along with that, some like practicals are like things I guess you should know.

SPEAKER_00 16:59

Um things you should know.

SPEAKER_01 17:00

Do you have to say all your sins? So, like, you aren't forgiven of your sins if you like are willingly withholding a sin that you don't want to say.

SPEAKER_00 17:07

Which is well, right? More mortal sins, yes.

SPEAKER_01 17:10

Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_00 17:11

If you have like a long list of venal sins, please do not stone the priest to death with popcorn.

SPEAKER_01 17:16

Right.

SPEAKER_00 17:17

That's that's uh that's a quote. I I forget if it's Fulton Sheen or might be Bishop Ear, but is hearing a nun's confession is like being stoned to death with popcorn. But yeah. Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 17:30

Willingly withhold a mortal sin.

SPEAKER_00 17:32

If you forget though, if you're like oh my god.

SPEAKER_01 17:34

I don't forget you still are forgiven. You're good. Just don't willingly.

SPEAKER_00 17:38

Don't willingly withhold things.

SPEAKER_01 17:41

Yeah. And then I feel like sometimes what helps is like just say the one you're most scared to say first. Just say it, just blurt it out, and then you're fine. And then you can say the rest. You're like, oh it's good. I did it. Okay, great. Move on.

SPEAKER_00 17:54

Just blurt things out in the confessional and hope that they're right.

SPEAKER_01 18:00

No, but actually, saying the hardest thing first helps.

SPEAKER_00 18:03

Yeah, absolutely. And I find one of my favorite things to do with confession is write down all my sins on like a little post-no, and then go to confession, you know, use the post-note to help you. Yeah. And then you rip that thing up.

SPEAKER_01 18:20

Or throw it away or burn it or something like that. All the fun things. All the above.

SPEAKER_00 18:24

And it's just this like nice moment of like, yeah, those don't matter anymore.

SPEAKER_01 18:29

And they also like don't define you. Like your sin doesn't define you anytime ever in any way.

SPEAKER_00 18:35

Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_01 18:36

Like the Lord, it just wants to love you over your sin any day of the week.

SPEAKER_00 18:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:42

In your life ever. Ever.

SPEAKER_00 18:44

The Lord sees past sins.

SPEAKER_01 18:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:48

So.

SPEAKER_01 18:48

Okay, I think that's gonna do it for this episode, and you can get your pods wherever you listen to them, and have a blessed day.