The Bishop of Oslo, Fredrik Hansen, has written a letter to all the faithful of his diocese by highlighting the sacrament of Confession. In his Lenten message he encouraged Christians to go to Confession in preparation for Holy Week and, now that these crucial days are approaching, he has once again insisted on the key points of this sacrament.
As a starting point, Bishop Hansen states that “all sin damages our relationship and our bonds with God, with the Church and with our fellow human beings”. The consequence of this is that “we are left alone, like the prodigal son in Jesus” parable“. The Norwegian Bishop then recalls the words of St. Paul: ”The wages of sin is death“ (Rom 6:23), therefore, ”sin is much more destructive in our lives than we often think".
The hope of mercy
However, the Christian cannot lose hope in the face of this reality, for “in confession, God forgives us in his mercy, restores divine life in us and restores us to friendship with him and unity with the Church”.
And here the Bishop of Oslo introduces a very important nuance: “we do not go to confession to obsess about our mistakes, but to encounter God's unfathomable mercy and receive his forgiveness and peace”.
The path of confession
Given the importance of the sacrament, Monsignor Hansen points out that “the path to confession must be (...) brief and without obstacles”. In addition, the Christian has to walk this path “regularly”, even “we must run every time we have committed serious sins”.
In this sense, the bishop insists, “sin should rather awaken in us a zeal to confess our sins and receive God's forgiveness”.
Regular attendance at the sacrament
“Every believer should go to confession regularly,” assures the Bishop of Oslo. This habit helps us “to examine our lives for sins of weakness, to understand ever more deeply the law of God and to seek with fervor the holiness to which the Lord calls us.”.
The prelate proposes three moments of the year in which he considers especially important to walk the path of Confession: Lent, Easter and Advent.
The preparation
Monsignor Hansen also warns of the importance of “preparing well for confession and thus fulfilling the requirements of the sacrament”:
- “Sincerely repent of our sins.”
- “Confess them with humility.”
- “Faithfully fulfill our penance”.
It is necessary, therefore, “a deep reflection on our lives, in silence and prayer, in order to determine what sins we should confess and what we should expose concretely in the confessional”.
To make the examination of conscience, the bishop recommends turning, among other things, to “the Ten Commandments or other fundamental biblical texts”.
Example of priests
The bishop addresses a few words to the priests of the diocese, who know “how great the sacrament of confession is and how important it is in our own lives and in the lives of the faithful.” He encourages them all, including himself, “to set an example and to go to confession regularly and faithfully ourselves.”.
He also exhorts them to make “confession even more accessible, even easier to go to, even safer and, to a greater extent, a living encounter with God's infinite mercy”.
The reminder of Holy Week
The Bishop of Oslo concludes by pointing out that “from the mysteries of Easter, and above all from the death of Jesus on the cross for our sins, shines forth the victory over death and sin”. A victory that “becomes a reality in us in the sacrament of confession”.
