“He Wants Your Sins”
Father Peter Fitzgibbons
March 1, 2026
Gospel: Matthew 17:1-9
During the two seasons of Advent and Lent, Holy Mother Church asks us for penance for the coming into the world of Christ at the nativity, and also for His suffering, death, and resurrection in Lent. The Church asks her faithful to receive the Sacrament of Penance. When you tell the priest your sins, the priest, who functions in the person of Christ, anoints your soul with His Precious Blood, which washes away all sin and infuses divine grace, healing the harm sin has caused. It is a beautiful Sacrament. But over the years, it has, like other things in the Church, suffered from some grave abuses. A white fence doesn’t stay white; you have to paint it and occasionally maintain it. It’s the same with the teaching of the Sacraments. Over the years of my priesthood, I have seen many weird things that Rome had to correct. This takes some time because they hope that bishops will self-correct. But the odds of that happening are not great, so Rome must do the correcting.
Remember when we all had to have reconciliation rooms? When I came here many years ago, may God have mercy on your souls, there were no confessionals. Confessions were made in the cry room, which goes against Church law. “We must have reconciliation rooms.” No. Priests are not obligated to hear confessions face-to-face. Someone appealed to Rome, and Rome said we did not need them. Monsignor wanted to spend thousands of dollars to create them. No. First, reconciliation rooms are not required. They also cost thousands of dollars. Homie isn’t playing that game! Rome reminded the bishops and priests, some of whom are educated beyond their ability, that confessionals are there for the protection of the priest and not for the comfort of the penitent. It is entirely my choice how I hear confessions. There have been so many crazy things. Another one is that priests cannot hear confessions right before Mass because it hinders the penitent from reflecting on the Mass. It sounds good for those not educated in Theology. But if you had any knowledge past the first year of Theology, you would know that is all fertilizer. “You cannot hear confessions right before Mass.” Rome said, “Yes, you can. You can also hear confessions during Mass.” The first thing you learn in Sacramental Theology is a Latin phrase: “Sacramenta destinabantur homini” which means the Sacraments were meant for man. They are not elaborate rituals that satisfy everybody’s desire to be in a high school play. The Sacraments are God giving life to man. That is why He came . . . to give us His divine life.
This comes up sometimes with the Spanish. They’ll say, “Father, confess?” Yes, but only if you speak English. They’ll say, “Yes, yes.” Then they start rattling off in Spanish. Wrong! I am only obligated to hear confessions in the language I understand. You are blowing stuff by me. I need English so that I can understand you. It’s like going to your doctor and describing in Spanish all your symptoms and all the medications you take. If your doctor doesn’t speak Spanish, what do you think the outcome of your healthcare is going to be? Not good. If I cannot understand what you are saying, I don’t know if there is any mortal sin there, so I cannot absolve you, and I cannot apply effective remedies. When I was overseas, a Korean lady came to camp, and she went to Mass. She would sit near the back of the Quonset hut with her daughter. After Mass, her daughter approached me and said, “Father, my mother would like to go to Confession.” Great. Her mother spoke Hangeul. How good do you think my Hangeul is? I barely speak English. I do not know Hangeul, so her daughter translated for her. Priests have told me I cannot do that. Yes, I can. It’s in the law. They must have fallen asleep during Canon Law class that day. The translator has the same obligation of secrecy regarding the confession as I do.
Another, and my favorite, is general absolution. I was at dinner with some priests, and one of them was laughing about a wedding rehearsal he had been to. Some people at the rehearsal wanted him to hear their confessions. But he was tired, so he gave them general absolution. Some of the priests thought that was funny and were laughing. Well, the way I was raised, you do not make a mockery of the Sacraments because that is blasphemy. So, I said, “Father, when I was overseas, after I began Mass, we started taking incoming fire, so I gave everybody general absolution. I do believe that is the only time it is allowed.” There was deathly silence at the table. So, it’s getting crazy. Our bishop, as the pastor and teacher of the diocese, has sent out a letter reminding the priests and the faithful about how to receive and celebrate the Sacrament. Here is a portion of it:
On the part of Confessors [that would be me], the celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation is not counseling, nor is it the appropriate time for spiritual direction. A brief word of counsel may be given after penitents confess their sins. If someone needs a longer consultation about their spiritual life, the priest should instruct the penitent to come to the parish office to arrange for an appointment with a priest.
When I was going through the Penance course, the professor said we should not keep penitents for long because it sets a bad example. Keep your voice quiet. Don’t yell, “You did what??” or “Oh my God!!” Don’t do that. Now back to the bishop’s letter.
On the part of the faithful approaching the Sacrament, penitents should be instructed to examine their conscience well before the individual confession. Ask briefly and confess your sins without extraneous details [I get a lot of that] or recounting all the circumstances surrounding your sins [I get a lot of that too. I have been a chaplain for 42 years, a military chaplain for 24 of those years. If you have a sin I haven’t heard about, I’ll pay for the privilege of hearing it.] Confessors should gently remind individual penitents that they only need to briefly mention details that would affect the gravity of the sin or culpability to the penitent to a greater or lesser degree.
That’s important. I have heard this a couple of times: “Father, I have committed every sin in the book.” There are two textbooks in the Moral Theology course: Volumes 1 and 2. I still have them; they are interesting reading. When someone says they have committed every sin, I ask them, “So have you married your first cousin?” No! There goes a chapter. I remember we had to study the degrees of affinity in Marriage Law and memorize all the tables. Gosh! In my 42 years as a priest, I have never had anyone who had a problem with that one. But I had to memorize those tables, and I still remember them. Another question I will ask is: “Did you date any animals?” No! Another chapter gone. “Did you sell the Sacraments?” No! Another chapter gone. Every sin has a name, so just name it. You’ve got to tell me where it hurts because I’m not a mind reader. I could probably predict with a high degree of certainty what you did, but that doesn’t help anyone. When the penitent admits their sins, it opens their soul to Christ’s grace and purity. And yes, I do go to confession. At my age, I cannot find priests much older than I am, so I have to go to much younger guys. Even though you must be 25 or 26 to be ordained, I can smell the Clearasil on them. We are robbing the cradle! Remember what the Sacrament of Penance is and what it is not. Christ wants your sins. He wants to give you the grace and healing God gives you in the Sacrament.
How will you apply this message to your life? _________________________________________
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