The inestimable Mark Shea has written a gripping apologetic of why confession is an offer you cannot refuse, and it'll be appearing in an upcoming issue of OSV Newsweekly.
But this is where you come in: Is there one positive experience of confession that stands out for you? Share it in the comboxes below, and I'll be printing some of your testimonials alongside Mark's piece.
Here's mine: My best confession experience was a two-hour discernment/confession/spiritual direction session while I was in college. The priest was renowned internationally as a retreat director and spiritual advisor. Today, he is serving prison time for sexually abusing underage men, apparently including during the time I received the sacrament from him. I've thought back to that session many times to detect in retrospect any warning signs, and keep coming up blank. How is it that God worked such grace for me through an (extremely) flawed man? Yes, ex opere operato, but I find it still something of a mystery.
You?
