12/10/17: 2nd Sunday of Advent: Why do we go to Confession?

Today we are introduced to the strange and wonderful figure of John the Baptist, whose task it was to "prepare the way of the Lord". How did he do this? He told the people Israel to "Repent!" and then he had the people confess their sins and be washed with water. Some people say that confession of sins is not Scriptural or that the Catholic Church or the Pope made it up... but nothing could be further from the truth. If we think about how essential it is to say "I'm sorry" and receive forgiveness in our human relationships, then we can begin to understand why the same dynamic needs to take place in our relationship with God. In Jesus, this doesn't happen merely symbolically (like with John's confession) but sacramentally, in other words, we are actually forgiven in the Sacrament, and God actually takes away our sins. All the more reason to return to this powerful Sacrament of God's mercy!