Mercy Awaits

The Sacrament of Reconciliation scares quite a few Catholics.  Unsure of how it exactly unfolds, with vague recollections of childhood confessions, too many remain distant from this wondrous gift.  To be able to bear one's soul to God before another human being.  In every sacrament, the focus should be on what God is doing for us.  In the sacrament, we get to hear and experience those words of Christ: "Go in peace.  Your sins are forgiven."

Why do I go to confession?  To receive God's gift of Reconciliation.  The gift is offered to us all, and God's mercy awaits.

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I visited the Cathedral in Santiago again yesterday.  I consciously choose not to take photos at certain instances in the Eucharist, such as during the Eucharistic Prayer.  I choose not to take photographs of persons receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  As a priest, I am bound to keep the seal of the confessional, and I believe that extends to whether someone actually came to the confessional.  It is a seal that I protect, even when I am not the confessor.  So, I happened to see a confessional with a priest awaiting penitents.  He placed his hand, for a moment, outside the confessional, an I snapped the photo.