Whenever I think of a great theatrical or cinematic confession, I think of the song Don’t Cry for Me Argentina from Evita. The title and the opening words are quite confessional.
It is another moment in our lives, our imperfections, our fears when something within us cries, when something within us whines that we learn about our weaknesses and vanities as we search for convenient psychobabble explanations or abstract ideas to blame for our mistakes, our sins. We must remember that our sins exist, we have temptation and capitulation. Sins often arrive with hollow promises; time does not stop; our lives are measured by our actions and deeds. We must not allow our lives to be lived as if each day was a commodity, to be bought or sold. We must resist the coolness of sin. How comforting sin appears from a distance; how dangerous it really is. Sin wants only to become accepted and habitual in our lives. This should not, must not occur. We must not allow it into our lives, we can not give sin an inch, we can not give sin a second. It is insistent, insidious.
I must remember to protect the simplicities within my heart and soul. My mind must remain open to the truth. My tongue must have the courage to be honest. However esoteric a thought might be, the fact that all of our speeches and actions can be interpreted as symbols with all types of meanings which can be defined in dictionaries or on the internet. Each speech, each gesture has its own existence, creates its own experience. There is nothing purely private in our lives. A human is, before he is anything else, a person who will fail, who will fall down and get back up; we learn when fail; we are often strengthened when we get back up.
Sin is failure; sin is bad. When we sin, it is best to discover the causes of why we sin and then develop strategies to avoid sin. Going to confession can help reduce sin; but do not be too anxious.
We must remember that our society is very permissive; many behaviors are acceptable and viewed as natural by doctors, psychiatrists. As Christians we must remember to obey the Commandments in our daily lives. Our behavior should not be based upon trendy ideas, fashionable opinions. Our behavior must be based upon God’s laws.
The art of confession in a nutshell: to constructively analyze your mistakes without sinking into despair with the assistance of an objective priest offering hope.
"Sin is the absence of goodness." We only sin when we are not doing something good. As I say when tempted, "Just try doing something good instead!" :^) It can even be, say, having a carrot instead of a cookie. The human situation is, though, that we "tend" to do things that are bad for us or others. It's just how we tend to be! Grace helps us be better, though, if we accept it.
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