April 28, 2005

Since I spend so much time in the friary on the phone, getting into the car for an extended trip is part of my “great escape”. When alone and not with a friar to chat with, I often turn on the radio to catch the news. If the ride is long, I “radio surf” to see if I can find an interesting interview or some pre-disco music which brings me back to happy “transistor days” memories. Unfortunately, much of radio today consists of an almost endless array of commercials and talk shows – sports, car & house maintenance, cooking, health, counseling, and of course, politics. Although my surfing usually stops with a loud “click”, yesterday I heard a word that made me stop and listen – “confession”. If I thought the troopers were sleeping in their patrol cars along the Garden State Parkway, I would have pushed the pedal to eighty, screeched to a stop at my destination, and grabbed a phone!

As you might imagine, the “show” was crafted to annoy and anger listeners so they would call in. The two “hosts” offered commentary – actually, cynical banter – which was as profound as a half-inch puddle; the humor was sixth-grade at best. Both the man and woman who hosted the show reminisced about their grade school confessional experiences. No surprise, their so-called dialogue hovered about and then soon landed into the area of sex. Calls were encouraged, and they came in, one bad experience after another. More than one caller concluded with a comment like, “since that day, I refuse to go (to confession) again!” If you are not a priest, you can only partially know the offense and hurt that I felt.

How can I explain the beauty and the benefits of this wonderful sacrament? While I have felt teary-eyed at the altar while consecrating the bread and wine and pondering the mystical transubstantiation as it happens through my hands – I have never wept. Yet, more than once, when hearing confessions, I have wept. When the humility of a penitent meets the mercy of God, what words can describe not just the feeling, but the reality of such an encounter! Oh, to bear such sweet mercy and to pour it into open wounds – no words can come close. This is why my brother priests and I have wept.

To those, Lord, who do not know, who do not understand, who have been hurt, scandalized, betrayed, belittled, or abandoned, You, Good Shepherd, bring them back. Reveal to these lost ones the true meaning of this, Your sweet and saving sacrament called “confession”. It is not about we who confess; it is about You Who confess. We confess our sins, You confess Your mercy.

Although I had no opportunity to tell the world about the beauty and the power of this special sacrament, I pray that those who today laugh and mock may one day experience the Lord and weep for His mercy.

Fr. Glenn Sudano, CFR
Community Servant, residing at St. Felix Friary in Yonkers, New York

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