“He is a sinful person just like me, so isn’t it better to confess my sins directly to Jesus?” this is sometimes our excuse for not complying with the sacrament of the Reconciliation, or as it is better known, the Confession. We must remember that it was Jesus Christ himself who gave authority to the apostles to forgive sins after having consecrated them (John 20:21-23), this authority is transmitted by apostolic succession to the bishops (Acts 1:21-26) and to those they designate (Matthew 18:18, CCC 1461). Although during the mass, through the penitential act, we confess our sins of “thoughts, words, what we have done and failed to do” and being truly sorry for said sins, we receive absolution from the priest, this absolution is only for venial sins (GIRM 51), thus making the sacrament of Reconciliation necessary for those mortal sins that we may have committed.
Jesus Christ instituted the sacrament of Reconciliation, because having been incarnated himself and having lived among us, he knows our human weakness and our inclination to fall into sin; He loves us so much that he gives us the opportunity to free ourselves from all sins and thus be able to recover the grace that was conferred unto us at the moment of our baptism (CCC 1446).
The Sacrament of Reconciliation implies a true repentance of the sins committed, humility to confess them, and the sincere intention not to fall back into said sins; it is then that, after confessing our sins, we turn our hearts towards the Lord and ask for His forgiveness, and it is through absolution, conferred by the priest “In Persona Christi” (Code of Cannon Law 1009§3) that we are reconciled with God and we are back in communion with the Church.
Let us not overlook then the great gift that Jesus Christ gave us in this sacrament, which through His love gives us the opportunity to once again enjoy His grace and be in communion with Him.