The confessional often sits empty most days. When I go into church each day, I see it there - this amazing fountain of mercy that could transform our parish, that could revitalize our spiritual lives, too seldom used.

I should add: in recent months, I've noticed a gentle stirring. More people are finding their way to this sacrament, and it fills my heart with hope. If you’ve returned, or if you’ve remained faithful all along, you’re already experiencing what I want to share with everyone else today.

When people walk into a Catholic church, one of the most recognisable features is the confessional. For centuries it has been a quiet corner where people bring their burdens and leave with peace. Yet for many Catholics today, the confessional has grown dusty. Some have not been for years. Others only go at Christmas and Easter, if at all. Why is this? And what might we rediscover if we returned to the sacrament more often?

As a shepherd of souls, I'm also writing this out of duty and love. The Church's law asks me to "strive to ensure that the faithful are nourished by the devout celebration of the sacraments, and in particular that they frequently approach the sacraments of the blessed Eucharist and penance."¹ This article is part of that pastoral responsibility: to teach, encourage, and make the Sacrament of Reconciliation a regular and normal part of parish life again.

The Minimum and the Invitation

The Church requires us to confess mortal sins at least once a year, and before receiving Holy Communion if we are conscious of them.² That's the minimum: the "bare bones" of our obligation. But the Church also makes it very clear that confession is not only for mortal sin. The Catechism teaches that "the regular confession of our venial sins helps us form our conscience, fight against evil tendencies, let ourselves be healed by Christ, and progress in the life of the Spirit."³

In other words, confession is not just about repairing what is broken. It is about growth. It is about drawing closer to Christ, making our lives more transparent to his light.

Why the Practice Declined

In the decades following the Second Vatican Council, many priests sought to emphasize God's boundless mercy and love, wanting to free people from the fear and scrupulosity that had sometimes marked earlier approaches to confession. This pastoral instinct was both good and necessary - the Christian life should indeed be marked by joy, not anxiety, and people needed to hear afresh the gospel of God's tender mercy.

However, in seeking to correct one imbalance, another was inadvertently created. When confession began to be presented as "not really necessary" except in grave circumstances, something precious was lost. The regular rhythm of reconciliation - that steady pulse of grace the saints had always known - quietly faded from many Catholic lives.

But mercy is not the opposite of confession; mercy flows through confession. The sacrament was never meant to be a source of fear, but neither was it meant to become optional. What we need is not less practice of confession but better practice of confession - approached not with anxiety but with trust, not as legal requirement but as spiritual nourishment.

What, then, does good practice look like? The saints show us.

The Witness of the Saints

Look at the saints. None of them treated confession as optional. Saint John Vianney, patron of parish priests, spent countless hours in the confessional because he knew the transformation it brought to souls. He once said:

The good God will pardon a repentant sinner more quickly than a mother would snatch her child out of the fire.⁴

Saint Padre Pio, who bore the wounds of Christ, advised his spiritual children:

Go to confession at least once a week. Confession is the soul’s bath. I do not want souls to stay away from confession more than a week.⁵

And Saint Teresa of Calcutta, so deeply attuned to the poor and suffering, declared:

Confession is nothing but humility in action… Confession is a beautiful act of great love.⁶

The saints knew that the sacrament is not only about "wiping the slate clean." It is about training the heart, sharpening the conscience, humbling ourselves before God, and receiving grace for the struggle.

The Clear Guidance of the Church

Saint John Paul II taught with equal clarity. In his apostolic exhortation Reconciliatio et Paenitentia (1984), he urges pastors to teach the faithful to make use of confession even for venial sins alone, stressing its "special usefulness" and its "great remedial power."⁷ And in a 2004 address to confessors he added:

"It would be an illusion to want to strive for holiness… without frequently and fervently receiving this sacrament of conversion and sanctification," which, together with the Eucharist, "accompanies the Christian on his way towards perfection."⁸

This isn't vague encouragement - it's a concrete pastoral vision for frequent confession as part of ordinary Christian life.

The Psychology of Confession

Even if we set aside theology for a moment, human experience tells us we need to name our faults aloud. Keeping them locked inside gives them power over us. Regular confession is a sacred form of bringing things into the light, where they cannot fester.

Moreover, confession builds accountability. When we confess a recurring fault, we begin to see patterns. We cannot hide from ourselves. This strengthens our self-knowledge, which is the foundation of maturity. It also keeps us from isolation: we acknowledge that we need help, that we cannot manage on our own.

The Spiritual Benefits

On the spiritual level, the effects are even greater. Confession gives us grace, supernatural strength, to resist temptation. It heals our relationship with Christ. It makes our participation in the Eucharist more fruitful, because we come with a purified heart. It keeps us from settling into mediocrity, that quiet spiritual sleep where nothing really stirs.

Think of confession as the regular tilling of the soil. Left untended, the soil of our soul hardens. Weeds creep in. But when we go monthly, we let the Lord turn the soil, breathe new life into it, and prepare it for fruit.

Saint Augustine put it beautifully:

"The confession of evil works is the first beginning of good works. You do the truth and come to the light."⁹

If all this sounds demanding, listen to what Jesus Himself says about Confession.

What Jesus told Saint Faustina about Confession

"Write, speak of My mercy. Tell souls where they are to look for solace; that is, in the Tribunal of Mercy. There the greatest miracles take place… Were a soul like a decaying corpse… the miracle of Divine Mercy would restore that soul in full."¹⁰

"When you go to confession, to this fountain of My mercy, the Blood and Water which came forth from My Heart always flows down upon your soul… Know that I Myself am waiting there for you."¹¹

"The person of the priest is, for Me, only a screen. Never analyse what sort of a priest it is that I am making use of; open your soul in confession as you would to Me, and I will fill it with My light."¹²

Fatima's Monthly Rhythm: First Saturdays

Our Lady at Fatima also tied a monthly rhythm of reparation to Confession itself. In Pontevedra (10 December 1925), the Blessed Virgin asked for the Five First Saturdays: to go to Confession, receive Holy Communion, pray five decades of the Rosary, and keep her company for fifteen minutes meditating on the mysteries — all with the intention of making reparation to her Immaculate Heart.¹³

A few weeks later (15 February 1926), the Child Jesus clarified that if Confession cannot be made on the Saturday itself, it may be made within eight days, or even later, provided one is in the state of grace when receiving Communion and has the intention of making reparation; if that intention is forgotten, it can be formed at the next Confession.¹⁴

Notice how Our Lady didn't ask for yearly confession, or confession only in crisis. She embedded it into a monthly rhythm of grace.

For many, keeping the First Saturdays simply becomes the on ramp to a healthy monthly Confession.

Why Monthly Works

Why monthly? Because it is a realistic rhythm. Weekly confession is excellent for those who are able, but monthly strikes a balance that almost anyone can manage. It is frequent enough to prevent drift, but not so often as to feel burdensome. It creates a steady pulse of conversion.

There's something fitting about a monthly rhythm - it mirrors the cycle of the moon itself, that faithful satellite that dies and rises again each month, reflecting the light of the sun it cannot create. If we see in the sun a reflection of the Eucharist - that daily bread, that source of all light and life - then perhaps in the moon we glimpse confession. In confession, we become like the moon: reflecting Christ's mercy back into the world, renewed each month by grace we cannot generate ourselves.

A month is long enough to notice where we are slipping, but short enough that habits have not yet set like concrete. Monthly confession makes sure our small sins do not grow into big ones. It ensures that the direction of our life is continually re-aligned towards Christ.

Before we finish, one more thing helps the habit take root: how we regard those who go often. If we see Confession not as a crisis measure but as ordinary devotion, the monthly rhythm becomes natural.

Changing the Narrative: Devotional Confession

When you see someone slip into the confessional, don't assume "they've done something bad." Assume they're seeking grace. The Church herself speaks of "frequent or devotional confession," and explicitly tells priests not to discourage it; rather, they are to point out its fruitfulness and be ready to hear such confessions. It even adds a pastoral safeguard: never reserve individual confession to serious sins only, lest we "deprive the faithful of the great benefit of confession" and injure the good name of those who approach individually.¹⁵

Pastoral note. When we see someone go to Confession, assume the best: they are seeking grace. Someone who goes often isn't making a scene; they're seeking strength. Devotional Confession is ordinary Christian practice for steady growth and freedom.

A Parish That Confesses

Imagine a parish where most people confessed once a month. The confessional would no longer be a place of shame but a place of life. People would know it as the ordinary medicine for the soul, not the emergency room. The whole atmosphere of the parish would change: more humility, more patience, more forgiveness, more joy.

The saints tell us that a parish without confession is a parish without renewal. If we want to see our Church come alive, this is the simplest, most practical step we can take.

The Invitation

So let us take up Saint John Paul II's invitation. Confession is not a burden but a gift. It is not about dwelling on our faults, but about opening ourselves to God's mercy. Once a month is a wise, life-giving rhythm.

Come back to the sacrament. Build it into your calendar. Let it be part of your spiritual heartbeat. If you do, you will find not heaviness but freedom, not fear but peace.

Practical Guide: How to Prepare

1. Place yourself in God's presence. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you the truth.
2. Think back over the month: your thoughts, words, deeds, and omissions.
3. Note where you fell short of love: towards God, others, or yourself.
4. Form a simple act of sorrow: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner."
5. Bring it all to the priest. Trust God's mercy. Leave with joy.

Further Reading: https://ourladymbro.org/regular-confession/

Footnotes

¹ Code of Canon Law (1983), c. 528 §2: pastor's duty to foster frequent reception of the sacraments; authorised English translation.

² Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1457: obligation to confess serious sins at least once a year.

³ Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1458: benefits of regularly confessing venial sins.

⁴ Saint John Vianney, Instructions on the Catechism (EWTN), "On Hope" (saying about a mother snatching her child from the fire).

⁵ Saint Padre Pio, counsel on frequent confession; see Franciscan Media, "Lent with Padre Pio: First Thursday."

⁶ Saint Teresa of Calcutta, "Confession Is an Act of Love," excerpted in No Greater Love (1997/2001), Plough Publishing.

⁷ Saint John Paul II, Reconciliatio et Paenitentia (1984), §32: on the "special usefulness" and "great remedial power" of confessing even venial sins.

⁸ Saint John Paul II, Address to Participants in the Course on the Internal Forum (Apostolic Penitentiary), 27 March 2004: on frequent, fervent confession and holiness.

⁹ Saint Augustine, Tractates on the Gospel of John 12.13.

¹⁰ Saint Faustina Kowalska, Diary 1448 (the "Tribunal of Mercy" and the greatest miracles).

¹¹ Saint Faustina Kowalska, Diary 1602 (confession as the "fountain of My mercy… I Myself am waiting there").

¹² Saint Faustina Kowalska, Diary 1725 (the priest as a "screen… I will fill it with My light").

¹³ Shrine of Fatima (official), "Narrative of the Apparitions," Pontevedra, 10 December 1925: request for the Five First Saturdays (Confession, Communion, Rosary, 15 minute meditation, intention of reparation).

¹⁴ Shrine of Fatima (official), "Narrative of the Apparitions," Pontevedra, 15 February 1926: allowance for Confession within eight days (or later) with the intention of reparation; intention may be formed at the next confession if forgotten.

¹⁵ Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Pastoral norms for the administration of general sacramental absolution (16 June 1972), n. XII (English), Vatican website; note the cross reference to Pius XII, Mystici Corporis, AAS 35 (1943) 235.

Postscript for the keen: If you undertake indulgenced works, a monthly Confession already keeps you within the "about 20 days" window for the Confession condition; you would still need Holy Communion and prayers for the Holy Father's intentions for each indulgence, and the usual dispositions. (Apostolic Penitentiary, "The Gift of the Indulgence" (29 Jan 2000), nn. 4–7: one confession suffices for several indulgences; Communion and prayer for the Pope for each indulgence; "about 20 days" window; only one plenary indulgence per day; vatican.va.)