Few Catholics partake in the Sacrament of Reconciliation despite it being something that we must do at least once a year (CCC 1457-1458). A recent survey suggests that 73% of those who have not attended in the past year believe that confession is not necessary to receive forgiveness from God. But the Catechism tells us “…if the sick person is too ashamed to show his wound to the doctor, the medicine cannot heal what it does not know” (CCC 1456).
Dr. Scott Hahn writes that the more we need confession, the less we seem to want it. He attributes this as a natural human response because we are reluctant to speak about our sins out loud. It is not our favorite pastime to make self-accusations. But he reminds us that God already knows our sins. We only deceive ourselves by trying to whitewash or justify our transgressions. (chapter one). We are all like the prodigal son, and return to our Father whenever we return to the sacrament of penance. (chapter nine).
Dr. Hahn’s book has been so helpful to me. When I made a good confession after being away for a very long time, I was amazed at how great it felt to be “back home” again. I, like many Catholics, had all sorts of misconstrued reasons for not receiving the sacrament. We have to remember that Jesus wants us back, all of us, as He gave the sacrament to the Apostles shortly after his Resurrection. “As the Father has sent me, so I send you. And when he said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” (John 20:21-23).
So the apostles, and later priests, are given the authority to forgive sins in Jesus’ place. Dr, Hahn notes that “God continues to meet us halfway on the road to repentance.” He met us all in His incarnation, and “He meets us even now in the confessional, so that He might guide us to His table, where there is the Bread of Life.” (chapter 8).
Catholic Church. (1997). Catechism of the Catholic Church: Modifications from the Editio Typica (2nd ed.). Doubleday.
EWTN News. Study finds nearly 70% of Catholics who have not gone to confession in the past year want to go. Retrieved April 14, 2026 from https://www.ewtnnews.com/world/us/new-study-finds-nearly-70-of-catholics-who-avoided-confession-in-the-last-year-are-open-to-going
Hahn, S. (2003). Lord, Have Mercy: The Healing Power of Confession. Doubleday.
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