It is an incredibly exciting occupation. To be an instrument used by God himself to reconcile people to himself, to tell them that they have another chance, that they can begin everything from the beginning, that not everything is lost yet — that is priceless. It is an immense joy for a confessor to hear that the person who is confessing is really well prepared for this sacrament, that he has taken God seriously and is not just rattling off the yearly, or even monthly, formula. It is not the case that in the sacrament of forgiveness only the one who confesses — the penitent — receives. That is not true! I as a confessor also receive a great deal. Joy above all that a person has been reconciled with God, that he has acknowledged his guilt and come to ask God for forgiveness, that he has realised that this is not the way, that he has found the best possible solution to his difficulties and troubles. Joy too because of the tangibly experienced goodness of God, his mercy, which is immense. It is something incredible; it simply cannot be put down on paper in full — a joy that fills the heart entirely and still spills over!!! Through my ministry in the confessional I also receive enormous strength for the fight for God in my own life and in the lives of those entrusted to me. That strength also allows me to survive my own crises, breakdowns and failures. Above all, being a confessor teaches me humility, when I simply do not know what to say to a particular person, when I myself feel like a broom with no bristles, much further away from God and more of a stranger to him than the person confessing his sins. Hearing confessions teaches me the ability to enter into another person's situation, to bow my head when someone strains all his strength to move forward even a little on the road towards God. Sitting down in the confessional is also a gauge for me of whether I myself should not now be taking the place on the other side of the grille — not sitting, but kneeling. Wanting to be a good confessor certainly demands of me a regular and well-lived confession of my own. No one who does not go to confession himself, or does it badly and carelessly, will ever be a good confessor. Fr Maciej
