Every Saturday afternoon, I listen to the words, “Father, for I have sinned…”
In the small confessional, I encounter various lives—a second grader’s first confession, a troubled teen’s complaints, an engaged couple’s duets, a single adult’s loneliness, a married man’s midlife crisis, a widow’s nostalgia, and etc.
Today, I met a woman who has been away more than twenty years from the sacrament. I would like to call this special person “big fish” because it always reminds me of Jesus’ invitation, “Come after me! I will make you a fisher of men.” Here I am now about to fishing a big fish.
I usually ask those who have been away for a long time, “What have you brought here?” A graceful moment is opened by the question. Listening carefully with compassionate heart, I point out God’s presence in their hard life. They are surprised to hear that God is always with them, not judging nor condemning but waiting for them like the merciful father in the story of the prodigal son. The response to that is tears. The grace-filled moment spreads. It is OK to wait in silence.
Before she left the confessional today, she said, “That I really need to hear, Father!” I was truly humbled, finding my heart full of compassion and joy. I silently said to her back, “Thank you! You have brought the mercy and love of God to me as well.”