Lent's More than half over -- have you been to Confession yet? He's waiting for you.

Turn on any talk show: Oprah, Jerry Springer, Dr. Phil, Larry King (Is he still on?), etc. and you'll be regaled by folks shariing the most intimate details (and scandals) of their lives on national TV. No one mentions the verboten word, "sin." People are sick, or misunderstood, or have this or that syndrome, or their parents tramautized them by making them do chores. Whatever is wrong with them is someone else's fault. It couldn't possibly be theirs -- which probably explains the short lines outside the confessional. No sin - no need for confession. One problem -- it ain't healthy. When Catholics used confession, they weren't lying on the psychiatrist's couch.

Real Catholics know that love is always having to say you're sorry (Erich Segal's silly novel notwithstanding) -- to the other person we've injured and especially to God who is offended every time we hurt ourselves or our neighbor. Sin is real and its effects are damaging. We can only repair the damage by humbling ourselves, confessing our failures, and making reparation.

Confession isn't a doctrine made up at the Vatican. Jesus established it when he said to the apostles, "Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; whose sins you shall hold bound, they are held bound." (John 20:22) God made us with five senses. We often misuse them to sin: to look at pornography, listen to and share gossip, touch others with lust or take what doesn't belong to us. When we confess to a priest we use those same senses to repent and hear the words of absolution. Confession to God in the privacy of our room is all well and good, but we need our forgiveness with skin on. Every time I hear the priest say, "I absolve you from your sins..." my heart leaps up and I know, with a firm resolution, that I am forgiven. Jesus said so and He doesn't lie.

So make a good confession this Lent. If you've been away for a long time don't be afraid to come back. The priest has heard it all; you can't shock him and reconciling a repentant sinner with the Lord is one of the greatest joys of his ministry.

If you've forgotten how to make a good confession visit this website.