How could priests be even better confessors and spiritual directors of the souls in their care? The Conference of the Mexican Episcopate (CEM), together with the Apostolic Penitentiary of the Vatican, seeks to respond to this concern.
It is the second Course on Confession and Spiritual Direction which, under the motto “Jesus Christ is the face of the Father’s mercy”, will be given from October 13 to 17 at the CEM headquarters in Casa Lago, in the State of Mexico, by Bishop Krzysztof Józef Nykiel, regent of the Apostolic Penitentiary, and Father Jaime Emilio González Magaña, SI, theological prelate of the Penitentiary Apostolic.
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It will be a “week of theological updating” aimed at “all priests,” says an announcement from the CEM.
“How to live mercy more fully”
Interviewed by ACI Prensa, Mons. Héctor Pérez Villarreal, Auxiliary Bishop of Mexico and secretary general of the CEM, explained that “this course is based on a concern of the Pope that the offices or dicasteries of the Vatican go out to the dioceses to share what they were doing.”
In this way, within the framework of the Jubilee of Hope, among whose themes is reconciliation, “the Apostolic Penitentiary began to offer these courses to different countries.”
It is, he said, “an update in matters of morality, in terms of how to face the different situations of sin that are faced in confession, in a more updated way, according to the experience that the Apostolic Penitentiary has from the consultations that are made to them.”
“What we receive in the seminary when we study Theology is one thing. However, it is good to refresh the concepts and update them will always be important.”
The Mexican prelate stressed that “mercy is what guides the experience that is sought to be provoked and lived in the confessional. So, what this course is seeking is (to address) how to live mercy more fully.”
“We must remember that there is a binomial here,” he stressed: “truth and mercy.” “That is, we must recognize the true sin that I am committing in order to more fully experience the forgiveness that God gives me.”
Mons. Pérez Villarreal pointed out that “when a parishioner comes to confess, he does not know about theology, he shares the experience. And everyone has an experience and tells it differently. So, having the ability to listen to the experience, understand what the underlying truth is, what is being confessed, and being able to share the mercy and necessary advice is always a complex issue that undoubtedly requires grace for the confessor, but also expertise.”
Most spiritual directions are given in the confessional
The general secretary of the CEM specified that the faithful do not always “explicitly” ask for spiritual direction from a priest, but rather “the majority of those who go to confession are asking for it, even if they do not call it spiritual direction.”
“And they are living it, because when we priests sit down to confess, we know that they are not going to just list the sins, but rather they are going to tell you experiences and are looking for advice about that experience,” he said.
“That is precisely the accompaniment of the spirit, which is where you help discern what God is trying to tell you or what sin or temptation you are facing,” he added.
“In that sense, most spiritual directions are given, without knowing it, in the confessional,” he highlighted.
“The mystery of man and his relationship with God is something inexhaustible”
The prelate also highlighted that “the mysteries of the human being, the experiences that the human being experiences, cannot be cataloged in a book. Books do not give criteria, but the experiences are infinite.”
“The best confession course is confessing and there you begin to realize how the mystery of man and his relationship with God is something inexhaustible. In other words, no one can say ‘I already know them all,'” he said, and specified that “these courses serve precisely, one, to expound the doctrine, but also to share experiences.”
In addition, he highlighted that the course “has a section for lay people”, with a whole day dedicated to topics “seen from the point of view of the lay person: how to make a good confession, how to live the plenary indulgence in the Jubilee, etc.”
The Jubilee of Hope requires “an experience of conversion”
Bishop Héctor Pérez Villarreal highlighted that the Jubilee Year, this time especially dedicated to hope, “always requires an experience of conversion, because that is the meaning of jubilees: to put back in order what has gone, has been disordered in recent years and is like stopping along the way, putting our lives in order, reconsidering our mistakes and rectifying the path.”
“The underlying question is: what have we done with the love that Christ gave us from the cross?” he shared.
Recalling that Pope Francis pointed out that the confessional “is not a court to judge and scold, but rather it is the lap of the mother who listens to her child and wants to console him,” the prelate encouraged all Catholics to turn to the Sacrament of Reconciliation, which contains “the maternal heart of the Church that wants to help its children to live fully.”
To register for the course, you can enter this link.