by Joshua J. McElwee
Over at the U.S. bishops' media blog today, Mercy Sr. Mary Ann Walsh, the bishops' spokesperson, lists her top ten benefits for going to confession.
Among the ten mentioned in the wide-ranging list? It's "low cost therapy" and is a "contribution toward world peace."
Here's a short excerpt:
"4. Low cost therapy. It’s free, which makes it cheaper than a psychiatrist for dealing with guilt.
5. Forced time to think. Socrates said that the unexamined life is not worth living. To examine our lives and acknowledge failings marks the first step of making things right with God, others and ourselves. Life can be more worth living when you ponder the meaning of your own life.
6. Contribution toward world peace. Gaudium et Spes, the Second Vatican Council’s Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, said that the imbalances in the world that lead to war and tensions “are linked with that more basic imbalance which is rooted in the heart of man.” Peace of soul leads to peace of heart leads to peace beyond oneself."
Go take a look at the list. Then come back. Maybe we can share which of the ten we've experienced during our own confessions.
