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February 9

A Deeper Confession

There are sources of human goodness out of which I act that may not be immediately apparent to me. There may also be fault lines and ungoodness in my life of which I am not fully aware. A deeper self-reflection is, therefore, called for.

St. Augustine makes a seemingly strange confession: “I would therefore confess what I know about myself; I will also confess what I do not know about myself.”40 This is both a revealing and an appropriate statement.

Revealing in that this ancient church father knows something of the

psychology of the human person. Appropriate, in that since part of what we do lies below the surface, such a confession is always called for.

Confession should occur not only at the level of awareness of wrongs done. It lies much deeper. It also lies at the level of my intentions and

motivations. Actions of the hand find their source in both the goodness and dysfunctionality of the heart. But there is more to this story. Confession also has to do with what I am, not only with what I do. It has to do with my essential being. It has to do with ontology.

To acknowledge that I have committed a particular sin is one thing. To confess that I am a sinner is something that goes much deeper. The one has to do with an act; the other with who I am. And it is also at this deeper level that the grace and healing presence of Christ in the Spirit needs to be embraced.

Reflection

It is not only what I do, it is also what I am that matters. And the renewing work of the Spirit in making me a new person builds on the forgiveness that is found in Christ.