The Confiteor

We are all individual members of Christ's body. We are one, in Christ. Every saint in heaven, every soul in purgatory, every member of your parish who stands in the pew with you, are all members of Christ's body, with Christ as the head, and Mary as our Mother, and God as our Father.

That we are all one body is not a metaphor. It is as real as the sandwich you ate for lunch and as concrete as your driveway.

And we are the only religion left on earth which realizes that because we are one body, that shared suffering is redemptive for all of us, and that our merits can be given to others for their salvation, or to Mary for her to dispense as she sees fit for God's greater Glory.

Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful. (James 5:16)

Catholicism is the most biblical religion, and to a certain extent, the most literalist and the most practical and pragmatic. We take Jame's words to heart, and do exactly what James commands us to do - what God commands us to do - at every single Mass.

I confess to almighty God
and to you, my brothers and sisters,
that I have greatly sinned
in my thoughts and in my words,
in what I have done
and in what I have failed to do,
through my fault, through my fault,
through my most grievous fault;
therefore I ask blessed Mary ever-Virgin,
all the Angels and Saints,
and you, my brothers and sisters,
to pray for me to the Lord our God.

These are the words of the confiteor. We say this at the beginning of every Mass. As members of Christs body with a supernatural link to each other, as family, and able to have an impact on each other's salvation, we do exactly what James commands us to do, confess to one another and pray for one another.

Next time you prepare yourself for Mass, look at the people around you and say to yourself, "I am a worse sinner than this person sitting next to me and in just a moment this person is going to fervently pray for me, fervently pray for the salvation of my soul at the Holy Sactifice of the Mass." And tell me that you won't love that person for what they are about to do for you. And tell me that you won't bow your head in contrition, and pray earnestly the words of the confiteor.

I confess to you my brothers and sisters, and I ask you my brothers and sisters to pray for me.

That's the essence of the penitential rite and the confiteor. Its really that simple. That's what it's all about. And as Catholics, we take the words written by James seriously.


-Tim-