In a world where “there is no shortage of hotbeds of hatred and revenge,” Pope Francis told priests and seminarians that “we confessors must multiply the ‘hotbeds of mercy,'” by making it easy for people to access the sacrament of reconciliation.
One of the privileged places of encountering Jesus is in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, Confession. In order to approach him in Confession, we have to turn and face the very things in our hearts that are most unworthy of him, that we would prefer to hide from him, and hide from ourselves, the sins and patterns of sinfulness that weigh on us, and burden our consciences, make it feel as if the Lord is far from us, disappointed in us, even given up on us.