0
On Confession and Forgiveness
Posted by editormum on 23 August 2010 in Uncategorized | ∞
The marvelous thing about sacramental confession is that when absolution is given by the priest as God’s representative, the offense is wiped away. We are not to dwell on it any more, but to go on afresh with our lives, knowing ourselves forgiven, restored, loved. My tendency has often been to go back and dwell on my mistakes, but my confessor … taught me not to go back and play in the garbage. Let it go. Get on with your life, understanding that God has wiped out the sin. And what God has wiped out we may not take up again, otherwise, it becomes an idol.
— Madeleine L’Engle, in Penguins and Golden Calves
(emphasis mine)