‘Confession offline’

“Hey, girl!” Claire waved at her friend Arlene.

“Claire!” Arlene excitedly returned her friend’s greeting.

“I can see that you’re into your shopaholic mode again,” she teased her.

“Oh, these?” Arlene was trying to hide the heavy weight of the four shopping bags as she shifted them from one arm to the other.

“Come on, let me help you,. Claire grabbed two bags to Arlene’s relief.

“WHEW! Thanks! Coffee?” Arlene offered.

“That’s a good idea. We hadn’t had that for a long time. ’Sides, we have a lot of catching up to do ever since you left for Europe.”

As they waited for their coffee to be served, Claire asked, “What’s with the Christmas spree at such an early time of the year?”

“There’s just so much to share and so little time to spare! The long and short of it: I’m getting married this weekend!”

“Oh, Arlene.” Claire couldn’t contain her joy as she hugged her. “I’m so happy for you! You’re finally really settling down, and who’s the lucky man?”
“Remember Topsy?”

“You’re not joking!” Claire’s eyes popped out with surprise. “Not Topsy, the snotty, sleepyhead nerd!”

“Yes, Topsy. He now calls himself Ted. He runs an international logistics company that stretches all the way to Central America and even has outlets in Mongolia.”

“I can’t imagine Topsy being an international CEO.”

“Me too, but it was all by chance that we met in a trade fair and we decided it was us!”

“So are you ready for this BIG step in your life, Arlene?”

“I guess, I could say I am.” She beamed a confident smile.

“So where will the wedding be?”

“At our hometown cathedral! You cannot believe what the requirements are.”

“You mean financially?”

“No, I meant that in our interview with the priest, he encouraged us to prepare with a good confession.”

“So how is that difficult?” Claire asked.

“I feel I don’t need to go, since I can confess directly to God.” Arlene shrugged her shoulders.

“You know, girl,” Claire said, “I totally agree with you.”

“You do?” Arlene was taken aback. “Aren’t you the religious type who believes in going to confession often.”

“I still do,” Claire said. “I confess directly to God when it concerns my less-grave sins. Besides, I try to see to it that I immediately patch up my uncharitable words or actions by saying sorry to the person or persons I may have hurt.”

“So why can’t you do that with the other major, major, major sins?” Arlene gave her a mischievous look.

“Girl, confessing directly to God would be confessing offline. That means your links don’t work, you don’t get updates and your bookmarks are useless.”
“I don’t get you,” Arlene said.

“Imagine this: you confess directly to God and then what? And did you ever wonder why Jesus gave his disciples not only the power to forgive sins but also the power not to forgive them. He was not just entrusting some inspirational thought here. Now, forgiving and binding are like two judicial functions. And every judicial act requires some sort of institution to dispense justice. In my way of seeing it, this is the Sacrament of Confession.”

“You have a point there that I’ve never realized. But what did you mean by the links, updates and bookmarks?”

“When you go to confession, one really links up to God because it’s something He instituted. And the priest who hears our confession is Christ Himself. Moreover, links would refer to the new ideas or horizons that the confessor could open for us when giving advice about our struggles.”

“And the updates?”

“Well, if you go regularly to confession, you naturally get updates. That’s because the confessor isn’t only interested on whether you have sinned or not, but he will also try his best to make you take a closer step towards God based on your previous performance.

“Bookmarks?”

“Well, one has the chance to take up with the confessor one’s favorite spiritual venues: prayer, virtues, family, etc. These are in turn enriched by his advice and your own creative spiritual initiative.”

“Wow! I believe you’re just seconds from lending me a guide to making a good confession, ’cause I haven’t gone for years!”

“That’s precisely what I had in mind.” Claire pulled out a guide from her bag.

“Oh, Claire,” Arlene said, “before I forget, here’s a ticket for you and your husband for the wedding. Thanks so much you for helping to be once again online with God.”