Pardon and Peace

A Sinner’s Guide to Confession

Writing under the pen name of Fr Francis Randolph, our own Fr Jerome Bertram shows why this sacrament is so important, and how to make the best use of it. He shows that there is no need to be afraid of confessing our sins, drawing on his experience on both sides of the grille as priest and penitent sinner. Using the rite of confession as its structure, this book is not just a guide to confession, with practical advice on prayer and the spiritual life that will be a help for all levels of familiarity with this sacrament.

CHAPTER I: Through the Narrow Door

“Strive to enter by the narrow door”, said our Lord (Lk 13:24). Looking around our church, I can see many doors of different widths; the door back to the outside world is the widest, but the narrowest of all is the one leading to the confessional. And many people do enter through it and, by entering, emerge into a broader space and a wider outlook than the one they left.

What happens when we go through that narrow door? Even those who are accustomed to passing it may still be unsure about exactly what is going on, what benefits we receive through the confessional. There are many who have never been through, to whom the whole idea of confession is strange, frightening perhaps, disconcerting, and unnerving.

Let us try, in this brief guide, to find out the purpose of the sacrament of confession, how it works, why it is so useful to us. Let us look, too, at why some people are so frightened of it; let us try to soothe their anxieties and explain the perplexities that surround this important rite of the Catholic Church.

Paperback, 135mm x 201mm, 130 pages
ISBN: 9780898708325
Publisher: Ignatius Press (1 Mar 2001)