Sibyl Harton: Why we confess

This is a transcription (hopefully, a faithful one) of the first chapter of a pamphlet titled The Practice of Confession: Why, What, How by Sibyl Harton (b. 1898), an Anglican author from England. I do not own the rights to this material, but to the best of my understanding the content has passed into the public domain. This is single most powerful piece of writing on sacramental Confession; so i wanted to make it accessible here.

in the shadow of the cross

“There is a grace found in the crucifixion, a moment wherein all the ugliness and shadow of the world, corrupt political power, unbridled ambition, shame, blame, fear, and privilege meet at the cross, and all is brought to light. Yet in that exposure, we are not condemned but claimed, not destroyed, but restored, not banished but forgiven.”

– the Rev. Fr. Jered Weber-Johnson (Rector, Episcopal Parish of St. John the Evangelist)

confessional note

I’ve been doing a 19th Annotation version of St. Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercises for the last couple months with a group assembled by my spiritual director. We just finished moving through the second ‘Week’ of the Exercises, especially focused on sin’s role in our lives. I was unable to attend our biweekly check-in because I’ve been sick with a fever. But I asked my spiritual director to share this note with the small group. Thought I’d share it here…