"No Fault" Repentance

 Most of us are aware of the auto insurance coverage labeled “No Fault Insurance.”  One purported benefit is to avoid legal entanglements so that those impacted by an accident can receive benefits to cover loss sooner that would otherwise be possible.

So, something bad has happened, and no one is to blame!

When we come to confession, I think we often approach the priest with these same ideas in mind.  Yes, there was sin, but no one is at fault for what happened.

One of the phrases used by many who come for confession is the expression “everyday sins”.  What exactly is this supposed to mean?  In the minds of some it’s likely to mean “This sin is so minor it doesn’t really need forgiveness.”  For others it would seem to indicate “The world is a dirty place, and just by walking in it, some of it gets on you.  Who can blame anyone for that?”

But you see, all of these perspectives turn the righteous and honorable process of confessing into something that has no meaning.  If the things that have “just happened around me” are being offered as my sins, the act of confessing has been neutered, for I leave no better than when I arrived. I’ve done nothing wrong.  The world has done it to me! That same “stuff” that’s in the world is going to happen again, and again, and if I don’t take the opportunity to cleanse myself of more than just “the same old stuff,” I’m not taking any steps to attempt to avoid falling into sins again—at any level.  St. Tikhon of Zadonsk wrote a piece, “On Self-Examination” where he gives this advice:

We believe in the Gospel, but do we live in a way that is worthy of the Gospel? We confess and we call on the true God; but do we please him with the faith and pure conscience that He requires of us? We listen to the holy word of God; but do we heed it, and do we correct ourselves according to its rules? We commune the holy and life-creating Mysteries of the Body and Blood of Christ; but are we renewed by Holy Communion and do we progress towards a new, spiritual personality?

Within our preparation for the sacrament of repentance, our focus on this new spiritual personality should come to the fore in our prayerful preparation.  I come to confession because I’m not content being the person who I am on a daily basis.  I want with my whole heart to become that person who my Master created me to be.  I want to serve Him, not myself.  I come in prayerful hope that He will open my eyes to those things in my life which separate me from Him.  I come in the expectation that He wants to and will forgive me of all that I confess in sincerity.

I come recognizing that I truly AM “at fault,” and I try not to leave before emptying my heart to my spiritual father.  Sometimes this process is blessed with tears.  Whatever the case, the process of cleansing only produces gain to the extent to which I commit to seeking repentance fully.

Generalizations within the act of confessing are not helpful.  Going to a doctor with the words, “I’m not feeling well” produces no healing benefit.  Where does it hurt?  How does it incapacitate you?  Only with honest answers can proper medicines be prescribed.  These same ideas must enter the confessional with us if we hope to be healed.