Been to confession lately? ‘Tis the season, you know.

And if you need a good excuse to go, take a moment to read this compelling rumination on the sacrament by Elizabeth Scalia:

My recollection of confession as a child is a mostly positive one, partly because in the confessional, mystery could be wedded to imagination. The heavy velvet curtain admitted one into darkness, and a disembodied voice seemed like God was giving orders to busy angels before sliding open a window and turning His attention to my little spats and tantrums. But the truth was, half the time I was inventing sins because an examination of conscience didn’t turn up much. Okay, I kicked my brother. But he started it. I was going to confession not because I was burdened, not because I needed some direction, but because it was Saturday. The whole neighborhood went to Confession on Saturday, because to not receive the Eucharist on Sunday (or to receive it unworthily) was unthinkable, and because, well, if I died without confessing — and that could happen — I would go to hell.

I recall once, at a very young age, admitting to my brother that I had made up sins in confession. “That’s bad,” he told me, eyes widening, “lying in confession is the worst thing you can do. It turns your soul black!” I looked down, wondering about a small bruise on my arm and my brother, inspired to further glory, pointed at it and cried, “Look! Your soul is so black it’s leaking out of you!”

Terrified, I ran back to the church and admitted my lie of a confession, worried the whole time that if I got hit by a car or struck by lightening, I would meet up with the devil. The priest, who was probably craving some fresh air and a cigarette, was not pleased with my repentance or my double-dip confession, and no penance was ever said more fervently than was mine, that afternoon.

Small wonder, then, that as the recommendations of the Second Vatican Council were (often inaccurately) relayed to the folks in the pews, Catholics shied away from confession. That, almost overnight, the sacrament went from wide participation to rare indicates that perhaps there was something missing from both our practices and our understanding of its true nature and value. I suspect what was missing was the engagement of our intellect and reason.

Check out the InsideCatholic blog for the rest — it really will “engage your intellect and reason” — and there’s more good stuff, besides.