Confession is Good for the Soul

Ah St. Augustine! He is thorough, I will give him that. Some might say that he is overly verbose and spends far too much time thinking about everything he has ever done wrong. To dwell on sin is indeed not what we are called to do, however, it is in those first few hours, days, or even weeks of being delivered that we are enlightened to the seriousness and magnitude of our iniquities. For when we are saved we are instantly filled with the Holy Spirit. He Who then indwells us is the very Spirit of God, Who cannot be in the presence of sin. With this in mind it is therefore not surprising that we should instantly become aware of these offenses. After becoming aware of them, we feel the need to confess them, in accordance with the written Scriptures that we then, based on our salvation, choose to take as truth. After confessing them, we feel relieved and refreshed. And so, perhaps those who say that St. Augustine is too wordy have either never experienced true confession or have forgotten what it is like when you do. Confession is good for the soul, and though I don’t necessarily agree that massive amounts of people should be free to read your personal confessions, if you must write them down, do your best to make them as interesting as possible in the event they do get published some day when you are dead and gone.