Just Shine On

“In failing to confess Lord, I would only hide You from myself, not myself from You.”
~St. Augustine

St. Augustine, one of the great Doctors of the Church, knows the meaning of his words above better than anyone. After 31 year of life, filled with sin and lacking God, he finally chose to confess his sins and he converted to Catholic-Christianity. One of his great works is “The Confessions of Saint Augustine”, an autobiography written with philosophical/theological tones of musing, from which this quote comes from. In simple words, St. Augustine points out an important truth.

The ability to make a good confession is a gift. By practicing humility and showing accountability for our sins, we experience the relief of God’s forgiveness.

It is not God who needs us to confess. He already knows our sins and how deep they run. It is we who need to confess.

Our conscience may drive us to do so, but our conscience is a tool that God uses to invite us to His mercy. When we confess, we cleanse ourselves of the sins that cloud our vision and push us away from the Lord.

I like, too, the concept of ‘hiding’ oneself. Augustine doesn’t say ‘hiding my sins‘ or ‘hiding where I have screwed up in life‘. He says ‘[hiding] myself from You.‘ We are human, therefore we make mistakes, that affect us and others to varying degrees. These experiences shape us and make us who we are, whether we realize it or not. While we should be careful not to let our sins define how we think of ourselves, we should also be mindful of the fact that all of our choices, whether good or bad, the lessons we learn from them, and the consequences that result from those choices, contribute to our growth as a person, for better or for worse.

Realize how badly your soul aches to confess the things that are weighing it down. Decide to stop hiding your sins from God. He already knows them. Choose to be accountable and practice humility. Confess your sins.
Your soul will thank you for it later.