“He breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.’” (John 20:22–23)
For those of us who go to confession regularly, there is often a familiar frustration: “Why do I keep confessing the same sins?” It can feel like a loop, cleansed but unchanged.
Pentecost reveals a hopeful perspective. When the Risen Jesus breathes on his ashamed and fearful disciples and gives them the Holy Spirit, he echoes Genesis, when God breathes life into Adam. This is not just primarily the removal of guilt, but new creation.
In confession, we receive more than forgiveness. We receive a fresh outpouring, the breath of the Spirit, and a renewed mission. Jesus does not say to us, “You’re forgiven, now go back to your old life.” He says, so to speak, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” (John 20:21)
That is why penance is not just saying a few prayers. It is reorientation. It is the Spirit summoning us to live differently: with mercy and healing.
Just as Adam was sent into the world, and the Apostles were sent out after Pentecost, so too we are sent from the confessional — not just clean, but consecrated.
Pentecost Challenge: After your next confession, ask the Holy Spirit for one way you can participate in Christ’s healing will for you. Then take one small, concrete step, and do not look back.
— Father John Muir
©LPi
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