Confession does not need to happen in the Confessional Booth like we see in the movies, but it is something that should be done with a pastor when it comes to sins. Why you may ask? As Christians, we can offer forgiveness and we can remind one another of the promises of Christ that does not require a pastor, but for good order of the Church and to protect the one who needs to give confession it is better to go to a Confessor, which all pastors are called to do. Confession is not a means to make one feel more guilt for errors, but to free a burdened conscience and soul. More often than not when someone apologizes for a wrong the response that we receive is, "It's OK." This offers no sense of forgiveness, because the question would have to be, "Did they truly forgive me because I know what I did was not OK?" We may wonder when the issue will be raised again. God doesn't want us feeling that way, but wants us to feel confidence that we are forgiven, so if there are things truly troubling our consciences it is comforting to confess before a Confessor to hear the words of Absolution or forgiveness as if from the mouth of God. Once a sin is confessed, it is forgiven and it is gone. God will not bring it up again and neither will a pastor Confessor.
