The Lenten period for penance started this week with Ash Wednesday and Catholic priests are happily bracing for long lines outside the confessional. The faithful across the United States are embracing anew the sacrament that’s shifted from embarrassing recitation of sin to cathartic quest for grace. For Catholics, the sacrament of penance and reconciliation is supposed to be a regular practice, where penitents tell a priest their sins, pledge not to commit them again, and receive forgiveness. But today, confession is turning more into a conversation focused on God’s mercy and love than in a recitation of sins followed by a prescription for 10 Hail Marys.
