Book Excerpts: Blessing the Mess....
- bepanneton
- May 2
- 2 min read
In early February 2026, I stepped into the confessional for the first time in nearly 28years. I felt the same anxiety that many in my shoes feel when preparing for reconciliation after a long absence.
From the book: The Layman’s Reconnaissance Report: Practical Tools and Places to Look for the Modern Man’s Journey Home: A Fellow Traveler’s Field Notes on a Return to the Catholic Faith (Vol 2)
The bottom line is: Confession Is Not a Courtroom—It’s an Extraction
The intimidation we feel? That’s not God.
That’s shame masquerading as humility.
Shame says, “If they really knew you, you’d be done.”
The Gospel says: “If you confess, you can finally come home.”
1 John 1:9 doesn’t hedge:
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive…
Faithful. Just.
Not reluctant.
Not surprised.
Not keeping score like a commie bureaucrat with a clipboard....
...You haven’t been disqualified.
You’ve just been overdue for resupply.
And once you walk out of that confessional?
You won’t be perfect.
But you’ll be rearmed.
Still standing.
Still fighting.
Still His.
And friend—no matter how long it’s been—You were never out of the fight.
...Our father among the saints, Augustine of Hippo, provides us with a raw, unsparing map of this internal landscape in his Confessions. He did not approach God as a polished saint but as a man whose soul was a "ruinous" mansion, too narrow and too defiled for the Divine Guest. His plea—to "bless the mess" of his life—is not merely a historical artifact; it is a strategic necessity for the modern disciple living in 2026....
...The "mess" of your past, the "mess" of your current struggles, and the "mess" of your unfinished character are all raw materials for the Holy Spirit. Do not hide them. Consecrate them. Let the "ruinous mansion" of your soul be repaired and enlarged until it becomes a fit dwelling place for the King of Kings...
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