Chapter 7 pt. 9
One expectation put upon a Benedictine canon is that she make "a regular practice of confession to [her] priest." This is one way that a non-cloistered religious is able to forge a spiritual bond with a local parish and thus live out this vocation within a sacramental community. We must be clear as we engage in such practices, however, that when we reveal all "of the evil thoughts that enter [our] heart or the sins committed in secret" to our priest, we do so to God. The priest, in this context, is a sort of icon through which we see and experience the Grace and forgiveness of God for our lives.
As an unordained Prior, I am willing to bear with my sisters and brothers the burdens of their hearts, and I will speak words of peace, but my role is not yet a sacramental one. It is important, then, that we as canons give ourselves over to the Holy Mystery experienced in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, not because we are unforgiven if we don't, but because we seek to cultivate within ourselves the humility our Father Benedict describes.
Br. Chad 2013
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