Oprah, Confessor to America

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Besides opening an avenue for help, confession unburdens the soul. In the June 2002 0, The Oprah Magazine, author Francine Prose writes, "I was in the third grade when I first discovered the way that coming clean could make the soul feel freshly laundered." The evocative words echo scriptural language about purification: "Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow" (Ps. 51: 7). Catholics put this psychological dynamic to work in the sacrament of penance, commonly called confession.

The "mission"--the unifying theme--of the June 2002 magazine is "true confessions." In "Here We Go," a preface that introduces each month's themed articles, the woman who has heard thousands of televised confessions writes, "While a certain freedom can come with public revelation, I've learned that the most important confession anyone can make is not on TV or in the limelight. It's in those quiet, private moments when we all take on one of the most difficult challenges--confessing the truth to ourselves." The feature "Something to Think About"--which includes provocative questions intended to prompt self-reflection, on a page that can be torn out and saved--begins: "Think of confession as life's strategic opening move. It clears the air, draws you closer to others, frees up creative thinking, leads to inner peace."

The "0 Calendar" for the month, another regular feature, is filled with quotes about confession ("True confession consists in telling our deed in such a way that our soul is changed in the telling of it," from Maude Petre, an English Catholic writer of the early twentieth century) and suggested activities ("Schedule regular times for unburdening with a spiritual advisor, counselor, therapist, or trusted friend"). A series of stories on aspects of confession include life coach Martha Beck's advice on when, what, and to whom to confess. "Perhaps our secrets struggle to be revealed because they know that confession can perform a miracle....It can turn our worst mistakes or tragedies into beacons of hope for others," Beck writes.

In another article, after an argument with her husband, writer Winifred Gallagher interviews four professionals--three clergy and a research psychologist--and her own mother, married for fifty-six years, about confession and contrition. Gallagher concludes, "Confession reconciles us to the fact that this is not a perfect world and we are not perfect people....I was moved by the sacred imperatives of forgiveness and reform and by the notion that something good can come from our misdeeds."

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