An illuminating, reassuring explanation of the Catholic Church’s teachings on confession and forgiveness by the bestselling author of The Lamb’s Supper and Hail, Holy Queen.

Jesus told his first clergy, “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” In Lord, Have Mercy, Scott Hahn explores the sacrament of reconciliation and shows why it is the key to spiritual growth, particularly in these times of intense anxiety and uncertainty.

Drawing on the history of ancient Israel, the Gospels, the writings of the early Church, and the lives of the saints, Hahn reveals the living, scriptural heart of the Church’s teachings on penance, forgiveness, and reconciliation. It is a story that begins with the sin of Adam and Eve, continues in the biographies of Moses, King David, and the Apostle Peter, and reverberates in the lives of believers today. Hahn presents the Catholic and biblical perspective on sin and mercy, elucidating in clear, easily understood language the true import of Jesus’ simple, yet profound promise–“I am the door; if anyone enters by Me, he will be saved (John 10:9).

Like Hahn’s earlier books, Lord, Have Mercy offers thoughtful, authoritative insights into controversial issues and disputed doctrines in a manner that will enlighten lay readers yet is thorough enough for scholars to appreciate. More than just a Bible study, it is a guide for the perplexed, providing practical advice and inspiration that will help readers come to a deeper knowledge of themselves and of Jesus through the sacrament of penance.

I found this to be a book of firm and orderly persuasion, calling Catholics (like me) back to a sacrament that has become astonishingly neglected. Hahn finds a biblical foreshadowing of confession in the Old Testament sacrifices: the sinner was required to personally offer God something costly and difficult in satisfaction for his sins. This is not the only way Hahn presents confession; he also speaks of it as healing and reconciliation, and devotes a chapter to the parable of the Prodigal Son. Hahn also knits together four aspects of the Atonement: economic, military, liturgical and legal -- all under one heading, that of Covenant. Only from the over-arching perspective of God's Covenant with us in Christ, he says, can we understand the full mystery of reconciliation.

Hahn also makes the valuable point that when we tell ourselves self-excusing stories, we cut ourselves dangerously loose from reality. We all do this, to a greater or lesser degree, and it takes great effort to resist it and practice honest, but we must realize that we are in God's all-seeing presence all the time anyway. We must grow to tolerate that light, because it is the only light there is; all else is confusion and darkness. This is just one of Hahn's many thought-provoking discussions.

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