With Christmas around the corner, preparation for His coming wouldn't be complete without a message about the importance of making a good confession. It makes so much sense that our hearts need to be made pure in order to really worship the Lord properly. Something I notice most Christmases is the fact that most people do dress up in more style than a normal Sunday. Christmas sweaters and Christmas dresses and ties create the solemnity the feast of the Incarnation deserves. So, as you examine your conscience to figure out what you're going to wear for Christmas, let's be sure to put some effort into a clean heart. It seems as good a time as any to review one of my favorite "proconfession" catechesis. We hear a lot these days about coming to the Lord "as you are". But, since almost everyone considers going to a wedding a formal affair, I've never gotten a Wedding invitation that says, "come as you are." Important occasions seem to demand formal attire, don't they? Yet, we all know clothes are something physical and exterior and the soul is something spiritual and interior. This shows how and why our interior disposition is made better by a good confession. The beautiful song, Little Drummer Boy touches our hearts because his poverty doesn't allow him to bring expensive gifts clade in rich robes. He gives the Lord a precious gift from his emptiness, from his own giftedness. But so does the song, We Three Kings. The drummer is poor and the kings are rich. Both worship with purity of heart and with all the formalness they possess. G.K. Chesterton points out a peculiar virtue about the Catholic sacrament of Penance. As a non-Catholic he heard many arguments against the uniquely Catholic practice. But what he noticed about the many arguments against Confessing one's sins to a priest is that he found half of the arguments attacked it as a religious practice that is far too easy while the other half attacked it as far too difficult. Confession must be outlawed, some say, because it is far to easy to commit sins and simply go to confession and get all your sins wiped away. Shouldn't one be required to change their lives, make amends or prove you're a better person before God forgives you? Others say, it should be outlawed because it is far too hard. Doesn't the church know how embarrassing it is to admit our sins to another human being? When you confess to wrong doing, doesn't the church know that you are handing your enemy a knife with which he can destroy you? Chesterton admitted that both ways of criticizing this Sacrament have valid points. But instead of concluding Catholicism must be wrong, he figured Catholicism must be right. He compares this to the proper size of a man. If you meet a man and half the people say, He is too tall, and half the people say, He is too short. The most reasonable conclusion would be to declare the man is just the right size. Confession, then is just the right way for us to work on our righteousness before God and man.