true humility

I had a wonderful time at the conference this weekend, and it was nice to focus on my faith for a couple of days. On Saturday evening, we had Adoration and confession, and one of the priests gave a wonderful reflection on the amazing sacrament of reconciliation. He shared this story:

A priest friend of his went over to Rome, and in some of his free time, he was walking through the city, and he came across a man living on the street who looked very familiar to him. He stopped and greeted the man, and it turned out that he had been his classmate in seminary, but he had left the priesthood, and his life was now a mess, and he said he would rather be left alone.
The priest, however, pressed on, and after a long conversation, they exchanged contact information and parted ways. The following day, the priest had a private audience with Pope John Paul II, and immediately upon the priest's arrival, he told the Holy Father about this fallen away priest. The Pope then arranged to have a private dinner with them both the following evening. So the arrangements were made, a meal was shared, and after dinner, the priest asked to meet privately with the fallen away priest.
When they were alone together, Pope John Paul II said, "Father, will you hear my confession."
The priest responded, "Your Holiness, I can't, I am not a priest anymore, and I am not in good standing with the Church."
The Pope replied, "You are forever a priest, and I am the Pope, aren't I? You are now in good standing as a priest. Now will you hear my confession?
Then this newly restored priest, heard the confession of a saint, and then in turn made a long overdue confession to the Pope himself.

This story floored me, and it just made me appreciate the sacrament of reconciliation even more! It requires true humility...
I know that the graces obtained from confession are the same regardless of whether or not I confess face to face with the priest or behind a screen, but sometimes I think that going face to face increases the level of humility that is necessary especially when my confessor is a priest who knows me well.

I remember after I had my first daughter, I wasn't frequenting the sacrament as often as I once was, and at one point, a few months had elapsed before I made it back, and when I told the priest that it had been that long, he said, "Wow, really?" I was so embarrassed because I knew he obviously expected more of me.
Then, I remember my most humbling confession was going face to face with the priest who married us, and I was so ashamed of the particular sin that was weighing on my heart, and I just started sobbing despite the fact that I am not a typical confessional crier. The priest was so compassionate and counseled me in the perfect way which made forcing myself to confess to him was completely worth it.

However, all that said, I have developed a renewed appreciation for the fact that the priests are acting in persona Christi, and the Holy Spirit is forgiving us through the priest. The priesthood is truly an amazing vocation, and I am really praying for an increase in vocations to the priesthood. Our diocese is particularly lucky, and we actually have thirty seminarians! The Holy Spirit is truly working through our incredible vocation director in our diocese, and he said that he gets one inquiry a week from a young man considering a call to the priesthood.
I am praying that this trend starts to radiate out to surrounding dioceses and across the country. We need good, solid, young priests preaching the fullness of the faith!