“Confession, confession, confession! God has poured out his mercy on his creatures. Things don’t go well because we don’t have recourse to him, to be cleansed, to be purified, to be enkindled. People wash frequently, and play a lot of sports. Wonderful! But how about that other exercise of the soul? And those showers that regenerate us, that cleanse us and purify us and enkindle us? Why don’t we go to receive God’s grace? Go to the Sacrament of Penance and to Holy Communion. Go, go! But don’t receive Communion unless you’re sure that your soul is clean.”[23]

At another time he insisted: “my children, bring your friends to confession, your relatives, the people that you love. And they shouldn’t be afraid. If something has to be cut, they will do so. Tell them it’s not enough to go to confession just once, that they have to go many times, with frequency. Just as, when one reaches a certain age, or has an illness, one doesn’t go to the doctor just once, but frequently; and they check your blood pressure and do analyses. Well, the same, the same with the soul. . . .

“God is waiting for many people to take a good bath in the Sacrament of Penance! And he has a great feast ready for them, the wedding feast, the banquet of the Eucharist: the wedding-ring of the covenant, of faithfulness and never-ending friendship. May many people go to confession . . . May there be many who approach the forgiveness of God!”[24]

Excerpt from October Letter Prelate of Opus Dei