While evil still lost, Frodo could not destroy it by himself. Yet once the One Ring meets its demise, he is “pale and worn” but “himself again; and in his eyes there was peace now, neither strain of will, nor madness, nor any fear.”
Similarly, in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we bear torturous souls; we have to “trek” to a church; and we must offer ourselves fully to God’s loving mercy. Conversely, Satan tries to tempt us away from confession through self-doubt, hubris, malaise, and even animosity toward priestly authority and God. Satan wants to ensnare us in darkness — like the One Ring.
But, like Frodo, we can only go so far. We cannot destroy sin. Yet God can and does; and he has given “this power to men to exercise in his name,” states The Catechism of the Catholic Church.
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