Posted on 02/24/2015 1:44:14 PM PST by NRx
Reasons for inner discord
The greatest paradox of our life is that while we all instinctively strive for happiness, most of the time we are unhappy and dissatisfied even when no danger threatens us. Philosophy is helpless in satisfactorily clarifying the reason for this paradox. The Christian faith, however, explains that the reason for our dissatisfaction and dark feelings lies within ourselves. It results from our sinfulness — not only from our personal sins but also from our very nature that is marred by the primordial sin. Sinful corruption is the main source of our grief and suffering.
Sin is a spiritual sickness that grows and expands with time like cancerous cells. Left unchecked, sin gains in strength and enslaves its victim, and in doing so, it taints his mind, weakens his will towards good, permeates him with uneasiness and bitterness, arouses in him passionate feelings and evil thoughts and compels him to sin again and again.
We all are, to a greater or lesser degree, damaged by sin, although we often fail to recognize the full extent of our inner sickness. The main reason that the Lord Jesus Christ came to our world was to eradicate in us the roots of sin and return to us spiritual health and with it eternal bliss. However, because sin is so intimately interwoven with our mind and will, with our subconscious, it cannot be removed instantly or by external means. It is essential that we become actively involved with its extermination, but even our own efforts are not enough to accomplish total eradication of sin. Only the grace of Christ can give us complete spiritual recovery.
(Excerpt) Read more at fatheralexander.org ...
If I was to return, I would have to start with a Confession. It would go something like:
“Bless me father for I have sinned — it has been 40 years since my last Confession. If you have a list of all possible sins except murder we can save a lot of time...”
We have all been there. God did not come into the world to save the righteous. When I entered the Church, confession was... challenging. First, I had to make a life confession, so everything I thought had been covered previously suddenly had to be brought back up. And then of course we Orthodox don’t do the box thing. That took a little getting used to as well. But honestly as much as I try to come up with reasons NOT to go, when I have finished it’s the best feeling in the world. Like walking on air.
the whole church is full of sinners
Aristotle's Ethics is called eudaemonism and Webster defines it as ...
eu-dae-monismThe system of ethics that considers the moral value of actions in terms of their ability to produce personal happiness.
It's a simple and practical ethics. One example is "Patience is a virtue."
I consider it a huge fault in that it isn't taught in American schools.
Alexander the Great was Aristotle's pupil, and I think that eudaemonism is what made Alexander great.
Confession does unburden one — priests who also counsel during confession are very helpful indeed.
I never got to the “walking on air” part but maybe that was my Vatican 2 priests :)
>>the whole church is full of sinners<<
Well, the whole world is full of sinners so it stands to reason (World>Church)...
“...when I have finished it’s the best feeling in the world. Like walking on air.”
It’s my favorite Mystery; always has been.
How can we not love this?:
“O God our Savior, Who by Thy prophet Nathan granted unto repented David pardon of his transgressions, and have accepted the Manasses’ prayer of penitence! Do Thou, in Thy love towards mankind, accept also Thy servant [name] who repents of his sins which he has committed, overlooking all that he has done, pardoning his offenses and passing by his iniquities. For Thou hast said, O Lord: I have desired not the death of a sinner, but rather that he should turn from the wickedness which he has committed, and live. And that even unto seventy times seven sins ought to be forgiven. For Thy majesty is incomparable, and Thy mercy is limitless, and if Thou shouldst regard iniquity, who should stand? For Thou art the God of the penitent, and unto Thee we ascribe glory, to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.
The priest further reminds the repentant: “Behold, my child, Christ stands here invisibly receiving your confession. Do not be ashamed and do not fear, and do not withhold anything from me; but without doubt tell all you have done and receive forgiveness from the Lord Jesus Christ. Lo, His holy image is before us, and I am only a witness, bearing testimony before Him of all things which you say to me. But if you conceal anything from me, you shall have the greater sin. Take heed, therefore, lest having come to the physician, you depart unhealed.”
The repentant stands before the lectern, crosses himself, kisses the cross and the holy gospel, and in a repentant attitude confesses sins before the priest. After he finishes, the priest gives needed advice and sometimes instructs him to do certain things in order to help the penitent to overcome some bad habits -— to read Scriptures, pray, fast, do some kneeling, to make certain acts of mercy, etc.
At the end the penitent kneels before the cross, and the priest, covering the head of the penitent with his stole, reads the following prayer of absolution:
O Lord God of the salvation of Your servants, merciful, compassionate and long-suffering; Who repents concerning our evil deeds, not desiring the death of a sinner, but that he should turn from his way and live. Show mercy now on Your servant [name] and grant to him (or her) an image of repentance, forgiveness of sins and deliverance, pardoning all his (or her) sins, whether voluntary or involuntary. Reconcile and unite him (or her) to Your Holy Church, through Jesus Christ our Lord, to Whom, with You, are due dominion and majesty, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
May our Lord and God, Jesus Christ, by the grace and compassion of His love for mankind, forgive you, my child, [name], all your transgressions. And I His unworthy Priest, through the power given me, forgive and absolve you from all your sins, in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Following this prayer, the penitent rises, kisses the Cross and the Gospels and, receiving a blessing from the priest, steps away thanking God.”
The following column was in our Archdiocesan newspaper last week.
All heaven rejoices when a single sinner repents
The silence truly had been golden. I hadn’t heard or spoken many words for a couple of days — save for at the Liturgy of the Hours in the chapel. The immersion in the silence had been one of the most special, holiest gifts I could receive.
That had been one of the overriding reasons my two friends and I chose the monastery in rural Missouri for our retreat. The weekend at Assumption Abbey would provide us the opportunity to pray the Divine Office with the Trappist monks who lived there. It was a “personal-directed” retreat, which meant we could do whatever we wanted: pray, read, attend Mass, take in nature.
The silence was a powerful attraction, too. I definitely didn’t expect to hear God communicate to me audibly — using the words of a Vietnamese monk.
In addition to the promised silence of the retreat, my friends and I also knew we would enjoy the sacrament of reconciliation. For me, no retreat is complete without that sacrament.
So on that August Saturday, I humbly entered the room — much larger than your average confessional, a room with wood-paneled walls that served as a library and dining room most of the time. The priest sat waiting for me at the table. Once he spoke, in his Vietnamese accent, his initial words caught my attention in a way I never had experienced.
“All the angels and saints in heaven are rejoicing,” he said, “because one sinner is about to repent.”
Suddenly, my attitude changed.
I had spent the previous half-hour or so in prayerful preparation for my confession. I went through an examination of conscience; I took an inventory of my sins. I have come to accept the last few years that it’s foolish for me to expect perfection of myself — though occasionally I have to remind myself forcefully of that — and in that acceptance, the love of Jesus makes its greatest impact.
“I have sinned.”
The surest sign of God working in your life comes when you sit down with a priest, say those words and genuinely mean them. Feeling anything less is merely sorrow for making foolish mistakes. Children typically perceive the sacrament at that basic level: coming up with a list of committed sins and then rattling off those “foolish mistakes.”
In Psalm 51, David writes: “Against you alone have I sinned.” That’s subtly yet profoundly different from merely admitting mistakes that have broken a rule. One concept is that sins are wrongdoings against the Church, against the people of God. Then there is the concept of sin not as a wrongdoing but as a wrong being. It’s a state of choosing separation from God, a determined independence on anything other than Him.
A true examination of conscience involves both concepts. That isn’t a fun activity. Whether kneeling in a church or sitting on a comfy couch in a monastery, accepting the fact that you have purposely chosen to turn away from God at times is a painful admission. When you confess sin, you’re admitting to a fault, acknowledging guilt.
Most of my reconciliation experiences the past 35 or so years have been powerful. The idea of recognizing my sinfulness and mentally creating the inventory of the times I had hurt God was intimidating, and the guilt often overwhelmed me emotionally. In receiving absolution, though, I found a formal freeing of those sins that stretched beyond mere forgiveness. I knew that God had completely forgotten everything.
In those moments, God and I had been reconciled, somewhat similar to a couple of friends settling a quarrel. Our lives were back in harmony. I can’t describe how good that felt. The world actually looked different, brighter.
But when the Trappist priest welcomed me into the room that day, when he referenced Jesus’ words in the 15th chapter of Luke’s Gospel, he made me understand the true impact of the sacrament. I was about to receive absolution and have my slate wiped clean.
Indeed, heaven was far from silent. Angels and saints and God Himself were rejoicing amazingly, all because of me.
Mike Eisenbath, a former award-winning sportswriter, is a member of St. Cletus Parish in St. Charles. You may contact him at http://eisenbath.com/
http://stlouisreview.com/article/2015-02-18/man-house-all-heaven
Confession is a HUGE blessing.
We may have to force ourselves to go. However:
That is the devil, whispering in our ear, telling us that we don’t really need to go to confession just yet ... don’t listen - Go!
I promise that you will feel so much better, you didn’t even realize how weighed down you were before, until the weight of the sin is gone.
God gave his apostles the power to loose sins and He meant us to utilize the power.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.