Posted on 01/29/2005 3:18:26 AM PST by Catholic54321
Nope. You still seeing UFOs?
bump
Arguss has a point, though. As noted, priest go to regular confession presumably without having committed serious sin.
I just thought it would be a good idea to list what my 1952 Catechism outlines about confessing venial sins.
(411)Is it necessary to confess every sin?
It is necessary to confess every mortal sin which has not yet been confessed and forgiven; it is not necessary to confess our venial sins, but it is better to do so.
(a)It is not necessary to confess venial sins because they do not deprive the soul of sanctifying grace.
(b)It is better to confess our venial sins because when we do so, we have more assurance that they are forgiven and because we receive from the sacrament of Penance special graces to help us avoid them in the future.
So, it would seem to me that any confessor who dismisses a person who is confessing venial sins, as confessing that which does not matter, may hold to the letter of the law, but not the Spirit, and as such is an inferior confessor.
I believe the term you are looking for is a "lax conscience". I don't think there is too much of a problem with scrupulosity today either.
Sad that this sacrament has been downplayed so much.
"You might look up "scrupulosity" in the Catholic Dictionary or Catechism. "
LOL!
"I've actually had a priest say to me, "Oh why don't you tell me the good things you've done instead."
What I hate is when I get a priest that asks me what I would like to do for my penance. Since this question usually comes from the liberal, touchy-feely types, I've always had to stifle the urge to say that to help my low self-esteem, I should probably treat myself to Dairy Queen as my penance. :-) Instead, as respectfully as I can, I'll let him know that I don't feel comfortable choosing my own confession as it is not my place to do so. Of course, then I usually get some vague penance about being nice to someone. :-/ Gee, aren't we supposed to be nice to everyone? How is doing so a penance? Sigh.
Confession: It's Fruitful Practice
It's published by Tan Books. It has straight forward explanations and info- no fluff. I have found it most helpful.
Ping.
Now I am hearing that old song, (a show tune perhaps?), in my head...
Make someone happy, just make one someone happy...
Why did you put this in the Evangelical Christian topic? Please don't tell me it is because the evangelicals post in the RCC topic - that is not a legitimate reason. I am not trying to start anything - I am asking because I simply don't understant the whys and wherefores behind doing this.
I see this happen a lot in the Evangelical topic and others that are not RC alone. (and again, vice versa). If I want to read about RCC, I will click on that topic. If it is general interest Christianity, that is one thing, but I don't get why this often happens.
May I offer a few points?
1)Even if the priest abbreviates or mispronounces the words of absolution, YOU ARE STILL ABSOLVED, provided you made a sincere confession of your sins and are sorry for them.
There is a longstanding principle of sacramental theology known as "supplied jurisdiction." It has been abused by certain groups, but it comes down to this: the Church has declared in advance that anyone who makes a confession in good faith will have his sins remitted EVEN IF THE PRIEST LACKS THE AUTHORITY TO DO SO. Even if you confessed to an impostor who had never been ordained, your sins would be absoved through the Church's Power of the Keys.
That being said, it sounds as if the priests you are confessing to are incompetent. In general, I have found that priests who belittle a penitent's sins (i.e., make light of them) do not believe in the power of the sacrament. As I say, from your perspective it makes no difference -- you are still absolved. But these are men best avoided as spiritual guides.
2) If you genuinely cannot think of any sin to confess, then you have no need to go to confession. Give thanks to God and pray that He keep you in that state. But you are very fortunate indeed if this is the case. Most of us will be able to find sins of omission, at the very least, on our consciences. Since your last confession did you pray for your enemies, as Our Lord commanded? Did you give alms, even in the smallest measure, to those less fortunate than yourself? Did you never wish ill upon those who had vexed or troubled you? Did you pray continually, as St. Paul commands us? None of these sins will damn you to hell, but it is not "scrupulosity" to confess them.
3) The Sacrament of Penance is intimately connected to the Eucharist -- that is why (even in lax days such as ours) most parishes hear confessions on Saturday. There is no better way of preparing yourself for Holy Communion than confession, and the devout soul will look upon the Sacrament of Penance as an exppression of love and respect for the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. Many saints went to confession daily -- and most went weekly.
"Let a man examine himself," as St. Paul says, in preparation for the Eucharist. The confessional is the place to do so.
She is not at all scrupulous. She is right on target. Too many Novus Ordo priests are badly trained in moral theology and give lousy spiritual advice. Some don't absolve at all, just as she has said--and this situation is not at all rare in the New Church.
There is no need for any response more personal than that of a priest to an anonymous penitent. The kind of attention you would prefer is wholly unreasonable, given the number of confessions some priests are obliged to hear. It would drain the life's-blood out of any good confessor.
No, that's absolutely wrong. The Sacrament of Penance, like any other Sacrament, cannot be effected without the form. Here are some relevant decrees of the Church:
The holy synod doth furthermore teach, that the form of the sacrament of penance, wherein its force principally consists, is placed in those words of the minister, I absolve thee, &c: to which words indeed certain prayers are, according to the custom of holy Church, laudably joined, which nevertheless by no means regard the essence of that form, neither are they neces sary for the administration of the sacrament itself. But the acts of the penitent himself, to wit, contrition, confession and satisfaction, are as it were the matter of this sacrament. (Trent, Session XIV, Decree on Penance, cap. iii)But, as regards the minister of this sacrament, the holy Synod declares all these doctrines to be false, and utterly alien from the truth of the Gospel, which perniciously extend the ministry of the keys to any others soever besides bishops and priests ... For neither would faith without penance bestow any remission of sins; nor would he be otherwise than most careless of his own salvation, who, knowing that a priest but absolved him in jest, should not care fully seek for another who would act in earnest. (Trent, Session XIV, Decree on Penance, cap. iv)
Every Sacrament consists of two things, matter, which is called the element, and form, which is commonly called the word ... In our Sacraments, on the contrary, the form is so definite that any, even a casual deviation from it renders the Sacrament null. (Roman Catechism, On the Sacraments)
There is a longstanding principle of sacramental theology known as "supplied jurisdiction."
"Supplied jurisdiction" refers to exactly that: jurisdiction. It does not supply for a defect in the form:
Can. 144 §1 In common error, whether of fact or of law, and in positive and probable doubt, whether of law or of fact, the Church supplies executive power of governance for both the external and the internal forum.
Even if you confessed to an impostor who had never been ordained, your sins would be absoved through the Church's Power of the Keys.
Only if you have perfect contrition. If you don't, then those sins are not absolved until you either make an act of perfect contrition, confess to a real priest, or receive Holy Communion (which forgives even mortal sins of which the recipient is unaware).
I've never experienced a Priest giving me that kind of psychobabble in the Confessional, so I guess I'll consider myself lucky. But do you see how the reps of modernism want to continually lower the bar? You really can never set your bar low enough, they will always force you to set it lower. I don't about you, but I'm not in posession of BS buffers with that capacity.
"Why did you put this in the Evangelical Christian topic?"
I wonder about how a lot of things work on this forum, since I'm relatively new (1 1/2 months freeper, 4 month lurker).
But since these posts appear this way, it seems as though posters are inviting comment from anyone, even constructive criticism.
I do love the Word, and love to talk about it.
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