Posted on 04/29/2013 4:18:02 AM PDT by markomalley
The Confessional is not a ‘dry cleaners’ where our sins are automatically washed away and Jesus is not waiting there to ‘beat us up’, but to forgive us with the tenderness of a father for our sins. Moreover, being ashamed of our sins is not only natural, it’s a virtue that helps prepare us for God's forgiveness. This was the central message of Pope Francis’ homily Monday morning during Mass celebrated with staff from the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA) and religious present in Casa Santa Marta. Emer McCarthy reports:
Commenting on the First Letter of St. John, which states " God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all," Francis Pope pointed out that "we all have darkness in our lives," moments "where everything, even our consciousness, is in the dark”, but this - he pointed out - does not mean we walk in darkness:
"Walking in darkness means being overly pleased with ourselves, believing that we do not need salvation. That is darkness! When we continue on this road of darkness, it is not easy to turn back. Therefore, John continues, because this way of thinking made him reflect: 'If we say we are without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us'. Look to your sins, to our sins, we are all sinners, all of us ... This is the starting point. But if we confess our sins, He is faithful, He is so just He forgives us our sins, cleansing us from all unrighteousness…The Lord who is so good, so faithful, so just that He forgives. "
"When the Lord forgives us, He does justice" - continued the Pope - first to himself, "because He came to save and forgive", welcoming us with the tenderness of a Father for his children: "The Lord is tender towards those who fear, to those who come to Him "and with tenderness," He always understand us”. He wants to gift us the peace that only He gives. " "This is what happens in the Sacrament of Reconciliation" even though "many times we think that going to confession is like going to the dry cleaner" to clean the dirt from our clothes:
"But Jesus in the confessional is not a dry cleaner: it is an encounter with Jesus, but with this Jesus who waits for us, who waits for us just as we are. “But, Lord, look ... this is how I am”, we are often ashamed to tell the truth: 'I did this, I thought this'. But shame is a true Christian virtue, and even human ... the ability to be ashamed: I do not know if there is a similar saying in Italian, but in our country to those who are never ashamed are called “sin vergüenza’: this means ‘the unashamed ', because they are people who do not have the ability to be ashamed and to be ashamed is a virtue of the humble, of the man and the woman who are humble. "
Pope Francis continued: “ we must have trust, because when we sin we have an advocate with the Father, "Jesus Christ the righteous." And He "supports us before the Father" and defends us in front of our weaknesses. But you need to stand in front of the Lord "with our truth of sinners", "with confidence, even with joy, without masquerading... We must never masquerade before God." And shame is a virtue: "blessed shame." "This is the virtue that Jesus asks of us: humility and meekness".
"Humility and meekness are like the frame of a Christian life. A Christian must always be so, humble and meek. And Jesus waits for us to forgive us. We can ask Him a question: Is going to confession like to a torture session? No! It is going to praise God, because I, a sinner , have been saved by Him. And is He waiting for me to beat me? No, with tenderness to forgive me. And if tomorrow I do the same? Go again, and go and go and go .... He always waits for us. This tenderness of the Lord, this humility, this meekness .... "
This confidence, concluded Pope Francis "gives us room to breathe." "The Lord give us this grace, the courage to always go to Him with the truth, because the truth is light and not the darkness of half-truths or lies before God. It give us this grace! So be it. "
If you went to a quack doctor once and got poor treatment, would that mean that you never will seek medical assistance again from anyone?
If one barber or hair stylist does a lousy job, do you give up on haircuts, or try a different stylist next time? You can tell by looking around that there are good and bad stylists out there, even though they get the same basic training and go by the same hair cutting principles. Same with confessors.
Give your soul a chance to get its regular maintenance, with someone who knows what they are doing. Try again, and you will have pretty good odds of having somebody who understands, cares and offers something to ponder as you go forward.
You wouldn’t give up if your car needed maintenance. You would keep taking it to a different mechanic until somebody knew what to do. Your soul deserves at least that much consideration, and it will last longer than your car!
Also, I asked a priest once how he feels about people coming back to confession after decades away. He said it is one of the most powerful and moving moments of his priesthood, because he can see someone healing, coming back to real closeness to Jesus, to real holy peace. That doesn’t sound like someone who would scold someone for having been away, does it?
Try again.
BUT... The one thing I would caution is that if you go to a confession near a major holiday, the priest and you may feel rushed, because there will be a long line behind you. Better to go in the “off season”.
So do you feel that only Catholics are allowed into Heaven?? Just wondering because Catholicism is the only Christian sect that ha such sacrament. I have a hard time believing that God is going to deny salvation to most of the world.
Also, my problem with priests is all the ones I’ve met tend to be jerks and I did full time in Catholic schools.
If you want to see devout Catholics who are not preachy, I have found some at my local Catholic hospital. Not the doctors so much, because many are not Catholic, but the staff and volunteers often are very devout Catholics, and are very caring. They preach by doing mercy, not by judging or proselytizing.
I wish there were more of this type of emphasis on mercy when I was younger. I was considerably damaged by a Jansenistic spirit which too often prevailed among parents, confessors, priests and nuns. It takes so longer to recover once you get the God of vengeance thing rooted in you. I would appreciate the prayers of anyone here who prays on a regular basis.
That is the way it is supposed to work.
Go to Jesus in prayer, confess and ask for forgiveness.
Waiting for a time to go to church and into a confessional area, which as has been noted many do not do for various reasons, is unnecessary.
Jesus is our High Priest and the only intermediary between us and God, and He is always there for us.
All the priests I’ve met are not great ambassadors to the Catholic faith. My experience with confession in Catholic school was that it was very much punishment and was treated as such. I was just relieved that I didn’t have to do that again for another year. And very relieved when I got to high school and wasn’t force marched there every Lent.
Perhaps you expected compromise on dogmatic issues and a modernistic theology that assures you that no error or action is of consequence "as long as you are a good person". You should not expect Church teaching to conform to you, but rather you conform to Church teaching.
Peace be with you
Happy to pray for you.
One of our fellow Freepers encouraged me to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet (kind of a quick series of prayers you pray using rosary beads). I’ll think of you when I do it. It has really helped me ponder God’s abundant and kind mercy, and the need we all have for it.
(I could swear it is making me more patient with my children, although I wasn’t even praying for that.)
.....”you never know if God really answers you and forgives your sins. In Confession you do.”.....
That is one very sad comment.
Well, yes, you do. Because He said that if we confess our sins, He is FAITHFUL and JUST to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness.
See, that's what faith is. Believing that what God said in His word is true.
Anyone who doesn't believe that God meant it when He said it is in effect calling Him a liar.
That is unbelief, not faith because that person is saying that God is not true and doesn't believe Him.
Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
That is the essence of faith. Believing God. When He says it it's a done deal. We can take it to the bank.
That's why believers are so sure of their salvation. They believe God when He tells us something in His word.
God forgives you when you are sorry. The sacrament of Confession is for your benefit, because there is something to actually admitting something out loud in front of a witness. It clears the air in a way and focuses the mind of the sinner in a way that “well, He knows what I mean” can’t reach.
Wedding vows are done out loud in front of witnesses, not just assumed to have been made, even though you might be able to tell by looking at them that the couple is loving and committed.
Jesus is the Word. He became flesh like us, not just an internal idea in the mind of God. He reached for us the hard way. It stands to reason that mere internal thought of regret for our sin is not the most complete or most committed way for us to reach back.
I will because I know EXACTLY what you mean. I went through it as well.
Thirty some years out of Catholicism and I still find tendrils of that kind of mentality popping up, although for the most part, I am over it.
What I found useful is to concentrate on the passages of Scripture which emphasize His love and mercy> It is not as unbalanced as it might seem because you've already got enough of a load of the condemning, judgmental God to deal with.
Psalms 34, 103, and 139 are great places to start.
Even in the OT, God portrays Himself as a God of mercy who would rather forgive than condemn.
Matter of fact, He says that Himself here.
Micah 7:18 18 Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. 19 He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.
No. It seems that many don’t understand the mercy thing that Pope Francis keeps preaching about. I know lots of very conservative Evangelical types that have similar positions on moral issues to Catholics. However, they are also the type who live their faith through their actions. They are open to outsiders and are happy to welcome them to their churches. Catholics ted to be insular and not as welcoming.
It is indeed.....
Yes... Catholics are sort of an odd breed. They like public shame for some reason.
Exactly!
Self Esteem, however, is flourishing.
....”Catholics ted to be insular and not as welcoming”....
I worked with about 7 catholics who faithfully attended mass. New in the area then, I asked, I made it known I was seeking a church yet not one of you invited me.
The response was deafening...”Well, are you catholic? I said no...and they turned away saying “well that’s why.”
Even though they didn’t have a clue of my faith.
HERETIC!!
Heat up the OIL!!!
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