The Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation

Stephentlig

Please note that the proposed discussion is Catholic spirited only.

How many Catholics here go to either confession once a week or once a month?Are there any of you that go to confession at all? and if not...why not?

Speaking for myself as a recent lapsed Catholic who returned to the Church in 2008, within the first month of my return I remember my dad took me out to a cistercian monastry and all of a sudden sprung upon me the idea of going to confession, I said ''sure'' went in sat with the priest, told him I hadnt been to confession in years and years and yearsssssssss....he then just listened, gave me absolution and that was that, really quick, I didnt know the act of contrition so he just took me through it, but that was about it. The more I went the more I wanted to go, and now I really enjoy the sacrament of Confession, I recall a Jewish woman in New york ( she was a professor of Judaism ) once said that she was envious of the Catholics sacrament of confession and couldnt understand why catholics wouldnt go as she considered it to be a free trip to a pshychologist. haha

Many people I know go to mass on sunday but are reluctant to pay a visit to the sacrament of Confession. a Catholic apologist once said that going to recieve holy communion on Sunday or anytime of the week with mortal sin on your soul is the equivilent of dipping the body of our Lord in a big pile of excrement and does the person receiving no favours.

I struggle to comprehend why Catholics are afraid to confess to God through a priest considering that most of us in the past would often get drunk/go visit our friends and tell them all our sins, but when confronted with the idea of going to the confession box we are reluctent.

Finally, for those of you who do visit the Sacrament of confession often, what do you feel that the Church could do to better promote this wonderful sacrament and to bring people back to it?

Pax Christi
Stephen
Painting of the Prodigal Sun

Pink Boots

Well, in short, I try to get to confession whenever I've committed a mortal sin. And I usually I go to confession about once a week. But I just wanted to share how I began going to confession because I have really gained so many good things in my life through this sacrament.

I used to go to a psychiatrist for years. I had lots of problems with my life. The problems never got better and I felt like I'd be that way forever. I was in a sort of limbo for many years: dulled senses, living a sinful (though i didn't know it at the time) and generally unhappy life.
I was searching. Through a series of steps back to the church I went to confession last year during Lent for the first time since I made my Holy Communion. I confessed to the priest the biggest sin I had ever committed. I was scared. I didn't want to anyone to know what I had done. But I told the priest. He forgave me. However I didn't feel forgiven. I was expecting to feel at peace. I didn't though. But my story doesn't end there. It really just begins.

I go to confession as much as I can and I have to really work at the whole idea of forgiveness. My family was never much for letting go of grudges and forgiveness. The sins of the past seemed to linger forever around all of us. A stifling environment to say the least.

I am learning that, like everything, confession and the idea of forgiveness was something i had to work at. I read the Bible. I read spiritual books, like St. Faustina's Diary of the Divine Mercy. I prayed the Rosary and began Novenas. I went to Mass. I visited the Blessed Sacrament. And slowly...slowly I began to notice changes in my life.:)

I went off, with medical supervision, all of my medication. My mental health improved and continues to improve. I stopped having so many problems. I stopped the big sins, I began to forgive others, slowly my view of life was changing. I saw life as a more of a continuation towards something greater rather than a one stop shop where success, achievements, and temporal values came first and foremost.

Life's not easy. Sometimes I doubt God's ability to help me and I sin. But I go to confession when i can. The priests help me out. They listen and care. And as the months roll on I can say for sure that I always feel more at peace when I am in the confession box.

I tell the truth( and I still get embarrassed and ashamed at times) to a priest who represents our Lord Jesus and he forgives and counsels and helps guide my life to become more holy. I work at the sacrament of penance, it didn't come easy for me and it still doesn't. But I always think of poor Judas who could never forgive himself and ended up committing suicide. Things could have been different for him, because Jesus would have forgiven him, like he would forgive all of us. Even when we can't forgive ourselves, Jesus forgives us and loves us.

The psychiatrist i went to was paid to listen, but he never really heard me and never really helped. It was a counseling, yes. But it was divorced from the spirit. I desperately wanted to fix my life. For years I would "confess" to a doctor and never really got anywhere just more meds.

It wasn't until I confessed to the greatest counsellor my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ through the sacrament of reconciliation: that I began to feel peace, see positive improvements in my life, and slowly learned the value of forgiving myself and others.

Stephentlig

Powerful testimony Pink Boots, powerful.

Although the repentance of Judas is not recorded in scripture, I get comfort from the idea that somewhere between the rope and his death that he repented and asked God for forgiveness, thus being saved.

Welcome home Pink Boots, may your testimony bring many of those who have strayed from this wonderful Sacrament, back to practicing it once again.

Pax Christi
Stephen

antiskeptic

Stephentlig wrote: »

Welcome home Pink Boots, may your testimony bring many of those who have strayed from this wonderful Sacrament, back to practicing it once again.

Perhaps Catholicism needs a countmein website for returning prodigals - similar to the countmeout one operated by, what appears to be, secularists.

Stephentlig

antiskeptic wrote: »

Perhaps Catholicism needs a countmein website for returning prodigals - similar to the countmeout one operated by, what appears to be, secularists.

www.catholicscomehome.org

the above site is a good site for lasped Catholics to browse and contains a wealth of information. I'd love to see a kind of national Catholic website for Ireland though, a bit like catholic answer forums, where people can come and hang out and the forums could be similiar to that of Catholic answers. I feel that the Catholic church within Ireland has fallen in the area of ''Internet evangelisation''. Just the other day our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI requested that we make good use of the internet as its a powerful too for evangelisation and he encouraged many priests to get blogging. When I went online the only Priests I see blogging are american ones, so its quite disheartening to not see it being used here in our own country. I could be wrong though and my thoughts are as usual open to challenge.

Pax Christi
Stephen

antiskeptic

Stephentlig wrote: »

www.catholicscomehome.org

the above site is a good site for lasped Catholics to browse and contains a wealth of information. I'd love to see a kind of national Catholic website for Ireland though, a bit like catholic answer forums, where people can come and hang out and the forums could be similiar to that of Catholic answers. I feel that the Catholic church within Ireland has fallen in the area of ''Internet evangelisation''. Just the other day our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI requested that we make good use of the internet as its a powerful too for evangelisation and he encouraged many priests to get blogging. When I went online the only Priests I see blogging are american ones, so its quite disheartening to not see it being used here in our own country. I could be wrong though and my thoughts are as usual open to challenge.

Not to derail your thread, but are there any accurate figures (numbers/age profile) for church going R.Catholicism these days? I'm supposing church going an indicator of live-R.Catholicism.

Stephentlig

antiskeptic wrote: »

Not to derail your thread, but are there any accurate figures (numbers/age profile) for church going R.Catholicism these days? I'm supposing church going an indicator of live-R.Catholicism.

Hi, I'm not sure the church is accustomed to counting heads as they come in the door lol ( attendance wise that is )

but from my own personal experience, every sunday ( although I'd like to see more come in ) seems fine to me and Sat evenings to Sun mornings seem to have a lot of people at them. Maybe not as large as in the past, but in the east in places such as the Lebanon, Croatia etc etc, the Church is packed with young people and they seem to have a vibrant faith there and practice all the Sacraments with no problem, I remember being in Croatia and waiting for half hour in line for Confession, the churches were so packed I had to stand outside lol.

Pax Christi
Stephen

kelly1

I highly recommend confession. It gives me great peace of mind and helps me be grateful for God's mercy. I really think there needs to be a big push in the Church to get people back to confession. It's a wonderful sacrament and priests need to start reminding people from the pulpit.

There also the very, very serious matter of people receiving Holy Communion in a state of mortal sin. It's totally sacriligeous! More confessions would prevent this.

Stephentlig

kelly1 wrote: »

I highly recommend confession. It gives me great peace of mind and helps me be grateful for God's mercy. I really think there needs to be a big push in the Church to get people back to confession. It's a wonderful sacrament and priests need to start reminding people from the pulpit.

There also the very, very serious matter of people receiving Holy Communion in a state of mortal sin. It's totally sacriligeous! More confessions would prevent this.

Noel, great testimony, I understand that most do not understand ( inlcuding myself whilst during my coming home to the church ) the seriousness of recieving the Eucharist with sin on your soul. If only we could realise that when we recieve the Body of Christ, and the priest Holds it up in front of us and says ''Body of Christ.'' we are as close to Jesus as Veronica was when she wiped his face with the sacred veil.

Preaching it more often would be a great thing, I never hear priests doing it anymore and this saddens me, therefore we should pray for those who dont and pray that in the future they will.

I feel that big posters outside the church like the one below saying something like ''Come back to me with all your heart'' would be a good idea. I feel that the saraments like anything else must be marketed well in order for it to work, this is done behind the pulpit and through having posters like the one below big ones...outside the church and when people pass and see it, it plants the seed of thought in their heart, the thought of going to confession. what do you think?

kelly1

Stephentlig wrote: »

Noel, great testimony, I understand that most do not understand ( inlcuding myself whilst during my coming home to the church ) the seriousness of recieving the Eucharist with sin on your soul. If only we could realise that when we recieve the Body of Christ, and the priest Holds it up in front of us and says ''Body of Christ.'' we are as close to Jesus as Veronica was when she wiped his face with the sacred veil.

Preaching it more often would be a great thing, I never hear priests doing it anymore and this saddens me, therefore we should pray for those who dont and pray that in the future they will.

I feel that big posters outside the church like the one below saying something like ''Come back to me with all your heart'' would be a good idea. I feel that the saraments like anything else must be marketed well in order for it to work, this is done behind the pulpit and through having posters like the one below big ones...outside the church and when people pass and see it, it plants the seed of thought in their heart, the thought of going to confession. what do you think?

Having posters would be a good idea but not that one with all the scandals in the Church going on! It could be interpreted that the priest is solicting that boy! :eek:

Stephentlig

kelly1 wrote: »

Having posters would be a good idea but not that one with all the scandals in the Church going on! It could be interpreted that the priest is solicting that boy! :eek:

Man, people are so PC here lol. I think its a great photo, and have often done confession publicly that way. By lookin at it I would of never of interpretated it that way.

anyhow what about the following then?

prinz

Stephentlig wrote: »

anyhow what about the following then?

tbh that one is even worse...

As for confession it is something I am torn on. Have always found it to be an uncomfortable experience. Haven't been in a long time, and really can't see myself going any time soon either. I don't like it at all.

kelly1

prinz wrote: »

tbh that one is even worse...

prinz wrote: »

As for confession it is something I am torn on. Have always found it to be an uncomfortable experience. Haven't been in a long time, and really can't see myself going any time soon either. I don't like it at all.

Why? We all have weaknesses. I should come as no surprise to us that we sin and sin again. The priest understands this. Going to confession shows humility.

prinz

kelly1 wrote: »

Why? We all have weaknesses. I should come as no surprise to us that we sin and sin again. The priest understands this. Going to confession shows humility.

Oh I know this, it's just a sort of almost irrational fear I have. Conjures up images of small pitch-black confined spaces I am not claustrophobic in general but confession boxes give me the creeps.

Stephentlig

prinz wrote: »

tbh that one is even worse...

As for confession it is something I am torn on. Have always found it to be an uncomfortable experience. Haven't been in a long time, and really can't see myself going any time soon either. I don't like it at all.

with regards to the picture I dont find anyones commentary on them funny at all.

anyhow, may I ask you prinz what it is you feel uncomfortable about?

Stephentlig

prinz wrote: »

Oh I know this, it's just a sort of almost irrational fear I have. Conjures up images of small pitch-black confined spaces I am not claustrophobic in general but confession boxes give me the creeps.

talking about confession boxes, its something that came into existence in the 6th century and it was proposed by the Irish before that it was all public confession ( something they still do ) but anyway, you should explain to the local parish priest your predicament and ask him could you go some place else to tell your confession. I dont find anything creepy about confession boxes, I love the whole experience.

Remember that satan does not want you there, and that scripture says in perfect love there is no fear therefore being afraid of the confessional box is not something that comes from good spirit.

try going once a month on a sat, just to get used to it, and take it from there. noone expects you to dive into it right away, our conversion to the Lord is one that takes time and patience.

Pax Christi
Stephen

hinault

Stephentlig wrote: »

Please note that the proposed discussion is Catholic spirited only.

How many Catholics here go to either confession once a week or once a month?Are there any of you that go to confession at all? and if not...why not?

Speaking for myself as a recent lapsed Catholic who returned to the Church in 2008, within the first month of my return I remember my dad took me out to a cistercian monastry and all of a sudden sprung upon me the idea of going to confession, I said ''sure'' went in sat with the priest, told him I hadnt been to confession in years and years and yearsssssssss....he then just listened, gave me absolution and that was that, really quick, I didnt know the act of contrition so he just took me through it, but that was about it. The more I went the more I wanted to go, and now I really enjoy the sacrament of Confession, I recall a Jewish woman in New york ( she was a professor of Judaism ) once said that she was envious of the Catholics sacrament of confession and couldnt understand why catholics wouldnt go as she considered it to be a free trip to a pshychologist. haha

Many people I know go to mass on sunday but are reluctant to pay a visit to the sacrament of Confession. a Catholic apologist once said that going to recieve holy communion on Sunday or anytime of the week with mortal sin on your soul is the equivilent of dipping the body of our Lord in a big pile of excrement and does the person receiving no favours.

I struggle to comprehend why Catholics are afraid to confess to God through a priest considering that most of us in the past would often get drunk/go visit our friends and tell them all our sins, but when confronted with the idea of going to the confession box we are reluctent.

Finally, for those of you who do visit the Sacrament of confession often, what do you feel that the Church could do to better promote this wonderful sacrament and to bring people back to it?

Pax Christi
Stephen
Painting of the Prodigal Sun

As a practising RC, I have to make a confession, that I do not go to confession as often as I should!

The last time I went to confession was on Good Friday, 2008:o
I should try to attend more because, like you, the act of confession engenders a great feeling of grace/foregiveness when one recants their sins.

The added problem of not attending confession more regularly, prevents me from receiving communion at weekly Mass.
I deliberately do not receive communion because I know that I have not been to confession and I do not want to offend God by receiving communion in a state of sin (venial sin, that is!).

I have resolved to try to attend confession more regularly.

hinault

antiskeptic wrote: »

Not to derail your thread, but are there any accurate figures (numbers/age profile) for church going R.Catholicism these days? I'm supposing church going an indicator of live-R.Catholicism.

Mass attendences where I am in Tipperary are still good despite all of the recent controversies and scandals.
Numbers attending Mass did drop slightly but the Churches which I attend are by no means empty (as the media would portray).

However when I go home to parents place in Dublin, I do notice that Mass is predominantly attended by middle aged/older people only.
Which is a pity.

hinault

prinz wrote: »

Oh I know this, it's just a sort of almost irrational fear I have. Conjures up images of small pitch-black confined spaces I am not claustrophobic in general but confession boxes give me the creeps.

Yes, the confession box can be a daunting place - but trust me, any of the priests who have heard my confession have done so in a kind, open and in once case humerous, way.

No matter what you have done in this life - no matter how bad a sin you have committed, you cannot shock the priest.
And if you feel true remorse, go to confession tell the sin to your priest and you will get absolution from God.

Stephentlig

hinault wrote: »

As a practising RC, I have to make a confession, that I do not go to confession as often as I should!

The last time I went to confession was on Good Friday, 2008:o
I should try to attend more because, like you, the act of confession engenders a great feeling of grace/foregiveness when one recants their sins.

The added problem of not attending confession more regularly, prevents me from receiving communion at weekly Mass.
I deliberately do not receive communion because I know that I have not been to confession and I do not want to offend God by receiving communion in a state of sin (venial sin, that is!).

I have resolved to try to attend confession more regularly.

Honesty is the best policy, so thank you Hinaul and everyone else for their honest replies, its truly amazing.

I'll just comment on one thing you said, one has to understand that, if our sins be venial, as soon as we recieve the body of the Lord, it wipes away our venial sins, ( I.e no need for confession because they are not mortal ) however, even if we do attend confession before the mass with only venial sins it is still encouraged that you do attend confession anyway, as its seen as a pious and Holy act, a gift from the Holy spirit. Sometimes if I cant make it to confession, what I do is I approach the priest at mass, and I cross my arms ( right hand on left shoulder and left and on right shoulder ) and I ask for his blessing instead of receiving communion. Jesus Christ would be more pleased that you did this, rather than you recieving him with mortal sin on your soul.

Pax Christi
Stephen

hinault

Stephentlig wrote: »

Honesty is the best policy, so thank you Hinaul and everyone else for their honest replies, its truly amazing.

I'll just comment on one thing you said, one has to understand that, if our sins be venial, as soon as we recieve the body of the Lord, it wipes away our venial sins, ( I.e no need for confession because they are not mortal ) however, even if we do attend confession before the mass with only venial sins it is still encouraged that you do attend confession anyway, as its seen as a pious and Holy act, a gift from the Holy spirit. Sometimes if I cant make it to confession, what I do is I approach the priest at mass, and I cross my arms ( right hand on left shoulder and left and on right shoulder ) and I ask for his blessing instead of receiving communion. Jesus Christ would be more pleased that you did this, rather than you recieving him with mortal sin on your soul.

Pax Christi
Stephen

I just need to get to confession more regularly.

hinault

Some useful instructions from the Catechism

There are a great many kinds of sins. Scripture provides several lists of them. The Letter to the Galatians contrasts the works of the flesh with the fruit of the Spirit: "Now the works of the flesh are plain: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God


[SIZE=-1]1853 Sins can be distinguished according to their objects, as can every human act; or according to the virtues they oppose, by excess or defect; or according to the commandments they violate. They can also be classed according to whether they concern God, neighbor, or oneself; they can be divided into spiritual and carnal sins, or again as sins in thought, word, deed, or omission. The root of sin is in the heart of man, in his free will, according to the teaching of the Lord: "For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a man."128 But in the heart also resides charity, the source of the good and pure works, which sin wounds.[/SIZE]
IV. THE GRAVITY OF SIN: MORTAL AND VENIAL SIN
1854 Sins are rightly evaluated according to their gravity. The distinction between mortal and venial sin, already evident in Scripture,129 became part of the tradition of the Church. It is corroborated by human experience.
1855 Mortal sin destroys charity in the heart of man by a grave violation of God's law; it turns man away from God, who is his ultimate end and his beatitude, by preferring an inferior good to him.
Venial sin allows charity to subsist, even though it offends and wounds it.
1856 Mortal sin, by attacking the vital principle within us - that is, charity - necessitates a new initiative of God's mercy and a conversion of heart which is normally accomplished within the setting of the sacrament of reconciliation:
[SIZE=-1]When the will sets itself upon something that is of its nature incompatible with the charity that orients man toward his ultimate end, then the sin is mortal by its very object . . . whether it contradicts the love of God, such as blasphemy or perjury, or the love of neighbor, such as homicide or adultery. . . . But when the sinner's will is set upon something that of its nature involves a disorder, but is not opposed to the love of God and neighbor, such as thoughtless chatter or immoderate laughter and the like, such sins are venial.130 [/SIZE]
1857 For a sin to be mortal, three conditions must together be met: "Mortal sin is sin whose object is grave matter and which is also committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent."131
1858 Grave matter is specified by the Ten Commandments, corresponding to the answer of Jesus to the rich young man: "Do not kill, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and your mother."132 The gravity of sins is more or less great: murder is graver than theft. One must also take into account who is wronged: violence against parents is in itself graver than violence against a stranger.
1859 Mortal sin requires full knowledge and complete consent. It presupposes knowledge of the sinful character of the act, of its opposition to God's law. It also implies a consent sufficiently deliberate to be a personal choice. Feigned ignorance and hardness of heart133 do not diminish, but rather increase, the voluntary character of a sin.
1860 Unintentional ignorance can diminish or even remove the imputability of a grave offense. But no one is deemed to be ignorant of the principles of the moral law, which are written in the conscience of every man. The promptings of feelings and passions can also diminish the voluntary and free character of the offense, as can external pressures or pathological disorders. Sin committed through malice, by deliberate choice of evil, is the gravest.
1861 Mortal sin is a radical possibility of human freedom, as is love itself. It results in the loss of charity and the privation of sanctifying grace, that is, of the state of grace. If it is not redeemed by repentance and God's forgiveness, it causes exclusion from Christ's kingdom and the eternal death of hell, for our freedom has the power to make choices for ever, with no turning back. However, although we can judge that an act is in itself a grave offense, we must entrust judgment of persons to the justice and mercy of God.
1862 One commits venial sin when, in a less serious matter, he does not observe the standard prescribed by the moral law, or when he disobeys the moral law in a grave matter, but without full knowledge or without complete consent.
1863 Venial sin weakens charity; it manifests a disordered affection for created goods; it impedes the soul's progress in the exercise of the virtues and the practice of the moral good; it merits temporal punishment. Deliberate and unrepented venial sin disposes us little by little to commit mortal sin. However venial sin does not break the covenant with God. With God's grace it is humanly reparable. "Venial sin does not deprive the sinner of sanctifying grace, friendship with God, charity, and consequently eternal happiness."134
[SIZE=-1]While he is in the flesh, man cannot help but have at least some light sins. But do not despise these sins which we call "light": if you take them for light when you weigh them, tremble when you count them. A number of light objects makes a great mass; a number of drops fills a river; a number of grains makes a heap. What then is our hope? Above all, confession.135 [/SIZE]1864 "Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven."136 There are no limits to the mercy of God, but anyone who deliberately refuses to accept his mercy by repenting, rejects the forgiveness of his sins and the salvation offered by the Holy Spirit.137 Such hardness of heart can lead to final impenitence and eternal loss


1865 Sin creates a proclivity to sin; it engenders vice by repetition of the same acts. This results in perverse inclinations which cloud conscience and corrupt the concrete judgment of good and evil. Thus sin tends to reproduce itself and reinforce itself, but it cannot destroy the moral sense at its root.

1866 Vices can be classified according to the virtues they oppose, or also be linked to the capital sins which Christian experience has distinguished, following St. John Cassian and St. Gregory the Great. They are called "capital" because they engender other sins, other vices.138 They are pride, avarice, envy, wrath, lust, gluttony, and sloth or acedia.

1867 The catechetical tradition also recalls that there are "sins that cry to heaven": the blood of Abel,139 the sin of the Sodomites,140 the cry of the people oppressed in Egypt,141 the cry of the foreigner, the widow, and the orphan,142 injustice to the wage earner.143

1868 Sin is a personal act. Moreover, we have a responsibility for the sins committed by others when we cooperate in them:
- by participating directly and voluntarily in them;
- by ordering, advising, praising, or approving them;
- by not disclosing or not hindering them when we have an obligation to do so;
- by protecting evil-doers.

1869 Thus sin makes men accomplices of one another and causes concupiscence, violence, and injustice to reign among them. Sins give rise to social situations and institutions that are contrary to the divine goodness. "Structures of sin" are the expression and effect of personal sins. They lead their victims to do evil in their turn. In an analogous sense, they constitute a "social sin."144


1870 "God has consigned all men to disobedience, that he may have mercy upon all" (Rom 11:32).

1871 Sin is an utterance, a deed, or a desire contrary to the eternal law (St. Augustine, Faust 22: PL 42, 418). It is an offense against God. It rises up against God in a disobedience contrary to the obedience of Christ.

1872 Sin is an act contrary to reason. It wounds man's nature and injures human solidarity.

1873 The root of all sins lies in man's heart. The kinds and the gravity of sins are determined principally by their objects.

1874 To choose deliberately - that is, both knowing it and willing it - something gravely contrary to the divine law and to the ultimate end of man is to commit a mortal sin. This destroys in us the charity without which eternal beatitude is impossible. Unrepented, it brings eternal death.

1875 Venial sin constitutes a moral disorder that is reparable by charity, which it allows to subsist in us.
1876 The repetition of sins - even venial ones - engenders vices, among which are the capital sins

Ultravid

I like to go once a week, although I have not been to confession for nearly three weeks:eek:. I think it is very important to go to confession, at least once a month.

I think the [riests need to preach about sin and then offer the remedies. I think the rejection of Humane vitae has a lot to do with the decline in the numbers of people frequenting confession, and we have dissident priests, bishops, and theologians to blame for that.

I often think that many people commit suicide because of despair, but this is so unnecessary:

"Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.
Isaiah 1:18

Does this sound like a God who wants to condemn us? He is just waiting in His mercy to give us forgiveness, no matter what we have done, if we are truly sorry, we can be forgiven.

Nice piece here on confession: http://www.chastitysf.com/q_confes.htm

Stephentlig

well lads...the Lord certainly had a suprise for us all tonight/tomorrow as the Gospel reading was the story of the Prodigal Son ( reference to my op and painting of prodigal son ) and the Homily all about Penance and reconciliation, my jaw just dropped. I love the simple way God speaks to us.

Pax Christi
Stephen

hinault

Indeed,




How will the Irish Roman Catholic Church repent for the sins committed by some of the clergy?

The decisions taken, by the Irish Roman Catohlic Church, to remove/change priests, who were accused and subsequently found to have committed acts of paedophilia and beatings administered to kids.

What sacrament of penance should be inflicted upon the perpetrators of those crimes?
Those criminals, for that is what they are, have inflicted penance upon not only their victims but all of the rest of the religious who took no part in their deborched/evil crimes.

What penance awaits them?
And more importantly what penance awaits those who, knowingly and with full knowledge of the crimes committed acquiesced in shleding the perpetrators of said crimes?

Stephentlig

hinault wrote: »

Indeed,




How will the Irish Roman Catholic Church repent for the sins committed by some of the clergy?

The decisions taken, by the Irish Roman Catohlic Church, to remove/change priests, who were accused and subsequently found to have committed acts of paedophilia and beatings administered to kids.

What sacrament of penance should be inflicted upon the perpetrators of those crimes?
Those criminals, for that is what they are, have inflicted penance upon not only their victims but all of the rest of the religious who took no part in their deborched/evil crimes.

What penance awaits them?
And more importantly what penance awaits those who, knowingly and with full knowledge of the crimes committed acquiesced in shleding the perpetrators of said crimes?

Hi Hinault, I've found some info with the link below.
http://www.irishcatholic.ie/site/content/bishops-put-sackcloth-and-ashes-cardinal-brady

Bishops are to put on Sackcloth and ashes this lent.

We must pray for healing in Ireland, and pray that justice will be done and brought to those who commited such horrible crimes. My father was a victim in his youth of the beatings that many others got at school, and he is a Gospel songwriter/singer and some of his best friends are priests, he also prays for healing to begin, and he prays for those criminals who commited such acts and he prays for the victims too.

Pax Christi
Stephen