No Sin

 David Torkington tells the story of when he was a little boy, he went to confession.  He had dutifully examined his conscience and discerned that he didn't break any of the ten commandments.

The confessor asked David a few questions but he could see that his little penitent was adamant that he didn't sin.

So, the confessor said, "Say three Hail Mary's in thanksgiving for being immaculately conceived!!!"

Phillipa's Eight Reasons to Confess

 Phillipa Martyr's article in The Catholic Weekly gives eight reasons why you should go to Confession, often.  I like number 7.  If you go to the same Confessor, at about the same time, i.e., end of the month, in the morning, etc..  He will get to know you, which is like having a Spiritual Director.  Yes, your time together is short, but it's free.  You will get direction in the advice and penance he gives you.  Gradually, you will see that you are being led to be a better person.

The other reasons are good, too.

Confession Quote

Sometimes, people ask me when confession started.  I think they are asking because they think it’s something the church started, not Jesus.  I’m sorry to disappoint these critics or church bashers, but it was started by Jesus, Who often forgave people’s sins and passed on this gift to His apostles Matt. 16: 19.  And from the apostles to the bishops and so forth through apostolic succession.  And in early Christianity, confessions were public!  One of the first catechisms of the church is the Didache.  Here is a quote regarding confession.

In the church you shall acknowledge your transgressions, and you shall not come near for your prayer with an evil conscience. This is the way of life. . . . But every Lord’s day gather yourselves together and break bread and give thanksgiving after having confessed your transgressions, that your sacrifice may be pure. – Didache 4, 14 (50 A.D).

Confession Requires Courage

This morning I was sitting in the dentist's chair.  I was having my teeth cleaned.  From my chair, I could see a post-it stuck on the wall.  I thought it said:

Confession 

Requires 

Courage

I'm thinking of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  But any kind of confession requires courage when you think of it.

But when I stood up and looked more closely at the note, I saw that it read:

Confession 

Inspires

Courage

That doesn't make sense.  After you've humbled yourself, don't most people just want to crawl into a corner and die. Even the feeling you get after receiving absolution isn't courage.

I don't get it.

Re-examen

The other day, I was talking to a friend about another friend, who is a Wiccan.  My friend is into yoga and meditation and she said she was surprised that wiccans meditate, just like Christians do.  We kind of ended our conversation with the realization that all religions have a lot in common.

Later on, I came across this examination of conscience on the Defend the Catholic Faith website.  It's quite comprehensive.  I  glanced at the list of sins that broke the first commandment.  I immediately recalled my conversation with my friend where we concluded that wicca is on par with Christianity.  Yikes!  What an idiot I am!  I knew it's not; what was I thinking?

And scandal!  Scandal is an attitude or behavior that leads one to evil. Hence!  That's a sin against the fifth commandment.  Who knew?

And "adulation!"  I didn't even know what that was.  That's being an accomplice in another's vices or grave sins.  Ah.....

I'm going to Confession at my first opportunity.

Patron Saint of Confessors

Martyrdom of St. John Nepomuk by Szymon Czechowicz, National Museum in Warsaw.

 St. John Nepomucene (1340-93), was the vicar general to the Archbishop of Prague.  King Wenceslaus IV, was a vicious, young man who easily succumbed to rage and caprice, was highly suspicious of his wife, the Queen.  St. John happened to be the Queen’s confessor.  Although the king himself was unfaithful, he became increasingly jealous and suspicious of his wife, who was irreproachable in her conduct.  Although Wenceslaus tortured St. John to force him to reveal the Queen’s confessions, he would not.  In the end, St. John was thrown into the River Moldau and drowned on March 20, 1393.  He would not break the Seal of Confession.

In Confession, Forgive Others

"All liturgy is a place where mercy is encountered and accepted in order to be given, the place where the great mystery of reconciliation is made present, proclaimed, celebrated and communicated," said the papal message, which was released by the Vatican Aug. 22.  Receive forgiveness in confession, learn to forgive others, pope says: VATICAN CITY (CNS) --

Two Interesting Questions

Here are two interesting questions from the Pilot.   One tells the story of a 70-year-old woman who goes to confession but is so anxious about it that she doesn't think she's ever made a good confession. Fear of confession:   Following that question is one about not liking your parish church/priests/style and going to another parish.  I found both questions pertinent.

Dirty Little Secrets

Many ask priests, "What's Confession like?"  What they probably mean is, "What's it like to hear people's dirty little secrets?"  Well, from what confessors say, and from what I've read, priests respond with, "It's a humbling experience for the priest;" "it's a liberating moment;" "it's a grace."

The dirty little secrets are not what the sacrament is about.  The sacrament is a reconciliation with God.  Sin separates us from God and Confession/Reconciliation/Penance (different names for the same sacrament) bring (reconcile) us back to God.  This is why the confessors say, "It's humbling, liberating, a great grace."

The confessor sees how the penitent is sincerely trying to live a moral life. They don't like what they've done, or how they are, and want to start over.  The confessor sees the desire to be a better person, to get closer to God, to be what God them to be.  The confessor is humbled to be an instrument that God uses to be the means to speak in persona Christi.  The confessor sees how much people love their spouses, and children, and parents, and others.  These people truly are God's children and want to live that way.  They want their relationship with God to be better and that's why they're there--in confession.  No wonder priests call it humbling and a great grace.

And we Catholics are blessed to be the recipients of that grace.  We Catholics get to experience God's mercy.  Yes, the Sacrament of Reconciliation is the way to get closer to God.  Receiving the Eucharist is as personal a relationship anyone can get; we become One with God.  And the Sacrament of Reconciliation is the means to the Eucharist.

This topic was inspired by my reading of a 3-month-old newspaper article.  "Confession is about the mind-boggling mercy of God," by Fr. Dennis Baker, in the National Catholic Reporter, November 20-December 3, 2015, Vol. 52, No. 3, columns 23.

Paul Miki and Companions

Today, I'm teaching parents whose children are receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation for the first time.  I'm giving the parents the history of the sacrament.

This morning, I opened my prayer book to find out that today is the feast of Paul Miki and Companions.  I can use this feast in explaining the history of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  In early Christianity, the sacrament was public because Christianity was just beginning to develop.  Christianity was outlawed.  When it was discovered that you were Christian you were arrested, beaten, tortured, and killed in various horrendous ways.  Many denied that they were Christians.  That's apostasy.

Afterwards, these traitors tried to go to church.  What nerve, huh?  Of course, their brothers and sisters could see that they needed to be accepted back, so the deniers of Christ had to apologize to the community.  This is how the first confessions were done--publically.  The community decided on the penance.  Once the penance was fulfilled, the bishop came to give absolution.

I am afraid that I'd be a coward and deny Jesus.  I'd need the grace of God to not be afraid and be strong enough to declare that I am a child of Christ.

Then this morning, I read about Paul Miki and twenty-five companions who were martyred in Japan.  Not only were they not afraid, they were happy about it.  They rejoiced.  They sang Te Deum!

May God bless them! They rejoiced because they were dying for God.  They were hung on crosses, much like Jesus. They died with God's praises on their lips.

I think God for such brave Christians.  Their story is so moving that for the next couple of centuries Japanese Christians kept the faith underground.  The blood of martyrs watered the faith of Christ.

Let us pray for Christians who are persecuted throughout the world.

Kiss and Make-Up

I'm preparing my lesson plan on the Sacrament of Reconciliation and it occurred to me that it is easier to explain this sacrament to children than it is to explain it to adults.

Adults correct children.  We stop their sinning and explain that they are doing wrong.  (Like the Confessor does.)

Let's say the children are fighting.  The adult will stop the children.  Listen to the children's side, then the adult will explain and try to resolve the issue. (Like the Confessor does.)

The adult will tell the children to "kiss or shake hands--some gesture of 'making up'".  (Like the Confessors absolves.)

There may be restitution involved.  That depends on the situation.  (Listen to the Confessor's advice.)

I think children readily accept and see the connection.  We adults have too much pride; I guess.  It's more difficult for us to admit we're wrong.  Also, saying "sorry," is a big obstacle, for some.  It's too bad we grew out of "kissing and making up."  Not only would the world be a better place, but we'd be better off, because of it.

The Family Goes to Confession

Watching your children enter the confessional, do you ever wonder what they're going to confess.  Better, or maybe worse, what do you feel when you see your spouse go in to confess?

Do I wish to be a fly on the wall?  Am I better off not knowing?  What if they think the same about me?  

Definitely, this is an exercise in futility.  We should just pray for them to make good confessions, that God touch them, thank God for this saving sacrament.  

Pray for ourselves.

Thanks Be To God for Confession

What God wants is a confession!  He never gets it.  If only Adam and Eve had asked for forgiveness, how different history might be.

The saga continues.  Adam and Eve’s son, Cain, kills his brother, Abel.  Again, God Who knows everything, asks, “What have you done?” (Gen. 4:9)  And Abel doesn’t confess. He has the hutzpah to respond, “I don’t know, am I my brother’s keeper?”  (Gen. 4:10)  All the way to the end of the encounter, Cain is UNrepentant!  Again, God is blamed.  Cain tells God that “My punishment is greater than I can bear!”  (Gen. 4:13)  Cain isn’t saying “Woe is me;” he’s telling God that He’s not being fair.  Then he goes on to castigate God for taking away his way of making a living (Gen. 4:14) and forcing him to be a wanderer on the earth.  Like his parents, Cain is defensive, resentful and full of self-pity…everything but confessing.  He won’t say he’s sorry.  He refuses to acknowledge his sin and confess which is exactly what God is asking.

Throughout the Old Testament, God never wearies of inviting the people to confess. When God makes a covenant with Moses, there are rules and regulations.  See the Book of Leviticus, (5:5-6) and Numbers (5:5-7).  The Hebrews had to confess to their priests, and then they sacrificed as penance.  It was a ritual—read Leviticus and Numbers.   (1 Kgs. 21:27) (Neh 9: 1-2)  “The Israelites … stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers.”

So confession is a fact.  However although the Israelites confessed, God did not give the Levite priests the power to forgive, until Jesus, the Son of God, in John 20: 21-23.  All pardon for sins comes from God.  But Jesus left our priests, who stand in Christ’s place when in Confession,  the means to absolve. 

Jesus, Himself, forgives as in the case of the woman caught in adultery (John 8:1–11) and the woman who anointed his feet (Luke 7:48). Jesus exercised this power in His human capacity as the Messiah or Son of man, telling us, "the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins" (Matt. 9:6), which is why the Gospel writer himself explains that God "had given such authority to men" (Matt. 9:8). 

Since He would not always be with the Church visibly, Christ gave this power to other men so the Church, which is the continuation of his presence throughout time (Matt. 28:20), would be able to offer forgiveness to future generations. He gave his power to the apostles, and it was a power that could be passed on to their successors and agents, since the apostles wouldn’t always be on earth either, but people would still be sinning. 

God had sent Jesus to forgive sins, but after his resurrection Jesus told the apostles, "‘As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.’ And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained’" (John 20:21–23). (This is one of only two times we are told that God breathed on man, the other being in Genesis 2:7, when he made man a living soul. It emphasizes how important the establishment of the sacrament of penance was.) 

Please think of confession as going to a doctor to get well.  Confession is not a courtroom.  You are not judged.  There is no jury, no judge, only you and God.   The confessional is a doctor’s office.  You are going to get spiritually well.  The doctor will give you medicine.  And you need to renew your prescription to stay spiritually healthy.  Confession is long term therapy.  It is the medicine of mercy.  Thanks be to God.  

God loves us so much that He gave us this means to stay close to Him.  Unlike Adam and Eve when God asks us, (Gen 3:9) “Where are you?”  We can whisper , “With You, Lord, with You.”

Own Up

Confession has been around as long as mankind has been around.  Where there is man, there is sin, and so the need for confession, penance, and reconciliation.  Consider Adam and Eve.  God is God, and as such, knows everything.  Why does he interrogate Adam and Eve?  Is He a cop in an interrogation room?  No because He already knows the truth.  He knows what they’ve done and why.  Right?  He’s God.  He wants them to confess their sin.  He begins with open-ended questions that gently invite explanation (Gen. 3:9) where are you?  (as if God doesn’t know?)  Who told you that you were naked? (Gen. 3:11)  Have you eaten of the tree I commanded you not to eat?  What is it that you have done? (Gen. 3:13)

Note that the first thing Adam does it blame someone else.  Don’t we all do that?  And the first person he blames is God.  “The woman that You gave to be with me, she gave me the fruit of the tree, and I ate” (Gen. 3:11)  Do you know people like this?  They blame God for giving them those drunks for parents, for putting them in that neighborhood,…

What God wants is a confession!  He never gets it.  If only Adam and Eve had asked for forgiveness, how different history might be.

Blessed to be Present

Sanctuary Precious Blood Church
Woonsocket, RI

I went to a talk by Scott Hanh.  This is the third time I've heard him speak, so when I couldn't get anyone to go with me, I wasn't going.  It's in a different state.  I didn't know the way.  I hate to drive.  I didn't want to go alone.  However, one friend agreed to go.  It's interesting that she wanted to meet me there.

It's interesting because it turned out she didn't go, but it was too late, I was there already.  Having gone to Hanh's talks before, I knew they'd be sold out, so we arranged to get there two hours before it began.

So there I was in the parking lot before everyone else, including my friend.  I telephoned her and she was just waking up!  She said she'd get dressed and come.  It turned out that rushing around and looking for a parking space and climbing all the stairs in that beautiful old church, did her in.  She finally found me just to tell me that "she'd had it."  She went home.

There I was alone.

However, Prof. Hanh's talk was exactly what I needed.  He talked about the new evangelization and the Eucharist and Confession.  The talk on Confession was excellent.  This Monday night, my RCIA candidates are giving a talk on Confession.  Thanks to Prof. Hanh I know have a history and plenty of scriptural references on why Catholics confess to a priest.  The Holy Spirit works in strange ways.

Why Confess to a Man instead of to God?

Br. Tonto and Cappa

I'm still working on my lesson plan for Confession.  I had a dry run this afternoon.  They loved the skit and everything about it.  When we came to the time for asking questions, everyone felt the question uppermost in everyone's mind would be "Why do I have to go to a priest to confess?  Why can't I just tell God?"  So we're going to dedicate time to address this important question.

First, Scripture.  James 5: 16 instructs us to "confess to one another."  Note, it doesn't say "confess to God."
      Matthew 9: 6 tells us that Jesus was given authority to forgive sins and continue to 9: 8 and Jesus tells us that this authority was given to men.
      John 20: 21-23 is famous for Jesus blessing his disciples with the grace to forgive sins.  "Receive the Holy Spirit; whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained."
     The quote from John is the money quote.  This statement is the reason priests have the authority to hear our confessions and absolve our sins.
   
Second, now that I've given the references for the priests' authority to hear confessions, I'll give you the reason why they have to even do this.  It is because we're human.  Of course, the minute you are sorry for a sin and pray to God, you are forgiven.  But Catholics go to a confessor because the priest is acting in persona Christi and is exercising Matt 9:6.  We can actually see physical evidence of the priest (in persona Christi) blessing us and audibly hear the words of absolution.  In persona Christi is a Latin phrase for "acting in the person of Christ."

Isn't this great?  Trust me, nobody ever regrets going to confession.

Skit for Confession

Here is a skit I made up for my "cloistered brothers."  It is written specifically for those in formation for Lay Dominicans and those in RCIA.  Remember these men are in prison.  Yesterday's post was the plan for the evening.  This skit will be the last item on the list.  I need your input.  Do you think the mock confessions are apropros for the men's situation (prison)?  Also what do you think of the last penitent?  Is it inappropriate?  Should it be eliminated?

Mock

Sacrament of Reconciliation

Skit

Props:  two chairs, purple stole

Characters:  narrator, confessor,  3 penitents

Scene: Confessional—two chairs facing each other

Narrator: This is a simulation of different types of confessions.  The first is the no nonsense, just the facts type of confession.  The penitent will just give a list of sins.  The second type of confession is someone working on one area of his life.  The penitent needs spiritual direction.  The third type is …well, different.

The Confessor is sitting and waiting with purple stole.

The penitent comes and sits across from the priest.

1 Penitent: Bless me Father for I have sinned.  (Make sign of the cross.) It has been two months since my last confession. Here are my sins: I lack patience and often bark at people.  Sometimes I make hurtful, snarky remarks when someone asks me a simple question, particularly my cellmate.  I seem to have become very selfish and self-centered because I don’t even have the patience to listen to them.  I’m inattentive to other’s problems.  I’m also angry and jealous when I see others have more than I.  I’ve also been looking at porn and I’m afraid I’m getting addicted because I keep looking for more opportunities to look and fantasize and I don’t want it to get out of control.  I’m trying to stop.  Well, that’s enough.  That’s what I wanted to tell you.  And I am sorry for these sins and all the sins of my life.  I ask for forgiveness, absolution and penance.

Confessor: Well, let’s step back and see what’s going on in your life that has made you angry and impatient.  Has anything changed in your life?

1 Penitent:  No Father.

Confessor:  Have you had bad news from home or the prison administration?

1 Penitent:  No, no Father.

Confessor:  It just might be the porn.  It’s making you uncomfortable, anxious, and you’re slipping in deeper and afraid you can’t stop.  You’ve lost control and it’s becoming an obsession so that when friends speak or make demands on you, you react by snapping at everyone.  Am I right?

1 Penitent:  Maybe.  I don’t know.

Confessor: You have to quit the porn.

1 Penitent:  I want to.  I want to stop.

Confessor:  Do you think you can throw the junk away?  Can you walk away from situations where you see it? 

1 Penitent:  I’ll certainly try.

Confessor:  How about putting your mother’s face in the picture?  Your grandmother’s?

1 Penitent:  Ah…that might do it.

Confessor:  What I want you to do is pray to Jesus for strength to resist temptation?  Ask Mary for help?  Do you know the prayer to St. Michael the Archangel?

1 Penitent:  No Father

Confessor:  That’s your penance.  Look up the prayer to St. Michael the Archangel and pray it.  Meditate upon it.  You’ll understand why, when you pray it.  Now make a good act of contrition.

1 Penitent: O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee and I detest all my sins because of Thy just punishments, but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, who art all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace, to sin no more and avoid the near occasions of sin. Amen.

Confessor:  May God the Father of Mercies, who through the death of Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, give you pardon and peace.  And, now, I absolve you from all of your sins, In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. 1 Penitent makes sign of the cross.

1 Penitent: Amen

Confessor: Go in peace.

1 Penitent: Thank you Father.

Narrator: This is only one example of confession.  If you don’t know an act of contrition just tell the priest and say “I'm really sorry for all my sins and, because I love God, I will try not to sin anymore”
        In this next scene, the penitent doesn’t give a list of sins.  He confesses frequently because he says his last confession  was a week ago.  This penitent is looking for spiritual direction, especially if he always goes to the same priest, who know s him well.

Second Scene

The  2 penitent comes and sits across from the priest

2 Penitent:  Bless me Father for I have sinned.  (Make sign of the cross.) It has been one week since my last confession.  I’d like to confess my feelings of helplessness, anger, and frustration towards my wife.  She’s getting into heroin again and won’t listen to me.  When I get mad she stays away.  I don’t know what to do.

Confessor:  I can feel your sorrow and frustration.  You have no control over the situation.  Prayer is really your only recourse.  Pray for yourself.  Pray that you can think clearly and influence her wisely.  Pray for her that she will see what she is doing and step away from it.  Pray for help, for intervention.  Perhaps in prayer, you will think of someone or some way to help her.  I will pray for you two, too.
      Is there anything else you want to tell confess?

2 Penitent:  No Father

Confessor:  For your penance say three Hail Mary’s and make a good act of contrition.

2 Penitent:  O my Jesus, I am sorry for offending You because I have hurt You and Your Church.  I firmly intend, to make up for my sins and to sin no more. Amen.

Confessor:  May God the Father of Mercies, who through the death of Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, give you pardon and peace.  And, now, I absolve you from all of your sins, In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. 2 Penitent makes sign of the cross.

2 Penitent: Amen

Confessor:

2 Penitent: Thank you Father.

Narrator:  You have seen two types of confessions: one who gives a list of his sins, and the other who is working on correcting one area of his life.  The priest will help you confess whichever way is the most comfortable.  Just ask the confessor for help.  Here is the last scene.

Scene Three

The 3 penitent rushes quite hastily to the seat.

3 Penitent:  Hey Father, I just had sex with three women at the same time!

Confessor:  Whoa, wait a minute.  When was your last confession?

3 Penitent:  Confession?  This is my first time here.

Confessor:  Oh, this is your first confession.  You need to tell me that.  Have you examined your conscience?

3 Penitent:  I don’t know what you’re talking about?  I just wanted to tell you that I had sex with 3 women at the same time.

Confessor:  Are you sorry for this?

3 Penitent:  Hell, no.  I’m proud of it!

Confessor:  In the Sacrament of Reconciliation, the penitent must have sorrow for his or her sins, must confess them to a priest, and must do satisfaction for the sins.  This is what all Catholics do.

3 Penitent:  But I’m not Catholic.

Confessor:  Then why are you here?

3 Penitent:  Because I’m 95 years old and just had sex with three woman at the same time (Stand up and as he leaves he says.)  I’m telling everybody.

Confessor:  Stands up and explains. The Sacrament of Reconciliation, sometimes called the Sacrament of Penance or Confession, forgives the sins of baptized persons committed after baptism. 

 Narrator: The Sacrament of Reconciliation restores the gift of God’s grace after it has been lost by mortal sin or weakened by venial sin.  In the Sacrament of Reconciliation, the penitent has a personal encounter with Jesus Christ who is represented by the priest in the confessional.

Confessor:      As members of Christ’s Body, everything we do affects the whole body.  Sin wounds and weakens the Body of Christ; the healing we receive in this Sacrament restores health and strength to the Church, as well as to ourselves.

Narrator:  The last penitent, penitent # 3 was not sorry.

Confessor:  In fact, he didn’t see any sin at all.  We don’t know if anyone was hurt by his actions; it’s only a humorous story after all.  He was so far away from God that he only thought of himself.  Lust is selfish, self-seeking and hurtful.  His sin besides being fornication or adultery was more worship of himself and whatever whim entered his head. 

Narrator:  No absolution for penitent # 3.  He didn’t fulfill the requirements: 

Confessor:  He was not sincere and honest.

Narrator:  He wasn’t sorry—not repentant.

Confessor: He didn’t resolve to do better.

Narrator:  He is not reconciled with God.

Confessor:  But these are only mock confessions.  The real Sacrament of Reconciliation is one of the reasons we should be glad we’re Catholic.  Getting rid of guilt, and hearing from the priest’s mouth that your sins are forgiven is a blessing we all crave.  We can see, hear, and feel the grace of absolution as surely as we can taste the Body of Christ in the Eucharist.

Narrator:  Thanks be to God.

Everyone:   Amen!

Lesson Plan for Confession

I'm having my Lay Dominican formation students give a lesson on the Sacrament of Reconciliation to the entire Catholic community in the prison.  Here's my lesson plan:

Ask if they know these vocabulary words that we'll be using: confessor, penitent, examen, etc.

Catechism definition

Explain why confessing to a priest is better than confessing to a bartender or hairdresser.  Why we confess to a priest instead of directly to God?

History of the Sacrament of Reconciliation

Some Confession facts: mortal and venial sin, when, how, how often, etc.

Fun reading of Psalm 51: 1-13--people pinch their noses when sin is mentioned and hand washing motions for words of cleansing and forgiveness.

Skit:  Someone plays the Confessor and have 3 different penitents give examples of making a confession

Ending by distributing an Examination of Conscience specifically crafted for them in their particular situation

.

Confession

In the Confessional

Listening for the door to slide,
                I self examine.
My throat spasms up thru my lips,
                a ball of gossip.

Gossip rolls down the front of my dress.
                Horrified, I grasped
for it, as it ricochets off the walls
                and out the door.

Gossip sneaked under the pews.
                That slippery sphere
rolled on faster and faster,
                murmuring away.

Horror sucked away my breath;
                mocking me, rolling on.
I find myself running on my knees,
                passed shocked penitents.

Down the aisle to the Tabernacle.
                Gossip mocked louder.
How vile and loathsome is gossip,
                Slippery, slimy, sphere.

Leaping to snatch it up quickly,
                it slips my fingers
and rolls down the steps out the church,
                muttering insults.

Once outside, gossip bounces
                every which way.
Stop it.  Stop it.  Stop it.  I scream.
                It’s uncontrollable.

Uncaring, gossip runs away
                into the busy street,
Right under the tires of a car.
                The taunting stops.

Flattened, the ball of gossip breaks
                open a bleeding stream
of lies, stories, and useless talk--
                dripping a foul trail.

Off the road and into the gutter
                run my lies and shame,
now absolved by God’s mercy,
                down the sewer drain.

Ten Tips for Confessors

Very often I read Tips for Confession, How to Make a Good Confession, etc.  I haven't ever seen tips for the confessor, at least in my experience, because I certainly hope there are discussions for priests regarding how to better the sacrament of reconciliation.

Ten Tips for Confessors

1.  Don't yell.  As a child, I often heard stories about "Don't go to Father So and So, he yells at you."  There was a confessor at Arch Street who did do this.  He's infamous about his yelling.  A priest told me that he went to confession to him, (as a priest), and was yelled at.  Thankfully, that was not my childhood experience.  However, as an adult, not too long ago, the confessor, in the middle of my laundry list of sins, yelled, "This is not spiritual direction!  This is not the time for spiritual direction!"
     "Oka-a-a-y"  I have no idea what set him off.  I was so shocked that I don't know which one, or all of my sins caused him to say that.  So I just continued with my list.  He gave me absolution and I went on my way.  Strange.

2.  Give reasonable penances.  Don't get too creative.  You would think that I, for one, would appreciate different penances.  But in this penitential circumstance--I'm not in the mood.  In the confessional, I don't have pen and paper to write down scripture verses.  One time, in particular, comes to mind.  I was given particular verses in Colossians.  When I read them, I didn't see any relevance to my sins.  I began to doubt that I remembered correctly.  So I read Galatians because it kind of, sort of, sounds like Colossians?  Again, no reference to my confession.  So I read 1 & 2 Corinthians.  I couldn't see any references that would help me.  I gave up, besides I certainly satisfied my penance requirement.
    Another time, I was in a church that was new to me.  I wanted to pray my penitential prayers in the Adoration Chapel, which was in a different part of the building than the confessional.  I got lost trying to find the place.  When I finally found the Adoration Chapel; I knelt in front of the monstrance; I blessed myself; and I couldn't remember what my penance was.  !!!!!!!!!!!  Pray for me.

3.  Don't be snippy.  Can't you tell by my demeanor that I'm serious and humbling myself before you?  This isn't easy for the penitent.  Even if you don't perceive that I'm in the correct disposition to come to confession, just presume that I am.  Why else would anyone come?

4.  Don't cut the penitent off.  If I'm taking a long time, can't you tell me, and make an appointment for me to come at another time?

5.  Don't tell me to NOT to confess so often.  I'm getting the opposite advice from everything I read.  Besides, if the penitent belongs to a lay religious organization, he may be obligated to go to confession often.

6.  Don't tell me you can't give me absolution because you don't see any sin.  Can't you give me absolution for the sins in the past?

7.  Compliment.  Isn't there anything good that you see that offers hope that the penitent will attain sanctity?  Even if it's just "Your sins are abuses of your gifts."

8.  Offer suggestions.  Help me amend my ways.  Do you see a propensity--a path that is wrong?

9.  Pray for me.

10.  Grace received in the Sacrament of Reconciliation is in proportion to the disposition of the penitent, I understand.  I'm sorry if I bore you.  Please try to be attentive.  Pretend this is the first time you are hearing confessions.  You are acting in Persona Christi, after all.