Confession Is Beautiful

Shopping is fun. But, there's a much better way to prepare for Christmas.

Thank you to our friends at Ascension Press for the powerful reminder.

Thought for the day from day two of the Novena to St. Therese:

The only grace I ask, O Jesus, is never to offend Thee. By love and not by fear, does a soul avoid committing the least fault. Yes, even if I have on my conscience every possible crime, I should lose none of my confidence; my heart breaking with sorrow, I should go and throw myself into the arms of my Savior. The remembrance of my faults humbles me and makes me afraid to rely on my own strength, which is nothing but weakness.

LITTLE FLOWER NOVENA Little Flower Novena Come Holy Spirit and fill the hearts of the faithful, and kindle in them the fire of divine love.

"Our faults are like a grain of sand beside the great mountain mercies of the good God."-St. John Vianney

"Only we big sinners have this grace of knowing what salvation really means."- Pope Francis

“The celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation is itself a proclamation and thus a path that must be traveled in the work of the new evangelization”- Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI

Why do Catholics confess their sins to a priest, and not directly to Jesus?

Catholics always confess their sins to God. We do it directly as well as through His ministers because that is what God requires, as clearly taught in Scripture.

There are many non-Catholic Christians who believe that sins are wiped away in Baptism. This means they believe that their ministers or pastors are used by God as His instruments in the forgiveness of sins through a sacrament, Baptism, which they administer. Catholics too believe this about Baptism, but we also believe that priest are used by God as His instruments for the forgiveness of sins in three sacraments: Confession, Anointing of the Sick, and Baptism. Many Christians believe God can use their ministers and pastors as instruments in His physical healing, so why wouldn't God do the same with spiritual healing?

Christ gave His disciples the power to forgive sins on Easter Sunday. He conferred this power by breathing on the Apostles. The only other time that God breathed on anyone was when He breathed life into the first human being. (Genesis 2:7.) Read John 20:22-23 where it states that Jesus "breathed" on them and said: “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” Both breathing instances were that of an intimate, powerful moment between God and man. Jesus is clearly giving the disciples the authority to forgive, and not to forgive sins.

But how would His priests” forgive or retain” unless they actually “hear” the sins? If Jesus intended for everyone to confess their sins directly to God, why would Jesus need to give his apostles the authority to forgive? In Matthew 18:18, Jesus again gives the apostles authority to forgive sins by stating: “Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever y shall loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven.”

As Christ well knew, to confess your sins to a priest, whom God has given the authority to be His stand-in, and actually state aloud the sin is not an easy thing to do. It requires humility, a heart-felt examination of conscience, trust in God and the Church, and a true contrition of heart. It can often seem like a frightening, humiliating act, especially if you have been away from it for a while. But once you do, it is guaranteed that a relief and cleansing will immediately follow, as well as a strong sense of forgiveness. There is no doubt that you are forgiven when you hear the words of absolution spoken from Jesus’ representative one earth, His priest.

Nothing in the world can compare to the joy of the soul after a good confession. The veil of sin falls away and the light of grace fills the soul. If you have not been to confession in a while – just go. God knows we all need it. Just go. Jesus is waiting for you.

"Christ's Cross embraced with love does not lead to sadness, but to joy! It leads to the joy of being saved and doing a little of what He did that day of his death." -Pope Francis

http://www.catholic.com/blog/hector-molina/extreme-makeover-soul-edition

Extreme Makeover: Soul Edition | Catholic Answers My son Joshua recently celebrated his first Penance in anticipation of his first Holy Communion. He is the first of our five children to do so. Needless to say, it was a very special day for him and our family. As I mentioned in my last blog post, over the last few years he has expressed a true desi...

Confession is an act of honesty and courage - an act of entrusting ourselves, beyond sin, to the mercy of a loving and forgiving God. - Blessed Pope John Paul II