HOW sorry are you?!

By Nancy Shuman

Young Girl Singing into a Mirror by Liotard (Wikimedia Commons).

I often sang along with the radio in my preteens, long before most of you were born (really).  Never mind that I was a far from engaging vocalist.  Never mind that I was shockingly oblivious to lyrics as well.

I croaked along merrily with a soft ballad describing "white on white, lace on satin, blue velvet ribbons on purple cake..."  I even went so far as to discuss this unusual lyric with a friend.

"Doesn't that sound like the ugliest wedding cake ever?!," I tsk-tsked, never questioning the validity of my perceptions.  Either my friend had the same hearing problem as I, or she was too kind to correct me.  But we seemed to both envision a towering cake of dark purple, ringed round with turquoise bows.  I'm ashamed to admit how old I was before I found out the truth about this, but let's just say that it was my husband who told me.  And we were already married.  "...it's 'blue velvet ribbons ON HER BOUQUET'," he clarified.

Oh.

It seems my hearing lapses were not limited to lyrics.  I learned the Act of Contrition in first grade, and recited it in Confession at least bi-weekly.  I was in fourth grade when the priest on the other side of the dark shadowy veil stopped me just after I'd begun with my usual:  "O my God, I am partly sorry for having offended Thee, and I..."


Continue reading at Nancy's blog The Breadbox Letters.

Finding the light at Epiphany

By Robert Batch

Adoration of the Magi by Bloemaert (photo: Wikimedia Commons)

On this day of the Epiphany we recognize the divinity, and the majesty of the Lord and Savior born unto us.  We all well know the story of the three kings-man, who come from the east to adore this new born king that  will forgive sins, and bring new life to all.  They followed a light of a shining star, through hundreds of miles of desert, not to mention – the conditions were not the best.

In the faith today, particularly in the Church there are two lights that we must seek out daily in our lives.  One would be the central light that is typically located above the Tabernacle.  This being a great reminder that Our Lord is truly present in the tabernacle.   It is a reminder that Christ is the way, and will guide us closer to our King who comes to us in the Eucharist, just like the wise man uses the star to guide them to the new born king.

Another light, that is often a tougher light to find, and in most parishes, there is a light above the confessional. The Lord desires mercy upon us.  He desires us to have life to the fullest.  (Jn 10:10)  The encounter one has in the confessional is one that is truly personal, and truly fulfilling.


Robert blogs at  Love is Calling.

Spiritual practices: repentance

By Ruth Ann Pilney

Native of Frascati at the Confessional by Bodnier (photo credit: Wikimedia Commons).

Repentance refers to sincere contrition for wrongdoing or sin, and it involves promising to change for the better. Regularly repenting is a good spiritual practice. This can be done daily, especially in the evening at day's end before going to bed.

St. John Chrysostom, an early Church Father, Doctor of the Church,  and dynamic preacher of the 5th century, delineated five paths of repentance. They are "condemnation of your own sins, forgiveness of our neighbor's sins against us, prayer, almsgiving and humility." He elaborates on each of these.

Condemnation of your own sins

"Be the first to admit your sins and you will be justified. For this reason, too, the prophet wrote: I said: I will accuse myself of my sins to the Lord, and you forgave the wickedness of my heart. Therefore, you too should condemn your own sins; that will be enough reason for the Lord to forgive you, for a man who condemns his own sins is slower to commit them again. Rouse your conscience to accuse you within your own house, lest it become your accuser before the judgment seat of the Lord."

While living here on earth we can examine our conscience and notice when we have failed to live up to our baptismal promises, whether in large matters or lesser ones.  The important thing is to slowly weed out our sinful tendencies and to replace them with virtue.  For example, the sin of arrogance can be replaced with compassion and mercy.


Continue reading at Ruth Ann's blog From the Pulpit of My Life.

An appointment with Jesus

by Barbara A. Schoeneberger

The Confession by Pietro Longhi (Photo Credit: Wikipedia).

Do you want to be a saint?  I do.  I mean that I want to end up in heaven with God and all the others He created who are one with Him in charity.  Becoming a saint is impossible, though, if we depend on ourselves. Moreover, we must leave this world a saint in order to be one in the next.  Fortunately, nothing is impossible to God and His magnanimous love for each of His creatures.  All we have to do is cooperate with Him.

At the Last Supper Jesus consecrated all the apostles as priests.  In that event He set them apart so that they were no longer men like other men, but were instead to stand in His place in a special way.  That’s why we describe the priest as an alter Christus – another Christ.

Just hours after instituting the sacrament of the sacred priesthood Jesus was arrested, tried, and crucified thanks to the help of Judas. His remaining apostles, except for St. John, ran off and hid themselves behind locked doors.  Confusion, despair, grief and shame must have enveloped the souls of these newly ordained priests.  But inside of three days Jesus rose from the dead and came to where ten of the remaining eleven, including St. John, had gathered.  He didn’t knock.  He just came right through those doors as if they weren’t even there.

John 20:19-23 is a passage I love for many reasons, but especially because it tells of the institution behind those locked doors of the sacrament of Penance (Reconciliation), one of the ways we cooperate with God’s work in making us saints.

"Now when it was late that same day, the first of the week, and the doors were shut, where the disciples were gathered together, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them: Peace be to you. And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples therefore were glad [I think this is an understatement.  They must have been jumping up and down and hollering with joy], when they saw the Lord. He said therefore to them again: Peace be to you. As the Father hath sent me, I also send you. When he had said this, he breathed on them; and he said to them: Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained."

And so it was that Jesus gave the apostles the power through the Spirit of Charity to stand in His place and forgive our sins, bringing us peace of heart.  Another aspect of the sacred priesthood where the priest acts as alter Christus.

This is why I look at every confession as an appointment with Jesus. Jesus is sitting behind the screen focusing His full attention on me and what I’m saying.  He hears not only the words but the language of the heart.  He gives the priest the grace to offer me useful guidance for amending my life just as He gives me the grace to confess what I’ve done that offended Him.


Read the rest at Barb's blog  Suffering with Joy.