Confession: We need to appreciate it

Going to confession regularly has given me a new appreciation for this sacrament. I often ask why people don't go to confession today more than they do. It can't be that we're sinning less. Can we have lost our appreciation for the sacrament of reconciliation because we no longer realize how terrible sin is? Is it that we no longer appreciate the suffering and death of Jesus, that he died for us? Do we no longer realize that all we have to do, to claim the benefits of his suffering, is to confess our sins and to rely on his mercy?

It is much easier to strive for holiness when you can go to Jesus in this sacrament. It is a great spiritual consolation, and a reminder of Jesus' great love, to be able to come to the priest and to hear those great words, 'Your sins are forgiven." As long as we are making an effort to avoid sin, we know that in the sacrament of reconciliation we are cleansed and we can start afresh ...

In speaking of sin, repentance, and spiritual growth, we must realize that the Evil One has a very subtle weapon he uses to discourage souls in their quest for God. That weapon is guilt ...

Some people have a terrible guilt hanging over their heads even after they have been to confession. This robs them of the joy of the Lord and of receiving the Lord's forgiveness in a personal and conscious way. Not to be able to forgive yourself is pride. When we go to confession, we realize that we fell, but Jesus' forgives us. That's the beauty of our good and compassionate God.

~ by Sister Briege McKenna

Related Posts:

FAQ on Confession/Necessity of Confession

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Eucharistic Processions

This Thursday is the great celebration of Corpus Christi. We commemorate and again remember the infinite joy of the Eucharist. The date of Corpus Christi is fixed by the Vatican as the Thursday after Trinity Sunday.

The feast day was first officially celebrated at Liege in 1246, and extended to the universal Church by Pope Urban IV in 1264. In Italy, the traditional feast dates back to the 15th century, and the route of the annual procession was set in the 16th century. The procession through Rome was abandoned in 1870 after Italian forces took Rome from the papacy. Pope John Paul II revived the tradition in 1979.

These processions are endowed with indulgences dating back to both Pope Martin V and Pope Eugene IV.

Prayer to the Blessed Sacrament (Respice, Domine):

Look down, O Lord, from Thy sanctuary, and from Heaven Thy dwelling-place on high, and behold this sacred Victim which our great High-Priest, Thy holy Child, our Lord Jesus, offers up to Thee for the sins of This brethren; and be appeased for the multitude of our transgressions. Behold the voice of the Blood of Jesus, our Brother, cries to Thee from the Cross. Give ear, O Lord! be appeased, O Lord! hearken, and do not tarry for Thine own sake, O my God, for Thy Name is invoked upon this city and upon Thy people; and deal with us according to Thy mercy. Amen.

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A Child of an Abortion Practitioner Insists on Life for the Unborn

LifeNews has an excellent article on how a child of an abortionist insists on protecting the life of the unborn.

It's worth your time to read it.

Image Source: Used with Permission

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What is a Catholic Saint?

I thought it would be wise to post some basics of our faith for my non-Catholic readers.

A saint is simply a person that, by living a life of faith and virtue, is now in Heaven. These special people are wonderful intercessors between God. Because of their closeness with God, these men and women can pray for else.

The term "saint" originated for Latin sanctus meaning "hallowed or consecrated." The first person honored individually as a saint was the first martyr, Stephen. For nearly 4 centuries, prayer to St. Stephen for his intercession and prayers was popular. Beginning at the end of the Second Century, special celebrations were created annually on the anniversaries of the martyrs' deaths. These martyrs (those that die because they refuse to renounce Jesus Christ) were witnesses of Christ and were certainly in Heaven. Even Jesus says in Matthew Chapter Five that whoever is persecuted for Him would be rewarded in Heaven.

By 327 Christianity was finally legalized and sainthood was not just considered for martyrs but for ascetics, confessors, and virgins. Saints could be monks, nuns, teachers, bishops, or any average citizen. This is why we know there are many, many more saints than we know of. This is the point of All Saints Day - honor all saints, known and unknown.

Note: When I use the word "cult" it is used in its technical sense rather than with the negative connotations of today.

During the papacy of Innocent III (1199 - 1216), all new cults required papal approval. This finally formed the structured process of canonization in 1634. Beatification, the step before sainthood where 1 after death miracle is required, became introduced at this time.

Today, to be considered a saint, one must have performed two after-death miracles. These usually involve miraculous cures that modern medicine cannot prove. Beatification requires only 1 of these miracles. In addition, an intense examination of the person's writings and interviews about their entire life are conducted. Prior to Vatican II, beatification required two miracles and canonization required three.

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Beatification of Fr. Eustaquio van Lieshout

At 4 PM today Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins C.M.F., prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, by order of Benedict XVI, will proclaim the beatfication of Servant of God Fr. Eustaquio Van Lieshout.

Fr. Eustaquio van Lieshout was born in Aarle-Rixtel, Netherlands, on November 3, 1890. After reading about the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, Fr. Eustaquio entered the order as a noviciate taking the name "Eustaquio". He was ordained as a priest in 1919. Fr. Eustaquio arrived in Rio de Janeiro along with two priests and three brothers in 1925, and for the next 18 years he worked as a missionary in Brazil. On August 30, 1943, Fr. Eustaquio died after suffering for weeks due to an insect bite. On his body was found a penitential pointed iron chain that was buried so deep in his flesh that it could not be removed without making wounds.

On December 19, 2005, Pope Benedict XVI authorized the promulgation of a decree attributing a miracle to the intercession of Fr. Eustaquio.

If you have information relevant to the canonization of Blessed Eustaquio, please contact:

Padres dos Sagrados Corações
Rua Riachuelo, 1250, Padre Eustáquio
30720-060 Belo Horizonte (MG), BRAZIL

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Pray for Teo's soul

Please pray for the repose of the soul of Teo Moreno, a 19 year old young man who was killed yesterday in a car accident. His father is the pastor of a local Ukrainian Catholic Church. Teo is the oldest of eight children.

Requiem aeternam dona ei, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat ei. Requiescat in pace. Amen.

Image Source: Photo of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, Believed to be in the Public Domain

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USCCB Conference Opens

Evening Update: On a 173-29 vote, the new translation was approved!

The USCCB meeting has opened today and the United States Bishops Conference will be voting on a very important changes in the Mass. These changes will alter some of the prayers in Mass so that the English translation is more accurately translated from Latin. The bishop conferences in Australia, England and Wales have already approved of the changes. However, it must also be remembered that the very nature of the Mass remains the same - it is the Novus Ordo and not the Immemorial Mass.

As someone that loves Latin in the Mass, I wholeheartedly welcome any changes that will make the English closer to the original phrasing but anything less than a full resurrection of the True Mass is unacceptable. The changes would need to be approved by 2/3 of the 254 American bishops. These changes would effect 12 of the 19 texts from Mass including the Gloria, Nicene Creed, Sanctus, and Penitential Rite.

Some of the changes include substituting "through my own fault" from the Penitential Rite to "through my fault, through my fault, through my most grevious fault". "Peace be with you" / "And also with you" will be changed to "Peace be with you" / "And with your Spirit". I feel that is the most important change because it is quite clear that the Latin exchange included the word "spirit".

Other changes include switching "We believe" to "I believe" in the Nicene Creed since the original Latin begins with "Credo" - literally "I believe." Also, "one in being with the Father" would change to "consubstantial with the Father" (this change did not pass since the USCCB thinks that the laity are too uneducated to know the meaning of the world). And, "He was born of the Virgin Mary" would become "by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary."

Photo Source: AP Photo/Nick Ut

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Francis Collins Acknowledges God

One thing that allows saddens me is seeing far too many scientists denying God and giving all of their proof to science. In reality, how do we know our methods of studying the world are correct? For hundreds of years science was based on the world revolving around the earth. I strongly believe that in the next 500 years, science will rapidly change and the people then will call our methods today "ancient" and "inaccurate".

Please see the post on Catholics and the Theory of Evolution.

So, in light of this, I have very good news to report. Francis Collins, the famous scientist who led the team that cracked the human genome, is a Christian. After living as an "obnoxious atheist" since graduate school, Collins saw God through his parents' deaths. He truly converted to Christianity after reading C.S. Lewis's Mere Christianity, which is an excellent book. Now, Collins calls scientific discoveries an "opportunity to worship".

Collions plans to publish a book entitled The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief this summer explaining why he now believes in God and miracles.



Source: Times Online (UK)

An Act of Reparation for those that don't believe:

O Most Merciful Heart of Jesus, Divine Mercy-seat, for Whose sake the Eternal Father has promised that He would always hear our prayers! I unite myself to Thee in offering to Thine Eternal Father this poor and needy heart of mine, contrite and humbled in His Divine presence, and desirous of making complete reparation for the offenses that are committed against Him, especially those which Thou dost continually suffer in the Holy Eucharist, and more particularly those which I myself have unhappily so often committed. Would that I could wash them away with my tears, O Sacred Heart of Jesus, and blot out with my own heart's blood the ingratitude where with we have repaid Thy tender love. I unite my sorrow, slight as it is, with the mortal agony which caused Thy sweat to become as drops of blood in the Garden of Olives at the very thought of our sins. Do Thou offer it, dear Lord, to Thine Eternal Father in union with Thy Sacred Heart. Render Him infinite thanks for the manifold blessings which He constantly showers upon us, and let Thy love supply for our want of thankfulness and remembrance. Grant me the grace always to present myself in a spirit of deepest reverence before the face of Thy Divine Majesty, in order thus to repair in some measure the irreverences and outrages which I have dared to commit before Thee; grant also, that from this day forth, I may devote myself with all my might to drawing, both by word and example, many souls to know Thee and to experience the riches of Thy Heart. From this moment I offer and dedicate myself wholly to propagating the honor due to Thy most sweet Sacred Heart.

I choose It as the object of all my affection, and desires, and from this hour forevermore I set up in It my perpetual abode, thanking, adoring and loving It with all my heart, inasmuch as It is the Heart of my Jesus, Who is worthy to be loved, the Heart of my King and sovereign Lord, the Bridegroom of my soul, my Shepherd and Master, my truest Friend, my loving Father, my sure Guide, my unfailing protection and my everlasting blessedness. Amen.

Image: Pope Pius XII

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Gregorian Chant

Zenit news recently published a good article on Gregorian Chant. Gregorian Chant still remains the official chant of the Latin Rite. Before each Sunday Mass, Gregorian Chant is played at my parish, and I love it. I strongly believe that Gregorian Chant should be available at each parish in the world, if not by choir then at least through the use of a CD system.

Does anyone else reading this blog listen to Gregorian Chant regularly?

Q: What is Gregorian chant?

Vega García: It is an age-old chant, cultural patrimony of humanity and continues to be the official chant of the Roman liturgy, as John Paul II himself reminded in 2003 in a chirograph on sacred music, on the occasion of the centenary of the "motu proprio" "Tra le Sollecitudini," in which he recalled the norms of the Second Vatican Council on liturgical music.

Q: Why is it called Gregorian chant?

Vega García: Because its authorship is attributed to Pope St. Gregory the Great.

Read More: Zenit

If you have never heard Gregorian Chant, please visit my post Catholic Music for the Soul for a list of websites relating to Catholic music. Some of the websites listed are dedicated to Gregorian Chant.

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Prayer to Live a Life of Prayer

Lord Jesus, help me to understand the meaning of Your Death and Resurrection. I call out for Your mercy. Bring me back to You and to the life You won for us by Your Death on the Cross and Resurrection. Help me to grow in faith and hope, and deepen my love for You in Holy Communion. Help me to live a life of prayer according to Your words in the Gospel, and seek You, Jesus, my Bread of Life, in the Holy Eucharist.

Prayer Source: Unknown

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