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| The Father and Son meet in merciful embrace |
“I absolve you of your sins; go in
peace!” These are among the most consoling words that the human ear can hear
and the heart can experience. Yes, these
are the words expressed by the priest, who represents Jesus the Physician and
Healer at the conclusion of the Sacrament of Mercy, that we commonly title the
Sacrament of Confession.
To know in the depths of your heart
that you have been forgiven of all of your sins and that your guilt evaporates
into thin air can be one of the most ennobling and uplifting experiences that a
human person can relish!
Therefore, in this Year of Mercy
(December 8, 2015-Nov. 20, 2016) let us take advantage of the extraordinary
treasure-house of grace that God has in store for us as well as the whole
world. God’s arms are open to love, forgive and embrace, as we read in the
Parable of the Prodigal Son or maybe we could say The Parable of the Merciful Father; however, we must freely accept
and receive this cordial invitation! “Come
to me all of you who are weary and find life burdensome and I will give your
rest (Mt. 11:28-30)… Jesus says!
This short essay has as its essential
thrust for you to become an Apostle of God’s mercy, to be an Apostle of the
Sacrament of Confession; this means in concrete, what are some of the tools or
means that I can utilize to bring back the wandering sheep, the Prodigal sons
and daughters, the confused, depressed and disoriented back to the loving arms
of the Father through a good Sacramental Confession.
We will offer ten simple, concrete,
and valuable suggestions to help these many wandering souls to experience the
infinite mercy that the loving Savior has for each and every one of them.
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| Jesus is present in the priest as confessor |
1.
PERSONAL EXAMPLE. The saying is so true: “You
cannot give what you do not have.”
For you to preach something to others, you first have to put it into
practice yourself. That means that if
you want to bring some wandering soul back to the Sacrament of God’s mercy,
then you yourself should be in the habit of making good and frequent and
well-prepared confessions yourself. Let
your light shine on others!
2.
PARABLE OF THE PRODIGAL SON. In your
own words paraphrase and explain one of the greatest stories and teachings of
the greatest Teacher Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In your explanation to this fearful, confused
and possibly doubting soul focus on the love, compassion, mercy, goodness,
kindness, patience of the person of the Father who really represents and
symbolizes God the Father. Then invite
this wandering soul to read and meditate the Parable of the Prodigal Son
himself; this can be found in the Gospel of Luke 15:11-32.
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| Rembrandt's Prodigal Son |
3.
GUIDE/EXAMINATION OF CONSCIENCE. Most likely
the wandering sheep that has not frequented the sacrament of Confession for
possible years, maybe even decades, does not have a well-formed
conscience. Most likely his conscience
is mal-formed or deformed, or suppressed or lax, or simply in a state of
dormition. Therefore, a well-written and explained text on the Ten Commandments
can be of priceless value. Take the initiative on your part to actually buy the
Examination of conscience booklet and give it to him as a free gift. Encourage
him to read it and trust in the infinite mercy of Jesus in this Year of mercy.
4.
WRITTEN FORM. Furthermore, of great utility is to encourage
the wandering sheep to prepare himself/herself for a confession after many
years by writing out the sins, especially the mortal sins the number and kinds—as
the catechism specifies. This is exceedingly helpful because we all have memory
loss especially when we might be a bit nervous. Afterwards, however, this paper
should be destroyed and trashed!
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| Love and compassion of Jesus |
5.
HIGHLIGHT THE EXTRAORDINARY GRACES
THAT ARE RECEIVED. In encouraging the
Prodigal Son/daughter focus primarily on the positive Pope Francis highlights
that the Confessional should not be a torture chamber. By the positive we mean:
highlight the extraordinary graces and blessings that flow from a good
Sacramental Confession, among the graces are:
a)
Restoration to Friendship with the
Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
b)
PEACE. One experiences a peace that
the world can never give, peace, of heart, mind, soul and body.
c)
JOY. Sin saddens us and the release
from sin produces great joy in the soul.
d)
INNER HARMONY. Sin causes a division in the
person; Confession and reconciliation with God produces the abundant fruits of
harmony.
e)
PURE CONSCIENCE. Living with a guilty or dirty conscience can
indeed be hell on earth; a good confession gives us a pure conscience. What a
great relief! For that reason Shakespeare asserts: “Conscience
does make cowards of all of us.”
f)
SANCTIFYING GRACE. A
good confession restores sanctifying grace to the soul which means that once
again we have Jesus as our Best Friend!
g)
SECURITY. Living in sin we live in perpetual
insecurity and a paralyzing fear. With a good Confession God becomes our rock,
our fortress our bastion. “The Lord is my
Shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.”(Psalm 23)
h) HOLY COMMUNION. One of the greatest graces that flow from a good
confession is the return to the Sacramental life in which once again we can receive
the greatest of all Gifts: Jesus, the Bread of Life in Holy Communion. (Jn. 6:22-71—The
Bread of Life discourse)
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| The 5 classical steps to make a good confession |
6.
CONFESSION: WHERE, WHEN, HOW! These bolts and nuts of making a good
confession can be key to bringing the wandering sheep back to the fold. Tell him where the confession is, when is the schedule and how the confession is to
be done—the actual protocol or technique that is done in the confession.
7.
ACCOMPANY THE PERSON TO THE CHURCH
AND THE CONFESSIONAL. One more step
would be to simply bring this prodigal son/daughter to the Church, and then to
the Confessional where the priest is actually hearing confessions. Be with
him! Then outline the protocol: Enter,
sign of the cross; then the words: “Bless me father for I have sinned, my last
confession was 10 years ago; these are my sins!” Most likely, after so many
years this wandering but returning sheep of the flock does not know the Act of
Contrition. For your part, give him and Act of Contrition that he can have and
take whenever he goes, maybe even a laminated card! All of these practical and personal helps can
be of extraordinary value and utility in helping this lost sheep to experience
the infinite mercy of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Then while he is in the
confessional prayer for him as well as the priest-confessor.
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| Saint Ignatius of Loyola |
8.
GENERAL CONFESSION AND IGNATIAN
SPIRITUALITY. Eventually it is highly recommended
that a General Confession of all the
sins of one’s life be made. After his
conversion, in the Sanctuary of Montserrat, Saint Ignatius of Loyola made a
general confession of all of the sins of his life. From that moment on God
inundated Ignatius with a deluge of graces. Once we have totally purified the
interior vessel of our soul then God can take us and use us to carry out
extraordinary apostolic works for Him. Jesus said: “Blessed are the pure of heart, they will see God.”(Mt. 5:8)
9.
READ THE LIVES OF THE SAINTLY
CONFESSORS. A very salutary practice is that of reading the lives of the
saints; they serve as powerful intercessors for us before the throne of God as
well as brilliant stars in the firmament of heaven for us to emulate. Highly to
be recommended are the following: Saint John Marie Vianney(known as the Cure of
Ars), Saint John Bosco, the patron of the young who was a zealous confessor,
Saint Padre Pio, who spent many Hours in the confessional reconciling souls to
God, and Saint Alphonsus Liguori, patron of confessors and moral theologians
and the founder of the Redemptorists. By promoting the reading of these saintly
and zealous confessors, this ignites in our hearts, minds and souls a desire to
approach the Sacrament of Confession with greater trust and confidence and with
greater frequency!
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| The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass |
10. PRAYER: PLACE ON THE
ALTAR. In your initiative to be an
ardent and zealous Apostle of the Confession, Apostle of God’s infinite mercy,
never underestimate the power of prayer, which indeed can move the highest
mountains if we have the faith of the mustard seed. By far the greatest prayer under the heavens,
that unites both heaven and earth and even Purgatory, is the Holy Sacrifice of
the Mass. Place the individuals that you plan to bring back to the Sacrament of
Confession on the altar in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass; then receive and
offer your Holy Communion that the Precious Blood of Jesus will touch his/her
heart and move this lost sheep with the desire to return to God’s merciful and
loving embrace through the Sacrament of Confession. Then, once this wandering
sheep has returned to the fold by making the sacramental confession, then place
him/her on the altar that he/she will persevere in pursuing the frequent practice of receiving God’s
mercy through Confession. May Our Lady, who we invoke with the title: “Hail Holy Queen, Mother of mercy attain
for us the grace to be a true and ardent apostle of God’s mercy by pursuing and
bringing back the lost sheep to the loving embrace of Jesus the Good Shepherd
so that they may hear those beautiful, inspiring and consoling words: “And I absolve you of your sins: in the name
of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” My son your sins are
forgiven, go in peace.”
