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It is important to encourage a regular sacramental practice, depending on the possibilities of each one (the Eucharist and confession) (Gd 3)
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Confession
confession It is important to encourage a regular sacramental practice, depending on the possibilities of each one (the Eucharist and confession) (Gd 3)
Carthusian Statutes
- In the Sacrament of Penance, God, the Father of mercies, through the Paschal Mystery of his Son, reconciles us in the Spirit with himself, with the Church and with ourselves. We encourage all to have frequent recourse to this sacrament; for, by it, that conversion of the heart which is the basic aim of the monk becomes rooted in the mystery of the death and resurrection of Christ. Carthusian Statutes chapter 9
- We frequently celebrate the Liturgy of reconciliation; a perpetual Easter of the Lord renewing our lives as sinners seeking his face. In fact the quality of our life of prayer depends on our making conscientious personal use of the Sacrament of Penance. Carthusian Statutes Chapter 21 no 14
- About Quies: One "cannot attain to this repose except at the cost of stern battle; both by living austerely in fidelity to the law of the cross, and willingly accepting the tribulations by which God will try him as gold in the furnace. In this way, having been cleansed in the night of patience, and having been consoled and sustained by assiduous meditation of the Scriptures, and having been led by the Holy Spirit into the depths of his own soul, he is now ready, not only to serve God, but even to cleave to him in love". Carthusian Statutes Chapter 3 no 2
- Consuetudines
- 7.2 - Guigo I's instructions for Sundays: "above all silence all week until Sunday morning confessions".
- Carthusian websites
- "Contemplative life requires a continual conversion. Each day anew a Carthusian monk tries to make himself transparent for God, to give himself to God with open hands, and with a mind free of worries and concerns. He thus keeps himself in a state of spiritual virginity". CT - Carthusian Spirituality
- Blessed John Paul II
- John Paul II who went to confession weekly, said: "It would be an illusion to seek after holiness, according to the vocation one has received from God, without partaking frequently of this sacrament of conversion and reconciliation. Those who go to Confession frequently, and do so with the desire to make progress, will notice the strides that they make in their spiritual lives."
- Those who discourage frequent confession "are lying." Blessed John-Paul II
- In frequent confession
- we are renewed in fervor,
- strengthened in our resolutions, and
- supported by divine encouragement
- Saint John Bosco
- "Whoever thinks a little about his soul goes to confession once a month; whoever wants to save his soul, but does not feel too strongly about it, goes every fifteen days; whoever wants to reach perfection, however, should go every week." Saint John Bosco
- Saint John Bosco on confession
- Saint Padre Pio
- St. Padre Pio invited all believers to confess at least once a week. He said: "Even if a room is closed, it is necessary to dust it after a week."
- Saint Padre Pio on confession
- Saint Padre Pio's 5 point Rule of Life
- Pius XII
- The same result follows from the opinions of those who assert that little importance should be given to the frequent confession of venial sins. Far more important, they say, is that general confession which the Spouse of Christ, surrounded by her children in the Lord, makes each day by the mouth of the priest as he approaches the altar of God. As you well know, Venerable Brethren, it is true that venial sins may be expiated in many ways which are to be highly commended. But to ensure more rapid progress day by day in the path of virtue, We will that the pious practice of frequent confession, which was introduced into the Church by the inspiration of the Holy spirit, should be earnestly advocated. By it genuine self-knowledge is increased, Christian humility grows, bad habits are corrected, spiritual neglect and tepidity are resisted, the conscience is purified, the will strengthened, a salutary self-control is attained, and grace is increased in virtue of the Sacrament itself. Let those, therefore, among the younger clergy who make light of or lessen esteem for frequent confession realize that what they are doing is alien to the Spirit of Christ and disastrous for the Mystical Body of our Savior. Mystici Corporis Christi, Encyclical of Pope Pius xii no 88
- Through frequent confession
- genuine self-knowledge is increased,
- Christian humility
- bad habits are corrected,
- spiritual neglect and tepidity
- the will strengthened,
- a salutary self-control is attained,
- grace
- the conscience
- The Sacrament of Confession Catechism of Saint Pius X
- Adrienne Von Speyr et le Sacrement de Pénitence
- Adrienne Von Speyr Confession
- Confession - Saint Faustina
- "We can walk as much as we want, we can build many things, but if we do not profess Jesus Christ, things go wrong. We may become a charitable NGO, but not the Church, the Bride of the Lord. When we are not walking, we stop moving. When we are not building on the stones, what happens? The same thing that happens to children on the beach when they build sandcastles: everything is swept away, there is no solidity. When we do not profess Jesus Christ, the saying of Leon Bloy comes to mind: 'Anyone who does not pray to the Lord prays to the devil.' When we do not profess Jesus Christ, we profess the worldliness of the devil, a demonic worldliness. ...The same Peter who professed Jesus Christ, now says to him: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. I will follow you, but let us not speak of the Cross. That has nothing to do with it. I will follow you on other terms, but without the Cross. When we journey without the Cross, when we build without the Cross, when we profess Christ without the Cross, we are not disciples of the Lord, we are worldly: we may be bishops, priests, cardinals, popes, but not disciples of the Lord." (Pope Francis, First Homily, March 14, 2013)
- "Anyone who practices this prayer (of the Heart) and omits the language of repentance deludes oneself; for this omission stirs up sentimental love of God, which does nothing other than increase in decadence." (I Brianchaninov, cited in La Prière de Jésus, p.39)
- Regular and frequent sacramental confession is the easy yoke that will give you pure authentic contemplative rest : "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Mt 11, 28-30
- The way to heal in depth the diseases of the soul which are the disordered passions, lies in the spiritual order of things, in the order of the grace of Jesus Christ. Herewith isn't proposed to ignore nature and natural means, but one who would plan to dwell only in the order of nature, will never obtain more than the victory of one lust over another. In other words, he will always remain ill in one or another area, perfect health requiring a complete regeneration of our whole being, a new birth, the communication of a truly new life, which is that of Jesus Christ in us. It is Jesus alone who can make of any man, be he the most miserable amongst the miserables, a completely new man. The man in perfect spiritual health is the man who completely renewed can say : "It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me" (Gal. 2:20). Source : Philoxène de Mabboug, Homélies, in Sources chrétiennes, éd. du Cerf, Paris 1956.
- Naaman's servants went to him and said, "My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, 'Wash and be cleansed'!" 14 So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy. 2 Kings 5: 13-14
- Our Lady asked us to convert, to fast, to do some penance, to pray and go to confession and attend Holy Mass. These are the main messages of Our Lady of Medjugorje.
Benedict Baur's book, Frequent Confession is a classic
- In frequent Confession we have everything that will guard us against tepidity. For one thing, frequent Confession compels us to look into ourselves seriously to see our sins and faults, to elicit an act of contrition for them and formulate a purpose of amendment regarding them. In other words, it makes us apply ourselves with full deliberation and determination to improving our lives.
- Then, too, Confession is a sacrament and consequently, through it the power of Christ himself works in us. His greatest desire in this sacrament is to fill us with his own hatred of sin and with his own zeal to glorify his Father in all things, to be completely devoted to his service and fully resigned to his holy will.
- Finally, of considerable value is the direction we get from our confessor, who in every Confession will urge us anew and encourage us to continue along the way of virtue with full fervor.
- It is this conviction that makes the Church recommend so strongly, indeed prescribe as an obligation, frequent or weekly Confession for clerics and religious. Therefore let us consider frequent Confession as something important and holy. And let us endeavor always to make our Confessions well indeed to try and make them better and better every time.
- Frequent Confession, Benedict Baur
- Frequent confession
The Acts of the Penitent and Effects of the Sacrament
- The Penitent
- Ten tips for a better confession
- Reasons to Go to Confession
- Friendship and Confession
- Man is made in God's image and he is therefore called upon to realize this image by moving freely towards his goal. We can specifically say that the whole sense of human life is in realizing this image through friendship with God. And Saint Thomas Aquinas immediately shows that this building of friendship has a very concrete place: community and hence friendship with Jesus Christ. In him, God has fully communicated with us humans. Thus it is a matter of building friendship with God in a concrete way, as friendship with Jesus Christ, who came to the world to make us his friends. ...To love God with charity, we need an ability which transcends our natural powers, which makes us, so to speak, connatural with God, allowing us really to love him and to be linked to him by friendship. ...there can only be friendship when there is genuine mutuality in freedom: mutuus amor, mutua inhaesio, genuinely with each other and in each other. ...The great thing about St. Thomas' image of God is that he sees God not only as the First Cause, but also as so powerful and great as to be able to give his creatures the power themselves to be causes and to be able to act, not just passively reacting to the highest principle, to the First Cause. Cardinal Schönborn: “On Love and Friendship”
- Confession - The Lord became man in order to show us the living nature of the Triune God, and the demonstration of this vitality is continued in the vitality of the Church throughout all ages. The framework of the Church is there for the sake of that living element extending throughout the entire Church into the personal life of each member. This activity manifests itself most clearly in the context of confession, in personal participation in it and in the mutual dependence of Church and believer. Just as the living dialogue with the Father in the Holy Spirit by no means prevents the Son from being full and perfect man, but rather brings about precisely that perfection, so also a confessing Christian is by no means a diminished person not yet come of age; on the contrary he is one who has been given adult responsibility. He is as personal and responsible and fully human as the act into which he places himself in order to receive absolution, is divine and ecclesiastically institutional. Confession Adrienne von Speyr p 98
- God is not made great by the fact that his creatures are kept small. His true greatness is shown not in the total helplessness of his creatures, but in His enabling them themselves to act as a cause. The scientific culture of strongly Christian countries is related to this view of creatures themselves having their effect. It could further be demonstrated how the western understanding of participation and democracy grew from this. The effects of Christian humanism are particularly clear in the areas of human dignity and human rights. The potential dangers of this humanism emerge whenever the dependence of secondary causes on the First Cause is denied, where the autonomy of mankind and the world overlooks that it is dependent creation, and claims an independence it does not actually possess. St. Thomas's tractate on charity as friendship explains the paradox of freedom as a present from God to mankind, a mutuality between the Eternal and ourselves, a genuine friendship between HIM, the infinite, and ourselves, his mortal creatures. Cardinal Schönborn: “On Love and Friendship”
- Syncretism
Serious discernment, if not severe, must be put in place for the admission of members into the second degree. They must clearly know what they undertake and what are their obligations (see 1.2.3.). (Gd 7)
- Mary
- “Maximalian Kolbe reminds us that the creature most filled with God himself was Mary who departed the least from God's will."United to the Holy Spirit as his spouse she is one with God in an incomparably more perfect way than can be predicated of any other creature." It is for this reason that the sacrament of reconciliation takes on a special poignancy and a foundational presence in our progressive alignment with Jesus through Mary. Pope Francis on Mercy Sunday (2013) spoke of confession as the nodal point out of which faith blossoms through mercy. Through confession we receive the Father's mercy and in doing so become ourselves more merciful. "God is waiting for you; he asks of you the courage to go to him; he is waiting for you; he will take care of everything."
- A Post-Medjugorge Reflexion
Members into the "second degree" undertake the narrow path of conversion of ways.
Conversion of ways cannot succeed without the grace of God: "I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing" John 15:5
The obliged narrow door (Bible comment
Sacramental confession is the most important fundamental act, that renews man and forms a true catholic, and permits to know who those are, who belong truly to Christ. If we should collegially not succeed in validating its frequent and regular reception with gentle manners, we will need to dismiss those candidates or eventual serving members from "second degree" status and activities, who, out of respect, could voluntarily also revert to, or remain, members of the simpler IFSB discussion group; until, for them, Step 1 is truly implemented in their life.
- "The night of your mind will be the sun of your soul" Our Lord to Mother Yvonne Aimée de Malestroit
- "One must learn how to obey before he can command." Saint John Bosco
- The guard of the cell (of the heart), is the guard of sanctifying grace.
- If it wasn’t for pretenses, and all made themselves known for what they are, the root of evil would be removed from the face of the earth, and all would be stripped of illusion.
