Sacrament of Confession
Dear Readers
I would like to speak about the Sacrament of Confession. Confession is the most underused sacrament in the entire church. People tell me in the 50's and even before that the lines used to be long for confession. That they had to wait. The sacrament of confession started to be never used in the 1960's. This is because, I believe, that priests on the pulput do not talk about going to confession. Except in the Lentin Season, which is good. The priests say you need to go to confession at least once a year. But, I would recommend to go once a month because when we go to confession we are asking the Lord Jesus to forgive us through the priest. We are preparing us though to receive the Euchrist and its good to be in the state of grace because the Lord Jesus is in the Euchrist.
Many people ask me "where is the scriptual evidence for confession?". I can not find the scripture off-hand. I will do my research in finding the scripture. Where the gospel states about going to confession. It is good to go to confession once a month because we have venial sins and other little things that keep us away from God and hold us back from renewing our faith.
My brothers and sisters if you do not know that there are two different types of sin. There is venial sin which is small and than there are mortal sins which are grievious sins. In order for it to be a mortal sin there has to be three conditions. You have to know that its a mortal sin...have full knowledge and, want to do it...
But, it is good to get rid of the venial sin instead of struggling with it. It is through the proest that we receive absolution. And, it is through confession that we can think more clearly. The Holy Spirit dwells within us. The sacrament of confession is not a penalty box. The sacrament of confession is the way we can receive the graces of God's mercy.
In one of the Lords messages to me in (2010) I believe it was November 4th the Lord said to me "it offends me that so many people shut the door of mercy in my face". Another message that the Lord Jesus gave me when I was praying the Sorrowful Mystery and I was taking each part of the passage of Christ. I saw an interior vision of each part of his life. I saw abandonment, the policy of the day. Than I asked Jesus the next day "I said Jesus why did you show me that?". And Jesus said "it is because today I am still very offended. And I am crucified again. Because so many people do not accept that I'm here." He said "I can forgive anything. No sin is too big for me to forgive but the greatest thing that anybody can ever commit is not expecting my mercy."
You see my brothers and sisters. Jesus died for us so we can be redeemed by him by confession through the priest. I will quote the scripture as much as I know it about confession. I believe its in the Gospel of Matthew. Jesus breath fire upon the Apostiles and said "who's ever sins you forgive, I forgive. " "Whose ever sins you retained, I retained."
My brothers and sisters what this means is when you go to confession you must try to be as sincere as possible. In the sins that you forget the Lord will forgive them. But the ones that are truly bothering you and the reason you are going to confession is because there are certain sins that are weighing on you. And you feel shame or guilt. You feel this because the Holy Spirit is calling upon you to go the Holy Sacrament and Jesus will forgive you through the priest. But you must be sincere or else the sin could be retained.
I will give you an example: Padre Pio was a great Italian Mystic back in the 20th century. He had the gift of readings in the art of confession. Not to make them feel bad but to reflect on their sins and behavior. It is because of this aspect that so many people have converted.
Before you go into the sacrament of confession make sure you ask God to enlighten you, to illuminate your concious before you go in there. So than you can have a clear way to present yourself to the Lord.
