FROMON THE OFOF PENANCE) (AN ASSIGNMENT THEDEEDS SACRAMENT
| 08 MARCH-2012 DISOBEDIENCE TO THE GRACE OF OBEDIENCE
CONTENTS OF THE ASSIGNMENT
1-
SIN
2-
SACRAMENT OF PENANCE AND CONFESSION
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DUTY OUTSIDE CONFESSIONAL
4-
BEFORE THE HOLY CHRIST
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CONDITION AFTER ABSOLUTION
6-
PRESENTS FROM CONFESSING
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MERITS OF THE SACRAMENT
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OBLIGATIONS TO RECEIVE
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PERSONAL CONCLUSION
----------------SIN----------------“Repent from sins, Reconcile with God and Rebut the evil”; this is the main idea of every spiritual talk/message. The message of Saint Jonas to the Ninevites: “Rend your hearts;” Preaching of Jesus: “Repent;” Proclamation of the Apostles: “Repent and reconcile” and The catechism of the Roman Catholic Church: “Rebut, Confess and Reconcile” tell us that since the disobedience of Adam in the Garden of Eden, the holy temple of the Spirit of God had been defiled by the acts against the will of God. Our God is a compassionate and merciful being, full of patience and boundless in love. He has created man by His breath and has filled its being (of dust) with a share of His infinite graces. Therefore, it is the major responsibility of a person to show “love towards his neighbors, patience in matters of body and soul and to remain obedient and chaste in this limited span of life. The one who fulfils this demand is blessed in the sight of God and holy in the community of his fellows; while the one who lacks in his service, love to God and caught by the delusion of intellect is condemned “ guilty of disobedience” ; by the Just Judge. This disobedience in our human language is referred to a term “Sin”.
‘Sin’ means “forgetting” in Hebrew. It means to forget God, to turn our back to Him and to tear away from his embrace. “Sin makes life a loss” and this loss is the loss of ‘Sanctifying Grace’. Sanctifying grace is the grace which reunites the sinful man with the Holy God. It grants a person freedom from the filthiness of disobedience and gives the person a chance to lice his life like a beloved of the Lord Christ.
SACRAMENT OF PENANCE AND CONFESSION “To err is human and to forgive divine.” This is entirely true; man cannot resist avoiding temptations and God cannot cease to forgive for it is His profession. Every being faces temptations, by which some learn a lesson while others are flooded by its intensity i.e., they commit sin. Alike Adam every human is allured by the Devil and in the result some are destroyed by devil while the rest destroy devil, alike Jesus. Our God shows His love and forgiveness to the ones who are destroyed by devil by the Catholic Church as it is formed by His only Son. The Catholic Church by its liturgical ceremonies and inspirational acts, spiritual teachings and perfect instances heals the wounded; pour the dryness of Spirit in the hearts of desolated Christians and most importantly wash away the stains of guilt from the personality of a sinner. This procedure of washing is done in the ‘Holy Sacrament of Penance.’ This sacrament of penance is like life to the dead in spiritual warfare, consolation to the distressed and medicine to sick in soul. “In the sacrament of Holy Eucharist, Lord shows His greatness of love but in penance, He gives the proof of His boundless mercy and compassion.” By receiving this sacrament stains of the soul are blotted out from the spirit and the state of sanctity is restored along with renewed enthusiasm of heart and mind. “Now you are Mine and I am yours; in your soul my cherished dwelling place do I dwell.” The sacrament of penance for the sinful members of the Church is known as by several names because of its nature, effect and the grace it signifies. *
Sacrament of conversion for it calls man to conversion.
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Sacrament of penance for it consecrates the sinner.
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Sacrament of confession for it is a confession of sins.
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Sacrament of and peace.
forgiveness for
it
grants the penitent pardon
***** Sacrament of reconciliation for it reconciles the Father and Son.
“The call of Lord Christ does not aim at sackcloth and ashes, fasting and mortification but, at the conversion of heart and entire interior conversion of being,” which is only possible by the strength and grace of Sancte Spirit. “The Spirit that brings sin to light is also the Consoler, who gives the human heart grace to repent and convert.” ‘We can never condone the sinner but we must always love the sinner,’ as we are loved by God in any state. Priest is the sign and instrument of Gods’ merciful love for the sinner. “The priest’s part in this sacrament is the tribunal of penance.” The layman who falls into sin cannot wash his fault, he needs the Priest. Priest by the virtue of his office (The sins of whom you shall bind will be held bound and the sins which ye shall forgive will be forgiven) and by the allowance of Bishop is able to forgive sins of the penitent. This act of forgiveness is the summit of the sacrament for at that time Christ Jesus being invisibly present in this earthly vessel in the guise of Priest repeats the same words said to Mary Magdalene: “Go and do not sin again.” Christ is not only present in the scene of forgiveness but in the entire drama of confession- from the cross of penitent to the cross of absolution. Therefore, before meeting the Perfect and True Godly man, we must too by observing the demands recommended by the Church must prepare ourselves as a good and sincere penitent. Exactness in examination, sincerity in sorrow, reality in resolution, condor in confession and piety in penance” are the duties to be done before entering the court of Mercy (Confessionary), because the fruit of sacrament depends on the dispositions and gestures of the recipient. DUITES TO BE DONE BEFORE CONFESSING FAULTS Before entering in the church the most necessary duty to perform is to “Examine ones’ conscience” and the best way to examine is to compare oneself with others. For instance, you are going to the church, on your way you see people laughing, driving their vehicles rapidly, children are playing freely; liberated from the burden and loads of life and you are walking towards the Church” to rebut the –‘not good’ things present in your life. This thought surely can help you to recall all the imperfections and failures of the soul. ‘These failures can include personal shortcomings or society evils.’ One must recall all those deeds and
actions which are considered “imperfect actions” in the light of Church catechism. Not only recalling is enough but true and grief sorrow is much more necessary. It is because our Victor Iesu awaits for all the people who have gone strayed from the right path and are caught up by the delusion of intellect. True sorry and perfect bruising of heart (contrition) is essential to change the psyche of a being. “If there is no sorrow coming straight from the heart on the lips then it is sure that God will not be able to forgive, hence to attain the golden key of heaven proper and complete acknowledgement of faults, guilt and sins is necessary. Only by this is the sacrament fruitful to us otherwise it’s another loss of life (sin) “…but their heart is far from me.” (Book of Saint Mathew 15:08). The burden of sin is increased day by day but no need to worry for we have the invitation of Lord Jesus all the time on the board, to accept it or to decline it is our decision. “All you burdened come to me, and I shall give you rest.” The one who has acknowledged his faults has accepted this invitation and walks towards Him in the confessionary, to exchange his burdens with His Holy Grace. BEFORE THE HOLY CHRIST You confess your sins before the priest who is in the guise of Christ, who forgives your sins and unloads your burden of sins and faults by the uttering of words of absolution: “I absolve thee in the name of the Father, Son and of the Holy Spirit,” along with a prescription to observe in future life because Priest is a doctor of the soul and when a soul is in the confessionary is alike a patient, deserving a dose of an antibiotic which Christ gives by His Pax (Kiss of Christ). In the silence of confessionary there is a shout of rejoice of the holy angels with the songs on their heavenly instruments. “You cannot imagine that how much more God would be happy when you confess your guilt and firmly resolve never to commit any fault again.” CONDITION AFTER ABSOLUTION Once you are absolved you feel “healed from your physically invisible wounds, calm restored to the soul and deep sense of peace in the heart.” This change is a nudge towards new life. To enstrengthen your conversion let me evoke your memory the epitomes of true conversion mentioned in the Holy Scripture. *
The nation of Ninevah repented from their sins and turned back the doom of destruction.
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King David acknowledged his sins and this was his greatest claim to fame.
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Mary Magdalene who was guilty of committing adultery by the peaceful forgiveness of Christ (Jesus) never sinned again.
The mercy of God is attained by those who acknowledge their guilt and forsake their impure bodies and proud hearts which spark a radiant and fraternal enthusiasm; “the delight and joy is properly present in God”. To burst this spark of mercy into an ocean of love and compassion towards others. “O Father they maybe one as WE are one.” You meet Christ in the confessionary and give your whole self into His hands in a tremendous silence of adoration and ask Him to regulate your life considering Him spiritually present the Priest, who is your King, who is your Lover and who is the gardener which can straighten the plant you have planted.
PRESENTS RECIVED BY CONFESSING THE SINS By confessing sins following fruits of spirituality are attained by the soul “Hatred of sin, delicacy of conscience, supernatural self-knowledge, deep peace, tranquility of soul and humble esteem of self.” The gifts of sacrament of penance corporally received are “Growth of humility, correction of bad habits, strength of will salutary self-control and purified conscience.” MERITS OF THE SACRAMENT “You have been granted forgiveness by God, but you mustn’t forgive yourself.” This is because the day you forget your past you will lose your future and you need to carry on this friendship with Christ. Therefore never forget your shortcomings and happenings of past but instead never wander in their sorrow too; consider them accidents while learning to ride a bicycle; as you do not learn to ride a bicycle in a classroom. “…in Thy sight none is pure from sin.” “Conversion in daily life is accomplished by the change of attitude towards life not by the change of lifestyle.” Begin to intent good works as you walk out of the
confessionary for only by deeds you can show your conversion and prove your love to the Good Lord.
OBLIGATION TO RECEIVE PENANCE FOR LAYMAN It is necessary for a layman to receive this sacrament because every human forms a part of the Mystical Body of Christ which is entirely holy and pure. Even a single sin can impure the Corpus Christi. OBLIGATION TO RECEIVE PENANCE FOR A SEMINARIAN A seminarian must confess his atleast once a month because he is afoot of the Holy Orders in which he’ll receive the same grace which The Holy Spirit bestowed on the apostles (successors of Lord Christ). OBLIGATION TO RECEIVE PENANCE FOR PRIEST For a priest it is very necessary to keep his soul holy and body chaste. Priest like other human beings is also a transformed sinful creature and most importantly he is celebrant of the Holy Sacrifice in which he by his body worships Christ and holds the chalice and ciborium in his hands containing the boundless sea of sanctity and holiness i.e., The Holy Body and Blood of Christ Jesus-the Agnus Dei. OBLIGATION TO RECEIVE THE SACRAMENT FOR A BISHOP A bishop is the leader of God’s flock of believers who leads them to the pastures of peace and calm. Therefore bishop though is a minister of Church is also bound by his human nature to renew his spirit which is only possible by the Pax of Christ. OBLIGATION FOR HOLY FATHER (The Pope) TO RECEIVE PENANCE The Holy father Pope is Vicar of Christ and the High Priest of Catholic Church. He is an augustus member of God’s body and a minister of Heavenly King but he also possesses the same sense and life, like other humans he also falls into temptations and in order to overcome and settle up his disorders he ought to receive this sacrament of Penance. PERSONAL CONLUSION
As my concluding words I think that before confessing faults there must be firm contrition in heart during the conversation with Christ, humble and sincere attitude must be adopted and most necessarily after receiving absolution as we call it ‘The Pax(Kiss) of Christ’ satisfaction in the deeds must be observed so that our Holy Christ may proudly say of us: “This is my Body.”