The Teaching of Pope Francis:
“The Sacrament of Reconciliation is a Sacrament of healing. When I go to confession, it is in order to be healed, to heal my soul, to heal my heart and to be healed of some wrongdoing” (General Audience, 19th February 2014).
“God’s mercy is very real and we are all called to experience it first-hand. When I was seventeen years old, it happened one day that, as I was about to go out with friends, I decided to stop into a church first. I met a priest there who inspired great confidence, and I felt the desire to open my heart in Confession. That meeting changed my life! I discovered
Source: http://www.stmarysparish.org
that when we open our hearts with humility and transparency, we can contemplate God’s mercy in a very concrete way. I felt certain that, in the person of that priest, God was already waiting for me even before I took the step of entering that church. We keep looking for God, but God is there before us, always looking for us, and he finds us first. Maybe one of you feels something weighing on your heart. You are thinking: I did this, I did that…. Do not be afraid! God is waiting for you! God is a Father and he is always waiting for us! It is so wonderful to feel the merciful embrace of the Father in the sacrament of Reconciliation, to discover that the confessional is a place of mercy, and to allow ourselves to be touched by the merciful love of the Lord who always forgives us! (Message for World Youth Day 2016 in Krakow, Poland, 15th August 2015).
“…the forgiveness of our sins is not something we can give ourselves. I cannot say:
I forgive my sins. Forgiveness is asked for, is asked of another, and in Confession we ask for forgiveness from Jesus. Forgiveness is not the fruit of our own efforts but rather a gift, it is a gift of the Holy Spirit who fills us with the wellspring of mercy and of grace that flows unceasingly from the open heart of the Crucified and Risen Christ” (General Audience, 19th February 2014).
“[Forgiveness] reminds us that we can truly be at peace only if we allow ourselves to be reconciled, in the Lord Jesus, with the Father and with the brethren. And we have all felt this in our hearts, when we have gone to confession with a soul weighed down and with a little sadness; and when we receive Jesus’ forgiveness we feel at peace, with that peace of soul which is so beautiful, and which only Jesus can give, only Him” (General Audience, 19th February 2014).
“I would like to ask you – but don’t say it aloud, everyone respond in his heart: when was the last time you made your confession? Everyone think about it … Two days, two weeks, two years, twenty years, forty years? Everyone count, everyone say ‘when was the last time I went to confession?’ And if much time has passed, do not lose another day. Go, the priest will be good. Jesus is there, and Jesus is more benevolent than priests. Jesus receives you, he receives you with so much love. Be courageous and go to Confession!” (General Audience, 19th February 2014).
“Who among us can presume not to be a sinner? No one. We are all sinners. The Apostle John writes: ‘If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness'” (1Jn 1:8-9) (Homily at Penitential Liturgy, 28th March 2014).
Pope Francis receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Source: http://wdtprs.com
“Even the Pope confesses every 15 days, because the Pope is also a sinner. And the confessor hears what I tell him, he counsels me and forgives me, because we are all in need of this forgiveness” (General Audience, 20th November 2013).
“There are people who are afraid to go to Confession, forgetting that there we do not meet a strict judge, but the immensely merciful Father. It is true that when we enter the confessional we feel a little shame. This happens to everyone, to all of us, but we must remember that even this shame is a grace which prepares us for the embrace of the Father, who always forgives and always forgives everything” (Angelus Address, 2nd August 2015).
To know more of Pope Francis’ teaching on making Confession fruitful: General Audience, 20th November 2013 General Audience, 19th February 2014. Homily at Penitential Liturgy 13th March 2015. These are available on Vatician website http://w2.vatican.va
Preparing for a Fruitful Confession
Not many “enjoy” going to Confession and yet it is a moment not to be anxious about. The fruits of the sacrament of confession are so positive. It brings healing, mercy, peace, light, strength and growth in the moral and spiritual life. If you want to make your confession fruitful, then ask God to help you prayerfully examine your actions in the light of Christ’s teaching and example. Some people review their behaviour by the Ten Commandments, others by Christ’s command to love God and neighbour, others by their correspondence to the Beatitudes, others by the Precepts of the Church, others by comparing their behavior to the most important Christian virtues, and others by the seven capital sins. It is not enough merely to focus on how one has broken God’s “rules,” but rather how one has damaged one’s relationship with God and others and hurt oneself interiorly. Consider those sins in your thoughts, in your words, in what you have done, and in what you have failed to do.
The Ten Commandments
The following Examination of Conscience, albeit brief, is helpful.
I. I am the Lord your God: you shall not have strange Gods before me. Have I treated people, events, or things as more important than God?
II. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. Have my words, actively or passively, put down God, the Church, or people?
III. Remember to keep holy the Lord’s Day. Do I go to Mass on Sundays and on Holy Days of Obligation? Is my Sunday an expression of the Catholic Faith?
IV. Honor your father and your mother. Have I contributed to the well being (physical, spiritual and psychological) of my family and community?
V. You shall not kill. Have I willfully disregarded the sanctity of human life?
VI. You shall not commit adultery. Have I respected the physical and sexual dignity of others and of myself? Have I violated my own, or another’s marriage vows?
VII. You shall not steal. Have I taken or wasted time or resources that belonged to another?
VIII. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour. Have I gossiped, told lies, or embellished stories at the expense of another?
IX. You shall not covet your neighbour’s spouse. Have I willfully objectified another person as a means towards my own sexual gratification?
X. You shall not covet your neighbour’s goods. Am I content with my own means and needs, or do I compare myself to others unnecessarily?
Christ’s Two Commandments
How well do we love God and others? Do we love as Christ calls us to? In the Gospel of Matthew, Christ gives us Two Commandments: “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:37-40).
The Beatitudes
Source: http://www.jesuschristsavior.net
How happy are the poor in spirit; theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Happy the gentle; they shall have the earth for their heritage.
Happy those who mourn; they shall be comforted.
Happy those who hunger and thirst for what is right: they shall be satisfied.
Happy the merciful: they shall have mercy shown them.
Happy the pure in heart: they shall see God.
Happy the peacemakers: they shall be called children of God.
Happy those who are persecuted in the cause of right: theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Happy are you when people abuse you and persecute you and speak all kinds of calumny against you on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward with be great in heaven; this is how they persecuted the prophets before you (Matthew 5:3-12).
The Percepts of the Church
The Precepts are meant “to guarantee for the faithful the indispensable minimum in the spirit of prayer, the sacramental life, moral commitment and growth in love of God and neighbour” (Compendium, 431). They summarize the core values and fundamental obligations which cannot be replaced by good intentions, nor should they be practiced grudgingly or even superficially. If we fall below this bare-minimum level, we cannot rightly consider ourselves in any transparent way to be living out our baptismal calling in full communion with the Catholic Church.
It should be remembered that not only is external observance without interior fervor empty, but also that the interior life will slowly suffocate unless it expresses itself in outward observance.
In times past, the list included either six or seven percepts. Since 1992, Catechism of the Catholic Church lists five precepts. The last two are equally of sound value and importance. The original seven are listed here for historic educational value.
1) Attend Mass on Sundays and on Holy Days of Obligation, and remain free from work or activity that could impede the sanctification of such days.
2) Confess your sins at least once a year.
3) Receive the sacrament of the Eucharist at least during the Easter season.
4) Observe the days of fasting and abstinence established by the Church.
5) Help to provide for the needs of the Church.
6) Obey the laws of the Church concerning Matrimony.
7) Participate in the Church’s mission of Evangelization. (The Missionary Spirit of the Church)
The Three Theological Virtues
- Faith
- Hope
- Love
The Four Cardinal Virtues
- Prudence
- Justice
- Fortitude
- Temperance
The Seven Capital Sins
Practically every sin stems from, or is a manifestation of the seven Capital Sins. Each sin demonstrates the lack of a specific virtue which can be combatted by strengthening oneself in that opposing virtue.
