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Confession Should Be Concise, Concrete, Clear, and Complete.

01-20-2022From the desk of Fr. Villa

Concise: Confession with few words, just the words needed to say humbly what we have done or have failed to do, without any unnecessary elaboration or adornment.

Concrete: Confession without digression, without generalities. The penitent should humbly indicate his/her situation and also the time elapsed since the last Confession and the difficulties he/she finds in leading a Christian life. He/she declares his/her sins and the surrounding circumstances that have a bearing on the sins so that the confessor may judge in the Person of Christ; absolve in the Person of Christ; and heal in the Person of Christ.

Clear: A Confession where we make ourselves understood declaring the precise nature of the sin, manifesting our sinfulness with the necessary modesty and delicacy.

Complete: Confession should be integral, without leaving anything out through a false sense of shame so as not to appear bad in the eyes of the priest hearing the confession. All mortal sins must be confessed by number and kind.

Remember: The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches the following: (#2181) The Sunday Mass is the foundation and confirmation of all Christian practice. For this reason Catholics are obliged to participate in the Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation unless excused for a serious reason like illness. Those who deliberately fail in this regard commit a mortal sin.

Remember: The 6th Commandment teaches us to avoid the grave sins against chastity, sex by oneself, sex before marriage, pornography, and homosexual practices. The 9th Commandment reminds us to pray for purity of heart, dress and act modestly, and avoid the near occasions which incline us to sin sexually.

Remember: The 8th Commandment obliges us to respect the good name and reputation of our neighbor. Have we without sufficient reason believed something harmful to another’s character (rash judgment)? Have we revealed the hidden faults of another without good reason (detraction)? Have we by lying injured the good name of another (calumny/slander)? Have we revealed a secret when we have promised to so or when the good of another demands it?

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