Though at first glance a general confession seems excessive, it's really a powerful exercise for spiritual growth. It also prepares a soul to receive the grace of the Illumination of Conscience.
I love this and it was so timely for me to read. My mother (a veritable saint) goes to Confession every time it is offered at her Church. I've mused to her asking what she would be confessing to so often it certainly wouldn't be an outright sin. "It's good for my general disposition." She told me, then explained that sins could come in the form of lack of compassion or oversight. On the other extreme sits me: in 2011, for the first time in decades, I went to Confession. It was a general confession and boy was it a long one, detailing killing my rapist, abortions, premarital sex, you name it. It was a three hour session but in the end the priest said he could not absolve my sins as I would have to renounce Buddhism and retake the Sacraments of the Church. I told him I could not do that as I believed that God had guided me towards Buddhism and that God did not make mistakes. So here I am. I've long considered my writing and the forthcoming nature of things I admit to therein to be a type of general confession. I've struggled with how to fold this back into my strictly Catholic religious upbringing. Thank you for the thought provoking read
Oh, wow, that's a lot of trauma you've been through. Well I hope it was therapeutic just to have talked it over with the priest; it was probably disappointing to arrive at the end and realize you couldn't receive the sacrament! But contrition is the biggest grace, right?
Well yeah I can see how someone might legitimately be lead away from the Church nowadays. As I've written before, it's so curious that Cardinal Ratzinger (who went on to become the POPE!) has actually said that the Church has become so corrupt and banal that the real Church by necessity must become an external institution...
This pandemic has been a last straw of sorts for me; having the priest one week praying his congregation chooses to get vaccinated, and in the subsequent weeks praying for all the people in his parish who are “mysteriously” dropping dead. It feels like being party to something demonic, things have gotten so bad. Not to get myself going on some anti-Church rant here (speaking of taking 3 hours!)
So, yeah, it's critical for us to develop our own spirituality & relationship to God; the Church offers zero guidance these days. It sounds like you're following your own path; as Jesus said to Nicodemus “the wind blows where it wills...so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” You may be surprised by where He blows you next! 💕
There have been so many gaps in organized religion that have been exposed by Covid-19. I've told my mother I will not set foot in a religious institution that requires a facemask it seems antithetical to all religious teachings about putting trust in God over man. This applies to Church (I used to sometimes attend with my mom, bypassing communion of course) and Buddhist Wats. I stopped doing alms at Wat Prathong in Phuket when they started demanding I wear one. Ironically the only place on the grounds where I can go to now is the cemetery, where my first husband mother in law and father in law are buried. The dead are not concerned by my exposed face. I take great solace there. I should ask if the prayer groups still require the darned things...
Oh, that's a good perspective on the masks, I haven't seen it like that before. Yeah, I'm tired Christians adhering to some sort of "ethos of nice" and saying that putting on the mask represents their love for neighbors. It feels like an utterly senseless mandate to me. And finally it's been lifted here! Yet I'm surprised at how many continue to wear the masks voluntarily. Maybe I shouldn't be surprised...
I love this and it was so timely for me to read. My mother (a veritable saint) goes to Confession every time it is offered at her Church. I've mused to her asking what she would be confessing to so often it certainly wouldn't be an outright sin. "It's good for my general disposition." She told me, then explained that sins could come in the form of lack of compassion or oversight. On the other extreme sits me: in 2011, for the first time in decades, I went to Confession. It was a general confession and boy was it a long one, detailing killing my rapist, abortions, premarital sex, you name it. It was a three hour session but in the end the priest said he could not absolve my sins as I would have to renounce Buddhism and retake the Sacraments of the Church. I told him I could not do that as I believed that God had guided me towards Buddhism and that God did not make mistakes. So here I am. I've long considered my writing and the forthcoming nature of things I admit to therein to be a type of general confession. I've struggled with how to fold this back into my strictly Catholic religious upbringing. Thank you for the thought provoking read
Oh, wow, that's a lot of trauma you've been through. Well I hope it was therapeutic just to have talked it over with the priest; it was probably disappointing to arrive at the end and realize you couldn't receive the sacrament! But contrition is the biggest grace, right?
Well yeah I can see how someone might legitimately be lead away from the Church nowadays. As I've written before, it's so curious that Cardinal Ratzinger (who went on to become the POPE!) has actually said that the Church has become so corrupt and banal that the real Church by necessity must become an external institution...
This pandemic has been a last straw of sorts for me; having the priest one week praying his congregation chooses to get vaccinated, and in the subsequent weeks praying for all the people in his parish who are “mysteriously” dropping dead. It feels like being party to something demonic, things have gotten so bad. Not to get myself going on some anti-Church rant here (speaking of taking 3 hours!)
So, yeah, it's critical for us to develop our own spirituality & relationship to God; the Church offers zero guidance these days. It sounds like you're following your own path; as Jesus said to Nicodemus “the wind blows where it wills...so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” You may be surprised by where He blows you next! 💕
There have been so many gaps in organized religion that have been exposed by Covid-19. I've told my mother I will not set foot in a religious institution that requires a facemask it seems antithetical to all religious teachings about putting trust in God over man. This applies to Church (I used to sometimes attend with my mom, bypassing communion of course) and Buddhist Wats. I stopped doing alms at Wat Prathong in Phuket when they started demanding I wear one. Ironically the only place on the grounds where I can go to now is the cemetery, where my first husband mother in law and father in law are buried. The dead are not concerned by my exposed face. I take great solace there. I should ask if the prayer groups still require the darned things...
Oh, that's a good perspective on the masks, I haven't seen it like that before. Yeah, I'm tired Christians adhering to some sort of "ethos of nice" and saying that putting on the mask represents their love for neighbors. It feels like an utterly senseless mandate to me. And finally it's been lifted here! Yet I'm surprised at how many continue to wear the masks voluntarily. Maybe I shouldn't be surprised...