| Purification and General Confession |
Hi Subscriber,This article is taken from a chapter in An Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Francis de Sales, which is available from TAN Books.To prepare for our chat on Sunday, please read the article, which is reproduced below, and review the questions at the end.Click for Living Jesus Chatroom  Image by Hands off my tags! Michael Gaida from PixabayThe first purification to be made is that of sin, and the means—the holy Sacrament of Penance. Seek the best confessor that you can, take some one of the books prepared for the aid of conscience, read it carefully, and observe minutely wherein you have sinned from the earliest period up to the present time, and if you distrust your memory, write down what you discover. Having thus examined and collected the sinful wounds of your conscience, detest them, and with your whole heart reject and abhor them by contrition; remembering these four things, viz., that by sin you have lost God’s grace, forfeited Heaven, merited Hell, and renounced the eternal love of God.You see, Philothea, that I am now speaking of a General Confession of the whole past life, which although not always absolutely necessary, I still hold to be a most profitable beginning, and recommend it strongly. The ordinary Confessions of those who live a commonplace material life are full of faults. Frequently they make little or no preparation, and come without the requisite contrition; and therefore confess with a tacit intention of repeating their sins, since they will neither avoid the occasions of falling, nor take the needful steps for amending their lives; to all such a General Confession is requisite to assure the soul.Furthermore, it increases our self-knowledge, incites a healthy sorrow for our past sins, fills us with admiration of the patience and mercy of God, calms our heart, relieves our mind, excites in us good resolutions, enables our spiritual Father to guide us with more certainty, and opens our heart to speak fully and with confidence in our future Confessions. Therefore, in preparing for an entire renewal of the heart, and dedication of our soul to God, in commencing a devout life, I do not hesitate to recommend as a first step this General Confession. Reflections:What is so important about sacramental confession? Why is it not sufficient to just ask God directly for forgiveness?If Jesus died to save us from our sins and redeem us, how can we still lose salvation through our sins?Does this practice of a general confession seem like it could breed scrupulosity?Is a confession invalid if we accidentally forget something or inadequately examine our conscience?What can we do to be better prepared for regular confession? Are there daily habits and devotions that could aid us? In so doing, how can we avoid scrupulosity? Sign up for our Living Jesus Chat Room:Come to our Living Jesus Chat Room, 7:30 PM to 8:30 PM Eastern Time |