Editing Fast Fridays: 30 Minutes for God (section)

== Friday, March 21: Confession ==
We will start with the Act of Contrition: <blockquote>O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest all my sins because of thy just punishments, but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, who art all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve with the help of Thy grace to sin no more and to avoid the near occasion of sin. Amen. </blockquote>I listened today to a priest interview a Bishop on what not to do at Confession. He summarizes what ''to do'' in a Confession:  <blockquote>Own the sin. </blockquote>It's a great principle, as everything flows from it.  

The things he advises '''''not to do''''' flow from "not owning" one's sins. Some he things mentions include:

* approaching the sacrament unprepared
** "have some mercy on the priest and be ready"
* lack of contrition:
** "I'm not really sorry for this, but it's on the Examination of Conscience list....."
* saying "I felt" 
* confessing other people's sins
** the Bishop gives a great catalog of 
<blockquote>"Sometimes I've sat in the Confessional for 10 minutes without them confessing a single personal sin. However, I did learn about all the sins of their spouse, their children, the Pope, the President, the pastor, including when that person is me, neighbors, celebrities, postal workers, children's teacher, the IRS, and the cashier at Publix."</blockquote>
* cataloging your resume
* telling the confessor what a good person you are
* providing unnecessary details (let the Confessor ask for clarification)

He says to do,

* approach the Confession with purpose of amendment
* state your stage in life, such as your age
* relevant mitigation of the sin (circumstances)
* confess in general terms
** "Today I was impatient with my spouse" without going into the details of it

"It's about being with Christ. Christ already knows who we are."  The point is to receive God's forgiveness. 

Here for the Podcast episode <nowiki>http://sites.libsyn.com/286598/a-pastor-looks-at-lent-fr-casey-jones-32025</nowiki> and here for the podcast home page: [https://thestationofthecross.com/programs/the-catholic-current-encore/ The Catholic Current (Encore) - The Station of the Cross]  (Episode 1556: A Pastor Looks at Lent (Fr. Casey Jones): <blockquote>“We welcome back Fr. Casey Jones to explore how a pastor uniquely views Lent, and what mistakes he sees his congregation making with some Lenten practices. He even shares his line-up of how not to make a good confession. “</blockquote>For the discussion of how NOT to Confess: min 28:00

Show notes: [https://bulldogcatholic.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/a-detailed-catholic-examination-of-conscience-2nd-ed-updated.pdf Microsoft Word - A Detailed Catholic Examination of Conscience (2nd Ed.).docx]

=== The Sacrament of Reconciliation ===
Scriptural sources:

* The Healing of a Paralytic (Lk 5:17)
* Parable of the Prodigal Son (Lk 15:11-32) 
* Jesus institutes the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Jn 19:23)
* CCC 1480: <blockquote>Like all the sacraments, Penance is a liturgical action. The elements of the celebration are ordinarily these: a greeting and blessing from the priest, reading the word of God to illuminate the conscience and elicit contrition, and an exhortation to repentance; the confession, which acknowledges sins and makes them known to the priest; the imposition and acceptance of a penance; the priest's absolution; a prayer of thanksgiving and praise and dismissal with the blessing of the priest.</blockquote> 

=== In persona Christi ===
* = “in the person of Christ” 
* • in the Sacraments, as well as at Mass, the Priest is “standing for Christ” 
** i.e., “in the person of Christ • Per CCC 1465-1467, the priest:  
* “is fulfilling the ministry of the Good Shepherd” (CCC 1465) • “is not the master of God’s forgiveness but its servant” (CCC 1466)
* “is bound under severe penalties to keep absolute secrecy regarding the sins his penitents have confessed to him” (CCC 1467)