JMJT! Praise be Jesus Christ! Now and Forever!
Our dear Spiritual Director, Fr. Doug Lorig, shared a homily with us during Mass this past Saturday regarding five points of light or additional elements that we can look at when we prepare for Confession. They were the following:
1. Perpetual Repentence: Letting go of others wrong throughout the day and focusing on your own responsibilities.
2. Divine Mercy: Are you truly merciful? The pharisees lacked mercy and this is why Jesus criticized them.
3. Forgiveness: Seek to forgive others who have wronged you. Dig deeply within. Have Masses said for those who have hurt you. This is a step towards true forgiveness.
4. Develop Virtue: St. Therese built on virtue and was constantly developing these - most especially humility. She studied the virtues of Jesus as found in the Gospels and used them. We need to look at the 9 fruits of the Holy Spirit and see how they are manifesting themselves in our lives.
5. Love: Lack of love is what purgatory is all about. Increase humility and love to enable the fullness of the Holy Spirit to reside within the soul. The Parable of the Ten Virgihns speaks to this. Only five were prepared or had the light of the Holy Spirit in their souls. We must guard this and constantly cultivate this.
I hope that Fr. Doug does not mind me adding a few notes that I have written about Confession as an aid to the essential goal of self knowledge that was so very important to our Foundress St. Teresa of Avila. Here it goes...
Almost every saint and serious theologian recognizes the importance of self-knowledge when one seeks to experience closer intimacy and eventual union with God. This is the foundation of a deepening prayer life and relationship with God. St. Teresa calls this the first of the seven mansions in the soul’s interior castle, and one which must be revisited often no matter the level and depth of one’s interior prayer life.
The first step to self-knowledge is to utilize the graces in Confession to remove any mortal sin that may be clouding the soul from the graces God wishes to give each of us as His son or daughter. Our Savior breaks the chains that bind us to evil, and we begin to be restored to peace, wholeness, and a realization of who we are and were created to be in the eyes of the Father. This can be a life-ling process which is absolutely fine! As we are healed from mortal sin, we can begin to focus on venial sin and root out venial sins, faults and imperfections in our lives.
Since the Rule of St. Albert encourages frequent reception of this sacrament along with a daily examination of conscience (See http://webpages.charter.net/carmel/Rule%20of%20life/Rule%20of%20Life%20-%2020.htm) , having Fr. Doug's five points of light, as well as other resources can only help us as we strive towards an increase in holiness. The following might be helpful additional resources for an examination of conscience:
1 Examination of Conscience Based on the Beatitudes See http://paxchristiusa1.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/eoc.pdf
2. Another classic on living a life of holiness for beginners onward is St. Francis de Sales Introduction to a Devout Life. This contains recommendations on how to rid ourselves of sin in our daily lives and strive towards holiness. http://www.catholicity.com/devoutlife/"
I think that our next Confessions will all be very special indeed! :)
In Carmel,
Candida Kirkpatrick, ocds
President
