Confession talk

[GratefulLeper]

Hello I attended a wonderful talk today about the Sacrament of Confession (basically outlining Vinny Flynn’s Book the 7 Secrets of Confession). It really was a good reminder of the grace of Confession, and helped me realize it’s not only about forgiveness but about healing too.

I had a question for the Priest but never got a chance to ask it. He spoke of the importance of the examination of conscience to prepare us for Confession. However, he also said that excessive self contemplation (naval gazing) can also hinder us in our Catholic walk. He stated we don’t necessarily only want to focus on our own holiness (akin to the Pharisee saying 'thank you God that I am not like that tax collector). My question is how do we know if we are ‘naval gazing’ rather than simply examining ourselves? We do indeed want to focus on ourselves so that we can be as holy as we can be, but how do we know if we are doing too much of it?

Thanks for your help in advance

 

[JamalChristophr]

Well, you should learn about doing the general examen and the particular examen from St Ignatius Loyola. A spiritual director is good to have, but there are other resources to use, too, for developing this practice.

St. Francis was once said to have prayed all night, i think, before the blessed sacrament:

Lord who am I … and Lord who are you??

Something like that.

Concerning a good examination of conscience, i think 15-30 minutes before confession would be adequate. Or think of ways you have not been what God wants you to be from time to time during the week. One of the best practices is what I first mentioned.

(You could go back to this priest and ask him further questions. He might have 10 minutes for you, or more, outside of confession to talk.)

 

[brian_custer]

a good confession with a priest in the confessional shouldn’t really take that long

the examination of conscience should be done before entering the confessional

in my parish we routinely have a long line of people waiting behind penitents who i suspect are looking for counseling or personal advice from the priest

it can be frustrating…