Z
zerinus
Guest
Since you have no proof of this, it is your word against mine; and my experience teaches me not to trust what Mormon apostates say against Mormonism.
- Status
S
SirThomasMore
Guest
Just because something truthful undermines your point, it is not irrelevant.
C
catholic-rcia
Guest
Zerinus, maybe you could be kind enough to tell me what it is that I wrote that is not relevant to Confession. Maybe it is not relevant to you because you have not experienced the kind of Confession I have experienced. I can understand that.
Of course it is very relevant to me, so after you comment maybe I can give you my perspective in a deeper sense so you can see where I am coming from.
As far a the Pope and Mother Teresa goes, the closer you are to God the more you are able to see your sinful nature. So I know they had plenty to confess. It gifts sanctifying grace. Its what produces Saints.
catholic.org/saints/
Thanks in advance
Z
zerinus
Guest
This is the relevant part to which the answer was given:
The rest is just waffle, and becomes irrelevant after answering the first part:
A no-brainer I should have thought.
C
catholic-rcia
Guest
Your right Zerenus
I can see how you, LDS would see this.
Go ahead and skip my thoughts here and go to the questions below if you want. I am thinking my thoughts might help you to answer.
Because Confession is a Sacrament of the Catholic Church it is a Priestly action for sure. Through Christ only. The Priest shares in the priesthood of Christ (servant)
Confession is is a time of great joy for a Catholic. Hard yes.
A Catholic confesses everything (supposed to) even when no one else knows his or her sins. I know an LDS fellow who was baptized 4 years ago and I see him in the line almost every Sunday after Mass. I get jealous, it makes me feel as if I should go more. I should go more. Envy of others is one of my sins that I confess and I try to stop going there. Creeps back in from time to time. It’s a form of hatred. This falls under the category of murder.
You mentioned you do not have a service where all can admit they are sinners and then go to confession together. Not in the same room together, rather in the same lines.
My questions are this:
Can you see how it would help the entire body of Christ when more people are willing and always ready to utilize this great gift given? Can you se how Confession could produce a Saint? One who is willing to completely hand their life over to Christ? Think of the many scriptures and who it was that best describes a Saint.
C
catholic-rcia
Guest
From Lukes Gospel: 7:41-42
"Two people were in debt to a certain creditor; one owed five hundred days’ wages
and the other owed fifty.
Since they were unable to repay the debt, he forgave it for both. Which of them will love him more?"
Zerinus, What would be your reflection here?
I won’t give one, just go with yours. You can go to Luke 7 and read it all in context if you like.
In Christ
Rich
"Two people were in debt to a certain creditor; one owed five hundred days’ wages
and the other owed fifty.
Since they were unable to repay the debt, he forgave it for both. Which of them will love him more?"
Zerinus, What would be your reflection here?
I won’t give one, just go with yours. You can go to Luke 7 and read it all in context if you like.
In Christ
Rich
Z
zerinus
Guest
The answer to this was given in post #36 above. You are going round and round in circles, chasing your own tail.
Z
zerinus
Guest
That is scripture. It is the word of the Lord. I agree with it. What else did you want me to tell you?
C
catholic-rcia
Guest
When I started this thread I had no idea where it would go, what private revelations I might have. I had them all week but last night it was made clear. Last year an LDS women came to us to learn about our faith. As most know it takes a year to learn, at least to start coming to a love of Christ unlike no other love. When we started speaking about confession, opening up about our own experiences she began to tear up. She could not at that time see the difference. She was scared.
She recalled going into the Bishops office because she had exposed tattoos on her arm at the Sunday service. He was trying to help her see why she needed to cover them. I remember one sitting next to me as she shared her experience ask her, “can I see them” She lifted up her sleeve and Bob said. “That’s a real pretty Tattoo” We all smiled as well as her. She started to have less fear.
What she told her Bishop was this:
“Do you know my two children?” He answered “of course I do”
She replied: ‘When they sit next to me, their mother each Sunday they love me weather I have tattoos or not’
The one thing that strikes her now is how much those tattoos became a blessing.
The stories seem to be familiar. I lost my own mother due to emotional problems and one single meeting with an LDS Bishop. She was not LDS. She was told that she needed to be a better mother. She needed to be told how much God loved her. This was in her final letter. All is forgiven.
In my twelve years of helping others learn the faith I have seen many come in looking foreword to going to confession for the first time. The latest a man named Jim in his sixties. When he found out that his baptism will take care of that he could not wait to go under the water. Many times he teared up as well recalling his own sins . We can freely do that together.
Yes we have the teaching. If they will not listen take it to the church. But this is not the Sacrament of confession although it may very well tie in and it should.
The Sacrament of confession was set up by the Wisdom of the Church to allow us to experience Gods Love, Gods Mercy in an intimate way. To free the captives, to set the prisoners free.
God always speaks the truth to us. Jesus described himself as “the way, the truth and the life” (John 14: 6-11). God encourages us to live in His truth through Jesus Christ, within the Trinity. Faith cannot be built upon a false pretense. It has to be built upon the Priesthood that is the forgiveness of sins. This is the Priesthood.
Faith-seeking is one of the oldest preoccupations of the human mind. We seek to understand as best we can God our Creator and His love for each one of us. At one time or another we all may feel alone. Some of us have been rejected; some of us have rejected another. Some have come against great trials and given up on life altogether.
It has always been my passion to share the Love of Christ with others, because only He can help our lives become happier and more meaningful. The peace that Christ can bring when we come to Him for strength in our suffering, our sincere confessions, our joy can replace every illegal or legal pill ever made, every drink ever drank and every new age psychiatrist that ever lived.
We have the keys to the kingdom of heaven because we have the priest hood set up to bring Christ into the world by way of the Mass, entered into by the forgiveness of our sins.
We have the Authentic Sacrament of Confession. No other Church can say this.
Do you know how huge this Sacrament is?
She recalled going into the Bishops office because she had exposed tattoos on her arm at the Sunday service. He was trying to help her see why she needed to cover them. I remember one sitting next to me as she shared her experience ask her, “can I see them” She lifted up her sleeve and Bob said. “That’s a real pretty Tattoo” We all smiled as well as her. She started to have less fear.
What she told her Bishop was this:
“Do you know my two children?” He answered “of course I do”
She replied: ‘When they sit next to me, their mother each Sunday they love me weather I have tattoos or not’
The one thing that strikes her now is how much those tattoos became a blessing.
The stories seem to be familiar. I lost my own mother due to emotional problems and one single meeting with an LDS Bishop. She was not LDS. She was told that she needed to be a better mother. She needed to be told how much God loved her. This was in her final letter. All is forgiven.
In my twelve years of helping others learn the faith I have seen many come in looking foreword to going to confession for the first time. The latest a man named Jim in his sixties. When he found out that his baptism will take care of that he could not wait to go under the water. Many times he teared up as well recalling his own sins . We can freely do that together.
Yes we have the teaching. If they will not listen take it to the church. But this is not the Sacrament of confession although it may very well tie in and it should.
The Sacrament of confession was set up by the Wisdom of the Church to allow us to experience Gods Love, Gods Mercy in an intimate way. To free the captives, to set the prisoners free.
God always speaks the truth to us. Jesus described himself as “the way, the truth and the life” (John 14: 6-11). God encourages us to live in His truth through Jesus Christ, within the Trinity. Faith cannot be built upon a false pretense. It has to be built upon the Priesthood that is the forgiveness of sins. This is the Priesthood.
Faith-seeking is one of the oldest preoccupations of the human mind. We seek to understand as best we can God our Creator and His love for each one of us. At one time or another we all may feel alone. Some of us have been rejected; some of us have rejected another. Some have come against great trials and given up on life altogether.
It has always been my passion to share the Love of Christ with others, because only He can help our lives become happier and more meaningful. The peace that Christ can bring when we come to Him for strength in our suffering, our sincere confessions, our joy can replace every illegal or legal pill ever made, every drink ever drank and every new age psychiatrist that ever lived.
We have the keys to the kingdom of heaven because we have the priest hood set up to bring Christ into the world by way of the Mass, entered into by the forgiveness of our sins.
We have the Authentic Sacrament of Confession. No other Church can say this.
Do you know how huge this Sacrament is?
M
MelanieAnne
Guest
Hi Catholic RCIA,
Excellent post. Many who haven’t experienced the Sacrament of Reconciliation may be fearful of it but once they experience the blessings they will indeed see the wisdom and love.
It’s not a trial, it’s not a means to pry into the personal life of anyone. The priest does not seek graphic details; in fact it’s just the opposite ~ we are asked to identify the sin and to summarize, not to give exhaustive detail and endless lists of transgressions.
Going into graphic detail doesn’t strike me as even relevant to the process of reconciliation. The point is to identify the sin, repair our relationship with God, and resolve to do better in the future. Giving graphic details seems more geared to titillating the listener. Our priests have no interest in that and surely God does not either.
Excellent post. Many who haven’t experienced the Sacrament of Reconciliation may be fearful of it but once they experience the blessings they will indeed see the wisdom and love.
It’s not a trial, it’s not a means to pry into the personal life of anyone. The priest does not seek graphic details; in fact it’s just the opposite ~ we are asked to identify the sin and to summarize, not to give exhaustive detail and endless lists of transgressions.
Going into graphic detail doesn’t strike me as even relevant to the process of reconciliation. The point is to identify the sin, repair our relationship with God, and resolve to do better in the future. Giving graphic details seems more geared to titillating the listener. Our priests have no interest in that and surely God does not either.
V
Verdad
Guest
No, nor will he allow himself to see that it is because it would make him see a different view. That is frightening to some when it will cause them to think out of the box that is their comfort zone. Mormonism has such a different perspective and is such a different belief system. It is hard for those not familiar with it to see that those who truly believe in it really have little common ground with any other traditional Christian belief system. Unfortunately a lot of Mormons don’t understand this either. They too see the surface and fail to dig into the underpinnings of their own belief system. In fact they are discouraged by their church from looking beyond church “approved” sources. Z says himself that he doesn’t trust the word of what he calls “Apostates”. He automatically believes, or wants to believe, that they are either totally wrong or are lying to him.
Mormon leaders have said and taught some very hateful things about the Catholic Church over the years. I guess we have to allow that it would be very hard for those Mormons who have bought into this slander to ever see beyond it. Certainly not impossible because all things are possible through God, but certainly difficult because God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit don’t force but only lead gently. As my grandmother would have said, “More to be pitied than censured”. God loves us all equally and we are all equal in his eyes. Unfortunately the Mormon Church doesn’t teach this. Only those who go through the temple will reach real and elite status in the after life. Catholics only have to lead the best lives they can, make an honest and heart felt confession when they fail and love God to be welcomed into a loving and equal place in Heaven.
K
KathleenGee
Guest
RCIA,
I always enjoy your posts because they bring out your relationship of Christ that bears truth and love and personal freedom.
I always enjoy your posts because they bring out your relationship of Christ that bears truth and love and personal freedom.
C
catholic-rcia
Guest
It is so cool to know that we are not alone. We tend to focus on our own Parishes. So to all of you over the next hill…It’s good to see solid post that extends love.
As we read the scriptures, the prodigal son, the women and the lost coin, last Sundays Gospel about the sinful women at Jesus’ feet, the women caught in adultery, Peter facing Christ after Christ was risen, the Samaritan women, and all of the other stories and parables we truly see the Holy Sacrament of confession. As Catholics we are all of them together. Forgiven as a Church, forgiven together.
God bless
That includes Zerinus as well.
Thanks Katleen
Praise God! All praise to God! Father, Son, Holy Sprit
www.utahmission.com
P.S.
stories about being in Confession? .
As we read the scriptures, the prodigal son, the women and the lost coin, last Sundays Gospel about the sinful women at Jesus’ feet, the women caught in adultery, Peter facing Christ after Christ was risen, the Samaritan women, and all of the other stories and parables we truly see the Holy Sacrament of confession. As Catholics we are all of them together. Forgiven as a Church, forgiven together.
God bless
That includes Zerinus as well.
Thanks Katleen
Praise God! All praise to God! Father, Son, Holy Sprit
www.utahmission.com
P.S.
stories about being in Confession? .
S
SirThomasMore
Guest
I have enjoyed reading your posts…
C
catholic-rcia
Guest
Thanks!
Let me give you this story from the RCIA on Confession. About the man named Jim in my post above. He was agnostic and still goes out with his agnostic friends for coffee each morning in a Smiths here in Northern Utah. They are now asking him such things as “do you think my wife is in heaven” and so forth. Jim is a big man and they all now call him Friar Tuck. He kind of likes his new title. Again he was baptized at Easter.
Our Priest ended up moving to Jims neighborhood a few years back.
Jim now lives next door to a Catholic Priest in an all LDS neighborhood. Before Jim even thought about becoming Catholic he was unloading a barbecue from the back of his truck. It fell and cut his leg. Jim began to cuss about every bad word you could imagine. Then as he looked to his right there was our Priest in his car with his window down looking at Jim with a bit of a smile on his face. Jim being a good man was embarrassed and said “I am so sorry Father that you had to hear that”
Our Priest said “its ok , I used to work in a casino…20 years, I have heard it all, I have even used a few myself so no worries”
To make a long story short a relationship began. Jim would go over to Fathers home and talk, mostly about the bad things he had done throughout his life, things he was sorry for. He was assured that he was loved. It was the Sacrament of Confession that Jim most responded to. He really felt a need for it. We all got to watch this man get it, and come to it. Through the last year of being with him he really helped us all come to a deeper love for the Sacrament of Confession. We all helped Jim by pointing to Jesus, Jim helped all of us by pointing to Jesus as well. He will be helping with the RCIA next year I am sure. The Priesthood is for the forgiveness of sins.
Let me give you this story from the RCIA on Confession. About the man named Jim in my post above. He was agnostic and still goes out with his agnostic friends for coffee each morning in a Smiths here in Northern Utah. They are now asking him such things as “do you think my wife is in heaven” and so forth. Jim is a big man and they all now call him Friar Tuck. He kind of likes his new title. Again he was baptized at Easter.
Our Priest ended up moving to Jims neighborhood a few years back.
Jim now lives next door to a Catholic Priest in an all LDS neighborhood. Before Jim even thought about becoming Catholic he was unloading a barbecue from the back of his truck. It fell and cut his leg. Jim began to cuss about every bad word you could imagine. Then as he looked to his right there was our Priest in his car with his window down looking at Jim with a bit of a smile on his face. Jim being a good man was embarrassed and said “I am so sorry Father that you had to hear that”
Our Priest said “its ok , I used to work in a casino…20 years, I have heard it all, I have even used a few myself so no worries”
To make a long story short a relationship began. Jim would go over to Fathers home and talk, mostly about the bad things he had done throughout his life, things he was sorry for. He was assured that he was loved. It was the Sacrament of Confession that Jim most responded to. He really felt a need for it. We all got to watch this man get it, and come to it. Through the last year of being with him he really helped us all come to a deeper love for the Sacrament of Confession. We all helped Jim by pointing to Jesus, Jim helped all of us by pointing to Jesus as well. He will be helping with the RCIA next year I am sure. The Priesthood is for the forgiveness of sins.
S
SirThomasMore
Guest
great story
C
catholic-rcia
Guest
I know some of the LDS are still reading these posting so I want to share one more experience I have had going to Confession. Well I do have one more if anyone wants it. Its about Confession, a Trappist Monk and three rosaries.
Each year at lent 12 of us go to the Huntsville Monastery in Northern Utah for a retreat and Confession. While there we stick to the Monks Schedule found here:
http://www.holytrinityabbey.org/monks_day.html Pretty grueling, all of that praying throughout the day and night. They do this 24/7/365. We come up and do it 24/once.
It was two years ago when I made my confession to Father Charles. After which he said to me as I reached for the door to exit “Rich, I want you to do something for me” “What Father?” “When you walk out that door I want you to always give thanks and praise to God for what you have been given” I said “yes Father”
He then said with a smile “now tell the next sinner to come in”
I took this seriously as I was caught up in the moment, but when I opened the door no one was left. I started walking down the hall looking for a sinner. There were two friends standing at another door waiting to make their own confession with Father Pat. I kept walking, as I turned the corner in the hall I looked into what is the monasteries library where we meet, read and reflect. Their sitting on a couch was Juan Perez, knowing that Juan was also a sinner I asked him “Juan have you been to confession” His eyes got big, no idea what he was thinking when he said “no, I have not" in broken English. All I could do at that point was tell him this “Father Charles is waiting” He’s like,… you got to be kidding me!
Now I have no idea how long it had been since Juan had been to confession but he followed me to the door. Juan, Father Charles, and Jesus took care of the rest.
Later that day Juan came up to me and said “you don’t know what you have done!” “What” I asked “do you know how long it has been since I went to Confession?”
As he goes to thank me, to embrace me I say “no Juan, I had nothing to do with it. Father asked me to tell the next sinner to come in, no one was there so I just went to get the first person I could find.”
Who says miracles don’t happen? It’s the way God rolls!
www.utahmission.com
Each year at lent 12 of us go to the Huntsville Monastery in Northern Utah for a retreat and Confession. While there we stick to the Monks Schedule found here:
http://www.holytrinityabbey.org/monks_day.html Pretty grueling, all of that praying throughout the day and night. They do this 24/7/365. We come up and do it 24/once.
It was two years ago when I made my confession to Father Charles. After which he said to me as I reached for the door to exit “Rich, I want you to do something for me” “What Father?” “When you walk out that door I want you to always give thanks and praise to God for what you have been given” I said “yes Father”
He then said with a smile “now tell the next sinner to come in”
I took this seriously as I was caught up in the moment, but when I opened the door no one was left. I started walking down the hall looking for a sinner. There were two friends standing at another door waiting to make their own confession with Father Pat. I kept walking, as I turned the corner in the hall I looked into what is the monasteries library where we meet, read and reflect. Their sitting on a couch was Juan Perez, knowing that Juan was also a sinner I asked him “Juan have you been to confession” His eyes got big, no idea what he was thinking when he said “no, I have not" in broken English. All I could do at that point was tell him this “Father Charles is waiting” He’s like,… you got to be kidding me!
Now I have no idea how long it had been since Juan had been to confession but he followed me to the door. Juan, Father Charles, and Jesus took care of the rest.
Later that day Juan came up to me and said “you don’t know what you have done!” “What” I asked “do you know how long it has been since I went to Confession?”
As he goes to thank me, to embrace me I say “no Juan, I had nothing to do with it. Father asked me to tell the next sinner to come in, no one was there so I just went to get the first person I could find.”
Who says miracles don’t happen? It’s the way God rolls!
www.utahmission.com
S
SirThomasMore
Guest
- Status