Father David Abernethy posted a beautiful preparation for the sacrament of Confession. It was written by St. John of Kronstadt, a priest of the Russian Orthodox Church. Born in 1829 and died in 1909, he was a married priest who lived with his wife as brother and sister. (He married before he was ordained.) He was a great healer and lover of the poor. A Preparation for Confession by St. John of Kronstadt I, a sinful soul, confess to our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ, all of my evil acts which I have done, said or thought from baptism even unto this present day. I have not kept the vows of my baptism, but have made myself unwanted before the face of God. I have sinned before the Lord by lack of faith and by doubts concerning the Orthodox Faith and the Holy Church; by ungratefulness for all of God’s great and unceasing gifts; His long-suffering and His providence for me, a sinner; by lack of love for the Lord, as well as fear, through not fulfilling the Holy Commandments of God and the canons and rules of the Church. I have not preserved a love for God and for my neighbor nor have I made enough efforts, because of laziness and lack of care, to learn the Commandments of God and the precepts of the Holy Fathers. I have sinned: by not praying in the morning and in the evening and in the course of the day; by not attending the services or by coming to Church only half-heartedly, lazily and carelessly; by conversing during the services, by not paying attention, letting my mind wander and by departure from the Church before the dismissal and blessing. I have sinned by judging members of the clergy. I have sinned by not respecting the Feasts, breaking the Fasts, and by immoderation in food and drink. I have sinned by self-importance, disobedience, willfulness, self-righteousness, and the seeking of approval and praise. I have sinned by unbelief, lack of faith, doubts, despair, despondency, abusive thoughts, blasphemy and swearing. I have sinned by pride, a high opinion of my self, narcissism, vanity, conceit, envy, love of praise, love of honors, and by putting on airs. I have sinned: by judging, malicious gossip, anger, remembering of offenses done to me, hatred and returning evil for evil; by slander, reproaches, lies, slyness, deception and hypocrisy; by prejudices, arguments, stubbornness, and an unwillingness to give way to my neighbor; by gloating, spitefulness, taunting, insults and mocking; by gossip, by speaking too much and by empty speech. I have sinned by unnecessary and excessive laughter, by reviling and dwelling upon my previous sins, by arrogant behavior, insolence and lack of respect. I have sinned by not keeping my physical and spiritual passions in check, by my enjoyment of impure thoughts, licentiousness and unchastity in thoughts, words and deeds. I have sinned by lack of endurance towards my illnesses and sorrows, a devotion to the comforts of life and by being too attached to my parents, children, relatives and friends. I have sinned by hardening my heart, having a weak will and by not forcing myself to do good. I have sinned by miserliness, a love of money, the acquisition of unnecessary things and immoderate attachment to things. I have sinned by self-justification, a disregard for the admonitions of my conscience and failing to confess my sins through negligence or false pride. I have sinned many times by my Confession: belittling, justifying and keeping silent about sins. I have sinned against the Most-holy and Life-creating Mysteries of the Body and Blood of our Lord by coming to Holy Communion without humility or the fear of God. I have sinned in deed, word and thought, knowingly and unknowingly, willingly and unwillingly, thoughtfully and thoughtlessly, and it is impossible to enumerate all of my sins because of their multitude. But I truly repent of these and all others not mentioned by me because of my forgetfulness and I ask that they be forgiven through the abundance of the Mercy of God. 4:23 AM · Nov 13, 2023 · 16.1K Views
I feel a little silly about this, but here goes…I went to Confession this morning and my penance was to pray 1 decade of the Rosary, which I did. Problem is, I couldn’t remember what intention the Priest told me to pray it for. I was concerned that my penance would not have been complete. I just told Jesus I couldn’t remember and I trusted He would accept my penance.
Been there. Done that. Happens more frequently than I'd like to admit. You could just say " I offer the intention my confessor asked for" Our Lord will not reject it.
This Sermon Will Terrify You, But Must Be Taken Seriously! When Jesus was asked how many will be saved, he replied 'try to enter through the narrow gate' According to St. Leonard, not many at all! And so the question remains, am I good enough? I don't know
Thank you very much for this sermon. It should be preached on every altar of the world. I truly believe my only hope is God's great mercy and an abundance of throwing myself on the ground begging for the grace to perform many, many acts of reparation. A priest gave me permission to use the confession of St. John of Kronstadt's as my own. Even so, afterwards I felt it was not thorough enough. Is this struggling with scrupulosity? I honestly don't think so.
Isn't scrupulousness thinking you aren't forgiven and telling the same sins over and over? Like you I will be begging God's mercy and trusting in Our Lady's powerful intercession. The danger of our times is that most Catholics dont really think of hell as a possibility. they need some good reminders. Enter by the narrow gate is not just a quaint phrase. Its for real!!!!
Quite a long time ago, I was doing the Two Divine Promises for a family member who was straying from his marriage vows. It required an individual to receive Holy Communion worthily for 30 consecutive days and say several prayers for the welfare of the Church. The promise is that that individual and a soul chosen by him would be assured of salvation. That is a huge promise that I believed required me to attend Mass as "worthily" as possible. So I went to confession every day for the first seven days until the priest told me that I was bordering on scrupulosity. The good Father had to explain what that meant as I was unfamiliar with the term. It is very much like the definition given below. AED, you made a very good point in bringing to mind Our Blessed Mother's intercession. What Mother doesn't fight for her child's welfare? Catholic Dictionary Find accurate definitions of over 5,000 Catholic terms and phrases (including abbreviations). Based on Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission. SCRUPULOSITY The habit of imagining sin where none exists, or grave sin where the matter is venial. To overcome scrupulosity, a person needs to be properly instructed in order to form a right conscience, and in extreme cases the only remedy is absolute obedience (for a time) to a prudent confessor. The more serious cases are defined as a mental disorder. Scrupulosity is a kind of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) characterized by excessive worry and fear about committing a sin. Scrupulous people constantly worry about whether they have said a prayer “successfully,” and often judge a venial sin to be a mortal sin, and see venial sin when none is there.
