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Is there a way to upload files here?

Nathan,
I've made rosary phamplets, with complete instructions, bible verses to accompany the mysteries, promises of Mary for those who resite the rosary, the Fatima prayers, etc. It's a nice set, if I do say so myself, that I still use so I can pray and keep my mind focused on the Mysteries of the Rosary.

I will upload them & you (anyone) can print them, if there's a way to do that.

I neglected to mention that the files are pdf.

I made these when I was first converting. They were very much a labor of love which sprang from devotion to Mary, Most Holy.

I would love to share them with everyone. I have both the original Roman rite, and also the Byzantine rite verson.

I know how you feel, Mary. Though I am no convert the Catholic Church. Here's my experience with Reconciliation. Joe gave a great summary of the verbiage in both Rites.

I've been an Eastern Catholic since birth (Romanian Catholic till age 7, and since then to present, Ruthenian) and have always felt scared to death to go to Reconciliation. Recently I started going to confession at the RC parish in my neighborhood for Confession, because it is more convenient for me to do so than at my BC parish. At first, I would motivate myself to receive the Mystery/Sacrament once a month, because the more often I did it there, the more confident I felt about the Mystery/Sacrament. It was more relaxing than at my BC parish, for some reason (perhaps it has something to with less of a contrition/penance there than with my parish priest--I don't even have to say the Act of Contrition at the RC church). Then one Saturday, that RC parish was having a wedding, so confession was cancelled. My boyfriend and I wanted to go to confession, so we drove down to the closest RC parish from that one and went there. I hadn't felt so weird at Confession for a long time than I did that day; I'd never been inside a RC confessional, nor having to kneel there, not knowing when the priest would be done with the other person receiving confession on the other side(two confessionals:one priest ratio). Eventually, he said an opening prayer and I said my sins. I was used to not reciting an Act of Contrition (as I mentioned above), but then he then asked me what I'd like to do as a penitential act for my sins. I was speechless. No priest in my whole entire life has asked me to make up my own penance. I asked him to give me one instead, and thankfully, he gave me one. I have nothing against that priest. Maybe he had a bad experience with some people coming to him in confession, and felt that asking people was better than him telling them what to do.

Regardless, I still attend Reconciliation, but nowadays I have decided to try to get back over to my priest at my BC church. Even though when I attend a BC Reconciliation I feel completely awkward, I come out of it more rejuvenated than at the RC parish. So I'll just have to get over the awkwardness. It's much better than dealing with the guilt from my sins.

Yours in Christ and the Theotokos,
Gretchen

PT:

When you get arthritis in your fingers and they don't want to move as fast as the mind dictates, you'll type like me, too. But then, my Swedish grandmother used to say "tings" so it can't be all bad.

Come to think of it she also said "tings" like "yawn yawnson."

BOB

Nathan (& others):

Here are the rosary phamphlets as promised. Although these are not the most updated version, and the artwork on the newer ones is much better, I wanted to be able to share them in a timely manner.

These are only the Roman rite. When I get a chance, I will post as a new topic, and include the Byzantine rite version, as others reqested via PM. Sorry to disappoint on those.

Anyway, here they are:
Joyful Mysteries - Roman [holyapostleswichita.org]
Luminous Mysteries - Roman [holyapostleswichita.org]
Sorrowful Mysteries - Roman [holyapostleswichita.org]
Glorious Mysteries - Roman [holyapostleswichita.org]

To use them, print on legal size paper (8.5 x 14). Print one side - flip and then print the next page (two pages total). Once printed, fold in half and then in half again.

Hopefully these are useful and helpful to anyone who would like to use them.

*Disclaimer: I created these for myself and to share with others. They are not a product of my church, are not used at my church, and in no way assocated with my church. Any errors are mine, and mine alone. To prevent 'latinization' comments, I wish to express that my church does not pray the rosary together before or after liturgy. I personally keep it as a devotion. Again, any errors are mine.

End of disclaimer.

Enjoy!

God Bless!

Confession is the sacrament which I have at times loved the most, and at others times has felt rather mechanical to me.

I have confessed to priests that downplay things I believe to be a serious sin, and others that have added a sense of condemnation to things I felt were almost trivial. Given a choice, I'll take the latter!

In the Latin Rite, formal confession is only required for mortal sins (or once a year, whichever is more frequent), generally leaving a line of rather sheepish looking sexual sinners (I'm not saying the occasional axe-murderer doesn't show up!) and older, better catechized folks who also know that confession is good for them, whether their sins are venial or mortal.

Just this past Saturday, although I mentioned that it had been about a month since my last confession, a priest "encouraged" me to come in and use the sacrament once or twice a year. Huh?!

Regarding confession, I am often reminded of someone (whose name I can't recall) saying, "Small sense of sin, small sense of Christ; Big sense of sin, big sense of Christ!"

OH wow - what a topic - and one I have anguished over for years.

Now though I'm Ukrainian Catholic I also have a problem - my Parish is Ukrainian speaking and frankly Father's English is not good - most Sundays when I'm at DL I find him approaching me as he arrives and saying ' you are reading today ' and I don't hear any question mark either OH - and we have a Confessional too and I'm slightly claustrophobic as well .

Fortunately I can see my SF twice a year - and that will have to do except in a real emergency and then I'll have to try and sort something out. My SF knows I really panic about this and I normally can relax with him. After all - he is there as a witness as I confess to Christ Himself .

So how do we do it - well I'm encouraged to settle myself and calm down as Father goes and puts on his Epitrachelion and then he goes to the Iconostasis and stands by the Icon of Christ - prays for a few moments and then beckons me forward. I stand there - take a deep breath and let it all out . I tell Christ the areas in which I am failing and express my sorrow - I do not do a number and kind shopping list - SF does not think that is the best way . Once I have said that part he will talk quietly and gently to me about things and once he is satisfied about my contrition he will encourage me to express it anyway that I am comfortable. He will discuss a suitable penance and then place his Epitrachelion on my head - absolve me - and I then kiss the end of the Epitrachelion and take another deep breath and relax.

As it is such a tiny Church I usually go and stand before the Icon of Our Mother and ask her to keep me in her care - then depending on the penance go and make it . My last one was to chant Psalm 50 as Fr Vested for DL - and while I chanted I was to think about it's meaning .

Really the way I confess is very informal - but it works for me - and it is in English

Hope my burble helps

Anhelyna

I have new question about confession...

I know sins do not need to be confessed that occurred before baptism, and one has no worries for their soul because of sin in their 'former' life (thank you, Lord!).

My question is: If you committed sins in your former life that are still effecting the salvation of others, should that be confessed for the sake of the person you helped form ideas that will lead them to perdition?

I am afraid for the soul of a relative, who I no longer have contact with, whom I greatly influenced their formation of beliefs (or lack there of) regarding God.

Would me confessing this help this persons soul? In my mind I see it as a continued sin, because they still do not believe in God, and it is largely my fault. I am in great distress for this person's soul, and pray for them all the time. But, what else can I do than pray?

Hopefully this post makes since?

Thank you all for your previous posts. I don't think I am afraid of confession anymore, you all have helped me through that.

In the past, I struggled with the same thing. Also, I have struggled with whether I adequately confessed some sins or whether I realized all of the different sinful aspects of a particular act and adequately confessed them.

Here is what every spiritual father i have ever had has told me: Banish all thoughts! Don't ever reconfess sins. Put them out of your mind. They are forgiven.

First, your baptism has erased all sins of your former life. True, the effects of those sins go on in the world, but you cannot help that and you are no longer judged guilty. Second, it is impossible to ever understand the full magnitude of our sins. Just as it is impossible to understand the full magnitude of those good things we do for others. Indeed, is it ever really possible even to remember every single sin we've committed since our last confession? If God's standard for making it into the kingdom is perfect knowledge and complete confession of every aspect of every sin we have committed, then no one is going to make it.

This is why I think, personally, that the Latin practice of specifying mortal and venial sins by number, frequency, and kind is unhealthy. It is unhealthy because it sets up a situation of scrupulosity where one must then fear for one's life and the sacrament of repentance is no longer a liberation but another form of bondage.

At the end of my confession, I normally say something like this, "and for all these sins and those I cannot remember and all the sins of my life, I am truly sorry." The only way you could offend God in confession would be to deliberately hold back some truly grave sin of your own free will. For example, you go to confession knowing full well you've committed adultery but you consciously decide that you are not going to confess it. This is sacriledge. But other than that, don't worry. Peace in Christ,

Joe

Dear Joe,
That is truly profound. Your post has really helped me and blessed me.

Mary,

Glory to Jesus Christ!

I would agree with Joe on this one, but with one caveat.

The purpose of confession is to bring your sins committed since baptism before the mercy of God - standing before the Holy Icon of Christ our High Priest, with the presbyter as a spiritual father and witness, as well as an instrument of healing absolution.

If something weighs on your conscience so heavily that it detracts from your peace, however, I would say bring it to your spiritual father, even in the sacramental mystery of confession. As a father to my children, I do not set parameters for when my children can come or not come to me with their ailments or things that distress them. Is it necessary for forgiveness? No. Is it possibly part of the path to your peace of soul? Yes, but with an additional remedy. My thought would be to encourage you to begin some act of ascesis (prayer, fasting, almsgiving) in prayer for this person you believe you have affected. This is a perfect example where the matter is not an issue of your own forgiveness, but of reparation to the best of your ability. (Following the Theresian ideal of little things done with great love is a good start.) Become their champion intercessor, entrusting all to the Holy Theotokos, so that you may win back through penance what was possibly lost through sin.

Ultimately, though, you need to be careful not to exaggerate your influence on this individual. Hindsight may be 20/20 but it can also exaggerate our faults, especially seen in light of our current state where such choices would never be made again.

Scrupulosity, as Joe mentioned, can result where we ascribe the same measure of consent and understanding that we have today to past acts where no such consent or understanding existed at that time and to the same degree. The issue with scruples is not, however, primarily due to the classical distinction between mortal and venial sins. It certainly goes far deeper than that - I would say for some as deep as our image of fatherhood itself.

Just remember my favorite quote from Saint Isaac the Syrian:
"Our sins are as so many grains of sand cast into the ocean of God's mercy."

God bless,

Gordo

Joe,

I think that is an excellent way to end a confession.

I also begin my confession after the traditional prayers by facing the icon and saying:

[Linked Image]

"I want to tell the Lord that I am sorry for..."

It helps me to focus my confession on Our merciful Savior, present in the icon, His minister and the celebration of the sacrament...and not on my bruised ego!

During my scrupulous phase many years ago, I was meditating on the nature of what I was doing in confession, and my path to healing (primarily through the East) came by realzing that this is a personal encounter with Christ as well as an act of praise to Him for His mercy. This little beginning was the fruit of that meditation, and helped me to achieve a proper orientation in my future confessions.

Blessings,

Gordo

God's blessings to you all!

This is all wonderful advise...Good advise. You've helped to ease my mind, and given me a good direction.

Gordo, this was especially helpful:

"If something weighs on your conscience so heavily that it detracts from your peace, however, I would say bring it to your spiritual father, even in the sacramental mystery of confession. As a father to my children, I do not set parameters for when my children can come or not come to me with their ailments or things that distress them. Is it necessary for forgiveness? No. Is it possibly part of the path to your peace of soul? Yes, but with an additional remedy. My thought would be to encourage you to begin some act of ascesis ( prayer, fasting, almsgiving ) in prayer for this person you believe you have affected. This is a perfect example where the matter is not an issue of your own forgiveness, but of reparation to the best of your ability. (Following the Theresian ideal of little things done with great love is a good start.) Become their champion intercessor, entrusting all to the Holy Theotokos, so that you may win back through penance what was possibly lost through sin."

A call to do penenance for their soul & to intersed for them resonates well with me. I know God hears our petitions, especially when we do penance for another soul. You have done much good for my soul, and I am really greatful.

I think I will also use your model of "I want to tell the Lord I am sorry for"... It does seem espeically helpful to remove your mind from the physical surrounding and direct it to Whom your are actually speeking to.

Peace in Christ,
Mary

It is my experience that Latin priests give much lighter penances. Some Orthodox priests (especially if one's spiritual father is a monastic) can be quite harsh.

I too am deathly scared of confession, which is no doubt the work of demons who would love to see me croak before I finally decide to go. I have a spiritual father whom I love dearly, but I am extremely uncomfortable confessing to him.

I've read in some spiritual books that sometimes one may make a "lifetime" confession. I think I could fill at least half a notebook...

One other thing, I have read conflicting things in Orthodox spiritual materials about the need to confess sins one forgets to mention. Some priests vocally mention that those sins are also forgiven in their absolution prayer, but a book I read says that we still must confess that sin next time....

One thing I'll say, Protestants have it easy. They can just "have a little talk with Jesus," no penances or embarassment. To our advantage, I think it humbles us. It does me.

I suppose it depends on what you mean by "easy". I think confession is very therapeutic in its deisgn and purpose. The fact that Protestants neglect (for reasons of theology) the great benefit they could receive from this sacrament potentially stunts their growth in theosis, IMHO. And in my experience, some say they "bring it to Jesus" but they really do not very often - only with dramatic falls perhaps. Again, it is a matter of theology. Forensic justification precludes any need for confession as well as a real, abiding and ongoing conversion, especially if you are in the "once saved always saved" camp.

I agree with the practice of confessing serious faults committed after Baptism that were forgotten in previous confessions. The classic three parts of what constitutes a "mortal sin" as developed in the west can be a tremendous help.

- Was it a serious matter?
- Did you realize it at the time?
- Did you fully consent to the sin?

I call it being "fully present to the moment". If it was a matter where you said, "Hey - I don't care if it's seriously wrong, I'm gonna do it anyway..." then you have crossed the line into matters that should be broached in confession. If any of these are missing, while it could still be of medicinal value to share with the priest, one would not be obliged canonically to confess it in subsequent confessions.

Repentance, however, is always a necessity.

Returning to the question of whether Protestants have it easier, it was a Protestant woman - who was like a spiritual mother to me as a teenager - who taught me the importance of confession in my evangelical days. She said that we must understand the ecclesial dimension of sin. When we wave our hands, we move molecules in the room, which moves other molecules which changes the universe. Every act has an effect on the universe of which we are a part. As Christians, we are all members of the Body of Christ. Whatever we do, we do"in the body" so our sins affect the whole body. When I shared with her something I had done wrong to someone else, she asked me: "Are you sorry for this?" and I said "Yes". "Then," she continued, "as a member of the body of Christ I forgive you."

It was a powerful moment of realization for me - the ecclesial dimension of sin. Christianity was not a "Jesus and me and to hell with thee" kind of faith after all. We were all somehow organically connnected.

Now when I confess as an Orthodox Catholic, I know that I am not only confessing before and to Christ and his minister, I am confessing before and to the whole community in the presence of an "ecclesial person", the elder or presbyter, who also acts in the name of the reconciling community. Perhaps most of the divisions within Protestantism could have been avoided had they continued such a ministry of reconciliation.

My two cents,

Gordo

PS: I make it a somewhat regular practice during the week to confess my sins before an icon of Christ who is our High Priest. So I am still bringing it to Him, but again, even though I may be forgiven, I still need to be reconciled to the community and to the Eucharist through canonical confession and penance. This has been the practice of the Church since apostolic times, and with good reason.