SATURDAY HOMILY: Confession: God's CPR

3/3/2013

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may be conscious. It is called "Penance" because it requires that we be truly penitential, that is, truly sorry for our sins. Finally, it is called "Reconciliation" which, of course, is the end result of this sacrament; through this Sacrament we are made one again with God and with one another.

Confession begins with the letter "C." Penance begins with the letter "P." Reconciliation begins with the letter "R." It you put them altogether it spells, C.P.R! This Sacrament of Pardon is God's C.P.R. which He uses to revive our dead and sin-sick souls.

Sometimes people may feel that they have offended God so greatly that they are beyond God's reach. This is a thought which comes from the pit of hell and must be firmly and resolutely rejected. Confession is the last place that Satan wants sinners to go because he knows full well that there they will be set free from his stranglehold by the power of God's love and mercy.

St. Josemaria Escriva in his meditation on the Fifth Station, "Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus to carry His cross," wrote the following:

"It is not too late, nor is everything lost. Even though to you it may seem so. Even though a thousand foreboding voices keep saying so. Even though you are besieged by mocking and skeptical onlookers... You have come at a good time to take up the Cross: the Redemption is taking place -now! - and Jesus needs many Simons of Cyrene."

Lent 2013 is marching forward. It is not too late to seek God's mercy. Whether it's only been a couple of weeks or whether it's been months or years, decide today to go to the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Do not put it off any longer. The Lord who is "kind and merciful" is waiting for you there.

Count on the prayers of Our Lady, Mother of Mercy! She will take you by the hand and gently lead you to Jesus who alone can save us from our sins.

Fr. G. Peter Irving III is a priest of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and is pastor of Holy Innocents Church, Long Beach, California.

- - -

Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.

Keywords: Fr. G. Peter Irving III, Holy Innocents Long Beach, Divine Mercy, Sacrament of Penance, Confession, Reconciliation, Father Faber, There's a Wideness in God's Mercy, forgiveness of sins, Catechism of the Catholic Church 982

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Bebe
2 months ago

Matthew 24 (NIV)
The Destruction of the Temple and Signs of the End Times

24 Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. 2 “Do you see all these things?” he asked. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”

3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

4 Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains.

9 “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

15 “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’[a] spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the house. 18 Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. 19 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 20 Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.

22 “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. 23 At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you ahead of time.

26 “So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27 For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28 Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.

29 “Immediately after the distress of those days

“‘the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from the sky,
and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’[b]

30 “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth[c] will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.[d] 31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

32 “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 33 Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it[e] is near, right at the door. 34 Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

The Day and Hour Unknown

36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,[f] but only the Father. 37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.

42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46 It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. 47 Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48 But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ 49 and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. 50 The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. 51 He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Footnotes:
a.Matthew 24:15 Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11
b.Matthew 24:29 Isaiah 13:10; 34:4
c.Matthew 24:30 Or the tribes of the land
d.Matthew 24:30 See Daniel 7:13-14.
e.Matthew 24:33 Or he
f.Matthew 24:36 Some manuscripts do not have nor the Son.
Mike
2 months ago
Kent: great news and welcome home! Thanks for sharing

B: Ditto. At this particular parish there were 2 priests giving confession with 2 decent sized lines of people waiting to give their confessions
Tom
2 months ago
Wonderfull article
ana
2 months ago
I hope to go to confession today! it's only been about a month but it is a wonderful grace to work on everything big or small. Our whole family goes regularly. What a gift! Thanks Pater for the JoseMaria meditation: i have trouble understanding this concept but the clearness does come and go!
B
2 months ago
@Francisco: That's strange. I just went two weeks ago. Mt. 24:36. God bless.
Francisco
2 months ago
Confession is gone; just one of the many signs of the End Times! Catholic End Times: http://catholicguidance.blogspot.ca/
Kent
2 months ago
I was away from the Church for about 40 years at the urging of my wife I made an appointment with the Pastor at our Church and we had a long talk about why I had left the faith and what had changed. A couple of weeks later I made an appointment with a priest in the parish and went to his office where we talked andI mad a confession that spanned the time I was away from the Church. I cannot find the words to describe the feelings that I had at the completion of that confession and receiving absolution. A tremendous weight was lifted from me and I left feeling like a new man. At Mass a week later I was kneeling in the pew before Mass and I felt a tremendous fullness, happiness and joy that cannot be described, I felt so good that I actually began to cry, it was like nothing I had ever felt before or since. I know that deep in my heart is was God telling me I was forgiven and welcoming me back to the Church. I'll never stray again!

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