Confession: Breaking it Down

"Pray, confess, communicate, serve God, and never weary."

So I recently read a small pamphlet, Confession: A Little Book for the Reluctant, by a French priest, Msgr. Louis Gaston de Segur, from the 19th century. And it was amazing. I just wanted to throw out a few quotes from the priest so here goes:

"Softly, my friend, do not be angry to begin with. Only listen to me, and before we finish you will see that you are in the wrong and I in the right."

How amazing is that to all those who don't believe! Just give the guy a chance, and it will all make sense. He loves your soul more than you know.

"God treats us as a mother treats her little ones; to make them eat their bread and meat, the mother puts sauce on the meat and a little butter or preserves on the bread. Pleasure is only the preserves spread over duty. Duty is the bread, the solid bread which nourishes."

In reflecting on the importance of duty, Msgr. Louis focusses on how duty is something that we don't often like yet do because we need to. It is a grace that we enjoy duty sometimes. This grace is the pleasure.

"He lied before; he lies after. Before, in hiding the heineousness of the evil; after, in exagerating it beyond measure. Before in making us forget the holy justice of God; after, in making us forget His infinite tenderness, goodness and mercy."

Can anyone say, Satan? God's justice and mercy are combined here beautifully.

"Had not our Saviour more regard for the tears of St. Peter than for his fall?"

Yes. 'Nough said.

"The longer you leave without [the] cultivation [of] the soil of your conscience, the harder it will become, the more it will be covered with thorns and briars, the greater will be the efoort, and it will cost more to restore it to a proper condition."

In other words, go to confession. Otherwise, you won't remember what weeds are under the new weeds. Garden your conscience so that it'll be pretty and free of weeds. Newly turned soil is nuce nicer to look at.

"We must shun the poison of sacrilege more than any other, seeing that sacrilege is, in its nature, more directly opposed to the sanctity of God."

Most of the time when I am discussing sacrilege, I am talking about pro-abort politicians receiving Communion unworthily. Here, Msgr Louis is speaking about receiving the sacrament of Penance without making a valid confession. If the priest doesn't sense that you aren't fully confessing everything, and he absolves you when you haven't confessed everything, woe to you! You are then guilty of sacrilege. Doesn't Christ say, "Do not give to dogs what is holy?" (Matt. 7:6). And isn't "Thou shalt not steal," one of the 10 Commandments? Yes, and yes.