The Unprofitable Servant: Examination of Conscience

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Examination of Conscience

Rembrandt's The Return of the Prodigal Son

Every time I trick myself into thinking I have nothing to confess, I look at a list like the one below and slink away in shame. I took this from the parish bulletin of St. Rose of Lima in Eddystone, PA.

Have at it.

BAD EXAMPLE * BLASPHEMY * CHEATING AT WORK * CHEATING AT SCHOOL * CURSING * DESTROYING ANOTHER’S PROPERTY *DRUNKENNESS * DEALING DRUGS * TAKING DRUGS * ENVY * GOING TO FORTUNE TELLERS * EXCESSIVE GAMBLING * GOSSIPING * GREED * GRUDGES * INAPPROPRIATE ANGER* LYING* LYING IN CONFESSION * MISSING MASS * LYING UNDER OATH * MATERIALISTIC * MEANNESS * MURDER * NAGGING * NOT FORGIVING OTHERS* NOT PRAYING * PHYSICALLY VIOLENT * PRIDE * RESENTMENT* SELFISHNESS * ABORTION * ADULTERY * ADVISING SOMEONE TO HAVE AN ABORTION* PORNOGRAPHY * RECEIVING COMMUNION WITHOUT HAVING CONFESSED SERIOUS SIN * STEALING * STUBBORNNESS * SWEARING * USING OUIJA BOARD * ANY SEXUAL ACTIVITY OUTSIDE OF MARRIAGE * PHYSICAL OR SEXUAL OR VERBAL ABUSE * TAKING REVENGE *

Wonder if the honey-do's count as nagging? How else is a married woman to manage getting her husband to do anything around the house?

14 comments:

MannyMarch 15, 2011 at 8:43 PM
Going to fortune tellers???? LOL, why is that a sin? Now I am really going to hell. :-P And yes honey-do nagging is definitely a mortal sin in my book. ;)
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Kathy Felsted UsherMarch 15, 2011 at 8:51 PM
I tell my honey that it stops being nagging when he hasn't finished a "to do" after 10 years! That would be the house he built for us- never quite finished, almost, but never quite done. So far, never a penance given. Our priest has been here! LOL
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TLWMarch 15, 2011 at 8:54 PM
See Manny? There is a good reason why God brought you to my blog. I gave you a hard enough time about silence after Mass, so I will let one of our other brothers or sisters explain to you why fortune tellers are a no-no, just like ouija boards, etc.

Kathy, that is funny. You must have a lot of patience :)
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TLWMarch 15, 2011 at 8:56 PM
Oh, yes Manny, I can see why you'd think nagging is a mortal sin LOL ;p
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JulieMarch 15, 2011 at 9:05 PM
Ok, I can definitely see the "taking the Lord's name in vain" as swearing, and therefore a sin. But what about the other expletives? Those are sins? And if you didn't know it was a sin to begin with, is it? Oy...
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Mary ChristineMarch 15, 2011 at 9:08 PM
I nag people at work all day long - that is my job.

And is it up to me to answer Manny's question? My best answer is "the forbidden fruit." We are not supposed to know everything that is going to happen, we are supposed to trust God.

That's my take on it...
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TLWMarch 15, 2011 at 9:11 PM
Julie, I suppose it depends on which expletives. As I said, after reading this list, I felt like a slimey worm lol

Mary Christine, thanks for taking that on. I'm not sure if "nagging" at work counts. I'd love to meet the priest who came up with this list.
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MannyMarch 15, 2011 at 9:26 PM
Mary-C, that's if you believe that fortune tellers can really read the future. My take would be that it's putting one's faith in some sort of idol. But who knows? No one can possibly be sinless according to the list. All I can do is ask Christ for His mercy.
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MariaMarch 15, 2011 at 9:26 PM
Manny: I hope this answers your question re why going to fortune tellers is a sin:

FROM CCC

Divination and magic

2115 God can reveal the future to his prophets or to other saints. Still, a sound Christian attitude consists in putting oneself confidently into the hands of Providence for whatever concerns the future, and giving up all unhealthy curiosity about it. Improvidence, however, can constitute a lack of responsibility.

2116 All forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to "unveil" the future.48 Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone.

2138 Superstition is a departure from the worship that we give to the true God. It is manifested in idolatry, as well as in various forms of divination and magic.
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Mary ChristineMarch 15, 2011 at 9:51 PM
Oh, and there is a huge reproduction of that wonderful painting in the hallway to the confessional at my "old" church.
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KellyMarch 16, 2011 at 5:56 AM
I believe it is contact with spirits of darkness that is forbidden. I can find the scripture when I get home later, have to run right now...but in my words--it opens doors in us that ought not to be open.
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KellyMarch 16, 2011 at 6:50 PM
here is just one-
Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
—Galatians 5:19-21
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MannyMarch 16, 2011 at 8:15 PM
Thank you Maria. I guess Mary-C was correct. But who believes in fortune tellers anyway? Some of this is hooey. God made me in flesh and blood subject to sins. To beat myself silly that I can't measure up would be to deny my humanity. I know i am not a siant. In the end I love God and I love my neighbor and I ask for Christ's mercy.
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MariaMarch 16, 2011 at 11:44 PM
Kelly: That about covers it, right? LOL.
Manny: Most days I cant do all three, Manny. You're ahead of me!
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Mary, Queen of Peace

Ever glorious and blessed Mary, Queen of Virgins, Mother of Mercy, hope and comfort of dejected and desolate souls, through that sword of sorrow which pierced thy tender heart whilst thine only Son, Christ Jesus, our Lord, suffered death and ignominy on the cross; through that filial tenderness and pure love He had for thee, grieving in thy grief, whilst from His cross He recommended thee to the care and protection of His beloved disciple, St. John, take pity, I beseech thee, on my poverty and necessities; have compassion on my anxieties and cares; assist and comfort me in all my infirmities and miseries, of every kind whatsoever. Thou art the Mother of Mercies, the sweet comforter and only refuge of the needy and the orphan, of the desolate and afflicted. Cast, therefore, an eye of pity on a miserable, forlorn child of Eve, and hear my prayer; for since, in just punishment of my sins, I find myself encompassed by a multitude of evils, and oppressed with much anguish of spirit, wither can I fly for more secure shelter, O amiable Mother of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, than under the wings of thy maternal protection? Attend, therefore, I beseech thee, with an ear of pity and compassion, to my humble and earnest request. I ask it, through the bowels of mercy of thy dear Son; Through that love and condescension wherewith He embraced our nature, when, in compliance with the divine Will, thou gavest thy consent, and whom, after the expiration of nine months thou didst bring forth from the chaste enclosure of thy womb, to visit the world, and bless it with His presence. I ask it, through that anguish of mind wherewith thy beloved Son, our dear Saviour, was overwhelmed on the Mount of Olives, when He besought His eternal Father to remove from Him, if possible, the bitter chalice of His future passion. I ask it, through the threefold repetition of His prayers in the garden, whence afterwards, with dolorous steps and mournful tears, thou didst accompany Him to the doleful theatre of His death and sufferings. I ask it, through the welts and bruises of His virginal flesh, occasioned by the cords and whips wherewith He was bound and scourged, when stripped of His seamless garment, for which His executioners afterwards cast lots. I ask it, through the scoffs and ignominies by which He was insulted; the false accusations and unjust sentence by which He was condemned to death, and which He bore with heavenly patience. I ask it, through His bitter tears and bloody sweat; His silence and resignation; His sadness and grief of heart. I ask it, through the blood which trickled from His royal and Sacred Head, when struck with the sceptre of a reed and pierced with His crown of thorns. I ask it, through the excruciating torments He suffered, when His hands and feet were fastened with gross nails to the tree of the cross. I ask it, through His vehement thirst, and bitter potion of vinegar and gall. I ask it, through His dereliction on the cross when He exclaimed, "My God! my God! why hast Thou forsaken me?" I ask it, through His mercy extended to the good thief, and through His recommending His precious soul and spirit into the hands of His eternal Father before He expired, saying, "It is consummated." I ask it, through the blood mixed with water, which issued from His Sacred Side when pierced with a lance, and whence a flood of grace and mercy has flowed to us. I ask it, through His immaculate life, bitter passion and ignominious death on the cross, at which nature itself was thrown into convulsions, by the bursting of rocks, rending of the veil of the Temple, the earthquake, and the darkness of the sun and moon. I ask it, through His descent into hell, where He confronted the Saints of the old law with His presence, and led the captivity captive. I ask it, through His glorious victory over death, when He arose again to life on the third day, and through the joy which His appearance for forty days after gave thee, His blessed Mother, His Apostles, and the rest of His Disciples; when in thine and their presence He miraculously ascended into heaven. I ask it, through the grace of the Holy Spirit, infused into the hearts of His Disciples, when He descended upon them in the form of fiery tongues, and by which they were inspired with zeal in the conversion of the world, when they went to preach the gospel. I ask it, through the awful appearance of thy Son, at the last dreadful day, when He shall come to judge the living and the dead, and the world, by fire. I ask it, through the compassion He bore thee in His life, and the unspeakable joy thou didst feel at thine assumption into heaven, where thou art eternally absorbed in the sweet contemplation of His divine perfections. O glorious and ever blessed Virgin! comfort the heart of thy supplicant, by obtaining for me, (Mention your prayer intention here...) And as I am persuaded my Divine Saviour doth honour thee as His beloved Mother, to whom He refuses nothing, because thou asketh nothing contrary to His honour, so let me speedily experience the efficacy of thy powerful intercession, according to the tenderness of thy maternal affection, and His filial loving heart, who mercifully granteth the requests and complieth with the desires of those that love and fear Him. Wherefore, O most blessed Virgin, beside the object of my present petition, and whatever else I may stand in need of, obtain for me also of thy dear Son, our Lord and our God, a lively faith, firm hope, perfect charity, true contrition of heart, unfeigned tears of compunction, sincere confession, condign satisfaction, abstinence from sin, love of God and my neighbour, contempt of the world, patience to suffer affronts and ignominies, nay, even, if necessary, an opprobrious death itself, for love of thy Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ. Obtain likewise for me, O sacred Mother of God, perseverance in good works, performance of good resolutions, mortification of self-will, a pious conversation through life, and, at my last moments, strong and sincere repentance, accompanied by such a lively and attentive presence of mind, as may enable me to receive the last Sacrament of the Church worthily, and die in thy friendship and favour. Lastly, obtain through thy Son, I beseech thee, for the souls of my parents, brethren, relatives and benefactors, both living and dead, life everlasting, from the only Giver of every good and perfect gift, the Lord God Almighty, to Whom be all power now and forever. Amen.

Prayer of St. Bonaventure

Pierce, O most sweet Lord Jesus, my inmost soul with the most joyous and healthful wound of Thy love, and with true, calm and most holy apostolic charity, that my soul may ever languish and melt with entire love and longing for Thee, may yearn for Thee and for thy courts, may long to be dissolved and to be with Thee.
Grant that my soul may hunger after Thee, the Bread of Angels, the refreshment of holy souls, our daily and super substantial bread, having all sweetness and savor and every delightful taste.
May my heart ever hunger after and feed upon Thee, Whom the angels desire to look upon, and may my inmost soul be filled with the sweetness of Thy savor; may it ever thirst for Thee, the fountain of life, the fountain of wisdom and knowledge, the fountain of eternal light, the torrent of pleasure, the fullness of the house of God;
may it ever compass Thee, seek Thee, find Thee, run to Thee, come up to Thee, meditate on Thee, speak of Thee, and do all for the praise and glory of Thy name, with humility and discretion, with love and delight, with ease and affection, with perseverance to the end; and be Thou alone ever my hope, my entire confidence, my riches, my delight, my pleasure, my joy, my rest and tranquility, my peace, my sweetness, my food, my refreshment, my refuge, my help, my wisdom, my portion, my possession, my treasure; in Whom may my mind and my heart be ever fixed and firm and rooted immovably. Amen.

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God Bless You!

The Unprofitable Servant

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Examination of Conscience

14 comments:

Mary, Queen of Peace

St Michael the Archangel

St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi

St. Teresa Benedicta of The Cross