Convince me...

[Caedmon]

... to ask for Reconciliation.

I am in RCIA, once again. Last time, I was too afraid to go through with Confirmation. There are a few other difficult things, but Reconciliation is the toughest for me. I'm closer to asking to be confirmed than I've ever been. I want to join the Church fully, but I am scared. Please... help me feel not so afraid. Please encourage me to ask my pastor to help me find a time to participate in Reconciliation. I need lots of TLC. I have always been frought with lots of anxiety and fear. Please give me gentle explanations and gentle encouragements for seeking Reconciliation. I feel like a child, very silly for this request, but I need it a lot. Noone in my family is Catholic, so I didn't and don't have any Catholic role models in them, and I don't get a lot of exposure to devout Catholics right now, considering the demographics. Please help me not be scared about this. *puppy eyes*

 

[lionroar0]

praying for you. I understand what you mean by anxiety about reconciliation. I have it to. Smetimes it takes month for me to go but after I'm done I say this to myself

"Why was I so anxious?" "I should do this more often" "It feels great to have absolution"

Then I start the whole thing over again

I guess what I'm trying to say that it's okay to go feeling anxious and even have a some fear.

Reconciliation is there just for that to help us overcome our physical, emotional and spiritual imperfections and gives us the chance to be more Christlike.

Praying for you

 

[thereselittleflower]

Hi Caedmon . . .

Can I make a suggestion . . . . Ask if you can attend one of the reconcilliation times for children if they do this at your parish . .

I will share my experience doing this at ours that took forever that fear away . . . .


My chidren were in the weekly classes given by our parish and they were schedualed for reconcilliation . . well, we were not in the Church yet, so they couldn't receive the sacrament of reconcilliation, but they could go up for a blessing . . .

I sat in the pew while 2 priests (ours and a visiting priest) heard their confessions . . . 2 lines of children, and a beautiful music was playing in the background . . .

I began to experience the reality of this sacrament . . . and what I am going to share were the things I perceived, felt, and 'almost' saw . . .

I began to feel overwhelemed with Love, with God's love for me, and a beckoning, a strong beckoning to come and receive this sacrament . .

It was as though angels had filled the place and were beckoning me to come . . . softly, gently, sweetly, tenderly . .

I was openly weeping . . . my girls from half way across the sanctuary were pointing at me with smles on their faces . . . they could see how very deeply I was touched by all this . ..

The presence of angels was so strong. . . and God's love was swirling around, soft and gentle . . . I don't know if I have ever experienced it that way before . . . oh so tender . . .


And as I watched Father, it was as though I could almost see that Christ was standing right there . . . and this gets very hard to explain . . .

The priest is Christ to us . . . I "saw" the reality of this that day . . not visibly, but almost visibly - I perceived it almost on the level of sight . . it is so hard to describe . . . Jesus and the priest were one . ..

The priest was hearing the confession . .. but it wasn't the priest, it was Jesus . .. I was in awe . . . .


I will never forget this experience . .it transformed me . . . and though sometimes satan tries to make me fear this, how can I really when I know what the reality of it is, even if just to this extent?


I pray that Holy Spirit ministers the reality of this experience to you so that you may also share in this very holy and gentle, tender, and loving sacrament.


I suggested at the beginning attending such an event if they do something similar, where you can observe without actually being in a place where you can overhear the confessions . . .

If not, there may also be a communal reconcilliation coming up in the next week or so . .. It may be good to attend this . ..

At our Church, several priests come together, a prayer and general repentance service preceeds the actual administering of the sacrament . . then the priests go to their individual places and people get in line . . . it is all over when it is over . . .it can take hours .. (If they do not hear individual confessions, then it is not really properly done)

Even if you do not get in line, just being there may be very helpful to you, to begin to understand how wonderful this sacrament really is.



Peace in Him!

 

[ukok]

Caed, no one in my family is Catholic either, so i appreciate how hard it is to stand alone for what you believe in (though we both know you're not alone, right..Our Lord, the Blessed Virgin Mary, all those Angels and Saint's....)

When i came to a point where i knew that i wanted to be Catholic, so much that it actually 'hurt'..i knew that i had to be prepared to spill out the most awful sin's that spanned all my 35 years...(i wasn't aware at the time that it would be later revealed that i was not baptised, and therefore i would not make Confession prior to my reception into the Faith)...and when i started to think about those years, i just cried...i was terrified of telling another living soul, all thos terrible things that i had done ..seriously...no one but God know's some of those sin's, because they are so awful....i felt sick to my stomache just thinking about them, i wanted to begin again without dredging up the past....but my longing to call myself 'Catholic', to live my life 'Catholic', did not diminish...my eagernes to partake of the Sacramental life forced me to confront the fact that i had to just put my trust in God...and my priest...and you know, i really did reach a point where i realised, that i would always carry around immense and often overwhelming feelings of guilt and self-disgust, until i let it go in Christ...let it go from me, show true contrition, and repentence, and committ 100 percent to what i was ever more convinced of...that God founded the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, initiated each of the 7 Sacrament's...and i wasn't a protestant anymore...i didn't get to pick and choose which bit's i liked and which bit's i didn't!

To be Catholic is to embrace EVERYTHING!

It wasn't until later, when the Church was reviewing my former marriage, prior to my reception into the Catholic Faith, that i was informed that i would need to produce a certificate of Baptism, or proof thereof..and there was much distress on my part and that of my parent's (i actually wanted to have been baptised, as i had believed myself to have been), it was discovered that i had not been baptised all those years before...I have to admit, i even felt slightly dissapointed that i had made this gargantuam decision to be obedient to the Church, and then didn't get to make first confession prior to my reception into the Church..and i am telling you the absolute truth, i was so ashamed of my past sin's that i would cry myself asleep at night...

You may not believe this, but once i was recieved through baptism into the Catholic Faith, i couldn't wait to make my first confession! I was so eager, that at the Divine Mercy Mass, three weks later, i went to confess to a priest i'd never met, face to face...not even remembering the proper way to confess..it was a special Mass with Adoration and afterwards (while the Divine Mercy Chaplet was being prayed ~ is that why I have such a dep affection for it to this day? ) , there were priest's sitting at the front of the Church to hear confession..i couldn't stop myself!

I can't tell you how good it feels to submit your will to God 100 percent..and it is his will that we partake of this Glorious Sacrament of Reconcilliation!

It's graces are sublime!

Go for it

God Bless.

 

[epiclesis]

 

[karla]

I know where you are coming from. I was away fromt he church from 5th grade until I was in my first year of college. It wasn't until my second year of college that I went back to confession. It was very hard because there were so many things that happened during my time away. I was terrified of letting it all out there. Finally I jsut said that 's it, I'm doing it. I made an appointment with the priest and went to see him. I can't telling you how amazing it was and how great I felt when I left. It seemed like all that nervousness and all that anxiety washed away as soon as I sat down in front of him. I let it all out and he really helped me with some issues that I had with my family, mainly my biological father. I was talking with my second graders about this last night, as they are preparing for their first confession and first communion. The most importnat aspect of the Catholic faith is receiving the Holy Eucharitst, receving the Body and Blood of Our Lord and it such an awesome thing. To know that when you receive that you are becoming a temple of the Lord. Confession is what prepares us to receive Him. Just like you wouldn't do to a fancy resturant all dirty and wearing ripped us sweats or flannel shirts, you would want to get cleaned up, dress nicely, look your best. That is what confession is, it is cleaning ourselves up so that we may become that Temple of the Lord. We wouldn't want to see Jesus thrown into a dark, dirty, pit, and when we have sinned we start to become that, with confession it is washed away and we are clean again. Believe me, I know that confession is a scary thing at first, but once you do it, you'll wonder why you were so worried to begin with. There is nothing you can tell the priest that he hasn't heard before, and nothing that will make him think less of you. My advice is just do it because there is such a great reward. I will be praying for you.

 

[ukok]

Karla: Confession is what prepares us to receive Him. Just like you wouldn't do to a fancy resturant all dirty and wearing ripped us sweats or flannel shirts, you would want to get cleaned up, dress nicely, look your best. That is what confession is, it is cleaning ourselves up so that we may become that Temple of the Lord.

Well said!