- Mar 25, 2005
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I got a great deal of good information from Father Corapi on how to make a good confession last night. Unfortunatly I don't remember everything he said word for word but here are a few important things I do remember.
He said a good confession should only take no more than 5 or 10 minutes. He said people are perplexed when he says that and people say "But I have been really bad." He says...there are only 10 commandments! So you can only have a maximum of 10 things to confess. He said you only need to confess each of the commandments that you broke. You don't have to and shouldn't go into detail about each individual sin you committed. You just need to say which commandment you broke and how often if you remember it.
Then he went through each of the commandments and some of the most common grave sins that people commit. He also explained that if we were all on a plane that was about to crash he could and would give a general absolution and it would be as good as an individual confession for everyone who would have a desire to go to individual confession. All of us wouldn't have to do anything. But he went on to say that is extraordinary circumstances.
He said ordinarily the only ordinary way to restore yourself to a state of grace after committing a mortal sin is through sacramental confession.
He then went through on how to examine your conscience and he had a few humorous stories like the one about this young man who came into confession and said "Bless me father but I haven't sinned." He said he thought there was only one immaculate conception. Then he asked the man if his mother sent him here and he said yes. Then he started with the first commandment and asked him if he has kept God first above all things in the world. The man said "No." He said that's a good start and then he said it's amazing how things roll off your toungue because the next thing he asked is how long he has been living with his girlfriend. He was startled and said "How did you know that!" Father Corapi said he didn't even know this man. So after going through the commandments he gave him absolution and he finally asked, "So one last thing...when are you moving out from your girlfriend's place?" He said "What do you mean?" He said it's one thing to confess it but you have to commit to living without sin which means you can't just go back to commiting the same sin you just confessed.
He told the story of a bunch of lumber jacks that came in. He said they sent the toughest guy in the group to go first. He went in and said he had commit every sin in the book. So he asked if he commit murder. The lumber jack said, well no. So Father sent him out to do a real examination of conscience. So when he left he said to his friends, "Don't bother guys, he's only hearing murder cases!"
Father Corapi said that masturbation is a mortal sin. He said he knows there are morally corrupt people even in the Catholic Church that deny this but it is a mortal sin! He said it is not always mortal. He said if you didn't have knowledge this was mortal it's not mortal. He said if you are addicted to it then it's not mortal. But even so, you still have to commit to stop. You can't just use the addiction excuse to not even try to stop.
He mentioned drug and alcohol abuse as mortal sins. As well as cigarette smoking. He said 40 years ago it wasn't a mortal sin because no one knew what smoking did. He said now you have to be an idiot not to know smoking causes cancer. He said if you have this nasty habbit then quit! He said he had a family member that was in his 70s and smoked since he was a teenager. Another family member told him the cigaretts are going to kill him and he will get cancer like so and so did and you will have terrible suffering just like he did. So, the man looked at the pack of cigarettes, mediated for a minute and made a perfect hook shot into the trash can and never smoked again. So it can be done.
He said one way to think about this is when he was in the military they made him do a 4 day march with almost no sleep in the worst of conditions. One time when they were at the end of what they could tolerate their drill instructor said "If you can't get to battle how do you expect to fight?" That's what mortal sin is about. Mortal sin makes it so we lose all of God's grace and we can't even get to the battle. Confession restores us to a state of grace so we can get to the battle.
He said a good confession should only take no more than 5 or 10 minutes. He said people are perplexed when he says that and people say "But I have been really bad." He says...there are only 10 commandments! So you can only have a maximum of 10 things to confess. He said you only need to confess each of the commandments that you broke. You don't have to and shouldn't go into detail about each individual sin you committed. You just need to say which commandment you broke and how often if you remember it.
Then he went through each of the commandments and some of the most common grave sins that people commit. He also explained that if we were all on a plane that was about to crash he could and would give a general absolution and it would be as good as an individual confession for everyone who would have a desire to go to individual confession. All of us wouldn't have to do anything. But he went on to say that is extraordinary circumstances.
He said ordinarily the only ordinary way to restore yourself to a state of grace after committing a mortal sin is through sacramental confession.
He then went through on how to examine your conscience and he had a few humorous stories like the one about this young man who came into confession and said "Bless me father but I haven't sinned." He said he thought there was only one immaculate conception. Then he asked the man if his mother sent him here and he said yes. Then he started with the first commandment and asked him if he has kept God first above all things in the world. The man said "No." He said that's a good start and then he said it's amazing how things roll off your toungue because the next thing he asked is how long he has been living with his girlfriend. He was startled and said "How did you know that!" Father Corapi said he didn't even know this man. So after going through the commandments he gave him absolution and he finally asked, "So one last thing...when are you moving out from your girlfriend's place?" He said "What do you mean?" He said it's one thing to confess it but you have to commit to living without sin which means you can't just go back to commiting the same sin you just confessed.
He told the story of a bunch of lumber jacks that came in. He said they sent the toughest guy in the group to go first. He went in and said he had commit every sin in the book. So he asked if he commit murder. The lumber jack said, well no. So Father sent him out to do a real examination of conscience. So when he left he said to his friends, "Don't bother guys, he's only hearing murder cases!"
Father Corapi said that masturbation is a mortal sin. He said he knows there are morally corrupt people even in the Catholic Church that deny this but it is a mortal sin! He said it is not always mortal. He said if you didn't have knowledge this was mortal it's not mortal. He said if you are addicted to it then it's not mortal. But even so, you still have to commit to stop. You can't just use the addiction excuse to not even try to stop.
He mentioned drug and alcohol abuse as mortal sins. As well as cigarette smoking. He said 40 years ago it wasn't a mortal sin because no one knew what smoking did. He said now you have to be an idiot not to know smoking causes cancer. He said if you have this nasty habbit then quit! He said he had a family member that was in his 70s and smoked since he was a teenager. Another family member told him the cigaretts are going to kill him and he will get cancer like so and so did and you will have terrible suffering just like he did. So, the man looked at the pack of cigarettes, mediated for a minute and made a perfect hook shot into the trash can and never smoked again. So it can be done.
He said one way to think about this is when he was in the military they made him do a 4 day march with almost no sleep in the worst of conditions. One time when they were at the end of what they could tolerate their drill instructor said "If you can't get to battle how do you expect to fight?" That's what mortal sin is about. Mortal sin makes it so we lose all of God's grace and we can't even get to the battle. Confession restores us to a state of grace so we can get to the battle.
