I, a sinful soul, confess to our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ, all of my evil acts which I have done, said or thought from baptism even unto this present day.
I have sinned: by not praying in the morning and in the evening and in the course of the day; by not attending the services or by coming to Church only halfheartedly. We cannot fool God who sees every heart and measures for what treasure, whether for Him or for the distractions of this world, it opens and gazes upon at each heartbeat.
I have sinned by self-importance, disobedience, willfulness, self-righteousness, and the seeking of approval and praise. I have sinned by pride, a high opinion of my self, narcissism, vanity, conceit, envy, love of praise; love of honors, and by putting on airs. No greater cloak for our eyes does Satan weave than this (pride) and even with the Resurrection of our Savior he is still puffed up at his victory over Adam and Eve through their pride. Without genuine lowliness and contrition, this veil cannot be removed.
I have sinned: by judging, malicious gossip, anger, remembering of offenses done to me, hatred and returning evil for evil; by slander, reproaches, lies, slyness, deception and hypocrisy; by prejudices, arguments, stubbornness, and an unwillingness to give way to my neighbor; by gloating, spitefulness, taunting, insults and mocking; by gossip, by speaking too much and by empty speech. The soul that cannot see itself in these correcting words must be pitied. And the soul that does not hide from the Truth, welcomes their reminder and, it does not forget that though the tongue may be restrained, the ears make us guilty by listening to gossip.
I have sinned by not keeping my physical and spiritual passions in check, by my enjoyment of impure thoughts, licentiousness and unchastity in thoughts, words and deeds. Who knows what stranger may knock at the door? Can one be blamed if it is a thief? But to entertain potentially sinful thoughts, is to invite them in.
I have sinned by hardening my heart, having a weak will and by not forcing myself to do good. No man liveth and sinneth not. Who will not admit that sins can be accomplished effortlessly? If Jesus, the Creator, equal to the Father and the Holy Spirit, said to the young man, “Why callest me good? There is none good save the Father”, then is anyone good? Therefore do not excuse your soul but realize the virtues of obedience and goodness, our nature in Christ, must be forced out by everyone.
I have sinned by self-justification, a disregard for the admonitions of my conscience and failing to confess my sins through negligence or false pride. Our conscience is the voice of God within us. To disregard its admonitions then, as the saint says, is to disregard God and one of the reasons the saints weep hot tears. Have you ever asked God why you have no tears for your sins?
I have sinned against the Most-holy and Life-creating Mysteries of the Body and Blood of our Lord by coming to Holy Communion without humility or the fear of God. This is why we must read the Preparation Prayers, unhurriedly and carefully, examining ourselves afterwards to see if they made a difference.
I have sinned in deed, word and thought, knowingly and unknowingly, willingly and unwillingly, thoughtfully and thoughtlessly, and it is impossible to enumerate all of my sins because of their multitude. But I truly repent of these and all others not mentioned by me because of my forgetfulness and I ask that they be forgiven through the abundance of the Mercy of God. Can one see every part of their body? Neither can we, in our disfigured condition, see all our sins. Thus the saint asks forgiveness for a multitude of sin that most of us think, because of our blindness, we do not commit.
No comments:
Post a Comment