Saturday, January 19, 2013

Confession

On Making a Good Confession

Following His glorious Resurrection, as He appeared to His Disciples, Our Lord Jesus Christ gave the command that:

    "Whosoever's sins you remit, they are remitted unto them; and whosoever's sins you retain, they are retained." John 20:23
From that moment in history, the Church has seen Confession (or repentance) as one of the holy mysteries (or sacraments) of the Church, through which the penitent receives the divine forgiveness of Christ for any sins that are confessed. 

The Lord Jesus Christ bestowed His authority upon the Church to forgive sins, and the priest or the bishop, as His representative on earth, through his ordination, prayers to God for the salvation of the servant of God who really repented of his / her sins and God forgives the sins through the priest. Not the priest but God through the priests' prayer forgives. The Mystery of Holy Confession is holy because it connects God and His children, with the priest acting as the Bridge.

Dependent upon the sin committed , the priest has the right to ban a communicant from receiving Holy Communion, for serious sin requires a time of repentance. Every priest has the right to forgive and retain through God the sins of the faithful, who are coming to Confession, but every priest can not listen to Confessions, they have to be appointed by the local Bishop, they should be trained in the practice and in the spiritual life.
 

To make a good confession it is necessary to prepare yourself carefully. Ask God to give you Grace to make a thorough examination of your conscience. The following can be of real value, as you prepare to stand before the Gospel Book, with the priest as the witness, and make your confession before Christ Himself.

Love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon

A BRIEF FORM OF CONFESSION
 
When indicated by the priest to do so, the penitent may say the following:
 
I confess to the Lord my God before you, reverend father, all my sins which I have committed up to the present day and hour, in deed, word, and thought. Every day and every hour I sin through ingratitude to God for His great and numberless blessings to me and His most gracious providence and care for me, a sinner. I have sinned through:
 
The penitent then mentions those sins from the following list he is guilty of:

  • anger
    concealing sins in confession
    disobedience
    disrespect
    insubordination
    drunkenness
    gluttony or over-eating
    evil speech
    foul speech
    saying unseemly things
    gossip
    grumbling
    idle talk
    lying
    greed
    inattention
    carelessness
    laziness
    negligence or carelessness
    love of money
    love of sensual pleasure
    sexual sins
    impure thoughts
    missing church services
    sleeping in church
    neglect of prayer
    attachment to things
    love of glory or honor
    pride
    self-love
    self-will
    vainglory or false values
    envy
    jealousy
    remembering wrongs
    reproaching others
    judging others
    condemnation of others
    resentment
    scorn
    slander
    theft
The penitent then mentions any other sins which he is guilty of, and concludes:
 
I repent of all my sins, and I beg forgiveness of our almighty God.
I also ask forgiveness for all those sins I have not confessed because of their multitude and my forgetfulness.
 
Forgive and absolve me, reverend father, and bless me to receive the Holy Communion of the precious, holy, and life-creating Mysteries of the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, unto the remission of sins and life everlasting.




Saturday January 19, 2013 / January 6, 2013
33rd Week after Pentecost. Tone seven.

The Holy Theophany of Our Lord, God, and Saviour Jesus Christ (Baptism of the Lord).

Repose of St. Theophan the Recluse, bishop of Tambov (1894).
Hieromartyr Romanus, monk of Lacedemonia, beheaded by the Turks (1695) (Greek).
New Hieromartyr Archpriest Andrew Zimin, his wife Lydia, his mother-in-law Domnica, his two daughters and his servant Maria, ofUssurisk (1919).
St. John (1942).
Venerable Laurence of Chernigov (1950).
 
You can read the life of the saint in green, by click on the name.


THANK YOU, to all of you who have been able to contribute towards the support of the monastery. These difficult times of economic hardship have impacted the monastery, and those of you who have been able to donate, have been our lifeline. May God bless you for your generosity, and kindness.
With love in Christ,  
Abbot Tryphon


Donations can be made directly to the monastery through PayPal, or you may send donations to:

All-Merciful Saviour Monastery
PO Box 2420
Vashon Island, WA 98070-2420 USA










Titus 2:11-14



Trained by Saving Grace

11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, 12 teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, 13 looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.



Titus 3:4-7


But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.



Matthew 3:13-17



John Baptizes Jesus

13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. 14 And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?”
15 But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him.
16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

1 Corinthians 10:1-4 Blessing of Waters, Epistle
Mark 1:9-11 Blessing of Waters, Gospel

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