The Virtual Abbey

Eleven days till Christmas . . . still time to get to Confession.

I am going tomorrow. My practice is once a month.

A lot of people tell me that is severe. But you get into that pattern, and find it is not nearly enough.

I am still not nearly kind enough.

I still take the easy path rather than the hard path.

I still fear to proclaim my faith to those who need to hear it.

I still love myself, and material things, more than I love the Lord, who died on the cross for me.

I still pray with insufficient joy and fervor, and regard it more as hard exercise than as sport.

I still fail to practice proper custody of heart, mind, and eyes.

I still fail to appreciate all the wonders of the world around me.

A trip to the confessional puts you right with the Church sacramentally -- but it is just the beginning. We are all remarkably blind when it comes to our flaws, and old sins still hurt us, even though we may have forgotten them. You will find that in your prayer life you occasionally get an old piece of garbage brought out into your sight, and recall in a flash a time when you failed someone, or forgot the Lord. Remember that old baggage the next time you go to confession, and get rid of it. It is a sign that the ice-pack of the soul is breaking up, and spring is near.