Frequent. Remember frequent.



Ten tips on how to confess well

The more frequently you try to confess well, the better your confessions will be...

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God bless them


Irish priests reject suggestion that they break seal of confession

The Irish Church has had its share of troubles now too, but I'm glad to see the priests taking their vows and promises seriously.

I still wish someone would start a look into the scandal of sexual abuse by teachers. It would help people realize that there are groups that have been even worse than Catholic priests for percentage of abusers.

Ehhh, how would people sue the disparate school entities, though? It's really all about the money now anyway...

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Absolutely!

You tell 'em, Mark! Where did these people come from?

Sealofconfession.com

I really hate seeing things that have a special place in people's lives become fodder for some kind of mocking, social-commentary/humour website. This is a scam, and if it's not a scam, it's a weird kind of joke of some kind, or a joke AND scam. It certainly isn't legitimate. It is most definitely a fraud.

I would hope that Catholics out there would know better than to use this site, and if they don't know better, well, DON'T USE IT!

There.

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A renewal of both

would be a very good thing...

Pope urges revival of prayer and confession, in era of "lost conscience"

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A fairly good article

that talks about the new Confession app that has been in the news so much, and the need for confession.

iPhone Apps and the Old Adam

"A meditation on corporate confession for Ash Wednesday."

The editorialist betrays his/her non-Catholic background by assuming that Catholics approach the sacrament only in an individual sense (though for some that may be true) rather than a corporate sense. They ignore the existence in the Catholic Church of reconciliation services, and Catholic teaching that, while we're admitting individual faults, part of the healing of the sacrament is the healing of broken bonds and relationships with our brothers and sisters caused by our very personal sin. But then, it's an Evangelical magazine, after all...

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So few people

take advantage of this wonderful healing sacrament...

Priests moved by ‘lost sacrament’ of confession

I would guess that most who don't have no idea what the sacrament is like today, and are burdened by their old experiences of it. Except the youth, of course, who are likely most affected by the elders who see no need or use for it...

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The film version of the semon and sacrament

The Ash Wednesday Sermon I Would Give

""Moonstruck" gives us a fine introduction to the business of Ash Wednesday."

My only question is, how many people can't spend an extra 10-12 minutes out of their day being nourished by a sermon? Are we all really that rushed, especially on a special and important day like Ash Wednesday?

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Amazing.

And I say that with absolutely no sense of excitement.

A Capuchin friar discusses the app:

Understanding the Confession App for the iPhone

I even have some disagreements with his analysis. He worries that the use of it might be disrespectful and clicking away on it in line might be rude. Well, yes, it would likely be best to use it in your preparations before Confession, and not while you're pubicly waiting in line. That's a problem with people and not the app. As far as being disrespectful in the confessional, honestly, I know of priests who have heard many confessions that were written down on sheets of paper, very detailed and specific, that were almost read as written, and who have said that they were some of the best confessions they had ever heard. Just because a way of listing something is new doesn't make it disrespectful. It all depends on how it is used.

The problem with this app is the imprimatur. If they had just released it quietly there wouldn't be an issue, just as there hasn't been with the other similar apps.

That's it. Unless there's some huge issue that shows up about this thing, I'm done blogging about it. No more wasting electrons on such a small thing...

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Heh...

Bogus Claims About iPhone Confession App
 

"The best we can say about those pitching these bogus claims is that they are clueless. The worst we can say is that they might benefit from purchasing the app and putting it to good use."

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Tempest - meet teapot

When I blogged about this the other day, I didn't think that it would need more than a simple explanation to people, nor did I think it would be misunderstood so that it would have to have official statements made of it.

Catholics cannot confess via iPhone: Vatican

But then, I forgot that, when dealing with announcements to the public, one needs to remember the lowest common denominator, in this case people who don't read the whole article and jump to conclusions, and then things get blown out of proportion, and so on and so on.

This app isn't for 'electronic confession'. It's much like a written script to help one examine their conscience and make a good confession. The 'imprimatur' doesn't state anything other than the app is approved for publishing (or to be released - it is usually applied to written works). This isn't the only app like it, it's simply the first to allow a Church official to review it before release. I have it on my iPod and it looks good. A couple of the others look just as good, some more traditional than others. None-the-less, none are meant as a substitute for the usual form of Reconciliation.

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Anything will likely help

particularly for those who don't participate in the Sacrament very often.

Developers of new app say it could bring Catholics back to confession

Or it might be wishful, technologically speaking, thinking...

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