Day 31 – Speaking of the Sacrament of Penance…

Thursday, April 16, 2020 –

It has been a month since this all started (in Virginia, anyway). I keep hoping that this will all end soon, but…alas…sigh.

There was a glimmer of hope yesterday. The Bishop of Las Cruces, New Mexico lifted the diocesan ban on public Masses. Unfortunately, it looks like some logistics still need to be worked out since the Governor or New Mexico has some pretty strict policies in place, but at least there is hope!

Regrettably, there are still many dioceses that have banned even the Sacrament of Penance. Now that we are in the Octave of Easter (and, of course, the Easter season) it seems a little odd to talk about Confession and our dire need to go, but now is precisely the best time to talk about it.

Again, it has been a month since this all started, and if the rest of society is like me, a month is far too long to put off Confession. Truthfully, a week and a half is about my limit. Thankfully, the Diocese of Arlington is still allowing the Sacrament of Penance to continue!

For those that need to go, here are some sites I have found helpful in doing a thorough examination of conscience as well as general “how to” and tips from the pros (aka Priests).

NOTE: You definitely should NOT do all these at once. That delves into scrupulosity. Pick a “theme” (aka 10 Commandments, OR 7 deadly sins, OR Virtues) and do a thorough examen with just ONE of these. I like to rotate around periodically just to get a different angle, so to speak.