“For catechesis to be effective,
it must be permanent, and it would be quite useless if it stopped short at the threshold of maturity.”
-Pope St. John Paul II
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“Every one who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me.” -John 6:45
"While in the world, I used to think of all the pleasant and unpleasant things which might happen throughout the day, and if I foresaw nothing but worries I got up with a heavy heart. Now it is quite the reverse. I think of the pains and of the sufferings awaiting me, and I rise, feeling all the more courageous and light of heart in proportion to the opportunities I foresee of proving my love for Our Lord, and of gaining my children's livelihood."
"Then I kiss my crucifix, and laying it gently on my pillow, I leave it there while I dress and I say: 'My Jesus, Thou hast toiled and wept enough during Thy three-and-thirty years on this miserable earth. Rest Thee, today! It is my turn to suffer and fight.'"
-Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus
“On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry. And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. And he said to it, ‘May no one ever eat fruit from you again.’ And his disciples heard it. [….] As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. And Peter remembered and said to him, ‘Master, look! The fig tree which you cursed has withered.’” -Mark 11:12-14, 20-21
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch of mine that bears no fruit, he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already made clean by the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If a man does not abide in me, he is cast forth as a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned.” -John 14:1-6
In the early history of the Church, people heard the Good News that God sent us His Son, become man. Moved by grace to believe in the saving power of Jesus' death and resurrection, people wanted to know what to do next. By the forth century the Church had developed a rich process by which someone would prepare for initiation into the Church through baptism, confirmation and Eucharist. Called catechumens, people would be taught the Christian Faith, how to pray and how one ought to act as a disciple of Jesus.
Once ready, a catechumen would be elected by the bishop six weeks before Easter, beginning a period of prayer, fasting and penance for 40 days, in imitation of Jesus’ 40 days in the dessert. This would be their final preparation for the sacraments on the Easter Vigil.
It soon became a custom for new Christians to prepare for Easter with a 40-day period of prayer, fasting and alms giving, imitating what they did when they first prepared for initiation into the Church. Eventually this practice became the season of the Church we now call Lent.
Pope St John Paul II
“Confession is an act of honesty and courage – an act of entrusting ourselves, beyond sin, to the mercy of a loving and forgiving God.”
“It is than.ks to the medicine of confession that the experience of sin does not degenerate into despair. The Rite of Penance alludes to this healing aspect of the sacrament, to which modern man is perhaps more sensitive, seeing as he does in sin the element of error but even more the element of weakness and human frailty.”
“The two sacraments of the Eucharist and Penance are very closely connected. Because the Eucharist makes present the redeeming sacrifice of the Cross, perpetuating it sacramentally, it naturally gives rise to a continuous need for conversion, for a personal response to the appeal made by St Paul to the Christians of Corinth: ‘We beseech you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God’ (2 Cor 5:20). If a Christian’s conscience is burdened by serious sin, then the path of penance through the sacrament of Reconciliation becomes necessary for full participation in the Eucharistic Sacrifice.”
“I also wish to pay homage to the innumerable host of holy and almost always anonymous confessors to whom is owed the salvation of so many souls who have been helped by them in conversion, in the struggle against sin and temptation, in spiritual progress and, in a word, in achieving holiness. I do not hesitate to say that even the great canonised saints are generally the fruit of those confessionals.”
St. Thomas Aquinas
“In the life of the body a man is sometimes sick, and unless he takes medicine, he will die. Even so in the spiritual life a man is sick on account of sin. For that reason he needs medicine so that he may be restored to health; and this grace is bestowed in the Sacrament of Penance.”
St. Francis de Sales
“Go to your confessor; open your heart to him; display to him all the recesses of your soul; take the advice that he will give you with the utmost humility and simplicity. For God, Who has an infinite love for obedience, frequently renders profitable the counsels we take from others, but especially from those who are the guides of our souls.”
St. Josemaría Escrivá
“You revealed your past wounds – full of pus – in Confession. And the priest dealt with your soul like a good doctor, like a conscientious doctor. He made an incision where he had to, and would not let the wound heal over until everything had been cleaned out. Be grateful.”
Pope St. John XXIII
“Doing penance for one’s sins is a first step towards obtaining forgiveness and winning eternal salvation. That is the clear and explicit teaching of Christ, and no one can fail to see how justified and how right the Catholic Church has always been in constantly insisting on this. She is the spokesman for her divine Redeemer. No individual Christian can grow in perfection, nor can Christianity gain in vigour, except it be on the basis of penance.”
St. Ambrose
“They [the Montanist heretics] affirm that they are showing great reverence for God, to Whom alone they reserve the power of forgiving sins. But in truth none do Him greater injury than they who choose to prune His commandments and reject the office entrusted to them [i.e. to the priests]. For inasmuch as the Lord Jesus Himself said in the Gospel: ‘Receive ye the Holy Spirit, whosesoever sins ye forgive they are forgiven unto them, and whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained,’ Who is it that honors Him most, he who obeys His bidding or he who rejects it?”
St. Augustine
“Let us not heed those who deny that the Church of God can remit all sins. Failing to recognize in Peter the ‘rock’, these unhappy souls have accordingly lost possession of the keys; they are unwilling to believe that the keys of the kingdom of heaven have been given to the Church.”
St. Fulgentius of Ruspe
“Let not considering the atrocity of any sin cause anyone to despair of the mercy of God. Nor still should anyone remain in his sins on the pretext of hoping for the mercy of God at death. But let a hopeful person confidently seek the harbor of penance without faltering so that his humility may avoid the deadly shipwreck of despair. And may he so love God’s mercy that, although fearful, he may also take into consideration His justice. Let him hope that everything can be forgiven him when he turns from his sin. But let him think that nothing is forgiven a stubborn person. Let the wicked person change his life now and he will not find punishment. Let him flee guilt and he will receive mercy.”
St. Bernard of Clairvaux
“Where there is confession, there also is beauty in the sight of the Lord.”
St. Thomas of Villanova
“Sweep your conscience clean with the broom of confession.”
St. John Vianney
“See, my children, to receive the Sacrament of Absolution, we need three things: faith, which reveals to us the presence of God in the priest; hope, which enables us to believe that God will give us His pardon; charity, which makes us love God and fills our heart with regret for having displeased Him.”
St. Pio of Pietrelcina
“During the rioting of the passions and adverse events, keep in mind the dear hope of his unlimited mercy. Let us run with confidence to the tribunal of penance, where he waits for you at all times with the anxiety of a father; and although we are conscience of our debt towards Him, let us not doubt the solemn pardon of our sins. Let us bury them as our Lord has done.”
Have you come to the point, like many Catholics do, where you realize you need to know more about your Catholic Faith?
Not that you need to be a theologian, but at least knowledgeable enough to be a good disciple of Jesus Christ. Honestly, we should never stop learning how to be a better and better disciple. But this first step, acknowledging that, "I have more to learn" begs the question, "Where do I start?
There are many ways to learn more about the Catholic Faith. Books, podcasts, videos, Catholic radio... and the list goes on. But if you are looking for a place to begin I would suggest the "United States Catholic Catechism for Adults". This 36 chapter book was created by the bishops of the United States to provide a simple way to systematically study the Catholic Faith based on the Catechism of the Catholic Church. You can purchase this book on Amazon, your local Catholic bookstore, or read it online. If you read 3 chapters a month you would get through the entire catechism in one year.
Although it's easy to read, there are excellent guides for this catechism. On Formed (follow this link on how to sign up for this free service, type "newark" to find our parish) there are video introductions and printable study guides for each chapter called "Echo". This is beautiful done by Bishop Donald Hying of Madison, Wisconsin. Our Sunday Visitor has a Study Guide for the United States Catholic Catechism as well as a Reader's Journal you may find helpful.
Please contact Mike Denz ([email protected]) with any questions you have!