CONFESSION

On Making a Good Confession

Following His glorious Resurrection, as He appeared to His Disciples, Our Lord Jesus Christ gave the command that: “if you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, 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, prays to God for the salvation of the penitent who repents of his sins, and God forgives through the priest. The Mystery of Holy Confession is holy because it connects God and His children, with the priest acting as the Bridge.

To make a good confession it is necessary to prepare oneself carefully, asking God to grant grace sufficient to make a thorough examination of the conscience. Sometimes we get so bogged down with regret, we fail to move on and grasp the moment. The wonderful thing about confession is the ability we are given, by our loving God, to receive absolution and move into the present moment. The past is forgiven, and the future is filled with hope. We must not occupy ourselves with the past, nor occupy ourselves with the future. All that is important is the present.

Love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon

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.

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 overeating
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. 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.

Saturday June 26, 2021 / June 13, 2021
Adoposis of Pentecost. Tone seven.
Fast-free Week. Fast-free
Martyr Aquilina of Byblos in Lebanon (293).
St. Triphyllius, bishop of Leucosia (Nicosia) in Cyprus (370).
St. Alexandra, foundress of Diveyevo Convent (1789).
New Hieromartyr Alexis priest (1918).
New Hieromartyr Demetrius priest (1940).
Virgin-Martyr Pelagea (1944).
Venerable Andronicus (1395), disciple of Venerable Sergius of Radonezh, and St. Sabbas (1410), abbots of Moscow.
Martyr Antonina of Nicaea (284-305).
Venerable Anna (826), and her son St. John of Constantinople (9th c.).
St. Antipater, bishop of Bostra in Arabia (458).
Finding of the relics of Martyr Nicholas the Deacon of Lesbos (Greek).
St. Eulogius, patriarch of Antioch (Greek).
Martyr Diodorus of Emesus who was crucified (Greek).
St. Anthimus, Metropolitan of Wallachia (1716) (Georgia).

The Scripture Readings

Romans 1:7-12

7 To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Desire to Visit Rome

8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. 9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers, 10 making requests if, by some means, now at last I may find a way in the will of God to come to you. 11 For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established— 12 that is, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith of both you and me.

Matthew 5:42-48

42 Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.

Love Your Enemies

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? 48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.