Tag Archives: florae

No matter how tiny the soul feels to be before the absolute immensity of God’s majestic grandeur, if it be pure, with the simplicity of even the itsie bitsiest of flowers in His Kingdom, well then, that soul can take in to itself the absolute immensity of God’s majestic grandeur. And that speaks to the goodness and kindness of the Most High, does it not? It does!

Meanwhile, no good deed goes unpunished. Have you ever noticed that?

Note to punishers of good deeds: It is not any tiny soul that is smacked down as much as it is the Lord God, the Almighty, the First and the Last, the Alpha and the Omega, the Creator and Ruler of all things, visible and invisible, who is mocked.

Such punishers of good deeds, instead of rejoicing in the expansive magnificence of the Most Holy Trinity, implode in on themselves, tiny as they were to begin with. The frightening violence of the vortex of frustration of something so very tiny would nevertheless seem powerful enough to take down the entire universe.

And it is.

And it has.

Jesus, Divine Son of the Immaculate Conception, allowed this.

He laid down His own life for us, taking on what we deserve, having the right in all justice to have mercy on us.

“Father, into your hands I commend my Spirit.”

I confess: I killed Him by my sins.

I seek forgiveness. Always. I need it.

When you next go, soon, to Confession, listen to the words (with most readers hearing the words of the Ordinary Form):

Deus, Pater misericordiarum,
qui per mortem et resurrectionem Filii Sui
mundum Sibi reconciliavit
et Spiritum Sanctum effudit in remissionem peccatorum,
per ministerium Ecclesiae
indulgentiam tibi tribuat et pacem.
Et ego te absolvo a peccatis tuis
in nomine Patris,
et Filii, ✠
et Spiritus Sancti.

God, the Father of mercies,
through the death and resurrection of His Son
has reconciled the world to Himself
and sent the Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sins;
through the ministry of the Church
may God give you pardon and peace,
and I absolve you from your sins
in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, ✠
and of the Holy Spirit.

And in this way we once again become the absolute tiniest of souls, able once again to rejoice in the absolute fiery immensity of God’s goodness and kindness.

And is that not a tiny flower that can be given to the Immaculate Conception by way of her Son? I think it is.

Here’s a list of the entries I included so far in the Ferocious Holy Souls Hermitage Confession Series on the sidebar of http://holysoulshermitage.com. If you click on the “Confession” Category of posts, you’ll find many more articles that touch on Confession, such as the one you’re reading now.

1. The Seal of Confession, Burning at the Stake, and the Holy Mother of God – Priests and bishops need to read this one especially. Yikes!
2. Taking in the view during my Confession run – This includes my brothers all time favorite picture on the blog (and with a gazillion pictures, that’s saying a lot). Great advice about how to go to Confession.
3. A hermit does not “FIND HIMSELF” ever! – This is one of personal favorites. Brief but to the point about being found by our Heavenly Father instead of pretending to find Him.
4. I got my vocation going to Confession – Meet a seminarian from Denver who got his vocation going to Confession. Way, way cool, that.
5. My fellow Bishops and Priests, is not our own going to Confession the Heart of the New Evangelization? – The answer to that would be yes. Plus, a great cartoon.
6. “Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!” And then: “I hate other priests who tell me I’m on a slippery slope for not saying the Liturgy of the Hours” – Yikes! A bit of a monitum.
7. Saint or Sinner: It’s Either Both or None – This is another of my favorite posts on the blog.
8. JESUS GOES TO CONFESSION – Another of my favorites! If you want to know how much Jesus loves us, this post will give you an indication. A seven-fold Yikes!
9. Dangers on the Road to Confession – Ever get the impression that there’s always something which stops you from getting to Confession? Here’s the post for you (some great pictures!)
10. EXAMINATION OF CONSCIENCE for adults using the Commandments and Precepts of the Church – You asked for it. Here it is!
11. I would like to make a GENERAL CONFESSION Father! – Some essential advice about General Confessions, which are not the same as General Absolutions!
12. How to find a GOOD CONFESSOR
13. How to avoid a BAD CONFESSOR
14. On the INDIRECT Breaking of the Seal of Confession: NEFAS EST! Do it and you’re done!
15. Circular Letter of the Holy See on the Integrity of the Sacrament of Penance

I would add one more to that, which concerns the invalidity of the Confessions offered by the SSPX:

Église Saint-Nicolas du Chardonnet — A Confessional Experience… not… at least not yet!

That article is pretty much exhaustive in proofs that the SSPX do not have faculties to absolve sin. If you want the Extraordinary Form for Confession, go to an FSSP priest, or to any priest who has faculties and knows the rite. Here’s the absolution in the Extraordinary Form which I’ve used as a Confessor and participated in as a penitent:

Misereatur tui omnipotens Deus, et dimissis peccatis tuis, perducat te ad vitam æternam. Amen. Indulgentiam, absolutionem, ✠ et remissionem peccatorum tuorum tribuat tibi omnipotens et misericors Dominus. Amen. Dominus noster Jesus Christus te absolvat: et ego auctoritate ipsìus te absolvo ab omni vinculo excommunicationis, (suspensionis), et interdicti, in quantum possum, et tu indiges. Deinde ego te absolvo a peccatis tuis, in nomine Patris, et Filii, + et Spiritus Sancti. Amen.

May the almighty and merciful Lord grant you pardon, absolution, ✠ and remission of your sins. R.: Amen. May our Lord Jesus Christ absolve you. And I by His authority release you from every bond of excommunication (suspension) and interdict, in so far as I am empowered and you have need. And now I absolve you from your sins; in the name of the Father, and of the Son, ✠ and of the Holy Spirit. R.: Amen.

Be the tiniest little soul, pure and agile of spirit, and, however small, able to take in the immensity of the goodness and kindness of Jesus. Look at the example of the great Saint Paul, who calls himself the very least (in Greek, the superlative of that which is already just a micron, that is, super-incredibly tiny:

To me, the very least of all the holy ones, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the inscrutable riches of Christ, and to bring to light (for all) what is the plan of the mystery hidden from ages past in God who created all things, so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the principalities and authorities in the heavens. This was according to the eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness of speech and confidence of access through faith in him. So I ask you not to lose heart over my afflictions for you; this is your glory. For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that he may grant you in accord with the riches of his glory to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner self, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the holy ones what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to accomplish far more than all we ask or imagine, by the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.(Ephesians 3,18,21 – nab).

A good flower for the Immaculate Conception, to be sure.

P.S. I mentioned in Pope Francis and The Judas Crisis: My Guest Essay on These Stone Walls that it would be great if you would drop a comment over on my guest post this week over at These Stone Walls. If you haven’t done it yet, or if you haven’t seen the recent comments (up to 22 as of this writing), click on over to Pope Francis and The Judas Crisis.