Abbey-Roads2

Although practicing Roman Catholics never thought Confession was outdated. 

I noticed an interesting news item concerning Internet confession sites again today.  This has been a novelty news item in the past year, once again getting notice on Spirit Dailyand a few blogs.  One blog describes it as “Disturbing“.  I say, not at all.

The Catholic Church had it right all along.  With the advent of psychoanalysis in the 1920’s, then psychological counseling and support groups in the 1970’s up to our own day, people have felt a pressing need to confess, as it were.  Hence the Internet confessional, supported by protestant churches, seems to be a natural.  Unfortunately, all of these means of auricular confession lack one major component, the sacramental encounter with Christ, as well as His forgiveness and absolution of sins through the ministry of the priest. 

It is one thing to confess one’s sins, it is quite another to receive forgiveness for one’s sins.  In telling another the sins one has committed, whether in an on-line chat-room or even in a blog, one’s sense of guilt may be alleviated, however, sacramental confession removes the quilt entirely.  The sin is so completely removed by the blood of Jesus, it no longer exists, whereas a sin posted on a website remains.

The encounter of penitent and priest, who represents Christ and has been ordained with His power to forgive sins, effects the sacrament.  It is not a virtual encounter, but a real physical experience, it is a sensible sign.  The sacrament was instituted by Christ to give grace, and is the visible means of the transmission of grace while remaining the  normal means for receiving the forgiveness of serious sins after Baptism.  The sacrament also provides a remedy for sin, as well as the means of making satisfaction for sin - in and through the penance imposed by the priest.

The Sacrament of Penance can also be a convenient way to receive spiritual direction in one’s spiritual life.  Even if the penitent has no serious sin to confess, venial sins may be confessed, thus supplying an increase in grace as well as bestowing actual grace.  It is not uncommon for a soul to experience actual grace in such a manner as to free him from the attachment to a particular habitual  sin, sometimes spontaneously or over time.

No, I don’t think the desire to confess one’s sins on the Internet is really very disturbing, after all, confession is good for the soul.  It is just too bad people do not understand the Catholic Church and Her sacramental system, along with the great benefits of the Sacrament of Penance.  

Obviously, since we can switch liturgical calendars at will, in the old calendar, today would really be the feast of St. Catherine of Siena.  So I’ll write a bit about her today.

The Dialogue

St. Catherine’s greatest work remains her “Dialogue” or the dictation she gave regarding her ecstasies and revelations from God the Father. I also like the biography Blessed Raymond of Capua wrote. He was her spiritual director, appointed by the Dominicans because they were afraid that she was not authentic. Fra Raymond certainly found out otherwise. An excellent book to read on Catherine’s doctrine remains her “Dialogue” however, published by Paulist Press and translated By Dr. Suzanne Noffke with a preface by Giuliana Cavallini – both excellent scholars.

The Dialogue contains very good and practical teaching on prayer and the spiritual life. The text is so lofty and rich it would be excellent to use for lectio divina or mental prayer.  In the popular imagination, St. Catherine is often represented as a sort of firebrand, some even think of her as a sort of female Savanarola. That is really not the case however. Great penitent that she was, she was nothing but charity in regards others - especially sinners.

I love the story of how St. Catherine nursed a cantankerous old woman who despised the Saint, yet Catherine cared for her amidst great revilement, enduring daily abuse. In the end of course, the old woman was converted, although, unconverted as she had been, Catherine loved her and served her as if she was serving our Lord himself.  The Saint would not return to her cell in the evening and complain about the woman, or complain that she had to serve her – Catherine genuinely wanted to nurse her - it wasn’t as if it had been a task she had been assigned to do.  Charity does not measure or weigh, much less limit itself in doing good. 

It is so hard to explain this to spiritual people - much less comprehend myself, yet I believe her love of God and neighbor was so focused and intense that the abuse she endured was not repellent to her. It was almost as if it did not cost her anything – but of course, it did – remember, the saint wasn’t in ecstasy all of the time. Nevertheless, Catherine didn’t measure or tabulate her penance, prayers or works – she did not keep an accounting system or set limits upon herself. Neither was her work an end in itself. In the Dialogue our Lord taught her,

“It would not be right to make penance or other bodily works either your motivation or your goal, for as I have already said, they are only finite…Let no one make the judgment of considering those great penitents who put much effort into killing their bodies more perfect than those who do less. I have told you that penance is neither virtuous nor meritorious in itself. Were that the case, how unfortunate would be those who cannot perform actual works of penance. The merit of penance rests completely in the power of charity enlightened by true discernment.”

There is much to read in the “Dialogue” I believe is useful for those who wish to practice prayer while living in the world.  Catherine was a lay person, living in the world. She was not a nun but a third order Dominican. Her teaching concerning recollection, entering the cell of self-knowledge, etc. was much beloved by Bl. Elizabeth of the Trinity and many other enclosed contemplatives. It seems quite obvious to me she is proof that contemplation and the active life are very compatible, and well adapted to lay people.

She had a troop of disciples as well, who called her “Mama’.  Mama Caterina! Pray for us that we may imitate you in charity and mercy and gentleness toward one another without ever counting the cost. Obtain for us light in the school of self knowledge and the grace of profound recollection. Let us do good without noticing ourselves, our hearts fixed upon Jesus alone.  neither fearing our faults, nor esteeming our merits, but trusting in Him alone.

What are you doing the rest of your life?

People have asked me what am I doing now that I’m retired.  After soon growing tired of blog-slapping my former employer, I got to work gardening.  (I had a very funny post up the other day that I took down because it had been troublesome to some people.  I never imagined I could make people cry.  I felt really bad and realized I had to stop.  Sometimes what I think is funny just ends up being mean.  I’m not a good person.)

My garden.

The layout of the back yard is formal, with a lilac woods beyond the back hedge-wall.  I once had an English style perennial floral border, but I took it out and replaced it with hostas because the rabbits ate the flowers.  I love the rabbits and preferred them to foxglove, lilies, salvia, and sage, among other florals.  The rabbits actually leave the hostas alone, although other gardeners say they eat their hostas.

Anyway - my gardens are pretty much green gardens, walled by hedges, which I love trimming and forming.  The back hedges, which form an architectural wall, separates the shade garden, (St. Joseph’s Wood, as I call the lilac woods - the lilacs are trimmed into trees) from the formal room.  The hedge is cottoneaster, which is a good northern substitute for privet or boxwood.  I have to get back there to re-stake and trim however.

In the front of the house I have yews, which are a delight to trim.  I’m changing the yews from a ball-ed effect into a continuous serpentine hedge, it’s been two or three years of training, and they are not quite solid yet, hence it looks a little wavy.

The rest of my gardening is done in Provence-styled, stone and terra-cotta pots, with lots of topiary; a 15 year old myrtle tree, a 6 year old rosemary tree, along with boxwood twists.  They winter in the basement with silver mylar walls and lots of grow lights.  (I got the idea from seeing marijuana growers and their set up in their basements.  No, I do not grow that stuff, nor do I use it.)  Other pots will be lavendar and geraniums.  I grow tomatoes and other vegetables in pots as well.

I may be putting in some clematis this year where two arborvitae topiaries winter killed last year - I have to find two nice towers for them to climb.  I don’t want clunky wood, but so little is available in my area.  I think I want wire obelisks, so I’ll hunt at some of the better garden centers - not the big guys, but the smaller ’boutique’ centers.  The smaller guys usually have more interesting landscape material, and often have more European inspired garden accesories one can usually only find on the coasts.

So that’s what I’ve been doing, when I get the gardens set, I want to paint the trim on the house, but I also will start working on my art again - soon! - I miss my painting.  There is a commission on the horizon, thanks to a friend in Rome.

Maybe gardening and painting will make me a better person.