Dead to Sin

  An Experience of Confession Reflections from a Penitent "He sees, too, those that have lapsed, and have been deceived by his treacherous snares, washed in the tears of penitence and, by the Apostle's key unlocking the gates of mercy, admitted to the benefit of reconciliation." - Pope St. Leo the Great, Sermon 49 Have you ever had a moment so epiphanic, real, and visceral that its effect on you felt tangible? This is what I felt when encountering true paternal love in the confines of sacramental confession. In order to more fully understand this, I will give some context.  For the past several years, I have experienced terrible loneliness, and as the feeling of this isolation intensified, I developed a severe case of depression. Even after getting past this major depression, which riddled my life for four years, I still battled the loneliness. There was a hole in my heart from a lack of love that I knew I didn't have - and that I wasn't going to receive. This was...

  The Mother of Sorrows - Reflections on the Blessed Mother " Simeon saith unto Mary, 'A sword shall pierce through thy own soul also. [St. Lk. 2:35] That is, the Passion of the Lord, which was a fall unto many, and in which the secrets of many hearts were revealed since their sentiments respecting the Lord were extorted from them, without doubt, made His own Mother exceeding sorrowful, heavily struck with human bereavement ."  - St. Augustine, Exposition on the Psalms , Ps. 105 Traditional Christians have now passed the triumphal and glorious Easter Sunday after the penitential season of Lent. For many of us, during Lent, we gave up certain habits, foods, leisure, and comforts, to devote ourselves especially to the spiritual life in preparation for Easter Sunday. This time of heightened penitence and devotion (marked formally by Ash Wednesday) leads many to consult different devotional practices and works to adjust and refocus their mind on the spiritual life. One of th...