Nov 29, 2011

β›ͺ "Saints’ Best Quotes on Confession and Mercy"

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"The confession of evil works is the first beginning of good works."
-- St. Augustine of Hippo

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"In failing to confess, Lord, I would only hide You from myself, not myself from You."
-- St. Augustine of Hippo

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"If you excuse yourself in confession, you shut up sin within your soul, and shut out pardon."
-- St. Augustine of Hippo

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"Confession is not a judgment but a medicine; it is not a burden but a liberation."
-- St. Augustine of Hippo

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"Do not delay confession, for the longer you hide your wounds, the deeper they fester; but the moment you reveal them, the Physician applies His balm."
-- St. Ambrose of Milan

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"He who conceals his sins in shame gives the devil a foothold, but he who confesses them with humility casts the enemy out."
-- St. Anthony of Padua

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"The Lord does not reject a contrite heart, and through the priest in confession, He stretches out His hand to lift us from the mire of sin."
-- St. Bernard of Clairvaux

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"Confession is the gate through which the sinner returns to the Father’s house, and the angels rejoice at every step taken toward it."
-- St. Bonaventure

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"Just as an animal becomes a stronger beast of burden and more beautiful to behold the more often and better it is fed, so too confessionβ€”the more often it is used and the more carefully it is made as to both lesser and greater sinsβ€”conveys the soul increasingly forward and is so pleasing to God that it leads the soul to God’s very heart."
-- St. Bridget (from Revelations of St. Bridget)

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"To confess is to accuse oneself before God, and in that accusation, we find His infinite compassion awaiting us."
-- St. Catherine of Siena

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"Every confession is a victory over pride, a step toward humility, and a song of praise to the mercy of God."
-- St. Clare of Assisi

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"Let no one say, β€˜I have sinned too much; there is no forgiveness for me.’ No sin is so great that it cannot be washed away by the tears of repentance and the grace of confession."
-- St. Cyril of Jerusalem

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"A soul does not benefit from the sacrament of confession if it is not humble. Pride keeps it in darkness. The soul neither knows how, nor is it willing, to probe with precision the depths of its own misery. It puts on a mask and avoids everything that might bring it recovery."
-- St. Faustina

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"My daughter, just as you prepare in My presence, so also you make your confession before Me. The person of the priest is, for Me, only a screen. Never analyze what sort of a priest it is that I am making use of; open your soul in confession as you would to Me, and I will fill it with My light." (1725)
-- St. Faustina, Divine Mercy in My Soul

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"A disobedient soul will win no victory, even if the Lord Jesus Himself, in person, were to hear its confession."
-- St. Faustina

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"Tell souls where they are to look for solace; that is, in the Tribunal of Mercy. There the greatest miracles take place [and] are incessantly repeated. To avail oneself of this miracle, it is not necessary to go on a great pilgrimage or to carry out some external ceremony; it suffices to come with faith to the feet of My representative and to reveal to him one’s misery, and the miracle of Divine Mercy will be fully demonstrated. Were a soul like a decaying corpse so that from a human standpoint, there would be no [hope of] restoration and everything would already be lost, it is not so with God. The miracle of Divine Mercy restores that soul in full. Oh, how miserable are those who do not take advantage of the miracle of God’s mercy! You will call out in vain, but it will be too late." (1448)
-- St. Faustina, Divine Mercy in My Soul

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"Daughter, when you go to confession, to this fountain of My mercy, the Blood and Water which came forth from My Heart always flows down upon your soul and ennobles it. Every time you go to confession, immerse yourself in My mercy, with great trust, so that I may pour the bounty of My grace upon your soul. When you approach the confessional, know this, that I Myself am waiting there for you. I am only hidden by the priest, but I Myself act in your soul. Here the misery of the soul meets the God of mercy. Tell souls that from this fount of mercy souls draw graces solely with the vessel of trust. If their trust is great, there is no limit to My generosity. The torrents of grace inundate humble souls. The proud remain always in poverty and misery, because My grace turns away from them to humble souls."
-- St. Faustina, Divine Mercy in My Soul

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"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. Francis de Sales

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"The tears of confession water the dry soil of the soul, making it fertile for grace to grow."
-- St. Gregory Nazianzen

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"To do penance is to bewail the evil we have done, and to do no evil to bewail."
-- Pope St. Gregory the Great

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"The soul that fears to confess its sins fears to trust in God’s goodness, but the humble heart finds peace in the truth."
-- St. Ignatius of Loyola

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"Confession heals, confession justifies, confession grants pardon of sin, all hope consists in confession; in confession there is a chance for mercy."
-- St. Isidore of Seville

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"'After confession,' says St. Chrysostom, 'a crown is given to penitents.'"
-- St. John Chrysostom

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"Confession is like a bridle that keeps the soul which reflects on it from committing sin, but anything left unconfessed we continue to do without fear as if in the dark."
-- St. John Climacus

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"'Not to follow the advice of our confessor is pride and a want of faith.'"
-- St. John of the Cross

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"Strive always to confess your sins with a deep knowledge of your own wretchedness and with clarity and purity."
-- St. John of the Cross

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"Confession is an act of honesty and courageβ€”an act of entrusting ourselves, beyond sin, to the mercy of a loving and forgiving God."
-- Pope St. John Paul II

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"The priest in the confessional is but a shadow; it is Christ Himself who listens, forgives, and heals."
-- St. John Vianney (The CurΓ© of Ars)

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"At the time of your examination (of sins), beware of the devil that ties your tongue."
-- St. JosemarΓ­a EscrivΓ‘

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"'You told me, Father, that after my past life it is still possible to become another St. Augustine. I don’t doubt it, and today more than yesterday I want to try to prove it.' But you have to cut out sin courageously from the root, as the holy Bishop of Hippo did."
-- St. JosemarΓ­a EscrivΓ‘

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"The devil does not bring sinners to hell with their eyes open: he first blinds them with the malice of their own sins. Before we fall into sin, the enemy labors to blind us, that we may not see the evil we do and the ruin we bring upon ourselves by offending God. After we commit sin, he seeks to make us dumb, that, through shame, we may conceal our guilt in confession."
-- St. Alphonsus Liguori

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"Obedience to a confessor is the most acceptable offering which we can make to God, and the most secure way of doing the divine will."
-- St. Alphonsus Liguori

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"'The want of proper examination, true contrition, and a firm purpose of amendment, is the cause of bad confessions, and of the ruin of souls.'"
-- St. Benedict Joseph Labre

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"Many lack the originality to lack originality in their sins, but confession restores the soul to its unique dignity before God."
-- St. Peter Damian

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"God does not tire of forgiving us; it is we who tire of confessing. Run to the tribunal of mercy, for there His patience never ends."
-- St. Philip Neri

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"Confess your sins to one another, that you may be healed. Confession breaks the power of the enemy and opens the door to God’s mercy."
-- St. Teresa of Ávila

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"In confession, we lay bare our misery, and God clothes us with His mercy; we bring darkness, and He gives light."
-- St. Thérèse of Lisieux

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"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. Thomas Aquinas

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"Three conditions are necessary for Penance: contrition, which is sorrow for sin, together with a purpose of amendment; confession of sins without any omission; and satisfaction by means of good works."
-- St. Thomas Aquinas

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"The minister to whom confession is made is the delegate of Christ, Who is the Judge of the living and the dead."
-- St. Thomas Aquinas

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"Our Lord Himself I saw in this venerable Sacrament . . . I felt as if my chains fell, as those of St. Peter at the touch of the Divine messenger. My God, what new scenes for my soul!"
-- St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

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