What Regular Confession Taught a Wayward Son About His Father
By: Damien Murtagh I never used to rate confession highly on the to-do list. I was always too busy to go, always had a reason to do something else and that reason always made sense. I never really considered whether I liked confession or not. I wasn’t burdened with the prospect of reliving my own guilt and never had a problem with the teachings ...
On Kinda Stealing Chocolate Malts
By: Bill Sheridan It was one of these December activities that became a ritual and great fun for participants in my little hometown of Lawler, Iowa. One evening, a week or two before Christmas, a dozen or so boys and girls would get together to go caroling. We walked around town and knocked randomly on doors. When the homeowner answered, we broke ...
Sordid Past? You Have a Right to Put It Behind You
Like a lot of Catholic men I know, I wrestle with my past. When I give it license, it tries to eat me alive. If I let it, my past will silence and then destroy me. What do I do? How do I keep the past where it belongs? I run to the fiercest weapon I know – the Sacrament of Reconciliation. A few years ago, life as I knew it imploded. My success...
Can the Porn: An Appeal to Men
There comes a time when we, as men, have a responsibility to call each other out when we get out of hand. It’s an act of fraternal kindness, a desire for what is truly good for each other, and an act of authentic Christian charity. This applies even if this is an uncomfortable thing to do or if it deals with an uncomfortable topic – perha...
“How long has it been since your last Confession?”
“How long has it been since your last Confession?” Many Catholic men dread these words, filled with anxiety at the prospect of having to admit that it’s been months or years since they found themselves talking to a priest about their sins. For many, that anxiety—coupled with the seeming shame of having to then actually verbalize the times ...
Penance – A Practical Guide
I have been thinking a great deal about my experience at Reconciliation this past Saturday. I felt an intense and unexplainable urge to go and confess my sins when I woke up that morning. I try to go every six weeks or so, but this was no routine visit to the priest for me. I needed to unburden myself of the numerous venial sins I had committed sin...