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Dear Marilyn,
Thanks for the e-mail; I'm glad you
contacted us!
Although I wasn't as young as you
were, I had a similar experience
with a priest.
What I found out later, unknown to
me, was that his mother had just
passed away.
My point: Although the faithful rightfully
tend to look toward their priests
as godly people, we have to remember,
they deal with many of the ups and
downs of family life like any other
family in the parish.
As my colleague Mary Ann said, you
can't let that incident control your
life.
I would say the same thing to other
fallen away Catholics reading this
posting who have left the Church
over a bad incident. Let go of the
grudge or bad experience and go to
Confession.
One scandalous incident by a pastor,
priest, deacon, or lay leader in the
Church doesn't represent the whole
Catholic Church . . . far from it!!
It's very important to always receive
the Blessed Sacrament in a state
of grace.
If you have problems with sins of
the flesh, just go to Confession
first, before going to Mass. Most,
if not all, parishes have a regular
Confession schedule on Saturday;
just mention this in Confession.
Also tell the priest, you wish to
make good, holy Communions. (Just
a good practice, in my opinion.)
Let Jesus, through the sacraments
He established for you, mend your
body and soul. The priest will be
kind and be more then happy to hear
your Confession. In all Confessions,
it's important to remember, although
the voice sounds like a priest, it's not his voice! Through the sacrament
of Holy Orders, Jesus Uses his voice to absolve you of all your sin:
- in
the name of the Father
- of the Son,
and
- of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Personally, after receiving absolution
from the priest, but before I leave
the Confessional, I always thank
the priest for their priesthood.
If you are under the supervision
of a doctor, keep taking your medication
for depression but go to Confession
on a regular basis. Most bishops
recommend once a month; others can
go every two weeks.
The fact you struggle with sins of
the flesh just means you are human,
like all of us.
We are a Church of saints and sinners.
: )
Mike
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