Catholic Scouts of St George: 9 Ways to Help

Posted by Taylor Marshall 

Yesterday, I posted my Catholic Scouting Manifesto in response to the recent Boy Scouts of America decision to change the traditional moral policies of the Boy Scouts...

The short of it is that we plan to initiate the Scouts of Saint George for young men who love virtue and the outdoors. This is not a club. This a group for scouting. Backpacking, fishing, dutch oven cooking, repelling, sailing, etc. It's based on camping and roughing it.

Best of all, the Scouts of Saint George may be able to have:

1. Holy Mass on camp outs, 
2. group Rosaries around the campfires, 
3. pilgrimages to shrines or holy places in Europe, 
4. Catholic chaplains,
5. magisterial authority,
6. male Catholic leadership,
7. all within the tradition of what it means to be a virtuous outdoors man.

The response to the 'Scouts of Saint George' has been immense!

• 65 CATHOLIC EAGLE SCOUTS have joined the team to get the Scouts of Saint George started. A core group of 65 Eagle Scouts (and that number is growing) is a powerful asset.
• Over 500 people have signed up and volunteered to get the Saint George Scouts off the ground.
• There have been hundreds of comments and emails flashing around.
• 2000 "Likes" on Facebook.
• We have also had lawyers, graphic artists, and current Scout Leaders volunteer their time.

This all happened in less than 24 hours.

Here is what will happen next. Can you help us in any of these ways:

1. We prayerfully need Pope Francis to recognize the Scouts of Saint George movement in some way. It struck me that Pope Francis' baptismal name is "George" - Jorge Mario Bergoglio! If anyone can open a door, please help. Pope Francis has a love for young people and the Church needs a global movement for young people. I think that he would give it his blessing. If someone could just get him to read the initial Manifesto post!
2. Our goal is to have 100 Troops erected by September 1. Initially, a troop will consist of 2 to 100 boys with a father as a Senior Guide (sorry the word "Scoutmaster" is restricted by the BSA). Would you like to start a troop? Pray about it and let me know.
3. We need a uniform design. It has to be functional and cool looking. Traditional but practical.
4. We need insignia/badges design (this is where graphic artists come in).
5. We need a system of badges and ranking. The terms "Life" "Star" and "Eagle" are restricted by the BSA. The team of Eagle Scouts will create the ranking system. Currently, I like the idea of "Pontifical Scout" or "Papal Scout" as our highest honor - equivalent to Eagle Scout.
6. We need a Handbook. I'll work on this book with the other Eagle Scouts.
7. We need lawyers because the BSA is very protective of "scouting terminology." We need counsel.
8. We need moms and dads talking this up with other parents and scouts. Spread the word. This is not limited to the USA. This could happen on every continent. 
9. We need promotion on radio and the internet.

Can you help in any of these ways? If so, please sign up:

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR SCOUTS OF SAINT GEORGE MAILING LIST

Email Address:

Check the boxes that apply:

• I am an Eagle Scout!
• I am/was a Boy Scout.
• I am a concerned Parent of a Scout.
• I am not a Parent/Scout, but I want to help in some way.
• I am a concerned Parent, but not of a Scout.
• I have a skill (law, graphics, webdesign)

After reading this you make think an endeavor of this magnitude is crazy. I don't. It could happen. This is an opportunity for Catholic fathers especially. We all know that our culture is feminizing what it means to be a man. The Church needs something cultivate young men in virtue. Young men need the outdoors. It's integral. This could be a great moment for Catholic fathers!

WARNING: After several months go by, the shocked reaction of parents to the BSA decision to tolerate homosexuality will die out. People will forget it and move on. The momentum will be lost. People will return to apathy. This is why it is important that we act now. I hope you agree. 

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5 Ways to Simplify Your Spiritual Life - and Make It Beautiful!

Posted by Taylor Marshall 

Devotions can be like jewelry. They bring about beauty and accent the appearance of the one wearing them. However, too much jewelry can be a distraction. At one point, they become counterproductive.

I have discovered this to be the case with devotions in my own life. The more complicated things become, the more suffocated I feel. 

You start with basics. You have a daily Rosary and then the daily Divine Mercy chaplet, and then a Novena to the Holy Spirit, and then a Novena to Saint Joseph, and then a Holy Hour once per day, and then you have to care for your spouse, and your children. Oh, and then there is the Knights of Columbus meeting. The Bible study. The Altar Guild meeting. And daily Mass. Liturgy of the Hours. Little Office of the Blessed Virgin. One-Year Catholic Bible. Reading a Saint story daily. Reading the Summa...

...and then you snap. Then you go crazy. The spiritual life becomes complicated, conflicted, and stifling.

You're wearing so much spiritual jewelry that you cannot even stand up and walk around. The yoke is no longer easy. The burden is no longer light. It's heavy. Really heavy.

From time to time, this happens to me. Devotions, commitments, and resolutions add up. Life changes. New children are born. We move to new places. We acquire different responsibilities. We enter into different seasons of life.

Frequently, we must reassess our journey with Christ. Simplicity is best when its rooted in love for God. 

Saint Francis de Sales said, "We are not drawn to God by iron chains, but by sweet attractions and holy inspirations." The same saint said, "We must fear God out of love, not love Him out of fear." We do not need a complex constellation of devotions. We need simplicity.

True devotion to God derives from simple love. I heartfelt "I love you," to God is worth more than a strenuous Lent with resentment.

Saint Therese the Little Flower wrote, "Loves consumes us only in the measure of our self-surrender." Love is the core. 

In order to re-discover this simple core, here are five ways to simplify and revitalize your life with Christ.

1) Mental prayer is the most important kind of prayer. Mental prayer is talking to God with your heart and mind. It's conversational. In mental prayer, you tell Jesus about your hopes, joys, fears, and sufferings for each and every day. It's intimate. There is something simple and unassuming about mental prayer. Set your iPhone for five minutes and talk to Jesus from the heart. Add minutes over time.

2) Do you have a basic prayer structure in your life? A morning prayer/offering. Prayers at meals. Angelus. Daily Rosary. Prayers before bed. 

If this seems overwhelming, don't worry. Just start with one devotion and think of it as a brick. You don't need build the house at one time. Brick by brick is the prudent way. Rome wasn't built in a day. Add one thing at a time. Don't start praying the Breviary or fifteen decades of the Rosary overnight. Ramp up slowly.

3) How can you make a better Holy Communion? The Holy Eucharist is the source and summit of our lives as Christians. How can you amplify that reality in your life. Could you say prayers for the night before. Is there a prayer you could add to the moment when you receive Communion? Something special that only you and God know? How can you crown that moment of Holy Communion?

4) What's your "policy" on going to Confession?Do you have a simple rule that makes it regular and easy? What is one thing you could do to make Confession into a sought after joy, rather than a dreaded obligation? All the spiritual masters say that frequent confession is essential to growth. Make a simple, easy to remember plan.

5) Set some goals. Get out a sheet of paper. Stop reading right now and get a sheet a paper....

Okay, do you have that sheet of paper? Write down your daily, weekly, monthly, and annual devotions. If you don't have any. Don't worry. Assess where you are. Then ask yourself where you want to be one year from now. Best of all, discuss this with your spiritual director. Get his objective diagnosis. If you don't have a spiritual director, talk to a friend you trust in a casual way. 

Set a simple plan and then stick with it. If you decide to pray the daily Rosary of five decades. Do it. Don't feel obliged to bump it up or turn it down. Just be steady. If you miss. Just start over the next day.

Did you decide to do the Morning Offering every day? Great. If you forget and remember to say it at 9pm at night. No worries. Just say it when you remember. If you forget for three days, say it anyway as soon as you remember. Keep it simple. Remember, it takes about twenty-one days to create a habit. Give it twenty-one days before you even begin to become discouraged!

The key to simplicity is habit and pattern. Why do you think monks and nuns lived patterned lives? Simplicity.

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Social Media vs. the Catholic Church (?)

Posted by Taylor Marshall 

Here's the summary of this post: "How the Internet is game-changer for the Catholic Church." Keep reading if you're interested...

This summer I'll be speaking at the 2013 Catholic Media Conference in Denver. I'll be giving a presentation on the "Ethics of Social Media." 

The elements of social media (internet, blogs, podcasts, synchronous college courses, live streaming internet radio, phone texts, Facebook, Twitter, etc.) are now a permanent part of our lives. You can try to be a Luddite, but not for long. You will drown in the waves. You will lose the cultural battle.

Think about these two bullets:

• Social media now has the power to bring pornographic videos through an iPhone into a teenager's bedroom. 
• Social media now has the power to bring videos of the Pope celebrating Mass, Bibles, Catechisms, and Fulton Sheen mp3s to China, North Korea, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, etc. - places where missionary efforts have been widely blocked.

As Uncle Ben from Spiderman cribbed from the Bible: "With great power, comes great responsibility." How can Catholics surf the wave of information crashing upon us?

No doubt, the power of information just became more powerful. Information is faster and easier.This is like fire. It can bring about great good and great evil. Fire can burn down your house and crackle the skin off your bones. Fire can also cook your steak and warm your home. The problem is not the fire per se.

As you know, Popes issue encyclicals. They are called "encyclicals" because once upon a time they needed to be "cycled" around. These documents had to be distributed through the rings of information. At first hand copied. Later printed. Later photocopied. Later faxed. But now, Pope Francis can send out a tweet via Twitter and it goes to 2.5 million peopleinstantly. Pope Boniface VIII (d. 1303) would have fleeced France a hundredfold in order to acquire this new kind of social power.

What does this mean for Catholics?

I read somewhere recently that 60% of the internet is delivering pornography. That means that Wikipedia, your favorite blogs, sports scores, and whatever are only 40% of what is "the internet"!

That is a bleak statistic. Nevertheless, I'm hopeful. When people look back at our century, they will speak of the canonized saints who used this great power to evangelize the face of planet earth. The next Boniface, Dominic, Catherine of Sienna, or Francis Xavier will come seemingly out from nowhwere when things seem almost lost. Then Christ will act with great power.

These future saints could be little old nuns like Mother Angelica or they could be a handful of Catholic college kids who launched an initiative that reformed the Catholic Church through their keyboards. I don't know. What I do know is this: When the printing press emerged in the 1500's, Protestants and Humanists flocked to it. Catholics were slow on the uptake. We should learn from this mistake.

I hope that we won't make the same mistake with the new digital medium. The Catholic Church could become the most influential voice on the planet. But she needs saints to make it happen. Not mere techies. She needs "holy techies" who have a passion for truth, souls, and most importantly, love for Christ and His Church.

Question: I have some ideas on how this "game changer" could happen for the Catholic Church through the new media. I'll be sharing them in the months to come. Before then, I want to hear your ideas. How do we share the Gospel with every person on earth? How do we harness this power? How do we create something like an EWTN that is 1,000 times bigger and more influential?

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Did God Send the Tornado? The Problem of Natural Evils

Posted by Taylor Marshall 

When a person murders another person, there is outrage. Many ask, "How could God allow this?" Yet there remains an implicit understanding that humans have free will. When a murderer kills another human, we blame the murderer.

But what about natural evils? Natural disasters?

A tornado that kills children does not have free will. A tsunami does not have free will. A virus or cancer does not have free will. All these forces kill people. Why?

Why would a good God allow this?

A doctor friend of mine, Ben Olsson, DO, recently said, "Someone needs to come up with a theology of viruses. How do we account for the creation of these "non-living" things that destroy human bodies?"

These problems point to the final frontier of theology and philosophy. They are the perennial unanswered questions...

Today our hearts go out to those who have died and suffered in the tornado of Oklahoma. God is all-loving and all-powerful. So why didn't He stop the storm?

In philosophy, this is the problem of theodicy.The word "theodicy comes from two Greek workstheos meaning "God" and dike meaning "justice."

When dear little children die in a violent tornado, humans begin to question the "justice of God."

Just a few days ago, I wrote a blog post on how to speak with atheists. You can find it by clicking here. I mentioned in this post that atheists are not usually atheists because of the cosmological arguments. They are atheists because of evil. They reject God in the face of moral, but especially natural, evils.

The atheists points to the TV screen and says, "Aha, all those children died in a tornado. You're God did that. Is that your God?" For these atheists, it is better to deny God's existence than it is admit that God is evil or  ambivalent. 

The atheistic critique of theists is the thread running through Fyodor Dostoyevsky's The Brothers Karamazov. (A great novel that you should read. You can get here.) Ivan the atheist brother asks Aloysha the Christian brother about the cruelty children receive. He refers to God as the "architect" of the arrangement when he asks:

"Would you consent to be the architect under those conditions? Tell me honestly!"

"No, I wouldn't agree," said Alyosha quietly.

Even the innocent and faithful Alyosha seems confused and ashamed about the problem of evil.

The human heart, like Alyosha, knows that if there is a God, and that God should be good. The heart cannot make sense of it all. It hurts. It requires a quiet response and a lowering of the eyes.

Enough philosophy. Why did a tornado kill innocent children? What's the answer?

The answer is not one that you will like...

The answer is silence. Sit down and read the book of Job in your own silence. It is without a doubt the most powerful treatise on theodicy. It involves terrible moral and natural evils happening to one man.

When the evils happen, Job remains silent.

Job's "friends" Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar come and they remain silent until Job finally speaks. 

Next, the friends try to provide Job with a cogent account of theodicy - an account of why God allowed these evils to befall Job. Their speeches are unsatisfying. The young man Elihu defends Job and God. Finally God speaks. God does not condemn the men for asking the question and trying to seek answers. But God does not give an answer.

No answers are provided. Rather faith and silence are implied. The Eastern theologian Alexander Schmemann notes that "Job, the sufferer, is the Old Testament icon of Christ. This reading announces the great mystery of Christ's sufferings, obedience and sacrifice.” (from his A Liturgical Explanation for the Days of Holy Week)

Silence. This is the posture of Jesus Christ in the face of evil - all evil. 

"He was offered because it was his own will, and he opened not his mouth: he shall be led as a sheep to the slaughter, and shall be dumb as a lamb before his shearer, and he shall not open his mouth" (Isaiah 53:7).

So we must remain silent. Have faith. Pray. The answer will not be given to us. A compassionate and trustful silence is all we have.

Please pray for the injured, suffering, and dead of Oklahoma. Kyrie eleison 40x. Ave Maria.

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How to Speak with an Atheist Friend or Loved One

Posted by Taylor Marshall 

Atheists: Dawkins, Harris, Hitchens

In this post, I'm going to share with you what I believe to be the most powerful way to speak with atheists. But first...

Last night I had the sad experience of learning that one of my cousins is an atheist. I say sad, because all my hope in this life comes from my faith in Christ. If I did not have Christ, I don't know what would happen to me.

I am not saying that atheists cannot be naturally happy or even naturally virtuous. However, I am a man of faith. I am a Catholic. I believe in Heaven and Hell. I want everyone I meet to go to Heaven...not Hell. With eternity on the line, we need to be intentional about what matters most. So how do we share our faith effectively?

I know many atheists. I have friends and family who are atheists. We speak openly about God, morals, and the afterlife. Regrettably, I used to be much moreaggressive in my approach. I don't think aggression or argumentation (however logical) works.

So what does work?

Let me suggest that you first pray and second remain calm. Third, ask your atheist friend this question: "Do you believe in love?"

In other words, is love real? Spend your time discussing love. Is love an instinct? Is it a passion? Is love a hormonal phenomenon? Is love a virtue? Is love a "force"? Is love a "thing"? Where does love come from?

Love is a great way to begin. Very few people will reject the existence of love. That's a great thing! You have somewhere to start.

As much as I love Thomas Aquinas, I realize that the atheist remains unmoved by the five ways of Thomas. (By the way, I discuss this phenomenon regarding atheism and Aquinas in my new free ebook which you can get on May 31 if you sign up for it.) Most atheists don't disbelieve because philosophical arguments from causality. Most atheists disbelieve because they have experienced sheer evil in the world.

So don't start with causality or evil! Start with the idea of love and begin the great conversation. I think you'll discover a strong way forward if you apply this approach with grace, love, prayer, and personal penance.

Remember. You can only rightfully share God (who is Love) if you speak and act with love. If you come off as angry or judgmental, forget it.

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Pope Francis Calls for Natural Law & Ethics

Posted by Taylor Marshall 

Our Holy Father Pope Francis recently spoke about the new idol or 'golden calf' of the First World: the quest for money and power (May 16, 2013). The Holy Father proposed that this dire situation requires a return to ethics.

There is one phrase in the Holy Father's speech that I haven't yet seen noted as significant. It is the Holy Father's phrase "natural ethics." The Holy Father speaks of a true "natural ethics" as opposed to a false "ideological ethics."

I wrote my PhD dissertation on Thomas Aquinas' doctrine of natural law and when I read things like this, my Thomist alert system starts going off.I am exhilarated to read this. Personally, I find it refreshing to see Pope Francis as willing to attack materialism and false economies through the lens of natural law and ethics.

If you read the speech, you begin to discern that natural law is between the lines. This signals that Pope Francis will be continuing Pope Benedict's insistence on the authentic natural law tradition of Thomas Aquinas and the Catholic Tradition.

In September of 2011, Pope Benedict addressed the German Bundestag (Parliament) and insisted on a return to natural law as a possible way forward for Germany and Europe. Benedict was greatly mocked and derided for his "archaic ideas," as you may remember. Nevertheless, Benedict was bold and heroic.

It now appears that Pope Francis is willing to continue that same fight against secularism with the same tools.

Personally, I believe the American obsession with "the right of religious freedom" is battle which we will lose. We have a much better footing if we follow Benedict and Francis' lead with a return to the authentic natural law tradition. This is a rich and hallowed tradition and the Church...and it is powerful. For me the battle over a "right to religious freedom" sounds more like Thomas Jefferson and less like Thomas Aquinas.

Bravo to Pope Francis. I will be reading Pope Francis' speeches and I'll keep you posted. If any of you note something related to natural law in Pope Francis' discourses, please let me know via Twitter or Facebook. I look forward to being in touch with all of you. Thank you for reading!

Godspeed,

Taylor

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4 Encouraging Ideas from a 12 Year Old Saint

Posted by Taylor Marshall 

Saint Dominic Savio (1842-1857) was a young man under the spiritual care of Saint John Bosco. He began to study for the priesthood until he became ill and died at the age of 14.

When he was still only 12 years old, Dominic set down four rules by which he would live and become a saint. 

They are simple and beautiful:

1. I will go to Confession and to Communion often.

2. I will keep holy the feasts days.

3. Jesus will be my best friend.

4. And I would rather die than to commit a sin.

How is that for a list of resolutions? Only a child would love so simply. 

If we could keep these four resolutions in our hearts with love, each of us would become a great saint. 

By the way, this would be a great little list to give young people at the First Communion and Confirmation. This should be printed up on holy cards. I'd buy 100 of them!

Please print these four resolution and put in on your mirror to remind you every morning the simple and small way to sainthood.

Also, please forward this on to your friends for their edification.

Question: Are you skeptical? Can becoming a saint be this simple? Please leave a comment below and share your thoughts. 

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Photos of My Children at Confirmationon Saturday

By Dr. Taylor Marshall

The Marshall family celebrated a very special weekend. Our three oldest children received the sacrament of Confirmation. Bishop Seitz in Dallas was recently appointed Bishop of El Paso by Pope Francis. Due to the news, Father Longua, our pastor at Mater Dei, did the honor of conferring the sacrament.

Here is Gabriel William who took the name 'Sebastian'

with his Sponsor Jordan Low and Father Longua

after the ceremony.

And here are my twins Mary Claire (confirmation name Philomena) 

and Rose (confirmation name Veronica)

with their Sponsors Amanda Halisky and Deserae Low

Soldiers of Christ!

Please say a Hail Mary for each of them that they continue to bear the standard of our Lord Jesus Christ.

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Thomas Aquinas on the Special Crown of the Martyrs

By Dr. Taylor Marshall

At the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass this past Sunday, Pope Francis canonized 813 Martyrs from the Italian city of Otranto who were beheaded for refusing to become Mohammedans.

“As we venerate the martyrs of Otranto," proclaimed Pope Francis," let us ask God to sustain those many Christians who, in these times and in many parts of the world, right now, still suffer violence, and give them the courage and fidelity to respond to evil with good.”

These martyrs of Otranto are our brothers and sisters in Christ. They still love us. They still care for us. Their share in Christ is much more profound than we now experience.

Saint Thomas Aquinas teaches that the martyrs in Heaven receive a special crown or "aureole" when gives them a share in the reign of God. 

The aureole is a special halo that only martyrs, consecrated virgins, and ecclesiastical doctors receive in reward for striving against evil. Saint Thomas holds that the aureole is a divine endowment of regal power so that these saints have a special share in the divine power. This idea goes back to the Old Testament, the Apocalypse of Saint John, Saint Augustine, and Saint Bede.

Saint Augustine wrote: "No one, methinks, would dare prefer virginity to martyrdom" (De Sancta Virgin. xlvi). Consequently, says Saint Thomas, an aureole is due to virginity, and also to martyrdom. Thomas also writes:

Further, the crown is due to one who has striven. But in martyrdom the strife presents a special difficulty. Therefore a special aureole is due thereto.

The martyrs then have a special share in the heavenly reign of God. They always have and they always will. 

This is a biblical teaching. We read in the Book of Revelation that to the martyrs of Christ are giving a special status in Heaven. They say to Christ: "Thou hast made us a royal race of priests, to serve God; we shall reign as kings over the earth" (Apocalypse 5:10). Moreover, it is given to the martyrs of Christ to dwell beneath the heavenly altar of God on high. They are closely associated with the eternal sacrifice of Christ.

This, by the way, is why the relics of martyrs were placed in Catholic altars in the early Church. Their sacrifice as martyrs was tangibly linked to the infinite sacrifice of Christ on the Eucharistic altar.

Let's open the comments: Might you be called to be a martyr? How does one train for this honor?

Saint Vincent Ferrar says that those who have not received the sacrament of confirmation will not persevere under the Antichrist. Perhaps, the theology of the sacrament of confirmation needs to be articulated more in terms of soldier/martyr. We often stress the idea of "soldier of Christ" in confirmation but do we emphasize that the greatest soldiers belong to the "army of martyrs," mentioned in the Te Deum? Perhaps the anointing with chrism on the head signifies the aureole that could be won through martyrdom in witness to the love of Jesus Christ...

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Photo: Pope Francis Honors His Mother in Heaven

Posted by Taylor Marshall 

Pope Francis honors Our Lady of Lujan (a Marian devotion from his motherland of Argentina).

The statue of Our Lady of Luján was crafted in Brazil and sent to Argentina. A settler ordered the statue of Mary in 1630 in order to reinvigorate the Catholic faith in Santiago del Estero. 

The cart carrying the new statue stopped at the residence of Don Rosendo Oramas, located in the present town of Zelaya. However, when the caravan wanted to resume the journey, the oxen refused to move. 

Puzzled by this, the travelers removed the statue from the cart. The oxen started to move again. This was taken as a sign that the Virgin wished for the statue to remain at this location. The statue was revered there for several decadues until it was enshrined at Lujan.

When in Cebu City, please visit http://www.gregmelep.com for your real estate and retirement needs. Avail of the opportunity to own a condominium unit in Cebu City at the low amount of only P 9,333.33 and House and Lot @ P 7,306.81/month only. Hurry while supply of units still last. Just call the Tel. Nos. shown herein: (053)555-84-64/09155734856/09173373687/09222737836.

Why Confess Sins to a Man? (Blanquette de Veau vs Burrito Supreme)

Posted by Taylor Marshall 

Why do we Catholics confess our sins to priests who are mere men?

This is a question that Protestants repeatedly raise. I raised it as a Protestant almost every time I spoke to a Catholic about matters of religion. Even Catholics are puzzled by it.

Even one of my sons asked me, "Dad, it's difficult. Why must we confess our sins to a priest when it is God that forgives us? Why not go straight to Jesus?"

This is a great question and it deserves more than a well-packaged apologist's answer. We all know the quick and easy answer:

1. Jesus Christ gave the Apostles authority to forgive sins in John 20:21-23. 
2. The Apostles are the first priests and they are mere humans. 
3. Priests (with historical succession from the Apostles) can only declare the forgiveness of sins if they are told the sins by those who committed the sins.
4. Therefore, we must reveal the sins to the priests so that these sins will then be forgiven through a means defined by Christ who is God.

That's tight. It's logical. It works.

But there's a harder question beneath all of this: 

"But why did Jesus set it up like this? Could not have Christ arranged things so that we merely voiced each and ever sin to Him? Why did Christ introduce an intermediary stage?"

Here we move away from easy apologetics. We move to the heart of it. Why must I reveal deep, dark, and embarrassing things to a man wearing a purple stole. Christ already knows. Why bring in a middle man? Laymen, monks, nuns, priests, bishops, cardinals, even Popes - everyone has to do it. Why?

I cannot presume to know the mind of God. However, I have an idea...

Christ knows that we would cheat ourselves.That's right. We wouldn't take the sin seriously. Nor would we take the grace received seriously. 

I have confessed my sins straight to God. I have confessed my sins to God in the presence of a priest who heard every word. There is a qualitative difference between the two ways. 

By myself, I am repentant about "my sins." It's general and less precise. However, when I confess my sins in the presence of the priest, it is specific. Moreover, there is a sense of dread followed by a wave of mercy crashing upon my soul.

I think the difference is like eating at Taco Bell vs eating at an elegant French restaurant. They both advertise food. But the French restaurant provides an experience. The French restaurant experience includes a gentleman wearing black and white. (Sound familiar?)

Regardless of the food, the experience is better and more connected at the French restaurant because it is mediated by a human server who has a real human experience with you.

The French waiter cares for you during the experience, carries and presents the entrees to us, elegantly clears the table, scrapes the bread crumbs off the linen with that little device, and then makes sure that we are comfortable and happy. The post-production of the desserts and digestifs are also a big part of the experience.

Nobody does that at Taco Bell and that's why it's Taco Bell.

My suggestion is that Christ instituted the sacrament of Penance because He passionately desires for us to experience His Divine Mercy in a tangible way. Forgiveness requires a human experience - not just words.

It would be more difficult for a woman to feel healing in her bedroom as she confesses an abortion from 25 years ago. However, in the presence of a fellow sinner (the priest), she hears words of comfort and then an audible and divinely ratified proclamation that her sins are officially forgiven and cast into the sea.

That's the difference between a Burrito Supreme at the drive through and enjoying Blanquette de Veau or Beef Bourguignon under the care of a French waiter with the help of his sommelier.

Of course, the Blanquette de Veau or Beef Bourguignon experience costs you a lot more than the quick Burrito Supreme in a wrapper: But which would you prefer?

Yes, confession to a priest has more "emotional cost"? But would you have it any other way?

Time to open the comments: Would you agree that Christ set up the forgiveness of sins in the best possible way? Is the "emotional cost" worth it? Please leave a comments about your own experience.

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