Fourth Sunday of Lent

To access two Doctrinal Homily Outlines for the Fourth Sunday of Lent, click either of the links below.

• Sacrament of Confession
• The Prodigal Son

Here is a snippet:

• Confession is the means Our Lord has left for us to get rid of mortal sins committed after Baptism.
• After Christ rose from the dead he appeared to his Apostles, breathed on them, and said,

Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained. (Jn 20:22-23)

• Because a judgment is necessary, the Sacrament requires oral confession—otherwise, how would the minister of the sacrament know how to judge?
• The truth is that some behavior is good and some is evil. Any freely chosen and conscious violation of one of the Ten Commandments in thought, word, or deed is a sin.
• Some violations are gravely wrong: we call them mortal sins. Others are venial, or “pardonable.” We must get back into the habit of examining our behavior in light of this standard. This is called an examination of conscience. We should make one at the end of every day.
• The priest will never reveal your confession to anyone under the Seal of the Confessional.