Tag: Confiteor

Posted in church, flower, God, goodness, need, prayer, rain, renew, scripture, season, sin, Spiritual, spring, weather

Newness And Goodness

Posted on by deannagreensandgardenart

Spring has been absolutely lovely these past few days. A couple days of shifting winds and storms keep us weather aware and on our toes. Before the wind and rain tore the petals off the blooms I brought in a few blooms from the peony bushes and bed of irises to make a bouquet. The other days the sun shone, and the air has been just a bit cool but refreshing. This day, listening to the thunder rumble and the few raindrops splatter on the spring green foliage is divine. Watching the hummingbirds feed on the sugar water makes my world stop for those few seconds while each take their turn at feeder near my atelier window. The newness and goodness of the season echo how good our God is.

The refreshing nature of spring rains reminds me how I am washed and renewed into a new life with Jesus. The Hebrew word for “good” is “tov”, and it appears well over 500 times in the Old Testament. The Greek word for “good” is “agathos”, and it is in the New Testament over 100 times. “Good” outnumbers “bad” by a long shot in the holy scriptures. The word “bad” is only mentioned 17 times. A similar word “evil” or “wrongdoing” is mentioned over 150 times. The word “sin” appears over 400 times in the Bible. Is not that the nature of good, it outweighs bad every time?

Last week I had a friend ask me if I have done “good” lately. I was thinking, “well, I haven’t done bad as of late.” For that matter the word “bad” isn’t usually in my vocabulary. There is too much good to do, to do bad. Where I fault is what I fail to do out of ignorance, inconvenience, or selfishness. In the Catholic service we make a confessional prayer called the Confiteor (Latin for “I confess”) at the beginning of each Mass which includes these words:

“I confess to almighty God
and to you, my brothers and sisters,
that I have greatly sinned,
in my thoughts and in my words,
in what I have done and in what I have failed to do,
through my fault, through my fault,
through my most grievous fault…”

Next time I am asked if I have done good lately or what is that good I did lately; I will consider this question a prompting. What needs are in the immediate world around me? Then I will act on the need to make good.

Posted in cross, death, Family, forgiveness, God, holy, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Lent, prayer, quote, Spiritual, works

Deny Self

Posted on by deannagreensandgardenart

Ash Wednesday begins the Lent season. This season is to examine where our present life is at, confess wrongdoing, deny self, and look to God our Father, Jesus our Savior, and the Holy Spirit for guidance and follow the calling. What does it mean to deny self? One way is to deny my own needs so another’s needs are met. A healthy marriage requires this regularly. Or deny my urge to lash out on someone who has wronged me or someone I love, but instead pray for them. Another way to deny self is to make a dinner for someone in need rather than spend the afternoon leisure shopping. The Holy Scripture in Matthew 16:24 tells us “If any of you want to come with me, you must forget yourself, carry your cross, and follow me.”

Hand in hand to denying self is the admittance where we have done wrong. We can do this daily, not just on Sundays or holy days, but rather during our regular quiet times, or throughout the day as the Holy Spirit leads. In many Christian faiths there is a prayer called the Confiteor, which we confess during our regular services. This is a good place to start if one needs guidance on how to pray for forgiveness.

“I confess to almighty God
and to you, my brothers and sisters,
that I have greatly sinned,
in my thoughts and in my words,
in what I have done and in what I have failed to do,
through my fault, through my fault …”

Following Jesus is not an easy task. Sometimes it is multiple uneasy tasks. “How many times do I forgive my brother?” you may ask. “Seventy times seven” Jesus tells us. “Pray for your enemies.” Jesus also says. “The Son of God suffered unto the death, not that men might not suffer, but that their sufferings might be like His,” Christian author and minister George Macdonald is quoted. Have you suffered unto death like Jesus Christ? I am preaching to me as well as to whoever needs to be reminded like myself.

Let this Lent season be a time of reflection, forgiveness, denial of self, prayer, true worship, and good works unto our Lord.