No, Really: Leave it in the Confessional

5th Sunday of Easter

This Sunday, the second reading will be from 1 Jn 3:18-24. Start with verse 11, just to get a little more clarity on what John is talking about.

I hope you are one of those people who has been blessed with a conscience that lets it go the moment you leave the confessional.

This is admittedly rather uncommon in Catholic circles, so if you DO suffer with a conscience that just won’t let things go (like me), then this reading is in here for you.

Please Pray

I'm apparently a little behind, since several bloggers have already posted their columns on this.

The LA courts are trying to compel a priest in our diocese to give information about what was divulged to him under the Seal of Confession. The young woman in question was abused by a parishioner (who has since died), not a priest, when she was twelve years old. She has said that the priest told her to hush it up. Given everything else I know about the priest in question, this literally makes no sense.

The Diocese of Baton Rouge appealed up to the SCOTUS, which declined to hear the case.

Please include in your prayers. Here are some links for further reading on what's going on, and why it's important.

Catholic Culture - US Supreme Court declines to hear appeal of Louisiana case challenging confessional seal

Satan Ups His Game: Supreme Court Declines to Protect Secrecy of Sacramental Confessions, by Jennifer Fitz

Supreme Court Will Not Hear Confession Confidentiality Petition, by Simcha Fisher

I will be posting my regular reflection later this morning.

Dentistry and Forgiveness

So, I'm having a root canal on Wednesday.

Please, PLEASE don't tell me your root canal horror story. I've heard enough of them in the last seven days to last me a lifetime.

So - if you're even remotely human, when you go to the dentist, what you hear sounds something like this:

"You've got some plaque building up on these teeth."
"You don't get this part of your mouth very well when you brush."
"You need to floss more."
"Try not to eat so much sticky food. We'll need to replace this filling if you aren't careful."