Comments on: The relationship between Confession and Communion How do we stay “sinless” between confession and communion?

By: Deborah

Deborah — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 18:17:46 +0000

And you, dear Natasha, are a blessing to all of us…thank you so much for sharing your life with us. Your story made me smile, too.

By: Natalia Arzhantseva

Natalia Arzhantseva — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 11:33:11 +0000

Dear Deborah, I cherish so much YOUR experience. Our relationship always enriches me. I cherish so much I met Father, you, Nicholas…It is such a blessing from God!
On this Feast of Transfiguration I feel especially my nothingness & lack of change in my soul, where mainly are discontent & grumbling…But there is also there gratitude to God, also for the people I met & through whom God feeds me constantly with wisdom & kindness & with many things I cannot understand and appreciate now…Many spiritual blessings are discreet, hidden from me because of my inability to perceive them & absorb…
I'll tell you a funny episode also, connected with confession. When I was preparing for my first confession, I was preoccupied by the following thought: how I'll be able to kiss the hand of an unknown person, especially – a man (a confessor)…I prepared seriously, and was very much afraid that I'd not be able – that I might die before it. If only I could keep this apprehension till now! But at the same time I thought of this kissing a hand…Of course, when I did it, I even didn't notice it, it went as natural.
When I remember it, I smile.

By: Deborah

Deborah — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 22:18:12 +0000

Thank you, Fr. Nicholas and dear Natalia, for sharing your wisdom and experience. So it appears that this, too, is Mystery. I do know that confession before my confessor, although simply repeating the confession I have already made to the Lord, is something powerful–and oftentimes very difficult. To have our confessions of sin pass through the ears of a fellow human being in order to receive absolution can be a very humbling experience.

By: Natalia Arzhantseva

Natalia Arzhantseva — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 11:29:58 +0000

Thank you Deborah for this very important question, and Nicholas – for the answer…
I just would like to share my experience in the circumstances I am & my relation to it – which is, of course, far from the attitude of a true Christian. The matter is that I do not feel absolutely in accordance with the Russian tradition of confession & communion being so close in time to it. For me, the Greek tradition is much closer. It is when a person is not closely linked by time to have a confession & then at the same day – the communion. In many churches in Moscow, for example, priests receive the confession on Saturday evening during the service & partly afterwards, but here where I live now – the confessions are conducted only in the mornings (except for the Great Lent time where there are espcially many people in churches). Thus a person should stand in a long queue, missing the most part of the Liturgy – which is especially sad on the day of his Communion! The confession is in this case, (of course if t is not a working day and there are few people who come to confession) turns into a verbal quick procedure, carrying a formal character, when I, realising how tired the priest is & that I have to hurry up etc., try to be as quick & laconic as possible. Of course, confession differs from the talk or receiving advice, but I rarely feel well after such a confession.
Thus, during the current period of my life, I enjoy the opportunity to confess during week-days. And – being used to confess not only before taking the Holy Communion, but quite regularly come to confession for confession only, – I thank God for this opportunity. As well for the time He gave me for repentance…and I repent, that I misuse this time too often, missing it.
In Greece the day of the confession is appointed in advance, special days & time is assigned for it by priests, the notifications are fixed on the churches' walls & entrances, so that the parishioners could know it & get themselves prepared. And – the confession never takes place during the Liturgy! Then some period of time pay pass from the confession to taking the Communion, and during this time a person tries to keep away from the sins, prays & prepares his soul for this Great Mystery…
Of course, I realise that in Greece there are much more priests than in Russia, much more churches, opportunities for that…But still this order here disturbs me.
I also realise that this feeling, sometimes quite tense, exists in me because I miss humbleness, I am almost sure that if I were a true Christian, this would not mean anything for me, and I would take such "inconveniences" for nothing – in comparison with such a great Gift from our loving God!
Thus may it be some confession (I know it cannot be a confession in its full sense, as it is type-written & in the form of a letter), but I still feel uneasy & feel my fault because I am impatient about it. As FOR A TRUE CHRISTIAN THERE IS NO BARRIER OR INCONVENIENCE ANYWHERE. REPENTANCE KNOWS NO CONFUSION.
It's very important to say here, that in the above mentioned I meant only regular confession & communion. If a person feels his sin sharply, he cannot think of anything else & gives no value to meaningless things…

By: Dn. Nicholas Park

Dn. Nicholas Park — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 03:04:15 +0000

Deborah, the effect of the Holy Mysteries in our life is affected to a great degree by the manner in which we receive them. St. Mary had a deep, penetrating conversion experience and a deep repentance that most of us can't even imagine. She received great benefit from receiving the Holy Gifts twice. Most of us, however, repent only superficially and need to stay very close to the Holy Mysteries so that we do not fall away completely.
Why do we need to confess our sins and receive absolution in the Mystery of Repentance? One might also ask why we need to commune with the Lord physically. The simplest and best answer is that this is what the Lord ordained, and we trust Him to know what is best for us. Is it just a condescension to our human weakness, our psychological need for ritual? Yes, to some degree. But there is more to it. For we are physical creatures, not merely spiritual, and Christ said that if we do not eat His Body and drink His Blood physically, we have no life in us…

By: Deborah

Deborah — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 13:26:54 +0000

"St. Mary of Egypt became astoundingly holy through the grace of God and her ascetic feats in the desert without continuous confession and/or communion. "
Just to clarify….I know St. Mary was continuously confessing to and communing with God. But it is an amazing thing–that her holiness was achieved without the benefit of regular partaking of the Holy Mysteries and without a confessor, spiritual father or priest. I know that this is an exceptional case, but it is part of what is a puzzling mystery to me.

By: Deborah

Deborah — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 13:20:42 +0000

Father, Bless, Could you please explain the difference between the forgiveness we receive through confessing directly to God and that which we receive through confessing to a confessor and receiving absolution from a priest? It seems the latter makes an important ontological difference, but I don't understand why or what exactly the difference is. St. Mary of Egypt became astoundingly holy through the grace of God and her ascetic feats in the desert without continuous confession and/or communion. Yet even as a living holy saint she requested and received these sacraments before her death. We know that continuous confession of our sins before God is necessary for all and is included in numerous of our daily prayers. We know that "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9 And yet we know there is the need, in a frequency that seems to vary considerably from person to person, for the sacrament of confession before one's priest. What does confession before and absolution received from a priest convey to the Believer that simple confession before the Lord does not? Thank You and Bless, Deborah