"We acknowledge and bewail our manifold sins and wickedness." Meditating (again) on the General Confession.

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88.22-carat, D Colour, Flawless, Type IIa, oval brilliant diamond

One of the many gems in the Ordinariate Mass is the Penitential Rite. We pray, kneeling, the General Confession, inherited from the Book of Common Prayer.

The priest turns to face the people and says... .

Facing the People, the Deacon or Priest says:

Ye that do truly and earnestly repent you of your sins, and are in love and charity with your neighbours, and intend to lead a new life, following the commandments of God, and walking from henceforth in his holy ways: draw near with faith, and make your humble confession to Almighty God, meekly kneeling upon your knees.

Or:

Draw near with faith and make your humble confession to Almighty God, meekly kneeling upon your knees.

Then all say:

Almighty God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, maker of all things, judge of all men: We acknowledge and bewail our manifold sins and wickedness, which we from time to time most grievously have committed, by thought, word, and deed, against thy divine Majesty, provoking most justly thy wrath and indignation against us. We do earnestly repent, and are heartily sorry for these our misdoings; the remembrance of them is grievous unto us, the burden of them is intolerable. Have mercy upon us, have mercy upon us, most merciful Father; for thy Son our Lord Jesus Christ’s sake, forgive us all that is past; and grant that we may ever hereafter serve and please thee in newness of life, to the honour and glory of thy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Priest says:

May Almighty God, our heavenly Father, who of his great mercy hath promised forgiveness of sins to all those who with hearty repentance and true faith turn unto him, have mercy on us, pardon and deliver us from all our sins, confirm and strengthen us in all goodness, and bring us to everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Then follow the Comfortable Words.

The General Confession is beautifully laid out in a way that leads the worshipper through the valley of sin and despair to contrition and the promised land of restoration, of mercy, forgiveness and newness of life.
  1. "...maker of all things, judge of all men... .": The acknowledgement of the sovereignty of God. We cannot get beyond our sins, the mess of our own making, without divine assistance. God is always waiting to give us His strength in the midst of our weaknesses.
  2. "...our manifold sins and wickedness... ." The acknowledgement of our sins, carelessly or willfully committed, that kill the life of God in our souls and alienate us from God.
  3. "We do earnestly repent, and are heartily sorry... ." Contrition for sin is essential in order to grow in holiness. We tell our loving Father what He already knows, and through the window of our repentance He meets us with His love.
  4. "...the burden of them is intolerable... ." Anyone who has been in love knows how utterly rotten it feels to hurt someone we love. We cannot bear the weight of our transgression.
  5. "Have mercy on us... ." We, together, seek the forgiveness and mercy of God. When we harm our neighbour, we offend God, too. We recall 1 John 4:20: If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
  6. "...forgive us all that is past; and grant that we may ever hereafter serve and please thee in newness of life... ." By God's grace we are able to place things into perspective. What's past is past. We must bring our sins to confession - mortal sins must be confessed in the Sacrament of Confession - and seek the grace of God to move forward.
  7. "...grant that we may ever hereafter serve and please thee in newness of life...". We trust in God's mercy and, acknowledging again God's sovereignty, we wholly submit our lives to our loving Father, confident in God's promise of "newness of life". We long to serve Him, not our narrow self interests.
  8. "...to the honour and glory of thy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."
John 8:32
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

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