Miserere

A traditional devotion for the Lenten season is to pray the beautiful Seven Penitential Psalms. These psalms are: 6, 31, 37, 50, 101, 129, and 142 in the Douay Rheims version of the Bible. By order of Pope Innocent III (1198-1216), these prayers were to be prayed on the days of Lent. If they cannot be said on each day of Lent, they can be prayed on Lenten Fridays (or one could pray one prayer on each of the 7 Fridays of Lent). The Penitential Psalms are prayers of mercy and contrition, and their recitation aids us in recognizing our sins, expressing our contrition, and begging God's mercy. The traditional practice of praying these psalms is kneeling. Begin and ends with the antiphon, and recites a Gloria in between. Psalm 50, Miserere, is provided below. You can find psalm 129, De Profundis, here. 

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Antiphon.  Remember not, O Lord. our or our parents’ offences: neither take vengeance of our sins.  Miserere: Psalm 50  Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy great mercy.  And according to the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my iniquity.  Wash me yet more from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.  For I know my iniquity, and my sin is always before me.  To thee only have I sinned, and have done evil before thee: that thou mayst be justified in thy words and mayst overcome when thou art judged.  For behold I was conceived in iniquities; and in sins did my mother conceive me.  For behold thou hast loved truth: the uncertain and hidden things of thy wisdom thou hast made manifest to me.  Thou shalt sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed: thou shalt wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow.  To my hearing thou shalt give joy and gladness: and the bones that have been humbled shall rejoice. Turn away thy face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.  Create a clean heart in me, O God: and renew a right spirit within my bowels.  Cast me not away from thy face; and take not thy holy spirit from me.  Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, and strengthen me with a perfect spirit.  I will teach the unjust thy ways: and the wicked shall be converted to thee.  Deliver me from blood, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall extol thy justice.  O Lord, thou wilt open my lips: and my mouth shall declare thy praise.  For if thou hadst desired sacrifice, I would indeed have given it: with burnt offerings thou wilt not be delighted.  A sacrifice to God is an afflicted spirit: a contrite and humbled heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.  Deal favourably, O Lord, in thy good will with Sion; that the walls of Jerusalem may be built up.  Then shalt thou accept the sacrifice of justice, oblations and whole burnt offerings: then shall they lay calves upon thy altar.  (Repeat the Antiphon.)  Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.		Antiphon. Ne reminscáris Dómine delícta nostra, vel paréntum nostrórum: neque vindíctam sumas de peccátis nostris.  Miserere: Psalm 50  Miserére mei Deus, secúndum magnam misericórdiam tuam.  Et secúndum multitúdinem miseratiónum tuárum, dele iniquitátem meam.  Ámplius lava me ab iniquitáte mea: et a peccáto meo munda me.  Quóniam iniquitátem meam ego cognósco: et peccátum meum contra me est semper.  Tibi soli peccávi, et malum coram te feci: ut iustificéris in sermónibus tuis, et vincas cum iudicáris. Ecce enim in iniquitátibus concéptus sum: et in peccátis concépit me mater mea.  Ecce enim veritátem dilexísti: incérta et occúlta sapiéntiæ tuæ manifestásti mihi.  Aspérges me hyssópo, et mundábor: lavábis me, et super nivem dealbábor.  Audítui meo dabis gaúdium, et lætítiam: et exsultábunt ossa humiliáta.  Avérte fáciem tuam a peccátis meis: et omnes iniquitátes meas dele.  Cor mundum crea in me, Deus: et spíritum rectum ínnova in viscéribus meis.  Ne proícias me a fácie tua: et Spíritum sanctum tuum ne áuferas a me.  Redde mihi lætítiam salutáris tui: et spíritu principáli confírma me.  Docébo iníquos vias tuas: et ímpii ad te converténtur.  Líbera me de sanguínibus, Deus, Deus salútis meæ: et exsultábit lingua mea iustítiam tuam.  Dómine, lábia mea apéries: et os meum annuntiábit laudem tuam.  Quóniam si voluísses sacrifícium, dedíssem útique: holocaústis non delectáberis.  Sacrifícium Deo spíritus contribulátus: cor contrítum et humiliátum, Deus, non despícies.  Benígne fac, Dómine, in bona voluntáte tua Sion: ut ædificéntur muri Ierúsalem.  Tunc acceptábis sacrifícium iustítiæ, oblatiónes, et holocáusta: tunc inpónent super altáre tuum vítulos. (Repeat the Antiphon.)  Glória Patri, et Fílio, et Spirítui Sancto. Sicut erat in princípio, et nunc, et semper, et in sǽcula sæculórum. Amen.

God bless!

+JMJ+

Preparation for Confession

According to the precepts of the Church, Catholics are required to go to confession at least once each year, and it is common among many Catholics to confess their sins during the Lenten season.   However, we are encouraged to attend confession frequently, and according to St. John Paul II, frequent confession means at least once a month.

Confession is one of the greatest practices to help us grow in holiness. Pope Pius XII stated, “For a constant and speedy advancement in the path of virtue, we highly recommend the pious practice of frequent confession, introduced by the Church under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, for by this means we grow in a true knowledge of ourselves and in Christian humility, bad habits are uprooted, spiritual negligence and apathy are prevented, the conscience is purified and the will strengthened, salutary spiritual direction is obtained, and grace is increased by the efficacy of the sacrament itself.”

A salutary practice to prepare for confession is to call to mind that this confession may be the last of your life. Therefore, prepare yourself for it as if it is. Ask God to give you the grace to make a good examination of conscience, the ability to see your sins clearly, and the strength to make a sincere confession and to amend your life. The following prayer is helpful when preparing for confession.

Traditional Prayer Before an Examination of Conscience

Most merciful God, Father in Heaven, relying on Thy goodness and mercy, I come to Thee with filial confidence to confess my sins and to implore Thy forgiveness. Thou wilt not despise a contrite and humble heart. Bless me and receive me again into Thy favor; I acknowledge that I have been most ungrateful to Thee, but I sincerely repent and detest the wrong I have done, and I desire henceforth to walk in the way of perfection in accordance with Thy holy will.

O Jesus, my Savior, my good Shepherd, I have strayed far from the path that Thou hast marked out for me; I did not follow in Thy footsteps; I wandered into forbidden places. Repentant and sorrowful, I beg to be admitted again into the fold of Thy faithful followers. I want to confess my sins with the same sincerity as I should wish to do at the moment of my death. My Jesus, I look to Thee with confidence for the grace to examine my conscience well.

O Holy Spirit come in Thy mercy; enlighten my mind and strengthen my will that I may know my sins, humbly confess them, and sincerely amend my life. Mary, my Mother, immaculate Spouse of the Holy Spirit, refuge of sinners, assist me by thy intercession. Holy Angels and Saints of God, pray for me. Amen

Jesus, have mercy on us!

God bless!

+JMJ+