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Hello everyone,

Today, Monday 16th December, we have 290 people from all over the world and from many Christian denominations joining together in prayer. Our reflection is quite long this week so I haven't included one from Bob and Debbie Gass, from their "Word for Today". Today's all about repentance and keeping the 'white board of the soul' clean.

The Weekly Intentions are included below and available on a plain page to be able to print off and kept to hand for your own prayer time.

"Father, bless all those who have requested prayers in whatever it is that you know they may be needing this day! Father, we ask You to heal the broken bodies, broken hearts, broken spirits and broken relationships and may all their lives be full of your peace, prosperity, and power as they seek to have a close relationship with you. Amen."

http://www.circleofprayer.com/prayerbook.html
http://www.circleofprayer.com/weekly-intentions.html

Thank You Jesus for answering our prayers because we know You hear every prayer and never refuse to answer. You are providing
answers and healings from the prayers of all these wonderful people. Praise God!

God Bless you all and thanks a million for being part of the Circle of Prayer - the Prayer Warriors.

Mary Mullins in Galway, Ireland
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Please say the two wee prayers below as often as you can, particularly the first one to the Holy Spirit if you need to see things in
a clearer perspective.

"O Holy Spirit, beloved of my soul, I adore You. Enlighten me, guide me, strengthen me, console me, tell me what I should do. Give me Your orders. I promise to submit myself to all that You desire of me and to accept all that You permit to happen to me. Let me only know Your will.
Amen"

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"Dear Lord, I give you may hands to do Your work; I give You my feet to go Your way; I give You my eyes to see as You see; I give You my tongue to speak Your words; I give You my mind that You may think in me; I give You my spirit that You may pray in me. Above all, I give You my heart that You may love in me - love the Father and love all humankind. I give You my whole self, Lord, that You may grow in me, so that it is You who lives, works and prays in me. Amen."

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Christmas is probably one of two times in the year when we give our homes a real good clean out and tidy-up, the other is the Spring clean. It's not coincidental that the first falls during the Christian season of Advent and the second around Easter time. This week our discussion is based on 'cleaning the house' within us. Our Prayer Circle totals 290 today, made up of many different Christian denominations and 4 who stated non-Christian affiliation. Of the remaining 286, 167 stated they are Roman Catholics. 46 people didn't fill in this section so there could be one or two more. So that would leave 119 other Christian denominations, including those who didn't specify.

Although this website started with a non-denominational focus, my own beliefs come through in much of what I write, unavoidable I suppose. Today I'd like to look at the area of Repentance however much of what I write will be geared towards our Catholic participants and readers, but might prove of interest to you all. How many times do we tritely say "Confession is Good for the Soul'? Well it's true in the widest sense of the words.

Each and every one of us is a child of God, created in His image and likeness, but the coming of Jesus Christ made us much more than that when Christ instituted the Sacraments of the New Law. Baptism, the first sacrament, is the basis and foundation of the whole Christian life and the gateway to the Holy Spirit. Through Baptism we are freed from sin and born anew as children of God. We have a clean slate upon which to map out our Christian journey towards God.

But along the way we add smudges and black marks to that slate when we drift away from the teachings of Christ and commit sin. Picture our souls as a white board like the type used in conference rooms. Every time we do something wrong we place a stain on that lovely white board. By keeping that 'white board of the soul' clean we are in a state of Grace, not always easy to do, I know. So how do we keep the 'white board' of the soul clean? Through repentance, and reconciliation with God and those whom we have wronged.

In the non-catholic traditions this is carried out through personal communication with God and a belief that He has forgiven the sins we bring to Him in remorse. In my church it is achieved through the Sacrament of Reconciliation - confession, or what used to be known as The Sacrament of Penance. This sacrament is that by which sins committed since Baptism are forgiven. All the elements for a true sacrament are found in Penance, namely a visible sign instituted by Christ through which sanctifying grace is given to the soul. The outward, or visible sign, consists of the contrition and confession of the penitent and the absolution by the priest. That God's grace is conferred on us by means of this visible sign is evident from the words Jesus used when instituting this sacrament:

"He said to them, 'But who do you say that I am?. Simon Peter answered and said 'Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God'.

Then Jesus answered and said, 'Blessed art thou Simon Bar-Jona, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to thee, but my Father in Heaven. And I say to thee, thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever thou shalt bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven, and whatever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.' Matthew 16: 15-19 (Douay-Challoner)

During the Last Supper Jesus instituted the Sacrament of Ordination when He told the Apostles that because He had chosen them to carry on His work, so too had the Father. On the day of Resurrection He appeared to the disciples in the upper room, echoing His earlier words:

"Peace be to you! As the Father has sent me, I also send you." When He had said this, he breathed upon them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit; whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them, and, whose sins you shall retain, they are retained."
John 20: 21-23 (Douay-Challoner)

In order for it to be valid as a sacrament it must be administered by a priest with proper jurisdiction - ordained to the priesthood through the long unbroken line of Bishops since the time of Peter. The penitent must be sorry for their sins, have the firm intention of not repeating the sin, confess their sins to the priest and be willing to do the penance given by the priest. Sincere sorrow for sin is an absolute essential for valid reception of the sacrament. As Catholics we are obliged to make a good confession to a priest at least once a year.

So, for us as Catholics, the tradition of the confessional goes right back to Christ and His own words, both before His suffering and death and after it on the day of the Resurrection. Our Priesthood grew from the first Apostles, as the elders of His Church with Peter as their leader or head, the first Pope; and both they and the disciples in the upper room as the first Priests of the New Covenant.

Changes in our modern church are gradually eroding this sacrament with the introduction of the General Absolution, but many priests and bishops who still hold loyal to the True Teachings of Christ, encourage the use of the sacrament at least annually. (This is a topic for discussion on a new section of the website being developed called 'Catholic's Corner' and will be up soon.)

One of the things Mary asks in Her messages is a return to monthly confession and this makes total sense. Let's go back to the 'white board' again. If we clean only once a year, or maybe not for many years, how dirty would it be over the period of time? If we were attending a conference and found their white board to be covered with smudges and black marks we'd immediately have it removed and ask for a clean one! How then can we come to the Lord in communion with a soul all smudged and black? We can't and we are not allowed to!

In the space of the last week I have heard the same sermon preached by three different people, a priest and two deeply committed Catholic Christians. The last time I had heard the same sermon preached was in 1998! In a nutshell, it is that Catholics cannot receive the Body of Christ through the Eucharist in a state of sin. We all sin, be they small ones or the real biggies - venial and mortal. For us to receive Communion with mortal sin on our souls is to commit sacrilege, another mortal sin! But the blurring of sin in recent times has left us with no 'demarcation lines' as to what is grievous sin - mortal to the soul, or minor sin - venial. (Again, this is an area that will be covered in the Catholic's Corner.)

For Catholics we are obliged to go to confession at least once a year and to go to communion at least once a year, and that at Easter. But how many of us are aware of our confessional obligations or are even being taught about them? My sharing today is to encourage everyone to seek that reconciliation on a regular basis.

As Catholics it needs to be done through the Sacrament of Penance. I would suggest going on a monthly basis because the graces received are tremendous and really do help to keep us in that State of Grace we all want so much! Don't be afraid to go to confession and clean off that 'white board' completely. NO SIN is too big to dump, no matter how grave the offence. Get rid of it, it's only holding you back, and probably eating you up with more and more guilt, just what Satan wants and enjoys. Don't feel ashamed to speak it out, our priests have heard it all, believe me. They are not there as judges, but as the representative of Christ, who was compassion and mercy personified.

Below is a lovely Prayer and, if said regularly, will certainly help us to achieve the State of Grace we all strive for and to help Catholics to make a right good confession. It concludes with an appeal to Mary, the Mother of God, and the Angels and Saints to pray for us too for the graces we need to live the life of Jesus.

"Lord Jesus, I come before You just as I am. I am sorry for all my sins. I repent of my sins, please forgive me. In Your name, I forgive all others for what they have done against me. I renounce Satan, the evil spirits and all their works. I give You my entire self, Lord Jesus, now and forever. I invite You into my life Jesus. I accept You as my Lord, God and Saviour. Heal me, change me, strengthen me in body, soul and spirit. Come Lord Jesus, cover me with Your Precious Blood and fill me with Your Holy Spirit. I love You Lord Jesus. I Praise You Jesus. I Thank You Jesus. I shall follow You every day of my life. Amen. Mary my Mother, Queen of Peace, all the Angels and Saints, please help me. Amen"

God Bless till the weekend.

Mary