Moving Beyond Confession: From Confirmations to Affirmations
A key ingredient in winning your eternal destiny is a discipline most Catholic don't consider
A lot of times we think of confession as just this straightforward cycle: confess your sins, get absolution, try harder next time. And while that’s definitely part of it, it’s not the whole story. Being elevated above and beyond our fallen nature means changing our nature. We need God to do that, but we have to cooperate with the process. That requires a system of disciplines and “mechanisms” that take us out of the muck of our fallen nature. Youalready know the mechanisms—mass, sacraments, especially Holy Eucharist and Confession. But that’s not all there is to it.
“…stop confirming those negative ideas you have about yourself and start embracing positive affirmations instead.”
Conversion from sin is really about a whole range of spiritual strategies. One of the most important of these strategies is living your mind out of the muck, not just your soul (confession)—learning to stop confirming those negative ideas you have about yourself and start embracing positive affirmations instead.
You may know this already, and not be aware of it. Have you ever been down on yourself before, or after Confession? Or experienced deep regret that’s drawn into yourself, rather than a healthy sorrow for offending or disappointing God? Part of this is mere psychology, but a great part of it is likely the devil trying to diminish the potential fruit of a good confession. If you come out of a good confession feeling down on yourself, unable to believe in yourself or to recognize your very real potential for greatness, you may fall into the same sin (or worse ones) the very next day. This spiritual “psych-op” actually beings long before you go to confession. It’s an investment the devil makes in tipping you over to fall later.
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We need to pull ourselves out of that muck. We shouldn’t live in dowcast posture, because it’s contrary to the nature of our eternal destiny. We should always be oriented “upward”—living our hearts and minds to God, living in a spirit of hope rather than despair, moving a situation or condition from bad to good as much as we’re able to. Always be upward-oriented. That includes your mood and state of mind.
So develop a discipline of letting go of despair and embrace hope instead—even if you think it’s irrational (it isn’t!). That means moving our entire being—mind, body, soul, and spirit—toward the eternal and transcendent. Focus on the True, Good and Beautiful. Focus on God. Focus on the positive and move toward it; live for it. And when you start thinking about yourself negatively, cast out those negative confirmations that tell you how rotten you are. Instead, build a habit of positive affirmation.
“I’m a sinner, but God knows I can be great, that’s why he calls me to greatnesss. He wouldn’t call me to an impossibility”
“I have offended or hurt a lot of people. But that means I have the capacity for great love, if only I can redirect my passions from selfishness, to selflessness and generosity.”
“I can be as great a saint as I am a great sinner. The passion (or energy) that results in the latter is also the passion that can lead me to the former”
Don’t psyche yourself out; psyche yourself up—literally. Point your mind and heart upward, not down toward the dirt. You don’t belong there, so stop living there. This is a strategy that leads us out of our fallen nature and toward something greater—toward the kind of holiness and wholeness we’re all ultimately called to.
So next time you think about confession, remember that it’s not just about what you’re leaving behind. It’s also about what you’re stepping into: a renewed way of seeing yourself in the light of God’s love and power.
Stay fired up 🔥, my friends . God wills it!
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