And Again, from Garrigou-Lagrange on Confession

The series on the predominant fault has received attention lately, so I am continuing posts on this theme.

One of the things I must remind readers is that the removal of the predominant fault is in the stage of Beginners.

This purification is part of the Dark Night, and not the stage of the proficients, who are involved in given contemplative prayer.

Several readers have written to me that one of the biggest problems is finding a confessor who takes the way of perfection seriously. As late as two weeks ago, I was confessing to a priest who wanted to talk me out of what I considered a serious sin of imperfection. One does not want to argue with priests, especially trad ones, but the laity must admit that not all priests themselves understand even the beginning stages of purification and, therefore, cannot help the person in the confessional.

To be honest, I have met no more than six priests in my entire in the confessional, who understood the way of perfection through purification.

Six, which is about one for every ten years of my life. The best, absolute best confessors I have had have either been FSSP priests or Opus Dei priests.

And the best of the best is at St. Kevin's in Dublin.

Here is a long section from Garrigou-Lagrange on the importance of confession in the Dark Night, the purification.

If a man who tends towards perfection has the misfortune to commit mortal sins in a moment of weakness, he must accuse himself of them sincerely and clearly at the beginning of his confession, without, seeking to cause them to pass unperceived in the multitude of venial sins. He must indicate their number, kind, and cause, and especially have a profound contrition for them accompanied by a firm purpose of avoiding in the future not only the sins themselves, but their occasions and causes. Even after receiving pardon, he must also keep alive in his heart the sincere desire to atone, by an austere life and a generous love, for the evil committed. He should also remember how the Apostle, St. Peter, wept over his denial, humbled himself profoundly, thanked infinite Mercy, and continued on his way even to martyrdom.

An isolated mortal sin, when immediately confessed and atoned for, leaves scarcely any traces in the soul, which may at once resume its ascent from the very spot where it fell, without having to retrace all the road that had already been traveled. Thus he who stumbles midway in an ascent, may, when he picks himself up, promptly continue his climb from the spot which he had reached.

Venial sins committed with full deliberation are a serious obstacle to perfection, especially when they are frequent and the soul is attached to them. They are real maladies, which weaken the Christian soul. "Do not allow sin to grow old in thee," Christ said to St. Gertrude. Fully deliberate venial sin, when not rejected, is like a poison that is not vomited forth and that, although it does not cause death immediately, acts slowly on the organism. For instance, close attention must be paid to avoid keeping voluntarily any petty rancor, or attachment to one's own judgment, to self-will, to habits of rash judgment, of slander, of dangerous natural affections that would be a fetter, depriving us of liberty of spirit and all spontaneous movement toward God. When we deliberately refuse the Lord these manifestly demanded sacrifices, we cannot expect from Him the graces that lead to perfection. Consequently we must plainly accuse ourselves of fully deliberate venial sins against charity, humility, the virtue of religion, and so forth, especially those which are most humiliating. Their cause must be sought with a firm resolution to avoid them. Otherwise, of course, there is no longer any real and effective tendency to perfection. This is a point of primary importance.

There are other semi-deliberate venial sins, which are committed with less reflection and into which there enters a certain amount of surprise and impulse, but to which the will adheres with a certain complacency. We must guard against them, especially if they recur frequently; they show that the soul fights too feebly and is not determined to free itself from all obstacles.

Sins of frailty are those committed inadvertently because of human weakness; the will has only a small share in them; it yields momentarily, but promptly disavows its weakness. Sins of this kind cannot be completely and continually avoided, but their number should be diminished. They are not a serious obstacle to perfection because they are quickly atoned for; yet it is well to submit them to the influence of the sacrament of penance because thereby purity of soul will become more complete.(1)

On this last point, an excellent confessor is essential and a great blessing. How fortunate you are if you find such a holy priest, who has allowed himself to go through the hard stages of purification, in order to help his flock, as well as save his own soul.

Sins of fraility are those which one has committed from childhood and are ingrained in our souls, sins such as white lies, cowardice, defensiveness, and even rebellion, which can become a habit. When one commits these, one must repent immediately and confess these in order for the bad habits to be broken. It is interesting that those sins of human weakness may not at all be connected to one's predominant fault.

Here is another link which might help....

http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/2013/10/practicing-virtues-in-dark-night.html

to be continued.....