Teaching to men in The Society Of Saint John Vianney.

“Let us each picture ourselves in the ‘Confessional’ with Father John Baptiste Marie Vianney.”

“Penitent: Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. I would like to make this a ‘General Confession’ for the sake of my Soul, and with the sincere desire that I will become a better man in many ways.

Father: Go ahead.

Penitent: Well, I’ve had some impure ideas, thoughts, and I guess actions.

Father: You guess? What do you mean, you guess? Let’s not waste time. How many times have you sinned against the Tenth Commandment?

Penitent: Hmmm. Maybe once or twice.

Father: More specifically, what offenses did you commit against the purity of such an important Commandment?

Penitent: Well, I do have the habit of borrowing things or using things that belong to other people, and then I ignore or forget the responsibility of repayment, or returning things. Is neglecting such things mortal sin?

Father: Sometimes. Each offense against a Commandment is measured by its degree of harm to someone else, and of course, to one’s own Soul and the Souls of others.

Neglect can create gossip, slander, anger, and even a lack of purity in some form.

Penitent: Well, I’ve borrowed money, never paid it back.

I’ve asked for favors to be done, that inconvenienced people because of my impulsiveness or my inconsiderateness.

I’ve borrowed items that were needed for something I was doing, and never returned them.

Also, I’ve encouraged some people to become involved in chancy situations, business ventures and some other things. I guess I really didn’t worry about any loss they might incur. In looking at it now, I probably just overlooked the responsibility that I had, to check things out thoroughly so the risk would be lessened for them. I ignored their trust in my ability and integrity. I guess my ego superseded the responsibility I should have taken.

Father, I feel I’m being scrupulous in looking at all the angles of how I could offend God by my carelessness regarding this Commandment, because it says Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s goods.

Father: I can see by what you’ve said that you need to think a lot more on what this Commandment is all about, and God’s Purpose in why He gave it for the good of man’s Soul.

Sins against this Commandment are serious. Even the smallest could affect another person’s life in degrees inconceivable; of course, according to the offense to the person’s well-being or the person’s way of life.

Many times, borrowing or using someone else’s possessions can be the sin of greed, jealousy, desire, or selfishness.

Penitent: Yes, Father.

Father: Now, what about any sinful offense against another man’s spouse or someone to whom they are committed in a special way, of course a way agreeable to God’s Terms?

Penitent: That’s a difficult one, Father. In looking at it the way you have put it, I can truthfully say I have not recognized this violation in the correct way. I have satisfied my own ego, and of course, encouraged some attention that was not proper and could have caused someone else to sin or think of sin; even if it was not with me, perhaps with someone else.

Father: All men and women are bound by a conscious sense of dignity, reason, responsibility and reality, to the moral integrity that God expects of man and woman, to see any small sin against this Commandment as perpetrating impurity against the Souls of the individuals.

Penitent: I will try harder, Father, to recognize what I am doing and to never do it again.

Father: As we go into this next Commandment, there is much for you to think about.

Ask yourself what scandal you might have caused to other human beings by your manner of speech, your opinions, your actions, your interpretations of what you heard and passed on. Slander is easy to come by.

Could you face everyone you meet and say, ‘I’ve never scandalized another human being up to this time in my life’?

Could you stand before God and say the same thing?

I cannot judge you, but I am alerting you that I feel, through your attitude and what I sense you want to say, that you could not address this subject with total purity.

Penitent: No, Father, I could not. As we discuss it here I see many areas wherein I have discussed, criticized, or even piously indicated that someone was wrong when I did not truly have the right to say this.

Father: As we discuss your habits and behavior, do you understand that each Commandment, that in any way affects your Soul, or the physical life or the Soul of another human being, can have a pernicious effect and cause much harm to the life of a human being or to the Soul of a human being?

Penitent: Yes, Father, but I guess I do not think strong enough regarding my Soul. As I talk to you I feel that I have made many mistakes. How do I correct them at my age, in my time, and in the way I live?

Father: It takes courage, perseverance, and command of one’s own being, through the will God gave. ‘Your will is your line of decision.’

I cannot live with your will. You must live with your will, and you must remember the Guidelines that God Himself gave, are what you must live with above all distractions, intentions and desires.

Penitent: I understand, Father. I will try, I promise you this.

Father: What have you stolen lately?

Penitent: I haven’t stolen anything lately. I can’t stand anyone who steals.

Father: You mean you haven’t robbed a bank or you haven’t stolen money from anyone?

Penitent: No, Father, I’d never do that. That’s not in my makeup, my way of life.

Father: Have you stolen anyone’s love for something they enjoyed doing?

Perhaps you wouldn’t call it stealing, but have you selfishly used their time?

Have you possessed any part of their life that would have benefited someone else?

Have you felt so possessive that you did not see the injustice in your actions? It is something for you to think about.

Have you, through jealousy or through selfishness, discouraged someone with talent to utilize that talent for good?

Or, have you discouraged charity or charitable acts because you wanted attention or the monetary values intended for others?

Penitent: Do you mean to tell me, Father, that I have to bend to everyone else’s desires and feelings, in the fear of stealing their time, their love or their feeling about something I’m not interested in?

Father: Let’s not take this out of context. Selfishness, ego, self-love, possessiveness, greed, lust, anger, lack of charity, are the basis for stealing from another human being many things.

Penitent: Father, I feel I’ll never make it to Heaven. How do I break my bad habits? I feel as though all I do is sin.

Father: This confession that you have decided to make was specified as a General Confession. Is that not so?

Penitent: Yes.

Father: Then would it not be wise to do it well, and then start thinking, acting and performing in a serious way, concentrating on God’s Intention for your Soul, instead of you just succumbing to what you feel is part of being a human being?

Your Soul is the Most Important Part of you, and it is up to you to decide whether this confession will change the course of your life, or it is meaningless, and you are just taking my time up to empty your conscience temporarily. What is it going to be?

Penitent: I’d like to start over, Father. I’m frightened at this point for you have given me so much to think about.

Father: Now we come to a Commandment that so much emphasis is put on, and of course, so much forgotten after the sin is confessed. Adultery has many facets to it. We can talk a long time on this one.

These are some of the things that lead to adultery. Do you find yourself involved in any of this?

1. Excuse

2. Vanity

3. Ego

4. Bad thoughts

5. Imagination

6. Little self-esteem

7. Immodesty

8. Dirty jokes

9. Books on sex

10. Magazines — To name a few:
Playboy
Penthouse

11. Pornographic
Shows
Reading Material
Pictures
Video

12. Bad friends

13. Parties where drugs, alcohol and promiscuity are encouraged

14. Ambitious Business Involvements

15. Dares

16. Belittling of one’s masculinity

17. Nudity

18. Lewd Floor Shows

19. Satanism

20. Ignoring Temptation

Penitent: . . .

Father: Have you killed anyone lately? If so, why? If so, how? If so, how many? If so, how many times?

Penitent: Oh my God, Father, I could never do that.

Father: You’re sure about this?

Penitent: I’m positive.

Father: So positive, you could stand before God right now and say you have never killed in any way?

Penitent: Wait a minute, what do you mean, ‘in any way’?

Father: Have you killed the physical of anyone, committed murder?

Penitent: NO, Father.

Father: Have you killed the spirit of anyone? By this spirit, I mean moral spirit.

Have you encouraged someone else to be sinful with you in any way which indoctrinated them into a way of life that they found comfortable to be with, and in essence, destroying a certain portion of good that was in them, encouraging them to make a practice of sinning with their body, their mind, their actions, their example?

Penitent: How do I know how I have affected people in such a way? I’m far from a Saint. I really can’t remember how I could have affected anyone’s life this much by my association, intimate or otherwise, with them.

Father: Think back, how many people you affected or infected with your aggressiveness, your lust, anger, selfishness, foul talk, sinful books, immoral movies, and your opinion on abortion and such.

Penitent: I really don’t know, Father.

Father: I’m sure you have some ideas on this, and I sincerely feel you should analyze your behavior and habits on this for the good of your Soul.

Father: Your respect for your family, your parents, authority, has it always been one in which you affected the lives of many people by good behavior, good intentions, and of course, sincere politeness and sincere love?

What type of example have you given?

Penitent: I have spoken my mind many times and hurt someone close to me because I had an opinion and disagreed with their thinking.

Father: Were your reasons selfish, egotistical or reasonable?

Penitent: To be honest, I guess, not always without myself in mind.

Father: How many times have you offended God and The Holy Family by your acts of indecency, immodesty, impurity, disrespect in church, being casual when it called for formality?

How many times have you been flip in your prayers and in your example regarding how you felt about God?

How many times have you not stood up for what you believed in spiritually, because you did not want to be ridiculed by someone else?

Penitent: I don’t know how many times, Father, but I must admit I’m sure it was several times. I guess my only excuse is I didn’t feel I knew how.

Father: How often have you felt that that special time on a special day, attending Holy Mass was not necessary, or you would prefer to go at another time more convenient for you?

Penitent: I guess at different times in my life I was tempted for different reasons, laziness, or encouraged by someone else to let it go, and of course, I’m sure, Father, with your help I could find many times that I was flip and relied on my own excuses.

Father: Do you ever swear?

Penitent: Occasionally.

Father: Why?

Penitent: To make a point, a sign of my anger, or sometimes it’s just a slip of the tongue.

Father: If someone said to you, for every impulsive expression of anger you would burn in Hell ten years, how would you react?

Penitent: I don’t know, Father. I don’t know if I can relate to Hell for ten years by merely swearing or using bad language.

Father: How many friends would you have if you called them horrible names all the time and were foul with them all the time?

Penitent: Not very many.

Father: Wouldn’t you find yourself in some pretty difficult situations?

Penitent: I sure would, especially with some people I know.

Father: Is it not reasonable that cleanliness of mind and of body is important to one’s well-being?

Penitent: Yes, Father.

Father: Then is it not wise to understand and to see the reality that God Himself gave every human being a way of life, the Guidelines for each man, woman and child’s attitude, intention and purpose?

Penitent: Yes, Father.

Father: Then let us each think hard on the First Commandment. Self-love must be erased totally because that is putting one’s self above God.

Next, self-indulgence is putting one’s self above God.

Impurity of any kind is putting satan above God.

Possessiveness of material things is putting these things above God.

I could go on and on but in this first ‘General Confession’ we are looking at only the surface of where you must begin to delve into your way of life and begin to use a totally new outlook on your personal behavior, on your personal intentions, and on your personal goals.

And always keep in mind, when you sin against any Commandment you sin against the First Commandment.

Penitent: Yes, Father.

Father: God bless you, and now go in peace, and remember, your next ‘General Confession’ will be more complete in detail, and you will be more sure of any offense against that beautiful Gift — your Soul.”