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Views from the Choir Loft

Confession 2.0

Aurelio Porfiri · July 16, 2014

[ Enter Confessional ]

“SO MY GOOD SON, when was your last confession?”

“Long ago, Father.”

“Okay, so tell me what good things you have done?”

“Sorry father, I don’t understand…”

“I mean, what are the good actions you have done??”

.    .    .   

OUND STRANGE? This is the reverse of what we always think about confession. It is positive psychology applied to sinning souls. Now, I’ll be the first to recognize that positive reinforcement can be a good way to encourage people to do good. But the Catholic idea of confession departs to a very different point of view. This point of view, at the root of the Faith, is that we are sinners because of Original Sin and we need to confess our sins to obtain forgiveness.

Seriously, why do we always have to pretend we are good? We try, many times, but the weakness of our nature is there. Must we pretend we are like angels? (I have not met any in my lifetime.) Applying this attitude to confession, would be like going to a doctor and getting welcomed like this: “So, tell me how well your liver has been working in the past month? I know you have a wonderful stomach!” (when it is all true, but on the other hand you are displaying symptoms of a heart attack that he is ignoring.) Please, give us the freedom to be sinners!

There are others that are more interested in your sins as a citizen: “Have you paid taxes? Are you going to vote? Did you respect street signals?” Not voting is a sin? Yes! Maybe. Okay, maybe I’m wrong. But while I’m here I want also to propose some new sins that we should confess in this new time of technological progress. I think it is a big sin when you are chatting on Facebook and someone shows you the sign for OKAY (the famous finger that the developers of Facebook introduced not long ago) even if you are telling them you are going to die during the night.

Other sins are from the people of Google: have you ever tried a Google search of your name and found that for some mysterious reason your name is also featured in unmentionable websites, making you afraid that you may have done something wrong without having memory of it? Last, but not least: what do you think of those people putting “lol” everywhere: “Yes, I am going to raise your salary, lol”; “Of course, your nodule is benign lol”; “You know I will never betray you, lol.” How many Hail Marys would this kind of sin deserve?


BOTTEGA • Aurelio Porfiri is where you can discover
many of Mæstro Porfiri’s compositions in PDF format.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Aurelio Porfiri

Renowned as composer, conductor, theorist, author, pedagogue, and organist, Aurelio Porfiri has served the Church on multiple continents at the highest levels. Born and raised in Italy, he currently serves as Director of Choral Activities and Composer in Residence for Santa Rosa de Lima School (Macao, China).

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    26 January 2023 • FEEDBACK
    “Jeff, I wanted to personally thank you for your spiritual witness at the Symposium & often blogs that you write too. Praying that prayer in the mornings My God, my Father and my all (by Cardinal Merry Del Val), mentioning saints’ stories of Brébeuf, Jogues, John Vianney, monks who fought in WWII, their hard work in spite of terrible conditions, their relentless zeal for the faith, their genuine love for the laypeople they served, etc. Overall though—more than anything concrete I can point to that you did or said—it was your demeanor at the Symposium. I could tell you really absolutely love and believe the Catholic Faith. You don’t get that everywhere, even in Church circles. And your humility is what then makes that shine even brighter. It is super inspiring! God is working through you probably way more than you know.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Symposium Draft Schedule Released!
    Those who head over to the Symposium Website will notice the tentative schedule for 2023 has been released. This is all very exciting! Very soon, we will begin accepting applications, so please make sure you have subscribed to our mailing list. If you are subscribed, that means you'll hear announcements before anyone else. (It’s incredibly easy to subscribe to our mailing list; just scroll to the bottom of any blog article and enter your email address.)
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Good Friday Polyphony by L. Senfl
    The editor of the Sacred Music Magazine recently made available to the public this splendid article by our own Charles Weaver. It includes an edition of polyphony for the GOOD FRIDAY “Reproaches.” Renaissance composers often set the various offices of Holy Week; e.g. readers will probably be familiar with the beautiful TENEBRAE setting by Father Tomás Luis de Victoria (d. 1611). From what I can tell, Ludwig Senfl (d. 1543) was originally a Catholic priest, but eventually was seduced by Luther and ended up abandoning the sacred priesthood.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

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I am convinced that if the Church is to prosper in the present age, it cannot hesitate to embrace and support traditional Catholics, traditional liturgies and traditional moral values. “Do not conform yourself to this age,” St. Paul warned followers of Christ. (Rom 12:2)

— Most Rev. Thomas Tobin, Bishop of Providence (12 August 2022)

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