“Men may deprive me of property and honour; sickness may take away my strength and other means of serving You; I may even lose Your grace by sin; but never, never will I lose my hope in You.”
Saint Claude de la Colombière
Saint of the Day Quote: Saint Claude de la Colombière
- Donald R. McClarey
Donald R. McClarey
Cradle Catholic. Active in the pro-life movement since 1973. Father of three, one in Heaven, and happily married for 43 years. Small town lawyer and amateur historian. Former president of the board of directors of the local crisis pregnancy center for a decade.
Saint Claude de la Colombier was the confessor of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque. He helped spread the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
To prove that Margaret Mary’s vision was true, he asked Margaret Mary to ask Jesus what was his last mortal sin. Jesus answered Margaret Mary ” I do not remember,”
All priest confessors leave the confessed sins of the penitents in the confessional box when they leave.
It is as it ought to be since Jesus Christ Himself forgives the sins and the priest acting in persona Christi is a third party to a relationship between the penitent and Christ.
Thereby, the Seal of Confession cannot be broken except by the penitent if he so chooses since the priest’s testimony is hearsay or eves dropping upon Jesus and the penitent and not admissible in a court of law.