Ode.

Over the mountains and the sea...

...Your river runs with love for me;

And I will open up my heart...

...and let the Healer set me free.

Dear Anonymous,

First and foremost, thank you for taking the time to drop by my blog, more so to go through my previous posts and leave a comment =) I must apologise for such a late reply to your query, as I don't normally go through my own previous posts myself. Call it vanity if you like (or maybe even divine guidance, heh heh), I so happened to go through the post on the Sacrament of Reconciliation just only recently - after a friend and I were discussing about it - and caught a glimpse of your comment which went:

Confess ur sins to other person? And then that "other persons" confess to other persons? There will be a chain of Confessed Sins man. Confess is good thing but, what action that u need to do after u confess. Make sins---> confess----> make sins again --->confess. Priest is also human, make mistakes, make sins, so who is the noble, better person need to confess to?

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Let me dissect your comment to enable more effective tackling, so to speak:

Confess ur sins to other person? And then that "other persons" confess to other persons? There will be a chain of Confessed Sins man.

Regarding the "chain of Confessed Sins", there won't even be a chain per se at all, as when one confesses his/her sins to another person (by which I take it you mean the priest), it remains with the priest alone:

"...the confidentiality of all statements made by penitents during the course of confession is absolute. This strict confidentiality is known as the "Seal of the Confessional." According to the Code of Canon Law, 983 §1, "The sacramental seal is inviolable; therefore it is absolutely forbidden for a confessor to betray in any way a penitent in words or in any manner and for any reason." Priests may not reveal what they have learned during confession to anyone, even under the threat of their own death or that of others...For a priest to break that confidentiality would lead to an latae sententiae (automatic) excommunication reserved to the Holy See (Code of Canon Law, 1388 §1)..."
-- Confession - Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia

Priests themselves go for confession as well, not to confess what has been confessed to them, but to confess their personal sins.

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Confess is good thing but, what action that u need to do after u confess. Make sins---> confess----> make sins again --->confess.

I do agree with you, that the action taken after confession is truly the important thing; for one to truly partake of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, one would have to be:
a) truly repentant of his/her sins
b) determined to avoid this sin in the future
c) willing to make reparations as appropriate with any/all injured parties
(reference: www.scborromeo.org)

A friend once gave me this analogy: if you're sick and down with flu, you go to see a doctor to get treatment, right? What happens say 2 months later when you get sick and are struck with flu again? You go to see the doctor again. And say 4 months later you get sick and are struck with flu again? You go to see the doctor again.

**For those of you who believe in home-treatment for flu, replace the word "flu" with "a lung infection".

I guess you could say the same thing for confession. It's only natural and human for one to fall repeatedly, but it's also natural for one to do his/her utmost not to repeat a particular sin after having confessed it, as I believe there's a particular bondage one has to his/her words once uttered. It's similar to marriage; initially after saying "I do" (rather emphatically, I must add), there's the euphoria of love and you feel like you'd do anything for your spouse. Then after a while of waking up and having to see the same face (no Naughty Insinuations here) everyday for like 5 years, marriage loses its thrill (again, no Naughty Insinuations here), though deep inside you still love your spouse. And so, to rekindle that "fire", you'd go for Marriage Encounter weekends away, or stuff of that sort. Similarly with confession, initially after saying "I'm sorry", there's the euphoria of having been forgiven, and you'd do anything NOT to sin. Then after a while, being human, you lose the sense of euphoria and the temptation to sin starts to grow; if it gets the better of you, you repeat the sin. But believe me, it doesn't feel good at all repeating a sin after having confessed it before - although at the time it may feel like the greatest thing in the world - as the sense of guilt that washes over you is immense. Knowing that God still loves you and will forgive you again offers consolation, yes, but also knowing that you've taken His forgiveness forgranted pains deeply.

**On a side note, I'd like to apply the "doctor" analogy to the part about there being a "chain of Confessed Sins" (i.e. I confess to you, you confess to him, he confesses to him, etc.) - a doctor, with say, colon cancer, can't really treat himself now, can he? He's ultimately got to go to another doctor to get effective treatment, don't you think?

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Priest is also human, make mistakes, make sins, so who is the noble, better person need to confess to?

Well, I think you've got to change your perception of confession, as the idea of confession isn't to confess sins to a priest per se, but rather to God:

"...no priest, as an individual man, however pious or learned, has power to forgive sins. This power belongs to God alone; however, God can and does exercise it through the Catholic priesthood..."
-- Confession - Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia

So, the un-noblest, worst, rascal-iest, most scandalous and corrupt priest in the world could hear your confession and give you an absolution, and your sins would still be absolved, as it is to God (the noblest, best, unrascal-iest, unscandalous, and uncorrupt being) that you ultimately confess your sins to, though only through a priest - I cannot emphasise that enough. Alan Schreck, in his book Catholic Christian gives 3 reasons for the existence of a "middle man" in confession (reference made known by Celestine Tan):

1) It is another aspect of God's "incarnational" (i.e. God became man - Jesus) way of relating to mankind; using human beings to continue His work on Earth is part of the way God works. When sins are forgiven by one who has been set apart by the Church to represent Jesus Christ, we can experience the mercy of Jesus Himself through that person.

2) Confessing sins to a person reminds one of the social dimension of sin. When someone sins, he not only offends God, but his sin also has an effect, either direct or indirect on other people. The priest who grants God's forgiveness not only represents Jesus Christ, but also the whole Christian community, the church. Hence the priest has the authority to reconcile a sinner to the body of Christ, the church.

3) The priest or minister is often able to counsel and encourage the penitent, or even pray with the penitent for healing of some area of sin or brokenness in the person's life. Jesus often uses His representative - the priest - to minister to the need of people in remarkable ways through the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

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I hope whatever was shared helped to clarify any misconceptions about the Sacrament of Reconciliation. I would take it very kindly though, if you would leave your name, or At The Very Least a pseudonym, as leaving comments behind anonymously is very unchivalrous (and cowardly, I might add - not having the courage to stand behind one's stated opinion) an act; I am of the sincere belief that everyone has the right to state their opinions (although those opinions must be of reasonable validity, are logical derivatives and are constructive by nature).

Mat Rock-er

"I Am Mat Rock-er!"
-- courtesy of Ben Tan.

CKK Masquerade Ball 2005

Pig mask : RM 9.95
Monkey mask : RM 9.95
Pig & Monkey pose : Priceless

With this year's theme of Unmasking The Phantoms, these phantoms decided to mask themselves anyway.

Sepet.

The only locally-produced (and critically-acclaimed) movie I've cared to watch thus far (if only to see whether it was worth critics' dua sen) and I found it to be interestingly light, humourous, romantic and sad all at the same time - well worth critics' dua sen.

While most of the actors looked as if they had been doing drugs the night before and were therefore stoning throughout the movie, I felt Sepet gave a refreshing outtake of Malaysian life - VCD peddling, inter-racial/religious romance, pre-marital sex, pregnancy and abortion, loan shark-ing, and the indiscriminate giving of scholarships among many others. Kudos to director Yasmin Ahmad for managing to capture just that!

**Although sadly, there was the impression that abortion is the way out of a "mistake" in the past...the issue could have been addressed in a better way.**

Memorable quotes from Sepet:











"You know what you are? You're the biggest wanker in the whole town of Ipoh!"
-- Orked to a male friend who was taunting her.

"Milf? Apa tu milf, bah?"
-- Orked, when playing Scrabble with her dad; after his turn.












"Hang Li Po, Hang Tuah, Hang Jebat, Hang Chee B**, all the same lah."
-- Ah Keong discussing the origin of Babas with Ah Loong.

"Malay girls with wet sarongs - wah lau eh."
-- Ah Keong discussing the origin of Babas with Ah Loong.

**Note the similar overtones**

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Hmm, I could use a few of those...

The Commonly Confused Words Test

I was browsing through the net on a quiet and boring Sunday night (like all other Sunday nights) after the Wimbledon final, when I came across :

THE COMMONLY CONFUSED WORDS TEST.

Wow.

It's not just any test; it's a WORDS test.

It's not just any words test; it's a COMMONLY CONFUSED WORDS test.

And it's not just any commonly confused words test; it's THE COMMONLY CONFUSED WORDS test.

I scored as follows :-

English Genius You scored 100% Beginner, 100% Intermediate, 100% Advanced, and 86% Expert!

You did so extremely well, even I can't find a word to describe your excellence! You have the uncommon intelligence necessary to understand things that most people don't. You have an extensive vocabulary, and you're not afraid to use it properly! Way to go! Thank you so much for taking my test. I hope you enjoyed it! For the complete Answer Key, visit my blog: shortredhead78.blogspot.com.

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 74% on Beginner You scored higher than 63% on Intermediate You scored higher than 88% on Advanced You scored higher than 86% on Expert

The Commonly Confused Words Test, written by shortredhead78 on Ok Cupid

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Don't mean to be a smart-ass, but the author does seem to have made a COMMONLY CONFUSED Kata Penguat error with the phrase "You did so extremely well...". Not sure if it was done intentionally in good humour (bad, I mean), or by accident.

Or if it was just a COMMONLY CONFUSED WORDS error.

Do point it out to me if I'm mistaken.

And prepare to suffer the consequences.