Fr. Francis Randolph presents a very positive and practical understanding of the immense value of the sacrament of confession for the modern Catholic. Father Randolph helps the reader to see how the sacrament of confession meets the deepest needs of the penitent on the spiritual, emotional and psychological levels. Step by step we follow the different stages of the rite, looking at the various elements of the sacrament and what they mean for the average sinner in the box. The author draws on his own experiences, on both sides of the grille, to explain what is actually happening in this sacrament, and why it is so helpful for growing in the love of God and neighbor. Because of so much recent confusion over the nature and purpose of the sacrament, the book tackles the common objections and anxieties over confession, and recommends frequent confession for getting rid of stress and anxiety, and growing in confidence before God.

Medieval Italian communes are known for their violence, feuds, and vendettas, yet beneath this tumult was a society preoccupied with peace. Peace and Penance in Late Medieval Italy is the first book to examine how civic peacemaking in the age of Dante was forged in the crucible of penitential religious practice. Focusing on Florence in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, an era known for violence and civil discord, Katherine Ludwig Jansen brilliantly illuminates how religious and political leaders used peace agreements for everything from bringing an end to neighborhood quarrels to restoring full citizenship to judicial exiles. She brings to light a treasure trove of unpublished evidence from notarial archives and supports it with sermons, hagiography, political treatises, and chronicle accounts. She paints a vivid picture of life in an Italian commune, a socially and politically unstable world that strove to achieve peace. Jansen also assembles a wealth of visual material from the period, illustrating for the first time how the kiss of peace—a ritual gesture borrowed from the Catholic Mass—was incorporated into the settlement of secular disputes. Breaking new ground in the study of peacemaking in the Middle Ages, Peace and Penance in Late Medieval Italy adds an entirely new dimension to our understanding of Italian culture in this turbulent age by showing how peace was conceived, memorialized, and occasionally achieved.

Laymen’s Guide to getting the full spiritual and mental benefits from Confession. Father Alfred Wilson, a pastor of souls and popular spiritual writer, wrote that the psychological benefits of Confession are of a piece with its moral benefits-and can only be fully enjoyed when the penitent approaches the sacrament in the proper spirit. In Pardon and Peace, originally published back in 1946, Father Wilson captivated audiences with insights like these: —Find yourself confessing the same sins over and over? Here’s the reason—and helpful advice. —Types of inaccurate confession. —If your examination of conscience tends to be a lengthy ordeal then here’s what you’re doing wrong. —Two chief considerations for weighing the gravity of a sin. —Three conditions that must be present for a sin to be mortal. —Four guidelines for confessing venial sins. —Common excuses for avoiding Confession. —How to confess a sin of impurity. —“Nothing to tell”? You might not be searching properly. “Answers all your questions, and not only that, any others you could possibly think of about Confession.”—Caryll Houselander “A clear, sound, eminently sensible exposition of the why and how of one of Christ’s often-neglected sacramental gifts. Both Catholics who seldom approach this sacrament and Catholics for whom it is an established part of their spiritual lives will find a lot that is helpful and inspiring here, as will priests and catechists.”—Russell Shaw, Author, Why We Need Confession “An intelligent and compassionate explanation of the Sacrament of Reconciliation and of all aspects of penance and the forgiveness of sin. Very helpful for younger Catholics, for older Catholics, and questioning non-Catholics.”—Fr. Benedict Groeschel, CFR, Author, Arise from Darkness