Absolution at Gettysburg

To quote Sean, "We have been desensitized to the miraculous." One of the things that is a bit disappointing about our church is how too often we take the sacraments for granted - myself included. There was a time in our church when people treated the sacraments like daily mass, and confession with an attitude of awe and reverence, even mystique. Without getting into it too much, we have lost that awe of the miraculous, and that is sad.

That is why I appreciate stories that remind us how powerful the sacraments really are:


“At this moment, all fell on their knees & recited an act of contrition. Officers mounted waiting to advance removed their hats, and then the Chaplain, in solemn fervent tones pronounced the words of Absolution. A few minutes after, all were plunged into the dense smoke of battle. A more impressive scene, perhaps, never took place on any battlefield. It was indeed so earnest & truly sublime that non-Catholics prostrated themselves in humble adoration of the true God while they felt that perhaps in less than half an hour their eyes would open to see into the Ocean of Eternity.”



Read the entire story here.