Sunday of Joseph (Ps) September 29th

Psalm 16:1-11

¹  Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.

²    I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;

I have no good apart from you.”

³    As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones,

in whom is all my delight.

⁴    The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply;

their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out

or take their names on my lips.

⁵    The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;

you hold my lot.

⁶    The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;

indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.

⁷    I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;

in the night also my heart instructs me.

⁸    I have set the Lord always before me;

because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

⁹    Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;

my flesh also dwells secure.

¹⁰    For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,

or let your holy one see corruption.

¹¹    You make known to me the path of life;

in your presence there is fullness of joy;

at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

How simple people are to be taught to confess

What is confession? Answer:

Confession consists of two parts. One is that we confess our sins. The other is that we receive the absolution, that is, forgiveness, from the confessor as from God himself and by no means doubt but firmly believe that our sins are thereby forgiven before God in heaven.

Which sins is a person to confess?

Before God one is to acknowledge the guilt for all sins, even those of which we are not aware, as we do in the Lord’s Prayer. However, before the confessor we are to confess only those sins of which we have knowledge and which trouble us.

Which sins are these?

Here reflect on your walk of life in light of the Ten Commandments: whether you are father, mother, son, daughter, master, mistress, servant; whether you have been disobedient, unfaithful, lazy,⁸⁵ whether you have harmed anyone by word or deed; whether you have stolen, neglected, wasted, or injured anything.

Let Us Pray

O God, from whom all good proceeds, grant to us, Your humble servants, Your holy inspiration, that we may set our minds on the things that are right and, by Your merciful guiding, accomplish them; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (A76)