Rating: 
Summary: Shallow and trite
Review: I was disappointed. I had expected a deeper thoughtful exposition on the benefits and blessings of confession. Dr. Hahn toes the party line and does not present anything original. Where is the healing power of confession? I believe there is but you won't find it in this book.
Rating: 
Summary: A compelling case to make confession a part of your life
Review: I'll be the first to admit it. Although I have been a practicing Catholic all of my life I have failed to take full advantage of the sacrament of Penance. I have rattled off all of the usual excuses but after reading "Lord, Have Mercy" I realize that the fault for this blatant oversight is all my own. Scott Hahn makes a thorough and powerful case why we need confession. He presents us with a history of the sacrament from its earliest origins in the Jewish tradition. He argues that the average Catholic must come to a more mature understanding of this sacrament and needs to make frequent confession an important part of his/her spiritual life. Otherwise, we are sure to fall into the trap of blaming everyone else--our victims, our parents, our boss or perhaps even the government--for our own shortcomings and failures. I especially appreciated the "Examination of Conscience" presented in the appendix of this book. It is an extremely helpful tool for anyone preparing for the sacrament of Penance. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: A compelling case to make confession a part of your life
Review: I'll be the first to admit it. Although I have been a practicing Catholic all of my life I have failed to take full advantage of the sacrament of Penance. I have rattled off all of the usual excuses but after reading "Lord, Have Mercy" I realize that the fault for this blatant oversight is all my own. Scott Hahn makes a thorough and powerful case why we need confession. He presents us with a history of the sacrament from its earliest origins in the Jewish tradition. He argues that the average Catholic must come to a more mature understanding of this sacrament and needs to make frequent confession an important part of his/her spiritual life. Otherwise, we are sure to fall into the trap of blaming everyone else--our victims, our parents, our boss or perhaps even the government--for our own shortcomings and failures. I especially appreciated the "Examination of Conscience" presented in the appendix of this book. It is an extremely helpful tool for anyone preparing for the sacrament of Penance. Highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Hahn's an excellent guide: clear, deep and thought-provoking
Review: In reading this book I was regularly surprised by unexpected depths. Hahn is wiser than he seems because he strives to write at a simple and popular level. This book is also well-organized and documented, and will serve as an excellent guide to anyone seeking to understand the classic Roman Catholic theology of sacramental confession. I found this to be a book of firm and orderly persuasion, calling Catholics (like me) back to a sacrament that has become astonishingly neglected. Hahn finds a biblical foreshadowing of confession in the Old Testament sacrifices: the sinner was required to personally offer God something costly and difficult in satisfaction for his sins. This is not the only way Hahn presents confession; he also speaks of it as healing and reconciliation, and devotes a chapter to the parable of the Prodigal Son. Hahn also knits together four aspects of the Atonement: economic, military, liturgical and legal -- all under one heading, that of Covenant. Only from the over-arching perspective of God's Covenant with us in Christ, he says, can we understand the full mystery of reconciliation. Hahn also makes the valuable point that when we tell ourselves self-excusing stories, we cut ourselves dangerously loose from reality. We all do this, to a greater or lesser degree, and it takes great effort to resist it and practice honest, but we must realize that we are in God's all-seeing presence all the time anyway. We must grow to tolerate that light, because it is the only light there is; all else is confusion and darkness. This is just one of Hahn's many thought-provoking discussions.
Rating:
Summary: Highly recommended for all Catholics, and every parish too!
Review: In this book, "Lord, Have Mercy," Scott Hahn succeeds in explaining the Catholic Church's teaching on confession and the historical and biblical origins of the sacrament in an entertaining yet thorough fashion. Hahn's book works because he combines scholarly thought, history, and common sense through a series of expositions that are directed to the heart. He wants his readers to know Christ more deeply through the regular use of the sacrament and writes with a pastoral love and the zeal of an evangelist. This book will be an important guide for the new Catholic, a source of renewal and grace for "old hands," and a challenge to all to deepen their relationship with our Lord through regular use of the Sacrament of Penance. Every parish should have at least one copy of "Lord, Have Mercy".
Rating:
Summary: Highly recommended for all Catholics, and every parish too!
Review: In this book, "Lord, Have Mercy," Scott Hahn succeeds in explaining the Catholic Church's teaching on confession and the historical and biblical origins of the sacrament in an entertaining yet thorough fashion. Hahn's book works because he combines scholarly thought, history, and common sense through a series of expositions that are directed to the heart. He wants his readers to know Christ more deeply through the regular use of the sacrament and writes with a pastoral love and the zeal of an evangelist. This book will be an important guide for the new Catholic, a source of renewal and grace for "old hands," and a challenge to all to deepen their relationship with our Lord through regular use of the Sacrament of Penance. Every parish should have at least one copy of "Lord, Have Mercy".
Rating:
Summary: Deeply spiritual, exegetical, catechetical, and theological
Review: In this book, Lord Have Mercy, Scott Hahn offers to the reader a substantial yet approachable explanation of the Sacrament of Penance. Broken into thirteen short chapters, of still shorter subsections, the 214 pages can be tackled in short sittings, which should suit even the slowest of readers as well as the busiest. As a convert from an evangelical background Hahn brings several distinctive qualities to this subject: his broad knowledge and keen love of the Scriptures, the ability to communicate with a concise and often striking turn of the phrase, the enthusiasm of a convert for perennial Catholic themes, which have sadly all too often grown stale in the hearts and minds of those who have possessed them from infancy. All of this should help to renew the reader's appreciation of the Sacrament of Penance. Hahn discusses all the essential elements of the Sacrament: its sacramental nature, the nature of contrition, confession and satisfaction, the role of the priest, the grace of absolution etc. But the book provides much more than just a basic catechesis. Hahn also introduces the reader to vital theological themes such as Covenant, the nature of sin and forgiveness, and the meaning of Justification. He is at pains to show how Catholic doctrine and discipline accord so fully with what is to be found in the Sacred Scriptures. The book contains helpful commentaries on several relevant scriptural passages. It was this growing recognition of a coherence in all aspects of faith that lead him on the arduous intellectual road to conversion. The book also contains practical appendices with the Rite of Penance, an examination of conscience, and relevant prayers and devotions. Hahn confronts several of the common objections to Confession. With a practical and common sense appreciation of human psychology, sometimes illustrated from his own personal experience, he demonstrates the appropriateness of the Church's penitential discipline. In an epoch marked by a significant depreciation of Confession and the penitential dimension of the spiritual life, Scott Hahn has provided us with a coherent and attractive apologetic as an aid to its renewal. This book has great merit on account of its theological, catechetical, apologetical and exegetical content, but above all else, it is to be recommended as a spiritual manual for those who wish to renew or deepen the way in which they approach the Sacrament of Penance.
Rating:
Summary: Deeply spiritual, exegetical, catechetical, and theological
Review: In this book, Lord Have Mercy, Scott Hahn offers to the reader a substantial yet approachable explanation of the Sacrament of Penance. Broken into thirteen short chapters, of still shorter subsections, the 214 pages can be tackled in short sittings, which should suit even the slowest of readers as well as the busiest. As a convert from an evangelical background Hahn brings several distinctive qualities to this subject: his broad knowledge and keen love of the Scriptures, the ability to communicate with a concise and often striking turn of the phrase, the enthusiasm of a convert for perennial Catholic themes, which have sadly all too often grown stale in the hearts and minds of those who have possessed them from infancy. All of this should help to renew the reader's appreciation of the Sacrament of Penance. Hahn discusses all the essential elements of the Sacrament: its sacramental nature, the nature of contrition, confession and satisfaction, the role of the priest, the grace of absolution etc. But the book provides much more than just a basic catechesis. Hahn also introduces the reader to vital theological themes such as Covenant, the nature of sin and forgiveness, and the meaning of Justification. He is at pains to show how Catholic doctrine and discipline accord so fully with what is to be found in the Sacred Scriptures. The book contains helpful commentaries on several relevant scriptural passages. It was this growing recognition of a coherence in all aspects of faith that lead him on the arduous intellectual road to conversion. The book also contains practical appendices with the Rite of Penance, an examination of conscience, and relevant prayers and devotions. Hahn confronts several of the common objections to Confession. With a practical and common sense appreciation of human psychology, sometimes illustrated from his own personal experience, he demonstrates the appropriateness of the Church's penitential discipline. In an epoch marked by a significant depreciation of Confession and the penitential dimension of the spiritual life, Scott Hahn has provided us with a coherent and attractive apologetic as an aid to its renewal. This book has great merit on account of its theological, catechetical, apologetical and exegetical content, but above all else, it is to be recommended as a spiritual manual for those who wish to renew or deepen the way in which they approach the Sacrament of Penance.
Rating:
Summary: Warmly personal & theologically rich guide for regular folks
Review: Like many Catholics, I approach the confessional with about the same degree of enthusiasm as I generally muster for the dentist's chair. In "Lord, Have Mercy," Scott Hahn writes about the sacrament in a warmly personal yet theologically rich way that's sure to have many of us running for the nearest confessor. After a vivid opening story, Hahn introduces an in-depth discussion of God as our loving Father, who always offers us, through the sacrament of reconciliation, the free and powerful gift of divine mercy to heal us of the effects of our sins, and to provide us with a gentle way back home. Tracing the ways in which the Church's confessional practices have developed through the ages, Hahn shows that its basic understanding of the sacrament has remained the same. He also encourages readers to begin the practice of regular confession, if they haven't already. And, in three appendices, he gives the rite of reconciliation of individuals, acts of contrition, and prayers to say before and after the sacrament. Then follows an excellent, thorough guide for the examination of conscience. No, confession isn't easy. But let's get over it. The chance to restore our relationship with God, our eternal loving Father, is well worth a short bout of the squirms. if you're not convinced of that, read "Lord, Have Mercy".
Rating:
Summary: Warmly personal & theologically rich guide for regular folks
Review: Like many Catholics, I approach the confessional with about the same degree of enthusiasm as I generally muster for the dentist's chair. In "Lord, Have Mercy," Scott Hahn writes about the sacrament in a warmly personal yet theologically rich way that's sure to have many of us running for the nearest confessor. After a vivid opening story, Hahn introduces an in-depth discussion of God as our loving Father, who always offers us, through the sacrament of reconciliation, the free and powerful gift of divine mercy to heal us of the effects of our sins, and to provide us with a gentle way back home. Tracing the ways in which the Church's confessional practices have developed through the ages, Hahn shows that its basic understanding of the sacrament has remained the same. He also encourages readers to begin the practice of regular confession, if they haven't already. And, in three appendices, he gives the rite of reconciliation of individuals, acts of contrition, and prayers to say before and after the sacrament. Then follows an excellent, thorough guide for the examination of conscience. No, confession isn't easy. But let's get over it. The chance to restore our relationship with God, our eternal loving Father, is well worth a short bout of the squirms. if you're not convinced of that, read "Lord, Have Mercy".
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