St. Sebastian Parish at 311 Siebert Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15237 US - Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession)
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Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession) |
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| First Reconciliation Ceremony |
How can we ask God for world peace if we are unable to come to Christ in the Sacrament of Penance? We all need to make a regular confession. Even if we have not committed any mortal sins, we need to seek his sacramental forgiveness. More and more people at Saint Sebastian parish are coming to regular confession again. I think we can tell the difference it is making in our parish. So much of our vitality as a spiritual community relies on the way we reconcile in the Sacrament of Penance. At first, many people were reluctant to come back to confession. During the 70s and 80s, there was a misunderstanding that crept into the reforms of the Council. It was one of those habits that just started to happen without anyone actually intending it to occur. Before long, some priests thought the habit that formed was official and taught that we didn’t need to go to Confession anymore. This never was taught here at Saint Sebastian Parish and for the most part we seemed to be spared the tragic falling away from Confession that was experienced elsewhere. Our parishioners continued to come to the sacrament but not as regularly as years gone by.
Today we are very pleased that there is a renewal of the Sacrament of Penance everywhere in the Church. Re-reading the weekly prayers published in our Advent Mailing that was sent to your home contains a perfect examination of conscience. If you look over the prayers for the four different weeks of Advent, the words are a perfect examination for a good Confession as we assess our relationship to the world, our communities, our families and parishioners and within our own hearts. If you want a more detailed examination of conscience, you can find one outside the Confessional rooms in the handy pamphlet containers on the wall.
Even if you have been away from the sacrament for a long time, please do not be afraid to come back. Maybe you were one of the people that were misinformed by a teacher or even a priest. After a while of staying away, you developed the habit of not making a regular Confession. Yet, something is telling you to come back. Just tell our priests this is what happened. They will be only too glad to assist you to get back on track. You have too much to lose if you let fear or embarrassment keep you away. You have everything to gain by coming home to God’s peace.