St. Joseph Catholic Church - Neptune at 28172 Nature Avenue, Hinton, IA 51024-8553 US - THE SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION
| THE SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION |
THE SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION was instituted by Jesus Christ [see Mt. 16:19] in his love and mercy to offers sinners [us] forgiveness for offenses committed against God. At the same time, sinners reconcile with the Church that is also wounded by our sins. We know this sacrament by various names: Penance, Confession, or Reconciliation. This sacrament is good news for all of us because we all are sinners and in need of God’s forgiveness. In the Sacrament of Reconciliation we meet Christ in the person of the priest, ready and eager to absolve us and restore us to new life. We confess our sins to God through his minister, the priest, who absolves us in the name of Christ. Why should we confess? The Sacrament of Reconciliation is a sacrament of healing and of conversion, returning us to the Father after our sin. We are to confess serious sins at least once a year and people aware of committing mortal sins must celebrate Reconciliation before receiving Holy Communion. The Church also encourages us to celebrate the sacrament more frequently in order that we might deepen our relationship with God and grow in humility and virtue. The Sacrament of Reconciliation offers us the grace to avoid future sin. THE SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION requires the three acts of contrition, confession, and satisfaction. THE SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION requires contrition—the sincere sorrow for having offended God; confession—the confrontation of our sins before God by acknowledging them aloud to a priest; and satisfaction—the ‘penance’ we receive from the priest as a sign of our resolve not to repeat our sins that we have confessed. THE SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION is a very essential and important sacrament we seem to often overlook as it restores us to God’s graces by removing all sin from our souls. If you have not taken advantage of this sacrament for many months or years, please do so soon. Please consider attending the cluster Lenten Reconciliation celebration on March 30 at St. James. THE SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION requires preparation through prayer by seeking healing and forgiveness. We also review our lives (‘examination of conscience’) searching our thoughts, words, and actions that did not conform to God’s law, to God’s love, or to the laws of the Church. THE SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION provides us the opportunity to say “I feel good now!” and “That was fun!” as two Gehlen students commented after their Communal Reconciliation celebration last week. “Of how much greater faith and salutary fear are they who confess their sins to the priest in a straight-forward manner and in sorrow, making an open declaration of conscience.”—St. Cyprian. THE CELEBRATION OF RECONCILIATION in the traditional format [Form I in the confessional whether face to face or behind the screen] follow the structure of: 1. the Penitent and Priest to greet one another and the Sign of the Cross is made with the priest offering a blessing and proclaims a passage of scripture. 2. The penitent confesses his/her sins. 3. The priest speaks to the penitent and assigns a penance. 4. The penitent prays an act of sorrow/contrition. 5. The priest prays the prayer of absolution and sends the reconciled person on his/her merry way!