The Catholic Faith In Plain English

1. The Catholic Faith In Plain English Sacred Heart Parish Sacrament of Reconciliation Rev. Scott J. Garrett

2. Bless me, for I have sinned.

3. The Rite Of PenanceHow should it really work? • Entrance • Confessing Sins • Priest’s words after confessing • The assigning of a Penance • Act of Contrition • Absolution • Leaving the confessional

4. Scripture and Reconciliation • Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first be reconciled with your brother (Mat 5: 24). • Jesus said to his apostles, “Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them” (John 20: 23).

5. Pope John Paul II • While the sacrament of penance is a form of healing it is not a substitute for psychoanalysis or psychotherapy, and confessors should refer penitents to appropriate professionals. It is a place for clarifying conscience and the commandments, not discussing the meaning of life (Pope John Paul II, 1998, Purpose and Benefits of Sacramental Penance).

6. The Sacrament Of What? • The Sacrament of Penance: It consecrates (makes holy) the sinners steps of conversion, penance, and satisfaction. • The Sacrament of Reconciliation: It imparts to the sinner the love of God who reconciles.

7. Requirements to Receive Penance • To receive the sacrament of penance, a member of the Christian faithful must be willing to reject sins committed, try to sin no more, and turn back to God (Canon 987). • “A member of the Christian faithful is obliged to confess in kind and number all grave sins of which the person has knowledge after diligent examination of conscience” (Canon 988, §1).

8. Obligations of Penitent: Canon 959 • In the sacrament of penance the faithful must confess their sins to a legitimate minister • They must be sorry for their sins and intend to reform themselves. • If they are sorry and intend to reform, they will obtain from God through the absolution, forgiveness for the sins they have committed after baptism. • At the same time, they are reconciled with the Church which they have wounded by sinning.

9. Reconciliation: What Happens • Those who approach the sacrament of Penance obtain pardon from God’s mercy for the offense committed against him (Catechism 1422). • At the same time, they are reconciled with the Church which they have wounded by their sins and which by charity, by example, and by prayer labors for their conversion.

10. Reconciliation: What Happens • The whole power of the sacrament of Penance consists in restoring us to God's grace and joining us with him in an intimate friendship. The sacrament of Reconciliation with God brings about a true "spiritual resurrection," restoration of the dignity, and blessings of the life of the children of God (Catechism 1468).

11. Reconciliation: What Happens • The sacrament of Penance repairs or restores Communion. It heals the one restored to communion and has a revitalizing effect on the life of the Church which suffered from the sin of one of her members (Catechism 1469). • The Sacrament of Reconciliation, in this life, offers us the choice between life and death (Catechism 1470).

12. Minister: Canon 966 & 976 • The valid absolution of sins requires that the minister have the power of orders and the faculty of exercising it for the faithful to whom he imparts absolution. • “Even though a priest lacks the faculty to hear confessions, he absolves validly and licitly any penitents whatsoever in danger of death from any censures and sins, even if an approved priest is present.

13. General Absolution: Many at Once • Danger of death is imminent, i.e. during a war, you are suddenly called to fight on the front line. • There is grave necessity, i.e. 300 people are gathered in Nome for a scheduled penance service. Five of the eight priest get stuck at the Anchorage Airport. Three priest show up in Nome. They cannot hear all 300 confessions in a suitable period of time. There is no way the 300 penitents can receive confession for a long period of time and it is not their fault.

14. Censures or Reprimands • Priests in this Archdiocese have the faculty to absolve from the censure of abortion • When a priest absolves a penitent from a censure outside the sacrament of penance, he uses the following formula: • By the power granted to me, I absolve you from the bond of excommunication. In the name of the Father, and of the Son,  and of the Holy Spirit.

15. Reconciliation And Sin • Sin is an offense against God…a rupture of communion with him. At the same time it damages communion with the Church. (Catechism 1440).

16. The Confession of Sins • The confession of sins frees us and facilitates our reconciliation with others. • Through such an admission man looks squarely at the sins he is guilty of, takes responsibility for them, and thereby opens himself again to God and to the communion of the Church in order to make a new future possible (Catechism 1455)

17. The Different Kinds of Sin • Sin according to their objects. • Sin according to the virtues they oppose • Sins against neighbor, God, or oneself • Sin can be divided into spiritual and carnal sins • We sin in thought, word, deed, or omission • Catechism 1852

18. Venial Sins • Venial sin weakens charity; it manifests a disordered affection for created goods; it impedes the soul's progress in the exercise of the practice of the moral good; it merits temporal punishment. • Un-repented venial sin disposes us little by little to commit mortal sin. However venial sin does not break the covenant with God. With God's grace it is humanly reparable. "Venial sin does not deprive the sinner of sanctifying grace, friendship with God, charity, and consequently eternal happiness."

19. Saint Augustine and Venial Sins • While he is in the flesh, man cannot help but have at least some light sins. But do not despise these sins which we call light sins: if you take them for light sins, when you weigh them…tremble when you count them. A number of light objects makes a great mass; a number of drops fills a river; a number of grains makes a heap. What then is our hope? Above all, confession (Saint Augustine).

20. Mortal Sin • It must be of a grave matter, i.e. and offense against the 10 commandments • It is committed with full knowledge, i.e. one understands how grave it is • It is done with deliberate consent, i.e., I know it is a sin but I do it anyway.

21. Thankfully we have Jesus! • The Letter to the Galatians contrasts the works of the flesh with the fruit of the Spirit: "Now the works of the flesh are plain: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God."

22. Confession of Mortal Sins • Confession of all mortal sins to a priest is an essential part of the sacrament of Penance: "All mortal sins must be recounted by the penitent in confession, even if they are most secret and have been committed against the last two commandments. • Thos who fail to confess all the sins that they can remember and knowingly withhold some, place nothing before the divine goodness for remission through the mediation of the priest, "for if the sick person is too ashamed to show his wound to the doctor, the medicine cannot heal what it does not know (Catechism 1456).

23. Penance and Communion • After having attained the age of discretion, each of the faithful is bound to confess serious sins at least once a year. Anyone who is aware of having committed a mortal sin must not receive Holy Communion, without having first received sacramental absolution, unless he has a grave reason for receiving Communion and there is no possibility of going to confession. • Children must go to the sacrament of Penance before receiving Holy Communion for the first time (Catechism 1457).

24. Imperfect Contrition • The contrition called “imperfect” is also a gift of God. It is born of the consideration of sin's ugliness or the fear of eternal damnation and the other penalties threatening the sinner. Such a stirring of conscience can initiate an interior process which, under the prompting of grace, will be brought to completion by sacramental absolution. By itself however, imperfect contrition cannot obtain the forgiveness of grave sins, but it disposes one to obtain forgiveness in the sacrament of Penance (Catechism 1453).

25. Perfect Contrition • Contrition is sorrow of the soul and detestation for the sin committed, together with the resolution not to sin again (Catechism 1451). • When it arises from a love by which God is loved above all else, contrition is called "perfect" (contrition of charity). Such contrition remits venial sins; it also obtains forgiveness of mortal sins if it includes the firm resolution to have recourse to sacramental confession as soon as possible (Catechism 1452).