Sacrament of reconciliation

The Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation is a Sacrament of healing and forgiveness. Through the Sacrament, the penitent receives forgiveness from God for the offenses committed against God and the community. Through this Sacrament, the penitent is resurrected from a spiritual death. St. Maximilian Kolbe said that our lives are meaningless without God; that it is only by dying to ourselves that we may live eternally. For this Sacrament to truly achieve its purpose, it must be an integral…

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Confession...In Persona Christi

"Courage, child, your sins are forgiven." Listen to my homily for today: Your browser does not support the audio element. If you have trouble listening click here. Mass Readings for the Day "Only God can forgive sins," said the scribes. The Catechism of the Catholic Church reaffirms this, yet continues to explain that Jesus has entrusted this sacred power to his priests: 1441 Only God forgives sins. Since he is the Son of God, Jesus says of himself, "The Son of man has authority on earth to…

(Article by Rev. Thomas G. Morrow, S.T.D., Source: Catholic Faith Alive!, Inc.) Why should you go to confession? There are a hundred reasons we conjure up why not to go to confession, but there are…

A look at the purpose of the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick tells us who the Church envisions to receive it. The Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick has a dual character,

Symbols: After the penitent makes the act of contrition, the priest proceeds to remove the sins from the person. In doing so, the priest raises his hand over the penitent's head and this shows that the sins are being both forgiven and forgotten.

Confession/Confessional: An enclosed area for celebrating the sacrament of Reconciliation. The confessional includes a kneeler for the penitent, a screen to conceal the person’s identity, and a chair for the priest. Today many parishes use Reconciliation rooms, which allow the penitent the option of using the traditional confessional or of speaking face to face with the priest. www.pauline.org

An anonymous listener asks how to stay brave when confessing sins from six feet apart. They explain that they usually whisper in Confession because they are too afraid to speak their sins out loud.

As an outward sign this sacrament comprises the actions of the penitent in presenting their self to the priest and stating their sins, and the actions of the priest in pronouncing absolution and imposing satisfaction. This whole procedure is usually called, from one of its parts, "confession".