PenanceProcess of Reconciliation

The humble and sincere Catholic realizes that sin is all over his or her life. This is not startling; it is part of human condition. But the follower of Jesus should be disturbed by this reality, disturbed to the point of doing something about it. Catholics are privileged to have a concrete sign of Christ’s forgiveness in the sacrament of reconciliation. It is a tremendous sign of Jesus’ friendship and a valuable opportunity to uproot sin that keep us from getting closer the Lord.

Four Parts of Reconciliation

1. Contrition

The most important action of the penitent is to approach the sacrament with contrite heart. Contrition is defined as “heartful sorrow and aversion for the sin committed along with the intention of sinning and no more.” God’s love moves us to sorrow. The biblical term for this is metanoia, a change of heart whereby we model our lives on Jesus. If we have true sorrow in our sins, we are surely going to derive a great benefit from the sacrament. We will tend to have a warm heart that beats with the love of God. Contrition, the, is a necessary step in approaching the sacrament.

2. Confession

The Holy Spirit moves us to have a sorrowful heart and it is his prompting that leads us to the Lord in this sacrament. Confession of sin to the priest is an external sign that our internal sorrow is genuine. Confession assures our sincerity, makes us openly humble in front of the Lord and demonstrates faith in our Lord’s saving touch.

Confession of sin can be difficult to us sometimes. No one denies this. However, confession of sin is a clear sign of our trust in the Lord and a convincing symbol to us that we sincerely have sorrow for our sins. In facing up to our sin, we in fact, take it to the Lord for his healing touch. To speak the sin is to face-up to it and to mean the expression of sorrow behind it. In fact. Psychologists claim that verbally expressing our deeply hidden problems and inclinations is essential to the healing process. So, too, in the sacrament of reconciliation. Examining our inner heart and externally accusing ourselves should, furthermore, should always be made in light of God’s loving mercy. We confess because we know that He loves us and wants us to face up the truth about ourselves. The priest can help us when we confess our sins, too. Through spiritual counselling and encouragement he can embody our Lord’s forgiveness, concern and love.

3. Act of Penance (Satisfaction)

True conversion leads to act of penance satisfaction for the sins committed: turning away from our older way of conduct and repairing any harm done. The penances assigned by the priest should fit the penitent, the harm done and the spiritual sickness that needs curing. We should not view this act of penance as burden, rather we should be grateful to God that we have the opportunity to repair the damage our sins did. We should also thank God for the opportunity they afford us to be compassionate and generously involved. By performing the- prayers, good acts and etc.- we can help to put the sin behind us and we can once again get on the road of following the Lord.

4. Absolution

The words of absolution recited by the priest are the prayer of the church to God for the sinner. The words are a visible sign of the Father’s loving forgiveness. They reassure the contrite penitent that God’s forgiveness has definitely forgiven. They are joyful, faith-filled words of Christ’s love for us.

As we saw in our discussion on the Council of Trent, Catholics are obligated to confess by number and kind every mortal sin they remember committing. However we are required by the church to receive this sacrament as a helpful remedy for lesser sins. The sacrament is a powerful reminder to all sinners—grave and less serious– that our goal as individuals ad as a community is to conform ourselves to Christ. The true test of whether this conformity takes place is whether we grow in service to both God and neighbor.

Effects of Penance

the restoration or increase of sanctifying grace;

the forgiveness of sins;

the remission of the eternal punishment, if necessary, and also of part, at least, of the temporal punishment, due to our sins;

the help to avoid sin in future;

the restoration of the merits of our good works if they have been lost by mortal sin.