Conversion- a turning to God will all one’s heart.

Sin- a thought, word, deed or omission against God’s Law.

Reconciliation- the sacrament by which our relationship with God and the Church is strengthened or restored and our sins are forgiven.

In order for a sin to be mortal, it must meet three conditions:

Mortal sin is a sin of grave matter Mortal sin is committed with full knowledge of the

sinner Mortal sin is committed with deliberate consent of the

sinner     This means that mortal sins cannot be done

"accidentally." A person who commits a mortal sin is one who knows that their sin is wrong, but still deliberately commits the sin anyway. This means that mortal sins are "premeditated" by the sinner and thus are truly a rejection of God’s law and love.

One commits venial sin when, in a less serious matter, he does not observe the standard prescribed by the moral law, or when he disobeys the moral law in a grave matter, but without full knowledge or without complete consent.

Venial sin weakens charity; it manifests a disordered affection for created goods; it impedes the soul's progress in the exercise of the virtues and the practice of the moral good; it merits temporal punishment. Deliberate and unrepented 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."

There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father,

"Father, give me my share of the estate." So he divided his property

between them. Not long after that, the younger son got together all

he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth

in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe

famine in that whole country,

and he began to be in need.

So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that

country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to

fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating,

but no one gave him anything. When he came to his senses, So he got

up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way away.

Another saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son,

Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house,

he heard music and dancing. "My son," the father said, "you are always

with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate

and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again;

he was lost and is found.

Our love for God grows stronger by: 1. Praying2. Celebrating the Sacraments with our

community.3. Working as Jesus did for Justice and Peace.

•Some men brought their friend to Jesus. The man was paralyzed and could not move. His friends believed that Jesus could make him well, but they couldn't even get in the door.

•They had an idea. They would find another way into the house. If they could get up on the roof, they could remove a part of the roof and make a hole above the crowd. That is just what they did. Then they attached ropes to the bed on which their friend was lying and slowly lowered him down into the room, right in front of Jesus When Jesus saw their faith, he said, "Son, your sins are forgiven.

•So to prove to them that he could forgive sins, He did the harder thing. He said, "Take up your bed and walk." And the man who had been unable to move, stood up and walked. Everyone could see what had happened as a result of Jesus' words. The people could hardly believe their eyes. They had never seen such power

Jesus gave the apostles the authority to forgive sins after his resurrection.

Forgiveness of Sin happens at Baptism. Every Sacrament is a sign of God’s love for

his people. In Reconciliation we receive God’s

forgiveness; our sins are forgiven by the priest in the Name of Jesus and through the power of the Holy Spirit.

As members of the Church, we are united by our Baptism.

Justice is based on the belief that all people are equal.

In Reconciliation 3 Things happen: 1. We proclaim our faith in God’s Mercy.2. We give thanks for the gift of forgiveness. 3. We try to live more faithfully as Christ’s disciples.

Jesus calls us to conversion. Jesus forgives as only God can do. Jesus continues to forgive us through the church. We are reconciled with God and the Church. St Dominic was born in Spain in 1170. At first he lead a quiet life

of prayer but he became involved with preaching a message of faith and conversion.

He called many people to turn to God and live by Christ's example.

He began a new religious community devoted to preaching. Dominic urged his priests to study the bible and spend time in

prayer. Today there are Dominicans in all parts of the world preaching the

Good News and calling people to conversion St. Dominic’s feast day is August 8th.