Jesus Forgives Sins

Sacrament of Confession/Reconciliation/Penance

  • We receive God’s forgiveness for sins committed after Baptism through the ministry of a priest

  • The sacrament through which grace is received and sins are forgiven

  • Stresses the importance of admitting one’s fault

  • Confession can be likened to a sick person

  • Requires humility and courage

  • Reasons to Confess:

    • To be reconciled with God

    • To heal our relationship with others

    • To receive grace to avoid sin

  • Parts of the Sacrament (PACC):

    • Contrition

      • Being truly sorry for sins

      • Requires a contrite heart

    • Confession

      • Admission of sins to the priest

    • Absolution

      • When the priest forgives sins in the name of Christ

    • Penance

      • Doing acts to repair the harm caused by sin

  • Purpose of The Sacrament:

    • Obtain forgiveness from God and the Church

    • Restore our relationship with God by forgiving sins committed after Baptism

    • Reconcile us with the Church and others, healing relationships damaged by sins

    • Give inner peace and spiritual healing by freeing us from guilt and shame

    • Strengthen us with God’s grace to resist temptation and avoid sin in the future

    • Help us grow in humility and responsibility by honestly acknowledging our faults

  • Important Realities:

    • God’s Forgiveness

    • Church as continuing the ministry of forgiveness

    • Conversion and Penance

      • A change of heart and mind

      • A sincere decision to turn away from sin and turn back to God

      • Catholic Context:

        • Recognizing one’s sins and mistakes

        • Feeling true sorrow (repentance)

        • Choosing to change one’s ways

        • Live according to God’s will and values

      • Dimensions (MAIR):

        • Moral

          • From the self-centered pursuit of satisfying our own egotistical needs, and towards loving service of others

          • Actions; change in what I do

        • Affective

          • Involves our feelings, emotions, and imagination needed to support an outgoing love

          • Emotions; change in what I feel and value

        • Intellectual

          • A shift in the way we understand and judge the basic meaning and value of our lives

          • Mind; change how I think

        • Spiritual/Religious

          • Falling in love with God

          • Religion; change in my relationship with God

  • What We Profess In Our Catholic Faith:

    • We are sinners

    • We need the mercy of God our Father

    • God’s mercy is always available to us

    • God calls us to conversion

    • God calls us to completion in the Eucharistic Celebration

  • Effects of Sin (ET):

    • Eternal Punishment

      • Grave (mortal) sin deprives a person of communion with God, making them incapable of eternal life

      • If one dies in a state of mortal sin from which they haven’t repented, they face eternal separation from God

    • Temporal Punishment

      • Every sin, including venial sin, entails an unhealthy “attachment to creatures” which requires purification a.k.a. “temporal punishment”

      • Must be undergone either during one’s earthly life through prayers, good works, and penance, or after death in the state of Purgator

      • Indulgence

        • Remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which the faithful Christian who duly disposed gains under certain prescribed conditions through the action of the Church

        • Types:

          • Partial

            • Remission of only a part/s of the temporal punishment

          • Plenary

            • Remission of all of the temporal punishment