I know that I haven't written a new post in quite a few months and I wish I could have kept up better with the posts but college has kept me quite busy. This current post is actually a paper I had to write about the Sacrament of Reconciliation. I am not posting this to show off my work, but feel that this Catechesis paper can be useful as many people don't have a solid idea Reconciliation. This paper is a 6 pages long, but is divided into sections, so if you don't want to read the whole thing, but a section jumps out, please read it (Note: it is meant to flow as a paper, so I do suggest that it be read from beginning to end). I hope you enjoy and if you have any questions or thoughts please comment or send an email.
“Only God forgives sins. Since he is the Son of God, Jesus says of himself, ‘The Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins’ and exercises this divine power: ‘Your sins are forgiven.’ Further, by virtue of his divine authority he gives this power to men to exercise in his name” (Mk 2:5, 10; Lk 7:48; CCC 1441). Through God’s mercy, the sacrament of Penance allows all the faithful who have been baptized to be forgiven and healed of their sins. It also reconciles each person with the Church, who has been wounded by each sin (CCC 1422). The sacrament is a great blessing to the Church, as it is only by the sacrament that one can become washed clean of his offenses, and continue the path of conversion and life in Christ.
The Forgiveness of Sins After Baptism
“Christ has willed that in her prayer and life and action his whole Church should be the sign and instrument of the forgiveness and reconciliation that he acquired for us at the price of his blood” (CCC 1442). It is only through Christ’s crucifixion that one is ever able to be forgiven and united with God. God sent his only Son into the world to become sin for humanity. He was blameless, but took on the sin of all, so that everyone can be reconciled with God. Christ’s death on the cross was a pure act of mercy by God, which means that no one merits the forgiveness of sins. This is a free gratuitous gift from God; “finally by his infinite mercy, for he displays his power at its height by freely forgiving sins” (CCC 270).
In order for God to freely forgive a person of his sins, the Church has been blessed with the sacrament of Penance. The sacrament was instituted by Christ, for all the sinful members of the Church; “though we are clothed with the baptismal garment, we do not cease to sin, to turn away from God” (CCC 2839). The Lord God calls every person to holiness and purification. Guilt and punishment of original sin is remitted through Baptism, where one is “holy and without blemish before him” (Eph 1:4, NAB). Baptism for the remission of sins, turns those baptized back towards God and makes them children of the Lord. Unfortunately, through original sin, concupiscence exists, where there is the inclination to sin. Since Baptism “has not abolished the frailty and weakness of human nature, nor… concupiscence,” there is still sin, and all people are in need of God’s forgiveness (CCC 1426).
When one sins, he distances himself from the loving Father, but his relationship with God is broken when he falls into mortal sin. “Mortal sin, by attacking the vital principle within us -- that is, charity -- necessitates a new initiative of God’s mercy and a conversion of heart which is normally accomplished within the setting of the sacrament of reconciliation” (CCC 1856). Although it is through mortal sin that one loses his ability to love, God still loves him beyond measure. Because of God’s love, he doesn’t want to see anyone remain in the despair and loneliness that sin causes, but wants to see everyone reunited to him. God has chosen to accomplish this reunification through the sacrament of Reconciliation.
The Acts of the Penitent
Contrition
Although Christ has instituted the sacrament of Penance, one cannot be forgiven of his sins without first having a contrite heart. “Contrition is ‘sorrow of the soul and detestation for the sin committed, together with the resolution not to sin again’” (DS 1677, CCC 1451). Without this contrition, it is impossible for God to forgive the sins of the penitent because he has no sorrow for his sins. The sinful woman who bathes Jesus’ feet with her tears, wipes them with her hair, and anoints them with ointment shows true contrition. Jesus says to Simon, in response to this repentant act,
When I entered your house, you did not give me water for my feet, but she has bathed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but she has not ceased kissing my feet since the time I entered. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she anointed my feet with ointment. So I tell you her many sins have been forgiven; hence, she has shown great love (Luke 7:44-47, NAB).
Contrition is not a simple “I am sorry” to the Father, but must in a some way mimic the great act of love that the sinful woman showed to Jesus. God knows each person’s heart, so he doesn’t need an outward act showing sorrow for the sins that were committed, but it is through the outward act that one is affirming how he feels internally. For contrition to be perfect it must arise from “a love by which God is loved above all else” (CCC 1452).
If the penitent comes to the sacrament with “perfect” contrition then his sins will be forgiven by God. “There is no offense….that the Church cannot forgive. ‘There is no one, however wicked and guilty, who may not confidently hope for forgiveness, provided his repentance is honest” (Roman Catechism I,11,5; CCC 982). The Church does not exclude or prevent any person from receiving this sacrament. She instead wants all people to have a conversion and seek reconciliation with God.
The Confession of Sins
If the penitent has a heart full of contrition, then they must confess their sins to a bishop or a priest. There is no other way that grave sins can be forgiven. The heart of the sinner has been hardened towards God and his fellow brothers and sisters. “[I]n confessing our sins, our hearts are opened to his grace” (CCC 2840). It is through grace that God is able to soften the hardened heart. In a softened heart, the Holy Spirit dwells and moves, so that the penitent will not only feel sorry for his sins, but will want to confess them to a priest. It is commonly misunderstood that if a person is sorry enough, and prays before the Lord with a contrite heart, that he will be forgiven of all his sins. This way of thinking is completely incorrect; furthermore, the Church proclaims that “confession to a priest is an essential part of the sacrament of Penance: ‘All mortal sins….must be recounted by them in confession, even if they are the most secret…’” (DS 1680, CCC 1456). No matter how secret and how much a person doesn’t want to confess a sin, all sins must be told to the confessor during the sacrament. If any sins are withheld on purpose, then God is unable to forgive the person of any of their sins (CCC 1456). This has become a very common misunderstanding because it is believed that a person doesn’t have the obligation to confess all his sins, in order to be forgiven for all of them. Many people believe that it is possible to “trick” God into forgiving all the sins that were committed; since the Father is our Creator, he is unable to be “tricked” into anything.
One should not try to “trick” or deceive the Lord, since he is unable to be manipulated. “Make no mistake: God is not mocked, for a person will reap only what he sows, because the one who sows for his flesh will reap corruption from the flesh, but the one who sows for the spirit will reap eternal life from the spirit” (Gal 6:7-8, NAB). If the intentions of the penitent are pure, then God will forgive his sins, but if he is just cowering from God in shame, God is unable to enter the heart, and heal the open wounds left by the sin. To make a good confession of sins, one must make have a contrite heart and appear completely naked and shameless in front of the Almighty God.
Penance
“Absolution takes away sin, but it does not remedy all the disorders sin has caused. Raised up from sin, the sinner must still recover his full spiritual health by doing something more to make amends for the sin: he must….‘expiate’ his sins” (CCC 1459). It is common to think that God does not forgive the penitent of his sins unless he does his penance. Although this seems to make logical sense, it is false. If the penitent has a contrite heart and absolution is given, the sins have been forgiven. Penance is not the act by which absolution becomes valid, but is instead a way for the penitent to strengthen himself in prayer and a deeper life in Christ. When a person sins, it severely wounds him and makes him more apt to continue to sin; in order to help remedy this effect, there is penance which helps to strengthen the inner self (CCC 1459).
“Every offense committed against justice and truth entails the duty of reparation, even if its author has been forgiven” (CCC 2487). Penance is not just for the inner self of the penitent, but it also serves to make right the wrong they did against someone or against many people, such as the Church. The penance that is given by the confessor must seek the spiritual good of the penitent (CCC 1460). It must apply to the situation and struggles of the person and must try to help strengthen them in Christ, and help prevent them from falling into temptation, especially a habitual sin.
Conversion
All Christians are called by Christ to conversion. The idea of faith is that it does not become stagnant, but is alive. If faith is living and organic then it must grow, and part of this growing process is the conversion of the heart.
Christ’s call to conversion continues to respond in the lives of Christians. This second conversion is an uninterrupted task for the whole Church who, ‘clasping sinners to her bosom, [is] at once holy and always in need of purification, [and] follows constantly the path of penance and renewal’ (LG 8§3, CCC1428).
All faithful people are on the same path of constant conversion. The sacrament of Penance is a great gift because in the sacrament, grace is freely given to help with the conversion process. It is often thought that a conversion is just a turning away from sin and evil, but there is a second part to a conversion that is of the upmost importance. It isn’t just a complete turn away from evil, but it is a radical turn back to Christ. Christ, knowing that humanity is plagued by original sin, shows the way back to himself. The path to conversion is not some vague and hidden secret, but through the Church, Christ offers to sinners the way of forgiveness and conversion.
Conversion cannot be achieved through the human person, but only through the grace of the Father; “Restore us to thyself, O Lord, that we may be restored!” (Lam 5:21, CCC 1432). Because the human race is broken due to original sin, it is impossible for a person to fix himself; it is only through God that a Christian can be healed of his brokenness. When a Christian goes to the sacrament of Reconciliation, he is starting anew. The conversion of the penitent is out of great love and reverence for the Lord. It isn’t just about fearing sin, but even more importantly it is about loving the Lord so much, that the heart could not even imagine sinning against its Creator. The conversion of his whole self to the Lord will keep him coming to the “waters” of grace that the Lord offers, so that a righteous life can be lived to glorify God.
Administration of the Sacrament
Christ gives the power to forgive sins to Peter and the Apostles, when he says, “I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Mt 16:19, NAB). Through Apostolic succession and the sacrament of Holy Orders, this power has been given to bishops and priests. The bishops and the priests must always remember that their authority comes from God; “The confessor is not the master of God’s forgiveness, but its servant” (CCC 1466). Instead of being the master, the confessor is the conduit that God has chosen to forgive someone of their sins. The confessor must be humble of heart, and know that it is always God and never themselves. If he is rooted in Christ’s love, he will see the forgiveness of sins as an amazing gift, which can only come from the Author of life.
“The priest is the sign and the instrument of God’s merciful love for the sinner” (CCC 1465). Therefore, charity must be the virtue that is practiced most by the confessor. The penitent has the opportunity to see the face of Christ in the priest, and the face that is seen should be a face of Christ’s complete love for the penitent. The confessor takes on the role of the Good Shepherd, making sure that all of his flock is with Christ, and is not harmed by the evil one (CCC 1465). He should “lead the penitent with patience toward healing and full maturity” (CCC 1466). If the confessor loves each “sheep,” then out of pure charity, he will help each penitent on their faith journey. As bishops and as priests, they become the shepherds responsible for their individual flocks. They cannot leave any faithful out in the wilderness where they are defenseless against Satan, but instead must walk next to them, helping them reach a true conversion and a relationship with Christ.
Effects of the Sacrament
“‘The whole power of the sacrament of Penance consists in restoring us to Gods’s grace and joining us with him in an intimate friendship.’ Reconciliation with God is thus the purpose and effect of this sacrament” (Roman Catechism, II, V, 18; CCC 1468). God does not want his children to be far from him, but wants an intimate relationship with them. Through the sacrament of Penance, the faithful are reunited with God. In order for the penitent to be truly reconciled with God, he must have “a contrite heart and religious disposition” (CCC 1468).
The sacrament of Reconciliation not only reconciles the penitent with God, but also with the Church. No sin is regarded as a “private sin,” but all sin harms not only the individual who committed the sin, but also many other people, including the Church. “If [one] part suffers, all the parts suffer with it…” (1 Cor 12:26, NAB). The Church is made up of sinners that are trying to strive for a life of righteousness, but when one person sins, it affects the whole Church because he has fallen away, and is unable to radiate her sanctity (CPG § 19, CCC 827). Because each sin does not only hurt God, but hurts the Church and her mission, the sinful person must go to a bishop or priest in order to be reconciled with the Church. Through the sinner’s reconciliation with the her, it has a “revitalizing effect on the life of the church” (CCC 1469). Not only is the sacrament of the upmost importance for the forgiven sinner, but also gives the Church the grace and power to continue spreading the Good News that she holds deep within her heart, allowing it to take root in the hearts of all those who hear it.
In the sacrament of Penance, “the sinner, placing himself before the merciful judgement of God, anticipates in a certain way the judgement to which he will be subjected at the end of his earthly life” (CCC 1470). Every person has the choice to either follow God, which leads to life, or to choose to follow the evil one, which leads to death and destruction. “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many” (Mt 7:13, NAB). Constant conversion of the heart, mind, body, and soul to the Lord enables one to follow the narrow path that leads to eternal life. It is through the sacrament of Reconciliation that one can continue on his conversion, and seek to one day enter into God’s heavenly Kingdom.
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