YOU SHALL LOVE THY NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF. (Mat 22:39)
Reconciliation is also referred to as ‘Confession’, ‘Penance’ or ‘Forgiveness’
What is Reconciliation / Confession?
Confession is a sacrament instituted by Jesus Christ in his love and mercy. It is here that we meet the loving Jesus who offers sinners forgiveness for offenses committed against God and neighbor. At the same time, Confession permits sinners to reconcile with the Church, which also is wounded by our sins.
Through this sacrament, we meet Christ in his Church ready and eager to absolve and restore us to new life. The graces of Christ are conferred in the sacraments by means of visible signs - signs that are acts of worship, symbols of the grace given and recognizable gestures through which the Lord bestows his gifts. In the sacrament of Penance, the forgiveness of sins and the restoration of grace are the gifts received through the outward sign, i.e., the extension of hands and words of absolution pronounced by the priest.
Why is Reconciliation Necessary?
We need the sacrament of Penance because each of us, from time to time, sins. When we recognize that we have offended God who is all deserving of our love, we sense the need to make things right, like the prodigal son in the Gospel, we long to know again the loving embrace of a forgiving father who patiently waits for each of us. Jesus himself has established this sure and certain way for us to access God's mercy and to know that our sins are forgiven. By virtue of his divine authority, Jesus gives this power of absolution to the apostolic ministry. As the Catechism of the Catholic Churchsays, "In imparting to his apostles his own power to forgive sins the Lord also gives them the authority to reconcile sinners with the Church" (1444).
We need to know that our sins are forgiven. There is something in our human nature that calls out for the assurance that our sins are actually forgiven. Confession is the visible manifestation of God's mercy that provides us, in human terms as well, the clear awareness that God has forgiven us.
Remember -
God loves us all. He always has. He always will.
But when we fail, when we sin, as we occasionally do, God knows immediately. His love remains but the sin committed distances us from God - not Him from us.
Reconciliation, and saying you are truly sorry, removes that distance you put between yourself and God. It unburdens your soul.
So go to Reconciliation, go as often as you need, on the very least once a year during Lent.
Reconciliation is like going to Mass, you will feel better for it, and it will bring you peace.
Reconciliation is also referred to as ‘Confession’, ‘Penance’ or ‘Forgiveness’
What is Reconciliation / Confession?
Confession is a sacrament instituted by Jesus Christ in his love and mercy. It is here that we meet the loving Jesus who offers sinners forgiveness for offenses committed against God and neighbor. At the same time, Confession permits sinners to reconcile with the Church, which also is wounded by our sins.
Through this sacrament, we meet Christ in his Church ready and eager to absolve and restore us to new life. The graces of Christ are conferred in the sacraments by means of visible signs - signs that are acts of worship, symbols of the grace given and recognizable gestures through which the Lord bestows his gifts. In the sacrament of Penance, the forgiveness of sins and the restoration of grace are the gifts received through the outward sign, i.e., the extension of hands and words of absolution pronounced by the priest.
Why is Reconciliation Necessary?
We need the sacrament of Penance because each of us, from time to time, sins. When we recognize that we have offended God who is all deserving of our love, we sense the need to make things right, like the prodigal son in the Gospel, we long to know again the loving embrace of a forgiving father who patiently waits for each of us. Jesus himself has established this sure and certain way for us to access God's mercy and to know that our sins are forgiven. By virtue of his divine authority, Jesus gives this power of absolution to the apostolic ministry. As the Catechism of the Catholic Churchsays, "In imparting to his apostles his own power to forgive sins the Lord also gives them the authority to reconcile sinners with the Church" (1444).
We need to know that our sins are forgiven. There is something in our human nature that calls out for the assurance that our sins are actually forgiven. Confession is the visible manifestation of God's mercy that provides us, in human terms as well, the clear awareness that God has forgiven us.
Remember -
God loves us all. He always has. He always will.
But when we fail, when we sin, as we occasionally do, God knows immediately. His love remains but the sin committed distances us from God - not Him from us.
Reconciliation, and saying you are truly sorry, removes that distance you put between yourself and God. It unburdens your soul.
So go to Reconciliation, go as often as you need, on the very least once a year during Lent.
Reconciliation is like going to Mass, you will feel better for it, and it will bring you peace.
