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Chapter 10: Reconciliation

Chapter 10: Reconciliation. Celebrating Forgiveness. Basic Facts. One of the two Sacraments of Healing Also called the Sacrament of Penance Celebrates the unfailing forgiveness that God extends to us.

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Chapter 10: Reconciliation

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  1. Chapter 10: Reconciliation Celebrating Forgiveness

  2. Basic Facts • One of the two Sacraments of Healing • Also called the Sacrament of Penance • Celebrates the unfailing forgiveness that God extends to us. • Members of the Catholic church receive God’s mercy and forgiveness for their sins and are reconciled with: • God • Themselves • The church

  3. What does Reconciliation Celebrate? • Acknowledging our Sin • Realizing God’s forgiveness begins with acknowledging our weaknesses and failures as sin. • Personal sins—actions, thoughts, words, or deeds that alienate us from ourselves, other persons, and God. • We also sin through; • Cooperating in others sin • Not speaking up against another’s sin

  4. Mortal Sin and Venial Sin • Mortal sin (mortal means “deadly”) • Very grave or serious violation of God’s Law • Done knowingly and freely • Completely separates a person from God • Ex: abortion, murder and adultery • It is most important to be freed from our mortal sin though repentance and forgiveness. • Venial sin • Less serious offense • A wrong that weakens our relationship with God and others but does not cut it off • Ex: venial sins include selfishness, anger and jealousy. • Facing up to our venial sins enables us to be open to the fullness of God’s love and grace.

  5. Confession as a Ritual The sharing that happens in everyday life, the sharing of one’s weakness is ritualized in a process called confession. In order to make a good confession, a person must first honestly face the sin that is within him or her. Only then can the person share the story of his or her weakness with a priest, who represents both God and whole Christian community.

  6. The Act of Confession • In confession the priest listens and offers; • Acceptance • Guidance • Forgiveness • Catholics must confess at least once a year; • Mortal sins they have committed • Venial sins is recommend as well.

  7. The Prodigal Son • Luke 15:11-32 • The younger son turns his back on his parents and takes off with his inheritance. • Spends it all and has nothing left. • He finally realizes how foolish he is and returns home begging his father for forgiveness. • Father welcomes his son with open arms • Throws a big party for him • The young man opened himself to forgiveness in a journey that was both spiritual and physical. • He came to his senses, acknowledged his mistakes, made a turnaround, and traveled back home in order to make things right with his father. • MORAL OF THE STORY: God forgives us unconditionally

  8. Coming to our Senses Every time we “come to our senses” about a pattern of behavior that is hurting our relationship with God, with others, or with our self, we begin a conversion of heart. This conversion comes about through the Holy Spirit at work in us, helping us make a change. This kind of self-examination is a good way to prepare for the sacrament of Reconciliation.

  9. Penance as Conversion • Penance is a word derived from the same roots as repent, which means “to be sorry.” • Refers to a conversion of heart • The priest advises the person in confession (thepenitent) to take some action that will express genuine repentance. • What is crucial for penance; • In the person’s heart, she or he intends not to do the sin again!

  10. Restoring Relationships • The word reconciliation literally means “coming back together.” • Reconciliation among people involves the restoring of relationships that have been broken or wounded. • Do sins against yourself affect others? • YES! We damage our own ability to love and care for others. • We damage our ability to live freely and fully.

  11. Symbolic Actions and Words • Three Forms of the Rite: • A celebration for an individual penitent • A communal celebration for several penitents with individual confession and absolution. • A communal celebration for several penitents with general confession and absolution • Reserved only for emergency situations • Whatever form is used, only a priest or a bishop is the minister of the sacrament and has the authority to give absolution for sins—that is, the release of penitents from the guilt of their sins, in the name of Jesus Christ.

  12. 1. Celebration for an Individual • A person can choose to celebrate Reconciliation with a priest on an individual basis. • A school or parish may set aside times when a priest is available. • Even when the sacrament is celebrated for an individual, it is still considered a community celebration. • Primary Symbols: • The community • Priest—conveys the love of God and the community

  13. 2. Communal Celebration with Individual Confession and Absolution • Community members • gather, • sing songs, • hear the word of God together, • collectively focus on how they need to be reconciled with one another and with God. • Confess privately to a priest • Receive individual counsel and absolution

  14. 3. Communal Celebration with General Confession and Absolution • Reserved only for emergency situations when there may be neither time nor enough priests to hear confessions individually. • Ex: Military Men and Women dispatched into combat. • Confess their sins in a general way as a community, receive absolution together. • Church states that once the emergency situation passes, these individuals should confess their serious (mortal) sins to a priest individually.

  15. Common Elements of the Three Forms A greeting and blessing by the priest The reading of the word of God (optional) Confession of sins Prayer of contrition Giving of penance The absolution by the priest A prayer of thanksgiving for God’s forgiveness

  16. The Essentials FOUR PARTS: Penitent's contrition Confession of sins Act of Penance Receiving words of absolution

  17. Reconciliation’s History • In the early church, Baptism was thought to be the primary means of reconciliation between God and a sinner. • When converts renounced the life of sin in Baptism, they were considered reconciled with God once and for all. • However, when members slipped back into their pagan ways and renounced the faith or practice of the church, they were excommunicated—that is, no longer allowed to share the Eucharist with the community. • They were, in effect, thrown out!

  18. A “Second Baptism” for Re-Entry • Re-entry for those who sincerely repented and wished to rejoin the church had to go through a kind of a second Baptism. • As a kind of second chance after Baptism, it was available to a person only once. • The excommunicated person joined the Order of Penitents.

  19. Private Confession In the fifth century, private confession came about from Irish monks. In the thirteenth century, private confession was decreed to the one official form of Penance until post—Vatican II which allowed for communal celebrations.

  20. Confessions as Confidential • The church has upheld the confidentiality of a penitent’s confession. • That is, a priest is bound by the seal of confession: • He can not, under any circumstances whatsoever, reveal what has been told him in confession—even in the case of murder. • This assures penitents that they can be completely honest before God and without fear that their disclosures will be used against them.

  21. Seal of Confession The sacramental seal is inviolable. Quoting Canon 983.1 of the Code of Canon Law, the Catechism states, "...It is a crime for a confessor in any way to betray a penitent by word or in any other manner or for any reason" (No. 2490). A priest, therefore, cannot break the seal to save his own life, to protect his good name, to refute a false accusation, to save the life of another, to aid the course of justice (like reporting a crime), or to avert a public calamity. He cannot be compelled by law to disclose a person's confession or be bound by any oath he takes, e.g. as a witness in a court trial. A priest cannot reveal the contents of a confession either directly, by repeating the substance of what has been said, or indirectly, by some sign, suggestion, or action.

  22. What happens if a priest violates the seal of confession? The Catechism (No. 1467) cites the Code of Canon Law (No. 1388.1) in addressing this issue, which states, "A confessor who directly violates the seal of confession incurs an automatic excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See; if he does so only indirectly, he is to be punished in accord with the seriousness of the offense." From the severity of the punishment, we can clearly see how sacred the sacramental seal of confession is in the eyes of the Church.

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