Catechumenate Topic: Reconciliation

Catechumenant Topic: Reconciliation

What is the basis of this sacrament in the Bible? John 20:21-23.

The Sacrament of Baptism is the sacrament of first conversion. However conversion does not end there, we often fall and fail of the promises we make. In every life there is a need for an ongoing conversion, a second conversion. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is the sacrament of the second conversion. It restores us into the life of grace and communion with God and our Christian brothers and sisters, the Church.

Reconciliation, or confession, is required for those who have committed a serious or mortal sin, and is highly advised for all sins as it helps develop and strengthen our conscious.

Reconciliation consists of three aspects, contrition, confession, and satisfaction.

There are two types of contrition, perfect and imperfect. Perfect contrition is where you are sorry for your sin because you love God above ALL else. This type of contrition is a grace and gift of God. Perfect contrition alone is enough to forgive sin. Imperfect contrition is also a gift from God; it is where we are sorry for our sin also because of the fear of consequences and punishment. Imperfect contrition drives us to seek out the sacrament of reconciliation. Imperfect contrition needs confession and satisfaction for the forgiveness of sins.

Confession is done to a priest, who serves in Christ’s Priesthood. The forgiveness offered by the Priest is done on the behalf of Christ, but also on the behalf of the community of believers who are also injured as a result of sin. The seal of the confessional is one of the most sacred duties of the priest. The priest will never tell anyone, nor will the priest bring the issue up with you unless you explicitly request and even remind the priest what was said. Priests are given special training and grace by God to forgive and not to judge.

Satisfaction aims at repairing the harm caused by a sin, and are assigned by the priest and must be completed by the penitent. They are assigned not as punishment but as an aid to undo the damage wrecked by the sin.

Indulgence is a method of undoing the temporal harm caused by a sin that has been already forgiven. There are many ways of gaining indulgences, through pray and act of piety and charity. Through the communion of saints indulgence can aid those who are in need not just those who are performing the acts.

Catholics are required to go to confession once a year.

Mortal sins are defined as done with free will, full knowledge, and serious matter. Venial sins are when any of those three criteria are lacking. We are never to judge another’s sins, but we may help educate them in a charitable and loving fashion.

The other types of sin are personal and social. Personal sins are committed by us as individuals, social sins are committed by us as groups or organizations, or organizations we support. There are also sins of commission, and sins of omission. Bad things we do, and the good things we have failed to do. Commission are confessed more, but omission are committed, and require a good examination of conscience to uncover. There is no such thing as a private sin, or a sin that only hurts you, all sins hurt someone else.