2.
The humble and sincere Catholic realizes that sin is
all over his or her life. This is not startling; it is part of
human condition. But the follower of Jesus should be
disturbed by this reality, disturbed to the point of doing
something about it. Catholics are privileged to have a
concrete sign of Christ’s forgiveness in the sacrament of
reconciliation. It is a tremendous sign of Jesus’
friendship and a valuable opportunity to uproot sin that
keep us from getting closer the Lord.
4. 1. Contrition
The most important action of the penitent is to
approach the sacrament with contrite heart. Contrition is
defined as ―heartful sorrow and aversion for the sin
committed along with the intention of sinning and no
more.‖ God’s love moves us to sorrow. The biblical term
for this is metanoia, a change of heart whereby we
model our lives on Jesus. If we have true sorrow in our
sins, we are surely going to derive a great benefit from
the sacrament. We will tend to have a warm heart that
beats with the love of God. Contrition, the, is a
necessary step in approaching the sacrament.
5. 2. Confession
The Holy Spirit moves us to have a sorrowful heart
and it is his prompting that leads us to the Lord in this
sacrament. Confession of sin to the priest is an external
sign that our internal sorrow is genuine. Confession
assures our sincerity, makes us openly humble in front
of the Lord and demonstrates faith in our Lord’s saving
touch.
6.
Confession of sin can be difficult to us sometimes.
No one denies this. However, confession of sin is a clear
sign of our trust in the Lord and a convincing symbol to
us that we sincerely have sorrow for our sins. In facing
up to our sin, we in fact, take it to the Lord for his
healing touch. To speak the sin is to face-up to it and to
mean the expression of sorrow behind it. In fact.
Psychologists claim that verbally expressing our deeply
hidden problems and inclinations is essential to the
healing process. So, too, in the sacrament of
reconciliation. Examining our inner heart and externally
accusing ourselves should, furthermore, should always
be made in light of God’s loving mercy. We confess
because we know that He loves us and wants us to face
up the truth about ourselves. The priest can help us
when we confess our sins, too. Through spiritual
counselling and encouragement he can embody our
Lord’s forgiveness, concern and love.
7. 3. Act of Penance (Satisfaction)
True conversion leads to act of penance satisfaction for
the sins committed: turning away from our older way of
conduct and repairing any harm done. The penances
assigned by the priest should fit the penitent, the harm
done and the spiritual sickness that needs curing. We
should not view this act of penance as burden, rather we
should be grateful to God that we have the opportunity
to repair the damage our sins did. We should also thank
God for the opportunity they afford us to be
compassionate and generously involved. By performing
the- prayers, good acts and etc.- we can help to put the
sin behind us and we can once again get on the road of
following the Lord.
8. 4. Absolution
The words of absolution recited by the priest are the prayer
of the church to God for the sinner. The words are a visible
sign of the Father’s loving forgiveness. They reassure the
contrite penitent that God’s forgiveness has definitely
forgiven. They are joyful, faith-filled words of Christ’s love
for us.
As we saw in our discussion on the Council of Trent,
Catholics are obligated to confess by number and kind
every mortal sin they remember committing. However we
are required by the church to receive this sacrament as a
helpful remedy for lesser sins. The sacrament is a powerful
reminder to all sinners—grave and less serious– that our
goal as individuals ad as a community is to conform
ourselves to Christ. The true test of whether this conformity
takes place is whether we grow in service to both God and
neighbor.
9. Effects of Penance
the restoration or increase of sanctifying grace;
the forgiveness of sins;
the remission of the eternal punishment, if necessary,
and also of part, at least, of the temporal punishment,
due to our sins;
the help to avoid sin in future;
the restoration of the merits of our good works if they
have been lost by mortal sin.
