Through the sacraments of Christian initiation (Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist), man receives the new life of Christ. This new life as a child of God can be weakened and even lost by sin. The Lord Jesus Christ has willed that the Church continue, in the power of the Holy Spirit, his work of healing and salvation. This is the purpose of the two sacraments of healing: the sacrament of Penance and the sacrament of Anointing of the Sick.
Those who approach the sacrament of Penance obtain pardon from God's mercy for the offense committed against him. This sacrament is also called the sacrament of confession, since the disclosure of confession of sins to a priest is an essential element of this sacrament. In a profound sense it is also a "confession" -acknowledgment and praise- of the holiness of God and of his mercy toward sinful man. It is called the sacrament of forgiveness, since by the priest's sacramental absolution God grants the penitent, "pardon and peace". It is also called the sacrament of Reconciliation, because it imparts to the sinner the love of God who reconciles: "Be reconciled to God". Foremost it is a call to conversation. It is called the sacrament of conversation because it makes sacramentally present Jesus' call to conversation, the first stop in returning to the Father (Mk 1:15;Lk 15:18) from whom one has strayed by sin.
The apostle John says, "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us" (1 Jn 1:8) and the Lord taught us to pray, "Forgive us our trespasses, " (Eph 1:4; 5:27) thus linking our forgiveness to one another's offenses to the forgiveness of our sins that God will grant us.
The interior penance of the Christian can be expressed in many and various ways. Scripture and the Fathers insist above all on three forms: fasting, prayer, and almsgiving (Tob 12:8; Mt 6:1-18). These forms of penance express conversation in relation to oneself, to God, and to others. Conversion is accomplished in daily life by gestures of reconciliation. Taking up one's cross each day and following Jesus is the surest way of penance. Daily conversion and penance find their source and nourishment in the Eucharist, for in it is made present the sacrifice of Christ which has reconciled us with God. The process of conversion and repentance was best described by Jesus in the parable of the prodigal son, the center of which is the merciful father. Only the heart of Christ who knows the depths of his Father's love could reveal to us the abyss of His mercy in so simple and beautiful a way (Lk 15:11-24).
Sin is before all else an offense against God, a rupture of communion with him. At the same time it damages communion with the church. Thus, this sacrament calls for conversation and entails both God's forgiveness and reconciliation with the church and is expressed and accomplished as the sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation.
During his public life, Jesus not only forgave sins, but also made plain the effect of this forgiveness: he reintegrated forgiven sinners into the community of People of God from which sin had alienated or even excluded. In imparting to his apostles his own power to forgive sins, the Lord also gives them the authority to reconcile sinners with the Church. This dimension of their task is expressed most notably in Christ's solemn words to Simon Peter, "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven" (Mt 16:19; Mt 18:18, 28:16-20) The office of binding and loosing which was given to Peter was also assigned to the college of the apostles. Over the centuries the concrete form in which the Church has exercised this power received from the Lord has varied considerably. During the first centuries the reconciliation of Christians who had committed particularly grave sins after Baptism was tied to a very rigorous discipline according to which penitents had to do public penance for their sins, often for years before receiving reconciliation. However, during the seventh century the "private" practice of penance was recognized. From that time, the sacrament has been performed in secret between penitent and priest in the hopes of repetition for the penitent.
"Sorrow of the soul and detestation for the sin committed, together with the resolution not to sin again" is the definition of contrition. Contrition occupies the first place in the penitent's action towards conversion. The reception of this sacrament ought to be prepared for by an examination of conscience made in the light of the Word of God best found in the Ten Commandments, the Gospels, and the apostolic Letters (Mt 5-7; 1 Cor 12-13; Eph 4-6 etc). Many sins wrong our neighbor and we must do what is possible in order to repair the harm. Simple justice requires as much. But sin also injures and weakens the inner self as well as the relationship with God. Absolution takes away sin, but it does not remedy all the disorders sin has caused. The penitent must make satisfaction for or expiate his sins: this satisfaction is called "penance".
Since Christ entrusted to his apostles the ministry of reconciliation (Jn 20:23; 2 Cor 5:18), bishops who are their successors, and priests, the bishops' collaborators, continue to exercise this ministry. Forgiveness of sins brings reconciliation with God, but also with the Church. Given the delicacy and greatness of this ministry and the respect due to persons, the Church declares that every priest who hears confessions is bound under very severe penalties to keep absolute secrecy regarding the sins that his penitents have confessed to him. This secret, which admits of no exceptions, is called the "sacramental seal" because what the penitent has made known to the priest remains "sealed" by the sacrament. Reconciliation with God is thus the purpose and effect of this sacrament. For those who receive the sacrament of Penance with a contrite heart and religious disposition, reconciliation is usually followed by peace and serenity of conscience with strong spiritual consolation.
(Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraphs 1422-1498)
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