Reconciliation

Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them

Effects of the Reconciliation
--restores us to God's grace and intimate friendship
--reconciliation with God and the Church
--peace of conscience and spiritual consolation
--the remission of the eternal punishment due to mortal sin
--a greater power to face spiritual challenges

Because of human weakness, the new life in Christ which we receive in the Sacraments of Initiation, is often threatened by sin. God constantly reaches out to us to reconcile ourselves to him. Through the gifts of the Church, Jesus, our divine physician, has given us the Sacrament of Reconciliation - for the forgiveness of sins.

"As the Father has sent me, so I send you...Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained." Jn 20:21-23

The Lord Jesus Christ, physician of our souls and our bodies...has willed that his Church continue, in the power of the Holy spirit, his work of healing and salvation. CCC, no 1421

In this Sacrament, the priest acts in the person of Christ, the Head of the Church, to reconcile the sinner to both God and the Church. When he celebrates this Sacrament, the priest is fulfilling the ministry of the Good Shpherd who seeks the lost sheep...the priest is the sign and instrument of God's merciful love for the sinner.

The Sacrament of Penance is an experience of the gift of God's boundless mercy. Not only does it free us from our sins but it also challenges us to have the same kind of compassion and forgiveness for those who sin against us. We are liberated to be forgivers.
-The United States Catholic Catechism for Adults

Preparing for and receiving this Sacrament

A Guide For Confession
In order to be forgiven, we need to have sorrow for our sins. This means turning away from evil and turning to God. It includes the determination to avoid such sins in the future. We are asked to look into our souls and, with an honest and unblinking gaze, identify our sins.

In confession, by naming our sins before the priest, who represents Christ, we face our failings more honestly and accept responssibility for our sins. When we have examined our consciences and have taken responsibility for our sins, we then confess them to the priest.

After we confess our sins to the priest, we are given some encouragement from the priest for our moral and spiritual growth.
The priest then gives us a penance and asks us to say an Act of Contrition. Then the priest grants absolution, that is, he sets us free from our sins, using the power that Christ entrusted to the Church.

A clean heart create for me, God
Psalm 51:12

Exam. of Conscience for Children
Exam. of Conscience for Young Adults
Exam. of Conscience for Single People'
Exam. of Conscience for Married Persons

Reconcilation room is in the back of church, to the right as you enter.

Behind the screen or face-to-face

Reconciliation at St. Mary is offered Monday evenings from 5pm to 6:45pm or anytime
by appointment with Fr. Charles | 624-2228

An Act of Contrition
O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended you and I detest all my sins, because I dread the loss of heaven and the pains of hell. But most of all because I have offended you, my God, who are all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve with the help of your grace, to confess my sins, to do penance and to amend my life. Amen.

Communal Reconciliation Services

Take place at St. Mary on a Sunday afternoon during Advent and Lent

The Sacrament of Penance must be seen within the context of conversion from sin and a turn to God. Peter wept bitterly over his triple denial of Christ but
received the grace of conversion and expressed it with a threefold confession of love for Jesus (cf. Lk 22:54-62; Jn 21:15-19). Paul was converted from persecuting Christians to becoming one of the greatest disciples of Christ who ever lived (cf. Acts 9:1-31). These moments of conversion were only the beginning of their lifelong commitment to living in fidelity to the Gospel of
Jesus Christ.

Sin harms our relationship with God and damages our communion with the Church. Conversion of heart is the beginning of our journey back to God. Liturgically
this happens in the Sacrament of Penance. In the history of the Church, this Sacrament has been celebrated in different ways. Beneath the changes, there have
always been two essentials: the acts of the penitent and the acts of Christ through the ministry of the Church. Both go hand in hand. Conversion must involve a change of heart as well as a change of actions. Neither is possible without God's grace.