Pastor's Corner

In the earliest times of the Church, Baptism was viewed as the sacrament that forgave sin.  Through the preaching and witness of the Church, individuals came to know how much God loves us in his Son, Jesus Christ.  They came to understand that God sent his Word into the world by taking flesh through the Virgin Mary.  God, in the Person of his Son, Jesus Christ freely suffered for us and sacrificed himself for us by dying on the cross.  By his Passion and death on the cross, the forgiveness of sins was made available to all.  Through his resurrection, Christ conquered sin and death and gave us the promise and hope of eternal life.  This is the Good News that was proclaimed to the world by the Apostles and disciples.
Once evangelized, that is accepting salvation through Christ’s passion, death, and resurrection, individuals were then baptized.  In the waters of Baptism, they died with Christ and rose to new life with all their sins forgiven.  Baptism restored the Divine Life in the baptized that was lost by the sin of Adam and Eve.  The baptized were restored to the right relationship with God.  Incorporated into the Body of Christ, the Church, St. Paul says that we have “received a spirit of adoption, through which we cry, Abba, “Father!” (Romans 8:15)

However, it was not long before the Church realized that people still sinned after Baptism and severed their relationship with God and the Church.  The Church found it necessary to help people be reconciled with God and the Church after Baptism.  The Sacrament of Penance was described by the Fathers of the Church as “the second plank [of salvation] after the shipwreck which is the loss of grace.” (CCC #1446)  For people who wished to be reconciled with God and the Church, there arose the practice of enrolling them in the Order of Penitents.  Those that were admitted to the Order of Penitents were guilty of very grave sins.  These grave sins included murder, adultery, idolatry, and apostasy.  While these individuals confessed their sins to the bishop or one of his priests, their sins were also sometimes confessed before the community.  As a penitent, they could not worship with the assembly but had a separate place in the church where they did penance.  The penances they did included almsgiving or works of charity, prayer, and fasting. These practices were gleaned from chapter six in the Gospel of Matthew.  Moreover, penitents were sometimes required to do penance for years before being reconciled.  After completing their penance, their reconciliation with God and the Church often occurred on Holy Thursday. 

Over the centuries, the Church came to understand that the public and communal practices of penance were too rigorous for most people.  In the Middle Ages, Irish missionaries took to continental Europe the “private” practice of penance, which does not require public and prolonged completion of penitential works before reconciliation with the Church.  From that time on, the sacrament has been performed in secret between penitent and priest. This new practice envisioned the possibility of repetition and so opened the way to a regular frequenting of this sacrament.  It also allowed the forgiveness of grave
sins and venial sins to be integrated into one sacramental celebration. (CCC #1447)

Penance was officially recognized by the Church as one of the seven sacraments in 1439 in the Decree for the Armenians, at the Council of Florence.  By this time, the seven sacraments were described as having “form” and “matter.”  For the sacrament of Penance, the Church says that the “form” for Penance are the words of absolution pronounced by the priest acting in persona Christi capitis.  The formula is:

God the Father of mercies, through the death and resurrection of his Son has
reconciled the world to himself and sent the Holy Spirit among us for
the forgiveness of sins; through the ministry of the Church may God give
you pardon and peace, and I absolve you from your sins in the name of
the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. (OP #46)

The Church recognizes contrition, the confession of sins, and satisfaction as the acts of the penitent.  These constitute the “quasi-matter” of the Sacrament of Penance.  The person who acknowledges their sin and is sorry for them, confesses them to the priest and makes satisfaction for them, experiences forgiveness of their sins by the absolution given by the priest.

The sacrament of Penance along with the other six sacraments was reformed by decree of the Second Vatican Council.  The reconciliation of individual penitents continues to be the usual experience of Penance for members of the Church.  However, the reform of Penance also envisions reconciliation of several penitents with individual confession and absolution.  This form seeks to recapture the communal nature of the sacrament by hearing God’s Word and acknowledging our sinfulness as a community.

Jesus announces: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel.” (Mk 1;15)  We are called by Christ every day to the conversion of heart.  This is a process that continues our entire lives.  Let us not be afraid to take advantage of this sacrament of God’s mercy.

 

The reformed rite of the Sacrament of Penance was promulgated in 1975 by Pope Paul VI.  Even though the reformed rite has been with us for nearly fifty years, many places still do not celebrate this Sacrament according to the revised rite. This is the case here in our parish as well.  Last week we had a brief overview of the development of Penance.  This short catechesis on the Sacrament of Penance should help us to appreciate the importance of this sacrament of spiritual healing and enable us to implement fully the reformed rite in our parish. 
“Christ instituted the sacrament of Penance for all sinful members of his Church: above all for those who, since Baptism, have fallen into grave sin, and have thus lost their baptismal grace and wounded ecclesial communion.” (CCC #1446)  Christ gave the power to forgive sins in his name and reconcile sinners when he told 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 lose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Mt. 16:19)  In order for us to experience God’s love and mercy in the sacrament of Penance, let us examine what is necessary in order to make a good confession.
In preparing for a good confession, it is important that we confess all our mortal sins that we are conscious of.  In chapter five of the First Letter of John, we hear: “There is such a thing as deadly sin, about which I do not say that you should pray.  All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not deadly.” (1 John 5: 16-17) This is the basis of the Church’s teaching on mortal and venial sins.  In the earliest centuries of the Church, the sins that were considered deadly were Murder, Adultery, Apostasy, and Idolatry.  Deadly or mortal sins sever our relationship with God completely.  These sins must be repented of and confessed in the Sacrament of Penance to be absolved.  While the Church encourages the confession of venial sins, it is not absolutely necessary.  Venial sins can be forgiven outside of the sacrament of Penance by sincere repentance.  Venial sins are also forgiven in the Penitential Act at the beginning of Mass if we are sincerely sorry for them.
On the part of the penitent, there are three dimensions of the Sacrament.  They are known as the Acts of the Penitent. These three dimensions are contrition, confession, and an act of satisfaction or penance.  One begins the process of making a good confession when one experiences metanoia or a change of heart.  This change of direction in our lives indicates that we repent of our sins, are sorry for our sins, and desire to turn back to God.  As we turn back to God in repentance, we make a thorough examination of conscience. This is done primarily by reviewing the Ten Commandments and by reflecting on the many sins that relate to each commandment.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church gives excellent guidance in helping us understand the many ways it is possible to break each commandment.  
After our conversion of heart or metanoia, the second step involves the confessing of our sins to the priest during the celebration of the sacrament of Penance.  After examining our consciences in light of the commandments, we name our sins and should also tell the priest how many times we have committed each grave sin to the best of our recollection.
Having confessed our sins, the priest will give a penance.  This can be prayer, works of charity, or fasting.  The priest then, acting in the Person of Christ the Head, imparts absolution to the penitent.  Afterward, the penitent carries out the penance the priest imposed.  The penance we do after confession helps the penitent heal spiritually and mitigates the temporal punishment due to sin.  As the catechism reminds us “absolution takes away sin, but it does not remedy all the disorders sin has caused.” (CCC #1459)
The Church also reminds us that we are required to confess our grave or serious sins at least once a year. (CIC # 989; CCC # 1457) Advent and Lent are particularly good times to take advantage of the sacrament of Penance as we prepare for Christmas and Easter. However, the Church and many of the spiritual masters recommend celebrating the Sacrament of Penance about once a month especially if one is serious about growing in holiness.

 

We have examined the development of the Sacrament of Penance and have also looked at the what a penitent must do to prepare to celebrate the sacrament efficaciously. Now let us turn to the actual revised Rite of Penance and see what the rite envisions. 
The Rite begins with the Penitent saying and making the Sign of the Cross.  It is noteworthy to mention that the Penitent does not say, “Bless me Father, for I have sinned.”  The priest then says: “May God, who has enlightened every heart, help you to know your sins and trust in his mercy,”  or he may choose from several other options in the ritual. The penitent answers: Amen.
Then there may follow a short scripture reading. The Second Vatican Council put a great stress on the Word of God in the celebration of all the sacraments. Article 24 from the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy says: “Sacred scripture is of the greatest importance in the celebration of the liturgy.” The reading of scripture, while optional, should be considered a very important element of the celebration of Penance.  The rite gives a number of short options.  One of these options is:
Listen to what the Lord says to us: “If you forgive men their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you.  But if you do not forgive men, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.” (Mt 6:14-15)
Another short option is:
After John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the Gospel of God: “This is the time of fulfillment. The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel. (Mk 1:14-15)
The different options for the short readings will be rotated through the liturgical seasons.
The penitent then confesses his/her sins.  It is important that the penitent understand that the celebration of this sacrament is not a time for extended counseling, but only for confessing and naming the sins they have committed.  Afterward, the priest imposes a penance and asks the penitent to make an Act of Contrition.  There are several options for the Prayer of the Penitent or Act of Contrition.  We will be providing the two following options that the penitent may choose: The first choice is:
“My God, I am sorry for my sins with all my heart. In choosing to do wrong and failing to do good, I have sinned against you whom I should love above all things.  I firmly intend, with your help, to do penance, to sin no more, and to avoid whatever leads me to sin. Our Savior Jesus Christ suffered and died for us. In his name, my God, have mercy.”  
The second option is:
“Lord Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”
The priest then gives the absolution.  The formula of absolution is:
God, the Father of mercies, through the death and resurrection of his Son has reconciled the world to himself and sent the Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sins; through the ministry of the Church may God give you pardon and peace, and I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, + and of the Holy Spirit.
The penitent responds to the words of absolution with Amen.
The celebration of the Sacrament concludes with the priest saying: “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.”  The Penitent answers: “His mercy endures for ever.”  The priest may dismiss the penitent with several options, but the first choice is: “The Lord has freed you from your sins. Go in peace.”
Let us be patient as we strive to implement the Rite of Penance given in the ritual book.  The Rite of Penance will be posted in the confessional to help us participate with confidence.