Sacrament of Reconciliation

Question: Why do we need the sacrament of reconciliation? Why should we go to a priest, who is in fact a human, to ask for forgiveness? Isn’t asking God directly enough?

Answer: It is enough IF our relationship with God is not fragile. But God give us a sacrament (an outward gesture that confers inner grace) that will restore our soul to its peace whenever we need it, simply because he knows we tend to fall into sin as often as possible so long as we are in the world.

Consider Luke chapter 15 in the Parable of the Lost Sheep, Lost Coin, and Lost Son. In the Lost Sheep, God is pictured as the owner of a hundred sheep who lost one and went out to find it. …there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. (Lk. 15:7 and 10)

It is a different case though for the Parable of the Lost Son. In the story, God is pictured like a father who patiently waited for his youngest son to come home from his journey. He waited patiently everyday, and when he saw him, his father was filled with compassion for him, ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. (Lk 15:20)

So, God both seeks and waits. We know he waits for us patiently in heaven, ‘waiting’ for us to come back and ask for forgiveness. But how does he seek us? Through the Church of course, for Jesus mandated the Church to forgive sins on his behalf, before he ascended to heaven. In Luke 5:24, Jesus specifically mentioned that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins, this means the sins is being forgiven here and now, not only in heaven! Again in Luke 7: 48, Jesus forgave the sins of a sinful woman, calling to her “Your sins are forgiven…your faith has saved you, go in peace” (Lk.48-50)

The most explicit word that Jesus uttered concerning this wonderful sacrament is also in Gospel Luke 10: 16: “He who listens to you listens to me; he who rejects you rejects me”.

Notice there is a pattern here. The people who came for healing must have the faith that they will be healed. But they must be willing to come forward to Jesus’ invitation (Lk.13:12) as well, and their faith will heal them. But is their infirmities the only thing that he heals? Time and time again, when Jesus heals someone, a big change came into the lives of the person healed. So, aside from their sickness, he also heals their wounded soul. The soul is wounded due to the terrible effects of sins, pain that was caused by rejection of people around them and separation from God that was caused by the impurity of the soul.

The Catholic Church is the Body of Christ, so therefore those who are the Church, namely us are the Body of Christ. So, when we sin, we sin against the Body of Christ, and therefore must come before the Church to see forgiveness. Confession also cleanses our conscience and restores grace to us. Remember the metaphor about us being cups that receives God’s blessings? Well, when we sin, the cup becomes dirtied and unworthy or cannot receive the grace which God wants to impart to us. Therefore, we must clean the inside of the cup and then the outside will be clean too (Matt. 23: 26). Only after that then, can the grace be inferred to us freely.

Apostle James could not be make it any clearer about the role of confessions than when he wrote,”Is anyone of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord…Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed”. (Jms. 5: 14-15)

The formulae to which the sins are forgiven are these:

“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 (CCC 1449)

Notice the word through and I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. The priest is not the ONE who forgives the sins! It is the Holy Spirit, who was sent among us for the forgiveness of sins, which are in fact healing and forgiving through the mouth and actions of the priest.

So, how often should we go to confession?

The answer is as often as we can, but minimum at least once a year (CCC 1457 – 1458) as per required to every Christian who had attained the age of discretion. There is no limit to how many times we go to confess, as long as the confession is done with a sincere heart to make a good confession. A good confession is done with contrite heart, a resolve not to sin again, and a desire to make amend for those who are affected by the sins done by the penitent.

Definition of types of sins:

Mortal Sin: For a sin to be a mortal sin, 3 things are necessary.

1.) The matter must be serious. It is not a sin to tell childish lies; it is a mortal sin to hurt another’s reputation with a lie, etc.
2.) The offender must know that what he/she is doing is wrong, seriously wrong. A person cannot sin through ignorance.
3.) Finally, a person cannot commit a mortal sin unless he freely chooses the action or omission which God has forbidden. You cannot commit a mortal sin if someone forces you to commit the act. You cannot commit a sin by accident, like if you unintentionally bump into someone and knock him down and fracture his skull. Nor can you commit sin in your sleep, no matter how evil your dream might be.

Venial Sin: A sin which is less serious than the mortal ones. The word venial is from the Latin word venia, which means forgiveness. Venial sins are readily forgivable by God, even without the Sacrament of Penance; a genuine act of sorrow and purpose of amendment will suffice for forgiveness. No number of venial sins will ever add up to a mortal sin, but carelessness about venial sin will surely pave the way for mortal sin. If we keep saying yes to little things, we shall end up saying yes when a really big temptation comes along. For one who truly loves God, a habitual resolution will be to avoid all deliberate sin, venial as well as mortal.