Reconciliation

Reconciliation is one of the greatest gifts God has given us and he died so that we could receive it. When Jesus died on the cross he saved all people from original sin, but even now we continuously sin and need forgiveness when that happens. When we sin, it means that we have distanced ourselves from God and disrupted our relationship with him. We go to confession because through our sin we have separated ourselves from our church community and must restituite the situation, by confessing our sins and joining back into the communion of the church. Making a confession is actually quite simple. First, you go into the confessional and choose whether or not you want the priest to see who you are. The priest says hello and then asks how long it has been since your last confession. You respond and then continue on to tell your sins. When you are done you say your act of contrition and the priest tells you what your penance will be (what you have to do to make up for your sins). After that, the priest gives a blessing and dismisses you, and you have just made a confession. There are four elements to reconciliation are contrition, confession, satisfaction by penance, and Absolution. Contrition is the heartfelt sorrow and aversion for the sins that you committed. Confession is the external expression of sorrow and willingness to accept the consequences. Satisfaction by penance is offering recompense for the injustices that you caused. Lastly, absolution is forgiveness of the guilt associated with the action.