Reconciliation

Reconciliation renews, restores, and strengthens our relationship with God and the community after it has been damaged by sin. The act of reconciliation is when the priest, who is the ordinary minister, forgives our sins, mortal and venial, through the power of God. Jesus forgave sinners in His time and gave the power to forgive to His apostles. The power has been passed on through generations given to the priests. Reconciliation, also called Penance, is a sacrament of conversion because it sets our journey back towards God after we have sinned. It is a sacrament of confession because the sinners confess their sins to the priest. Penance is a sacrament of forgiveness because we are forgiven, if we are truly sorry, by the priest's absolution. Through the act of reconciliation, we are shown that God's love has no limits. In the most basic description, reconciliation is when people confess their sins after they examined their conscience to a priest who gives us an absolution that binds us back to Christ. We go to confession because when we confess our sins to the priest, we are really confessing our sins to the community and are forgiven by everyone. We are the Body of Christ who needs to stay together. I have some pins that show community since we are one. We need to confess our mortal sins, that requires long and difficult time of penance, because we need to ask forgiveness from God and others. As a community we need to forgive others when they have done wrong. If one member of the Body of Christ hurts, we all hurt. We can use Jesus' example of forgiving as we see in the Bible. We see forgiveness of a woman caught in adultery, criminals on the cross, and the woman when dining with the Pharisee. Penance, as described by St. Thomas Aquinas, is both a sign and the cause of the sinner's forgiveness. As we receive God's grace, we turn to the sacrament with His love. When preparing for Penance, we need to examine our conscience. Think of all the sins you have committed and don't leave any out. Then when we walk into the confessional, we can sit in front of the priest or behind Him. We make the sign of the cross and say something like, "Forgive me Father, it has been (fill in blank) since my last confession. Then you say your confessions. The priest will not judge you and cannot tell anyone of your sins. We have the contrition, heartfelt sorrow and aversion for the sin committed. The confession is the external expression of our sorrow and our willingness to accept responsibility for damaging and breaking our covenant. The penance or satisfaction is offering recompense for injustices caused or working to rebuild what was lost. Prayers and good deeds done that lead us to conversion is what we need to do. Absolution forgives the guilt associated with the penitent's sins, and removes the eternal punishment associated with mortal sins. In a more basic term, we have to be sorry, make our confession, do our deeds or prayers, and receive God's grace for forgiveness. Reconciliation is like reaching for God's hand, as shown in one of my pins. I have many pins with Bible quotes that show us why and how to forgive. "Reconciliation is included in God's plan for the salvation of all, his desire for every person to be reconciled with him, and receive his gift of grace."