Information About Penance

Sacrament of
Penance
Pictures :
Etymology or Meaning:
OLD
LA T I N LA T I N ENGLISH
paenitere
be sorry paenitentia
repentance penance
The word paenitentia includes not merely sorrow for sin and change of heart, but also
penance, or the penalty inflicted by authority, and is used in such phrases as penitentiam agere or
facere, it has been necessary in the translation of the De Penitentia to vary the English terms, and
to use sometimes repentance, sometimes penance.
Sacrament of Penance consecrates the Christian sinner’s personal and ecclesial steps of
conversion, penance and satisfaction. It is also known as the Sacrament of Confession, since the
disclosure or confession of sins to a priest is an essential element of this sacrament. It is an
experience of the gift of God's boundless mercy.
Reconciliation (also known as confession or Penance) is a sacrament instituted by Jesus

Christ in his love and mercy to offer sinners forgiveness for offenses committed against God. At
the same time, sinners reconcile with the Church, because it is also wounded by our sins. In
confession, we have the opportunity to repent and recover the grace of friendship with God. It is
a holy moment in which we place ourselves in his presence and honestly acknowledge our sins,
especially mortal sins. With absolution, we are reconciled to God and the Church. The
Sacrament helps us stay close to the truth that we cannot live without God. It is the Sacrament of
Reconciliation that is the unique Sacrament of mercy.
Scriptural Passage:
1 John 1:9: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us
from all unrighteousness.
In 1 John 1:9, we are invited to confess our sins so that God will forgive us. The first
step in healing this brokenness is by confessing our sin and agreeing with God that what we
did was wrong. So while God unconditionally extends forgiveness (charizomai) to all people,
and so we are all forgiven for all our sins, if we want to actually experience a release (aphesis)
from our bondage to sin, the first step is to agree (confess) with God that we have sinned. If we
do this, we will gain release from our slavery to sin, and He will work to cleanse us and purify us
from all our unrighteous practices and in this way, our fellowship with God will develop and
grow.
This is the message of 1 John 1:9. If we agree with God when He points out your sin, He
is faithful and just and will help release you from this sin, and will help guide you into all the
ways of righteousness. This way of living will help us grow in friendship with God and others.
Romans 3:23: All have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God
Through the redemption of Jesus Christ, we are being justified freely by His grace. This
scriptural passage shows the importance of recognizing our own sinfulness and our need for
God’s redeeming grace is become the kind of person we aspire to be. In this verse, which is a
part of a letter written by the Apostle Paul to the Christian church in Rome, illustrates that since
the fall of Adam, all mankind has become accursed, and as a result, has committed acts
tantamount to sin, and has therefore made the full glory of God impossible to realize in this life.
Practice during the Early Church
In various places in the early Church, confession was public because they were being persecuted
at that time, and that was their way of being strong witnesses to their faith and strengthening
each other’s faith in the midst of persecution.
It seems in most cases, it wasn’t a public confession of sins, but only a public penance. The
priest or bishop would only require the sinner to confess a mortal sin publicly if it involved
creating scandal for someone else or the Church overall. If a person commits a grave sin, he or
she should ask the bishop for penance. Also, this sacrament can be only done once in a lifetime
during the Early Church.
The early Christians took their faith more seriously than us. They were being killed right and left
for their faith, so they figured if someone committed a mortal sin, or left the faith completely, it
should take an act of public penance for them to be reinstated. After all, if the martyrs were
willing to die for this faith, then it seemed that the least the apostates and worst sinners could do
is publicly repent of their sins.
Effects of the Sacrament

The spiritual effects of the sacrament of Penance are:
- reconciliation with God by which the penitent recovers grace;
- reconciliation with the Church;
- remission of the eternal punishment incurred by mortal sins;
- remission, at least in part, of temporal punishments resulting from sin;
- peace and serenity of conscience, and spiritual consolation;
- an increase of spiritual strength for the Christian battle.
Minister
When he celebrates the sacrament of Penance, the priest is fulfilling the ministry of the Good
Shepherd who seeks the lost sheep, of the Good Samaritan who binds up wounds, of the Father
who awaits the prodigal son and welcomes him on his return, and of the just and impartial judge
whose judgment is both just and merciful. The priest is the sign and the instrument of God's
merciful love for the sinner.
Recipients : everyone
Formula
“God, the Father of mercies,
through the death and the 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.”
Sources:
Pictures:
http://fatherbroom.com/blog/2015/09/setting-captives-freeconfession/
https://www.stpaulcatholicparish.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?
uREC_ID=320339&type=d&pREC_ID=729010
https://www.pinterest.ph/pin/799389002578715767/
Etymology or Meaning:
https://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p2s2c2a4.htm
https://www.stpaulcatholicparish.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?
uREC_ID=320339&type=d&pREC_II=729010
Practice during the Early Church:

https://medium.com/@chrisantenucci/a-history-of-the-use-of-the-sacrament-of-reconciliation-in-
the-early-church-8d0eaf275faf
https://www.oca.org/questions/sacramentconfession/confessing-in-the-presence-of-a-priest
https://angelusnews.com/voices/a-hushed-history-of-catholic-confessions/
Minister, Recipients and Formula:

https://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p2s2c2a4.htm
https://epdf.pub/catechism-for-filipino-catholics-cfc.html

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Sacrament of

Reconciliation (also known as confession or Penance) is a sacrament instituted by Jesus

Effects of the Sacrament

Practice during the Early Church:

Minister, Recipients and Formula:

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