Healing both of soul and body has always been part of the Christian

concern. During his life, Jesus spent much time healing the sick and befriending the sinner. The

church today continues this healing mission of Christ through the Sacrament of the Anointing of

the sick and the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION

Commonly called the sacrament of confession and penance. One of the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church and sacred mysteries of the Orthodoxy in which faithful obtain Divine mercy for the sins committed against God and the neighbor and are reconciled with the community of the Church

( Vatican II, Lumen Gentium)

VATICAN II’s View of Confession

Confession- stresses the importance of acknowledging our sins while asking for God’s forgiving grace.

Sacrament of penance- emphasize rather the whole process of conversion, including contrition, repentance and satisfaction.

Sacrament of Reconciliation- brings out the inner relationship between being reconciled with God and with our neighbor.

Marks of Sacrament

Sacraments are: an outward sign of an inward grace

Absolution or forgiveness of sins that the

priest grants to the penitent

The Reconciliatio

n of the penitent to

God

Purpose

RECONCILING OF MAN TO GOD

To repent and ask for God’s forgiveness and that grace can be restored and resist sins

What are required?

He must be contrite – or in other words sorry for his sins.

He must confess those sins fully, in kind and in number.

He must be willing to do penance and make amends for his sins

How often should you go to Confession?

A good rule of the thumb is to go once per month.

To go to confession even if we are aware of venial sin only.

Frequently during lentLent-40 days penitential season

before Easter

HISTORY OF SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION

Dates back to the New Testament and the time of Jesus

3 major periods in its developmentEarly Christian PenanceTariff penanceIndividual Confessions

EARLY CHRISTIAN PENANCE

from Apostolic times till 6-7 centuryThere are 3 major phases

From the beginning of the Church till the middle of the 2nd Century

3rd Century canonical penance Canonical penance between 4th

and 6th Century

1. From the beginning of the Church till the middle of the 2nd

Century All writings of that period like

the Shepherd of Hermas, Didache or Letters of St. Ignance of Antioch - show that grave sins were not rare among Christians.

Cyrille Vogel - collected a list of twelve major sins named in the new testament and the apostolic fathers writings.

12 Major Sins Impurity: adultery, fornication,

pederasty, concupiscence, impure language

Murder Idolatry Sorcery, magic Avarice Theft Envies: jealousy, greed, love of

vain glory, hatred

Lies: false witness, perjury, hypocrisy, slander

Spite: anger, rebellion, argument, perverseness , bad temper, gossips, insults, injustice, deceitfulness, vanity, arrogance

Fickleness and insanity Drunkenness and

intemperance

Christians in the early communities ways of obtaining

forgiveness Practicing deeds of

penance:PrayerTears and prostrationsFasting Alms giving

Confession was pronounced always in the beginning of liturgies especially Eucharist.

After committing grave sins, he/she was denied access to the Eucharistic table.

He/she would do proportionate penance

Prescribed by the head of the local church. (ex. Bishop)

“public penance”, wearing sackcloth and ashes.

Public confession.

2. 3rd Canonical penance

Hippolytus of Rome criticized the popes for being too easy to accept grave sinners back to the communion of the church

3. Canonical penance between 4th and 6th Century

It was called canonical penance because special canons were issued by regional, local church councils on dealing with the public penance

Acts of ancient councils like:Penitents have no access to Eucharistic

communion- until bishop reconciled him with the community of the church. (canon 29 of the council of Epaone)

TARIFF PENANCE

From 7th Century till 12th-13th CenturyNew approach of the Christianity to the practice of penance .Council of Chalon-sur-Saone-- diocesan bishop prescribed penance to a sinner as many times as he or she would fall into sin. Penitential practices consist of: Confession, Acceptance of satisfaction fixed by the priest, and reconciliationPenitential books were provided.

INDIVIDUAL CONFESSION

From 12th century onwardsIn 1215 the Fourth Century of the Lateran- every catholic Christian goes to confession at least once a year.Council of Trent, in 1907,in lamentabili become so standardized, priest were given list of sins with corresponding penances prescribed by the book.In the 20th Century during the Vatican 2- Pope John Paul II began a fostering and renewing on this sacrament.In 1984he issued ‘Reconciliatio et Paenitentia which cited Mark 1:15

“Repent and Believe in the gospel”

PROCESS OF TOTAL CONVERSION Conversion on the Bible

“conversion” – life-long process of moving toward closer union with Christ, our Savior in his community

Away from sinful ways and habits

Repentance and turning back to God

OLD TESTAMENT

3 themesConversion of the heartRadical change in behaviorSharp realization that it is God who effects true conversion

NEW TESTAMENT

Jesus continued and deepened this call to the same process

Jesus drew sinners into a process of conversion

Example: The parable of Prodigal son or the Forgiving father

DIMENSION OF TOTAL CHRISTIAN

CONVERSION Moral Conversion – turning away from the

self-centered pursuit of satisfying our own egotistical needs and toward loving service of others.

Affective conversion- overcoming the temptations, prejudices, exaggerated amor propio, over sensitivity, hatred and pride.

Intellectual conversion- understanding and judging the basic meaning and value of ourlives

Religious conversion- “falling in-love with God”.

UNDERSTANDING OF

SIN

Breaking God’s law, or our relationship with Him and others, or as going against

ones conscience.

DIMENSIONS

1. Reality- made up of the objective nature, intension, circumstances.

Sin as a moral reality is an attitude, an action of failure to act, or a power or force that leads us into evil.

Sin alienates, separates, makes us strangers from ourselves (intra-personal), neighbors (inter-personal), community (societal) and GOD.

OF

SIN

2. Structure Personal sin- within ones self Social sin- negative moral

attitudes and acts or failure to act that are common to a community or particular society.

Structural sin- refers to existing structures that condition society in a harmful and unjust way.

DEGREE Can be:

Grave-hurt our relationship to God in a serious way, and must be confessed in the sacrament of Penance or Reconciliation.

Venial-(from “venia”- pardon or forgiveness)are excusable sin which do not involve the person’s fundamental freedom nor lead to spiritual death.

Mortal- a sin which leads to death, the loss of true or “eternal life” – “exclude from the kingdom of God”. Turning away from God.

CELEBRATING THE SACRAMENT(NEW EMPHASES)

The New rite of Penance (1973) 3 different rites of reconciliation

Revising the traditional rite “individual penitents” Several penitents with individual confession and

absolution Several penitents with general confession and

absolution

More communal and less individualistic More liturgical and less legalistic More focus on the on-going conversion process Focuses on the necessity of the inner conversion of

heart

Celebrating the New Rite The priest and penitent should first

prepare themselves by prayer to celebrate the sacrament.

After making the sign of the cross the priest welcomes the penitent warmly with : “may the lord Jesus welcome you. He came to call sinners not the just. Have confidence in Him”

Short reading from scripture Penitents confession of sins and

acceptance of a penance.( priest would offer suitable counsel)

The penitent prays an act of contrition and the resolution of amendment, asking for God’s pardon.

The priest confessor would extend his hand over the head of the penitent and pronounce the word of absolution:

“God the Father of Mercies,Through the death and resurrection of his son

Has reconciled the world to HimselfAnd 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.”

Penitent answers: AMEN.

EFFECTS OF SACRAMENTS The basic effect is reconciliation with God

and the Christian community, the church. Those who by graves him have withdrawn

from the communion of love with God are called back to the life they have lost.

Draws strength to overcome their daily weaknesses and gain the full freedom of the children of God.

Become more closely conformed to Christ and to follow more attentively the voice of the Holy Spirit.

INDULGENCES

Is the remission of temporal punishment for sin in response to certain prayers or spiritual works.

Kinds of indulgences Partial indulgence –removes part of the

temporal punishment due to sinPlenary indulgence- removes all

temporal punishment due to sin○Receive the Sacrament of

Reconciliation○Receive Holy Communion

TWO EFFECTS:

It destroys our communion with God, thus depriving us of eternal life.

But all sin also weakens and wounds our union with God and our relations with others and the community (temporal punishment).

“PUT AWAY YOUR MISDEEDS: CEASE DOING EVIL; LEARN TO DO GOOD. MAKE JUSTICE YOUR AIM; REDRESS THE WRONGED”

(ISAIAH 1:16)

Thanks for

listening!!!

Jeannette F. Santiago BSPT-2

Mae Ann P. Cabaddu BSPT-2

Mark Julius Hipolito

Emil Lagaduen

GROUP 4