We continue our series tonight on the seven Sacraments of
the Catholic Church. We have done four
so far, in order; the Anointing of the Sick, Confirmation, Baptism, and the
Holy Eucharist. Tonight, we will do the
Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation, which like the Anointing of the Sick,
is what is known as a Sacrament of
Healing.
First off, you may recall, I have done a few posts already
on this Sacrament. You may wish to re-read one or more of them
after you read this post. Here are the
links to them:
https://jimscatholicblog.blogspot.com/2015/08/confession.html (which includes a discussion of the
availability of Confession at Saint Joseph the Worker Shrine)
The Catechism does a good job linking the Sacraments of
Initiation (Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist) to the Sacraments of Healing:
1420 Through the sacraments of Christian initiation, man receives the new life of Christ. Now we carry this life "in earthen vessels," and it remains "hidden with Christ in God." We are still in our "earthly tent," subject to suffering, illness, and death. This new life as a child of God can be weakened and even lost by sin.
1421 The Lord Jesus Christ, physician of our souls and bodies, who forgave the sins of the paralytic and restored him to bodily health, has willed that his Church continue, in the power of the Holy Spirit, his work of healing and salvation, even among her own members. This is the purpose of the two sacraments of healing: the sacrament of Penance and the sacrament of Anointing of the Sick.
You may have noticed I referred to this Sacrament by a
different name (Confession) in my previous blog posts on this topic. Indeed, there are different titles for this
great Sacrament. Again, it is wise to let the Catechism speak
for itself here in paragraph 1423:
It is called the sacrament of conversion because it makes sacramentally present Jesus'
call to conversion, the first step in returning to the Father5 from
whom one has strayed by sin.
It is called the sacrament of Penance, since it consecrates the Christian sinner's
personal and ecclesial steps of conversion, penance, and satisfaction.
It is called the sacrament of confession, since the disclosure or confession of sins to a
priest is an essential element of this sacrament. In a profound sense it is
also a "confession" - acknowledgment and praise - of the holiness of
God and of his mercy toward sinful man.
It is called the sacrament of forgiveness, since by the priest's sacramental absolution
God grants the penitent "pardon and peace."
It is called the sacrament of Reconciliation, because it imparts to the sinner the love
of God who reconciles: "Be reconciled to God."7He who
lives by God's merciful love is ready to respond to the Lord's call: "Go;
first be reconciled to your brother."
The fact that this Sacrament can be called different things
reveals that a lot goes on in the Sacrament, and it is very rich, indeed.
Since I have spoken about this Sacrament already, I will
make just a few points here, and then close.
1)
We do receive forgiveness of sins at Baptism, yes, but the effects of original sin remain, our concupiscence, or inclination
to sin, remains, and we have to continue to fight against that, even after
Baptism. This Sacrament provides the grace
to do that. We need grace to overcome the
power of sin.
2)
If we commit serious sin after Baptism, then we
fall out of a state of grace, and receiving the Sacrament is then necessary to
get back into a state of grace. If one
dies without being in a state of grace, one goes to hell. When
you think about it, this is all that matters in the end, dying in a state of
grace. We need this Sacrament as much as we need sun,
food, and water.
3)
The Sacrament is also strongly recommended even
when we have not seriously sinned, but only venially sinned. (See my blog post on the difference between mortal
and venial sin for more on this topic. I
think we commit mortal sin more than we think! https://jimscatholicblog.blogspot.com/2016/05/mortal-and-venial-sin.html
4) Some object to having to confess
their sins to a fellow human being, that they should only have to confess their
sins to God. Well, we can say in
response that we do confess our sins
to God when we confess them to the priest, and they are forgiven by God through the actions of the
priest. We can also say that Jesus gave some people (his apostles ) the
authority to forgive sins. Jesus is
God, so that means God gave some people the authority to forgive sins. Recall this beautiful scene from the Gospel of John which took place after
the Resurrection: “When
it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the
house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and
stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ After he said this, he showed them his
hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to
them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ When he had said this, he breathed on
them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If
you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of
any, they are retained.” (John 20:19-23)
It is God’s will that his mercy flow through the Church to the
world through the ministry of his Bishops, the successors of these first apostles, who
in turn have their ministry shared by their priests in their respective Dioceses
(more on this when we discuss the Sacrament of Holy Orders.)
5)
Does this mean God cannot forgive sins
in other ways? No. As it is said, God
has bound himself, to the Sacraments, but God himself is not bound to the
Sacraments. It is possible he can
forgive outside this Sacrament. God is all
powerful. However,
what we have spoken of tonight is the only way he has revealed
that he forgives sins. Furthermore, we
know for sure, because of what Our Lord said above, that when we confess our sins to a priest
and are truly sorry for them, we are guaranteed
to be forgiven. When we, on the other hand, ask God for forgiveness outside the Sacrament, how can we be
sure he forgives? Do we have special insight
into the mind of God? Do we know for sure our sins are forgiven? No, I would not want to take my chances by going
down another route for forgiveness of my sins besides the one he has revealed, the path
he has made known, with a guarantee of forgiveness. I urge none of you to take your chances,
either. Go to this Sacrament before it
is too late!
In closing, I will again turn to
the Catechism (p. 1496) for a summary of the effects of this 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.
- 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.
Peace. We hear it in those
words we just read from the Catechism, and we heard it from the Lord in the
passage we quoted earlier. That is what
this Sacrament gives. It gives us
peace. It gives peace of body, peace of
mind, and peace of soul. It can truly
give peace to the world if more of us would avail ourselves regularly of this
great treasure of the Church.
Joseph, lover of poverty, pray for
us.
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