What is the difference between penance and reconciliation

Celebration of reconciliation Celebration of reconciliation Author: Archdiocese of Brisbane. How do we celebrate reconciliation? There are three forms of the celebration of penance. Reconciliation for Individual Penitents Rite I This form is celebrated by an individual person in the presence of the priest.

A bible, a crucifix and candle are placed on a table in the centre of the space. The person may choose to sit facing the priest or to sit behind a screen and remain anonymous. The Rite begins with a greeting, followed by words of encouragement from the priest. The priest offers advice and gives a penance that is meant to help in starting a new life and to remedy any weakness.

The priest pronounces absolution and the rite concludes with a short thanksgiving. The grace we receive from the sacrament of confession helps us combat our faults and failings and break our habits of vice much more easily and expediently than we could otherwise do without the sacramental grace received in this sacrament. Confession brings us peace. A sense of shame and guilt for our sins can make us feel all mixed up inside and cause us to lose our peace and joy.

Confession makes our will stronger. Every time we experience the sacrament of confession, God strengthens our will and our self-control to be able to resist the temptations that confront us in our lives. Adapted from Catholics Come Home. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops offers guidelines and help on how to make a good confession.

Click here. Start with your local parish. Some parishes have regular weekly hours for reconciliation and others offer it more frequently. Some offer by appointment only. You don't have to belong to a parish to go to. To find a parish near you that offers reconciliation, click here. For information on how to prepare, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is a good place to start. All baptized Catholics are strongly encouraged to receive the sacrament of reconciliation regularly.

One of the precepts, or requirements, of the Church is to confess your sins at least once a year CCC The sacrament of Baptism washes away or original sin and any sins committed before baptism; the Sacrament of Penance forgives sins committed after baptism.

However, when we are conscious of a serious or mortal sin, we are bound by Jesus and the Church to go to confession. Ask yourself: If Jesus meant that we should not go to confession to a priest, that we should only confess privately in our room; what is the relevance of the singular action of Jesus bestowing on the Apostles and His Church the power to forgive and retain sins?

In truth, approached with a reverent attitude, the sacrament of penance is a sure guarantee our sins are forgiven. The doctrinal statement of the Council of Trent on the sacrament of penance DS , must be understood as an answer to certain precise questions that were actual in those days in the controversy with the Protestants.

This context and this intention are of great importance for the interpretation of the decree of Trent on the sacrament of penance. In the sixteenth century the questions relating to reconciliation and the sacrament of penance, which were the subject of controversy between Catholics and Protestants, were mainly concerned with the following points:.

In answer to these questions the Council of Trent taught the following points about sacramental confession:. It serves the spiritual good and salvation of man, and this without necessarily leading to the disturbance of conscience: on the contrary, the fruit of this sacrament is frequently peace of joy of conscience, and comfort of the soul DS , Despite the differences concerning the necessity of the confession of all mortal sins, there is a noteworthy consensus between the Council of Trent DS , and the basic writings of the Lutheran confession with regard to the spiritual fruits of the confession of sins and of absolution.

This is important in the ecumenical dialogue and can be a point of departure for discussions on differences that still remain. If not, the Church cannot accomplish the tasks assigned to it by Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit iure divino , viz. The integral confession of mortal sins, therefore, necessarily belongs to the sacrament of penance iure divino , and thus it is not left to the judgment of the individual or to the decision of the Church.

However, the Council of Trent does acknowledge the concept of a sacramental confession in voto DS For this reason, in extraordinary emergency situations in which such an integral confession is not possible, the Church can allow the postponement of the confession and grant the absolution individually or in a group general absolution , without previous confession. In such a situation the Church acts with the spiritual possibilities of the moment, but must see to it that mortal sins are confessed subsequently and must instruct the faithful about this obligation by appropriate means.

The Council of Trent does not itself pronounce on the nature and extent of these emergency situations. To solve difficult pastoral problems the extension, recommended by many, of the situations mentioned in the Normae pastorales of and in the Ordo paenitentiae is not the only possible solution.

For situations in which there is no copia confessorum DS the Council rather points to the efficacy of contrition for reconciliation, made perfect by love conditio , which grants reconciliation with God when it includes the votum sacramenti and hence the votum confessionis DS How the Church should proceed in this matter concretely on the basis of the doctrine of the Council of Trent is a question of pastoral prudence and love cf.

There are certain forms of penance in pre- and extrabiblical religion. They attest the presence in humanity of a primitive knowledge about guilt and the need of redemption. The Christian message of penance and reconciliation presupposes that once and for all penance and satisfaction have been made by Jesus Christ in the obedient ministry of his life and death on the Cross. Christian penance, therefore, is chiefly distinguished from the practice of penance in other religions by the fact that it lets itself be determined by the Spirit of Jesus Christ and brings it to expression under the signs of the personal attitude of penance and in bodily works of penance.

For this reason the Christian forms of penance must be animated at least inchoately and in nucleo by faith, hope, and love. Faith above all is the ground, the permanent center, and the principle of life for Christian penance. Hope gives the converted the firm confidence that he may proceed with God s help on the road of conversion and so attain eschatological salvation. From this comes a new way of living in community with God and with ones fellowmen cf. The praxis of confession, therefore, is, in the several forms of penance, a dynamic process with a coherent structure.

The pastoral education for and the catechesis of reconciliation must consequently keep in mind the whole as well as the balance of individual elements. Penance, although one, unfolds itself in a variety of ways. Holy Scripture and the Fathers stress the three basic forms that go together: fasting, praying, and charity Tob , referred to in DS Origen Hom. In the living Tradition of the Church, the reading of holy Scripture and the recital of the Our Father are added to this.

The ethical consequences of a new direction of life should not be forgotten: a change in ones living style, asceticism and manifold renouncement, acts of charity, works of mercy, expiation, and vicarious suffering.

The liturgical forms of the forgiveness of sins consist not only in penitential celebrations but also in meditation and prayer, the intercession of the Church, and the Liturgy of the Hours, in reading the meditation of holy Scripture, and in the celebration of the Eucharist cf. DS and below, C, IV, 1. In addition to the specifically sacramental forms of forgiveness of sins cf. The times and days of penance in the course of the liturgical year are more particular occasions on which the Church performs the ministry of penance.

Awareness of the wealth and multiplicity of the forms of penance has often grown dim. It must therefore be made stronger and receive attention both in preaching and in the pastoral practice of penance.

Isolating the sacrament of penance from the context of the entire Christian life, which is inspired by the spirit of reconciliation, leads to an atrophy of the sacrament itself. Narrowing down the ministry of reconciliation to only a few forms can make one coresponsible for the crisis in the sacrament of penance and the well-known dangers of ritualism, and of a reduction to the state of a private exercise of piety.

The various means of reconciliation should, therefore, not be placed in competition with each other. Rather, the intrinsic unity and dynamic relationship between the individual forms of penance should be explained and made visible. The forms mentioned above cf. Forgiveness of sins can indeed be granted in many ways: forgiveness of the sins of everyday life is always given when contrition informed by love is present contritio cf.

DS To the extent that the forms of penance mentioned above and the dimensions of reconciliation are practiced more clearly and in a more convincing way in the daily life of the Christian, the desire for sacramental private confession is also bound to increase.

Above all grave sins must be expressed in the most individual and comprehensive way possible before the Church and its official representatives. A general confession of sins is not sufficient, because the sinner must, inasmuch as possible, give concrete expression to the truth of his guilt and the nature of his sins, and also because such an individual, personal confession of guilt strengthens and deepens true contrition.

Sacramental power is needed to forgive such sins. It is true that today the authentic form of private confession needs to be profoundly renewed in its spiritual aspects, and this in connection with the revised Ordo paenitentiae.

Without such a renewal the Church will not be able to cope with the crisis of the sacrament of penance. For this a better spiritual and theological formation of priests is required, in order that they may be able to deal with what is now demanded from confession, viz. Under this aspect the so-called confession of devotion retains its importance. The term celebrationes paenitentiales is often understood in different ways. Among such penitential celebrations one thinks principally of the liturgical celebrations of a congregation in which the call to penance and the promise of reconciliation are given expression, and a general confession of sins takes place without individual confession or an individual or general absolution.

This type of penitential celebration can help place the community aspects of sin and forgiveness more to the foreground. They can awaken and deepen the spirit of penance and reconciliation. How ever, they must not be placed on the same level as the sacrament of penance, much less replace it.

In their orientation these penitential celebrations are certainly directed toward sacramental private confession, but they do not merely have the function of inviting to conversion and creating the dispositions required for the sacrament: with regard to daily sins, they can become a true occasion of pardon, provided there is a real spirit of conversion and sufficient contrition contritio.

In this way the celebrationes paenitentiales may acquire an efficacious significance for salvation, even if they are not a sacramental form of penance. The Ordo paenitentiae also mentions a common celebration of reconciliation with a general confession and general absolution.

This presupposes ethically and juridically unambiguous norms that must be observed in pastoral work cf. It follows from this that this form of sacramental reconciliation applies to extraordinary situations of emergency As current praxis has occasionally shown, the granting of general absolution outside such extraordinary emergency situations easily leads to basic misunderstandings of a fundamental nature about the essence of the sacrament of penance, and in particular about the basic necessity of personal confession of sins, the efficacy of sacramental absolution, which presupposes contrition, and at least the votum confessionis.

This type of misunderstanding and the ensuing abuses damage the spirit of the sacrament of reconciliation. The difficult and even somewhat dramatic pastoral situations in many parts of the Church today mean that many faithful hardly have the possibility of receiving the sacrament of penance. In these critical situations it is indispensable to show the faithful concerned ways that will enable them to have access to the forgiveness of sins and to receiving the Eucharist.

In these cases the Tradition of the Church, confirmed by the Council of Trent, acknowledges the possibility of a Christian obtaining the forgiveness of grave sin by perfect contrition. According to the same Tradition perfect contrition also always implies the desire votum of receiving the sacrament of penance as soon as possible DS Where there is no copia confessorum , such a perfect contrition is probably a sufficient disposition for receiving the Eucharist, according to the doctrine of the Council of Trent DS ; cf.

In most situations of such pastoral emergency this possibility is more suitable than general absolution, because in this way the obligation to the later personal confession can be made psychologically more understandable to most of the faithful. The ecclesial dimension of such a perfect act of contrition can be expressed by the penitential celebrations we mentioned above. The contemporary crisis of penance and of the sacrament of penance cannot be solved by stressing only one form of penance, but only by means of a view that takes into account the complex relationships between the different forms of penance and how they mutually complement each other.

In this matter it will also be important to integrate in a better way the individual forms of penance into the administration of the sacrament of penance, in order to bring sacramental penance more forcefully into the consciousness of the faithful. Conversion, as a turning away from sin and a turning to God, presupposes an awareness that sin is outside of and contrary to salvation.

The contemporary crisis of the sacrament of penance is intimately connected with a crisis in the sense of and understanding of sin, as can be seen in many parts of the world. The fact that the pastoral efforts of the Church in sermons, catechesis, personal talks, for example in many ways have not been as good as they ought also plays a role in this contemporary crisis for a good number of Christians cf.

Therefore it is necessary to express again the authentic, Christian understanding of sin. It is true that holy Scripture does not provide a proper definition of sin, but it nevertheless brings a rich variety of individual statements, which, in many ways, and with regard to different aspects, contain an interpretation of sin. Thus in holy Scripture, among other things, sin is called:. He who sins does not come into the truth of being man. He who sins does not come into the light but remains in darkness cf.

Against this background it becomes clear that every sin stands in a relationship with God: it is an aversion from God and his will, and it makes created things absolute.

The sense and the understanding of sin can only be developed with the conjunction of preaching about God and his message of salvation. For this it is necessary that the sense of God is renewed and deepened. One can understand how it is that only God can forgive sins only if it is made clear that sin stands in a relation to God. Already in the parenesis and the practice of penance of the early Christian communities distinctions concerning the nature of sins were made:. The fundamental difference between grave and nongrave sins is taught by the entire Tradition of the Church, even if important differences in terminology and in the appraisal of individual sins occur.

Attempts are often made to replace this division into grave sins and nongrave sins, or to complete it by the threefold distinction between crimina peccata capitalia , peccata gravia , and peccata venialia.

This tripartite division has its justification on the phenomenological and descriptive levels. For from the nature of both types of sins it follows that there cannot be a third between them. In this way the traditional dual distinction gives expression to the serious character of man s moral decision.

With these distinctions and divisions of the earlier centuries, the Church has already taken into account—each time in the ways of thinking and the forms of expression of a particular period—that which today is of importance in the contemporary insights and circumstances in doctrinal proclamations of the Magisterium and in theological reflection. From the subjective side, the freedom of the human person must be seen from the point of view of its relation to God.

This then becomes a fundamental decision concerning the meaning of his existence. This fundamental decision takes place in mans heart, in the midst of his personal being.