Reconciliation: What Is It Called?

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Reconciliation: What Is It Called?

                For Protestants everywhere, one thing is known about Catholics.  They go to confession.  As a Protestant, I had no idea, really, what confession was or why Catholics went, I just knew they did.  According to the movies and such, they went every week.  Or they were supposed to go every week, if they were “good” Catholics.  Or something like that.  Confession was some nebulous concept that floated around out there somewhere with no concrete purpose.  That was my Protestant thinking.  When I became a Catholic, imagine my surprise when I discovered the sacrament wasn’t even properly called “confession”.  The proper name for the sacrament is the Sacrament of Penance.  There are other names by which it is known, however, including confession.  So what are these names?

                The first name is the sacrament of conversion.  While it would be nice to believe that none of us ever commit a mortal sin after we are baptized, no matter what age we were when we were baptized, the reality is quite different.  If we were baptized as infants or children, and are now adult, anyone of us can attest to the fact that we didn’t always “get it right”.  Even if we were baptized as adults, because we were just beginning to walk with Christ, we still didn’t always stay away from mortal sin.  That’s why the Catholic Church has the sacrament of conversion.  The Church understands that we are in need of conversion, not just once, but throughout our lives.  Jesus’ call to conversion is made sacramentally present. 

                The sacrament of penance is another name.  One of the things that take place during the sacrament is the assignment of penance to the penitent.  When we sin, we need to make reparation for the sin.  If we have stolen, we need to pay back what we have taken.  Not all sins are as concrete as stealing money.  But all need satisfaction.  This is something that is built into the heart of man.  The fact that there is no penance in the Protestant world is one of the major contributing factors to the statement, “I know God has forgiven me, but I can’t forgive myself.”  The reason for this is because there was no penance.  There was no act assigned to the penitent by which satisfaction is made for the sins we have committed.  In my experience, any penance assigned to me by a priest has been way easier on me than any I have assigned to myself as a Protestant.

The most common name is the sacrament of confession.  It is called confession because well, because that’s what we do.  We go to the priest, either behind the screen, like you see in the movies, or face to face.  And we confess our sins.  Out loud.  No, we don’t give all the gory details.  The priest doesn’t want to know them anyway.  It’s more like, “I missed Mass three times.”  If he needs more details, he’ll ask.  And, no, you can’t get away with the Protestant, “I’ve sinned.” And not say anything more.  It’s called withholding in the confessional, and it’s the sin of sacrilege.  By confessing our sins, we take responsibility for our own thoughts, words and deeds.  But we do more than just confess our sins.  “In a profound sense it is also a ‘confession’ – acknowledgement and praise – of the holiness of God and of his mercy toward sinful man.” (CCC 1424)

                The sacrament is also called the sacrament of forgiveness.  In the sacrament, the priest gives sacramental absolution.  No, Catholics do not believe that the priest forgives sins.  God does that.  But he does act through the priest.  “The confessor is not the master of God’s forgiveness, but its servant.” (CCC 1466)  This is seen in the prayer of absolution that the priest prays over the penitent.  “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.” (CCC 1449)

                Finally, it is called the sacrament of reconciliation.  Jesus came to reconcile sinners.  He handed on the ministry of reconciliation to his apostles, and they, in turn passed it on to others all through the centuries.  Jesus knew that as humans, we needed to have someone to speak to us in His authority that we are reconciled.  He knew we needed to hear the words.  Yet he wouldn’t be here to say them in person.  That’s why priests administer the sacrament.  We confess.  Jesus absolves through them.  We are reconciled.  We are reconciled both to the Church and to God.  We experience the healing of reconciliation.  We experience the “pardon and peace” granted to us by God.  The relationship is restored.  That’s what reconciliation is all about.  It’s about being restored to right relationship with God so we can feel his love for us once again.

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