What Are You Looking For? Part 2: The Liturgy and the Sacraments

Reconciliation: The Part of the Penitent

Reconciliation: The Part of the Penitent

                Today we are going to look at the role of the penitent in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  Every Catholic in the entire world is a penitent, from the young child preparing to receive their Confirmation and First Eucharist to Pope Benedict XVI.  So, what does the penitent do?  First, the person going to confession will ask the Holy Spirit to help them determine their sins.  This is called an examination of conscience.  This examination of conscience is, however, “an act that must never be one of anxious psychological introspection, but a sincere and calm comparison with the interior moral law, with the evangelical norms proposed by the church, with Jesus Christ himself, who is our teacher and model of life, and with the heavenly Father, who calls us to goodness and perfection.”  (Apostolic Exhortation on Reconciliation and Penance, Bl. Pope John Paul II, December 2, 1984)

                After the examination of conscience, the penitent then goes to confession.  The confession always begins with the sign of the cross, “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”  The penitent then says, “Forgive (or bless) me Father, for I have sinned.  It’s been _____ (however long) since my last confession.  Then, unlike in the Protestant world, this is where Catholics specifically list the sins they have committed since their last confession.  Most especially all mortal sins, but it’s good to mention all venial sins as well because venial sins can lead to mortal sins if left unchecked.  We don’t give all the gory details, just the sin and they number of times we committed it, if we know the number.  Sometimes we don’t.  If we tend to gossip at work, for example, and we know it happens fairly regularly, “a lot” is sufficient.  It’s also important not to minimize the sin.  For example, to say you have had impure thoughts when you’ve been committing adultery is to withhold in the confessional, which is the sin of sacrilege, and (of course) that’s a mortal sin all on its own.  If you have committed adultery, say so, and say how often.  And that’s all the priest needs to know.

                According to the Catechism, all Catholics are obligated to go to confession at least once a year for serious sins.  However, more is better.  I find it very difficult to remember exactly what I have done the previous 364 other days (365 in a Leap Year) if I wait that long.  A good interval between confessions is a month.  First, because it’s easier to remember 30 days of stuff, and second because it’s easier to stay on the straight and narrow for a month than for a year.  Plus knowing you are going every month is a great deterrent to doing something you know you will have to confess in a couple of weeks. 

                It is also important for the penitent to actually be, well, penitent, contrite, and sorry for their sins.  If the penitent is sorry for their sins because they are afraid of going to hell their contrition is called imperfect.  It’s a reason, a valid reason, for going to confession, but it’s not the best reason.  But God, being the merciful God that he is, will take any reason we give him to forgive us. 

                Perfect contrition happens when we go to confession because we hate sin.  We realize through our sin, we have offended the one we love most.  And we don’t want to do that.  We don’t want the relationship severed through mortal sin, or even damaged through venial sin.  We miss that intimate relationship with God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

                When we have confessed our sins, we will be assigned a penance to perform.  “Absolution takes away sin, but it does not remedy all the disorders sin has caused.  Raised up from sin, the sinner must still recover his full spiritual health by doing something more to make amends for the sin: he must ‘make satisfaction for’ or ‘expiate’ his sins.” (CCC 1459)  As I’ve said before, this is something that is written into the heart of man.  When we have sinned, we want to make it right.  The penance assigned, once performed, does that.  Absolution cleanses our souls.  Penance cleanses our consciences. 

                Once we have completed our penance we are in what Catholics call a state of grace.  Whether or not we stay in that state is up to us.  We can decide whether or not to pick up those thoughts, words or deeds again.  Sometimes this is relatively easy; sometimes not so much.  But when we fall, God is right there waiting to pick us back up again.  That’s why confession is always available at least once a week.