The Sacrament of Reconciliation or Penance

“Go, show yourself to the priest” (Matt 8:4; Mark 1:44).

“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us” (1John 1:8-10).

Christ’s Words of Institution of the Sacrament of Reconciliation:

Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.” And 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; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained” (John 20:21-23).

The Sacrament of Penance is also called the Sacrament of Reconciliation, Sacrament of Conversion or Confession. Christ instituted the sacrament immediately after his resurrection. While the Sacrament of Baptism washes away Original Sin and any sins committed before baptism; the Sacrament of Penance forgives sins committed after baptism. We can acknowledge our sins privately and ask for God’s mercy and forgiveness. However, when we are conscious of a serious or mortal sin, we are bound by Jesus and His Church to go to confession:

If any one sees his brother committing what is not a mortal sin, he will ask, and God will give him life for those whose sin is not mortal. There is sin which is mortal; I do not say that one is to pray for that.  All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin which is not mortal (1John 5:16-17).

Reconciliation, or “the Sacrament of Reconciliation,” is in the Bible and practiced by the Church from the beginning.  This is one of the clearest teachings of Christ in the Bible.  It doesn’t leave room for any doubts or confusion whatsoever.  Remember Christ – even in Human form, meaning Christ as true God and true Man (not just as God) – forgave people’s sins during His earthly ministry.  He proved He has power to forgive sins (cf. Mark 2:10; Matt 9:6) contrary to the belief amongst many Jewish people at the time.

The same power Christ exercised, He conferred on His Ministerial Priests [Apostles, Priests] to reconcile sinners.  

"Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you." And 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; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained" (John 20:19-23).

Hence, the Bible says “Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed” (James 5:16).  Precisely!  The priest one of you as well.  More importantly, he is given the power to forgive sins.  So there’s no problem at all.  Unlike the other members of the Church (lay members) who can only forgive you for personal sins committed against them, only the priest has the power to forgive every sin – whether committed against him or not.  Also, unlike lay members and deacons, the priest has the power to retain sins: “If you retain the sins of any, they are retained” (John 20:23).  The difference cannot be clearer.

Unfortunately, many Catholic Christians do not go to confession; they have become confused by non-Catholic Christians who misguidedly and erroneously say “I can’t confess to a human being.”  At the facial level, based purely on human thinking, it seems to make sense.  But does it make any sense from the Word of God in the Bible?  What does the Bible say?  It says, “Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed” (James 5:16).  Clearly, one another implies “HUMAN BEINGS.”  What then is the protesting about?  That’s not all!  Some also say: “A sinner cannot forgive my sins.”  Please, remember, first, not only were the Apostles were human, they also acknowledge their sins (Luke 5:8; Rom 7:14-15); yet Christ – the Wisdom of God – gave them power to forgive sins.  Are these folks smarter than Jesus – the Wisdom of God?  Besides, Christ taught us the “Our Father” where He required that we always pray in these words, “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matt 6:12).  EVIDENTLY, NOT ONLY CAN A SINNER FORGIVE ANOTHER SINNER’S FAULTS, GOD REQUIRES IT AS A CONDITION TO FORGIVE THE PERSON’S SINS.  Again, are these Christians implying they are smarter than “Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1Cor 1:24)?  That’s why the Word of God COMMANDS US: “Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed” (James 5:16).  PLEASE, never forget for a moment the priest is one of us!  

What is more?  St. James, while giving a pastoral and spiritual direction to the Early Christians on what they should do when one is sick, actually shows that priest forgive sins from the beginning:

Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders [Greek word used in the New Testament: presbyteroi (priests)] of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith will save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed (James 5:14-16).

NOTICE, it is only in the context of THE PRIEST YOU CALLED TO PRAY FOR YOU that you receive forgiveness of sins.  And, notice, it is only in the same context that the BIBLE SAYS “CONFESS… TO ONE ANOTHER.”  So the Priest is the one DIRECTLY implied in the “CONFESS TO ONE ANOTHER”. Clearly St. James showed the ministry of Priests includes the forgiveness of sins from the beginnings of the one and only one Church Christ founded. 

In truth, approached with a reverent attitude, the Sacrament of Penance is a sure guarantee our sins are forgiven. Through this sacrament, we return to God like prodigal sons and daughters, and receive healing, reorientation, and true conversion.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Finally, if Jesus meant we should not confess our sins to a priest but should handle it privately in our rooms individually “directly to God,” as erroneously and misguidedly contended by Protestants and Evangelicals, why did Jesus give the Apostles the power to forgive people’s sins after His resurrection?  Why would Jesus give the Apostles power nobody would need, since everyone (according to Protestants and Evangelicals) can handle their sins privately and be forgiven directly in the privacy of their rooms?  Was Jesus wasting His time after He rose from the dead?

THE WORDS OF ABSOLUTION:

God, the Father of mercies, through the death and resurrection of his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, 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 grant 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.

R/. AMEN!

Biblical Reference:

So if you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift (Matt 5:23-24).

Therefore, if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation (2Corinthians 5:17-19).

Teaching of the Church

It is called the sacrament of conversion because it makes sacramentally present Jesus’ call to conversion, the first step in returning to the Father from who 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 all a “confession” – acknowledgement and praise – of the holiness of God and of his mercy toward sinful man. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1423-1424).

Conclusion: 

Please, be proud of your Catholic faith, the faith of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Apostles of Jesus Christ and all Christians from the First Century!  

“And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it” (Matt 16:18).

“And lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age” (Matt 28:20).