confession. Are both confessions good? Yes. Are both confessions “right”? Yes. Both Peter and Paul have confessed in a satisfactory and appropriate way. The point of this example is not to assign a “higher grade” to one confession, but rather to illustrate the different ways in which sins can be confessed. After you have confessed, the priest may offer you some words of advice or encouragement. Sometimes people are concerned about the questions the priest might ask. Be assured that if the priest does ask a question, it is because he believes he needs to know something more about what you have said in order to minister more effectively and more directly to you. And certainly you may ask the priest any questions you have, either to better understand something he has said or to ask about something that concerns you. The priest will then give you a penance, and ask you to make an act of contrition. Act of Contrition and Absolution. Your act of contrition may be in your own words or you may take it from a book. It can be as succinct as, “Lord Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner,” or it may take a longer form, such as the following: M.y God, I am sorry for my sins with all my heart. In choosing to
do wrong and failing to do good, I have sinned against you whom I should love above all things. I firmly intend, with your help, to do penance, to sin no more, and to avoid whatever leads me to sin. Our Savior Jesus Christ suffered and died for us. In his name, my God, have mercy. The priest will now say the words of absolution—the prayerful assurance that God, who welcomes the repentant sinner, forgives your sins. It is interesting to note that, before the Second Vatican Council, the priest would say the words of absolution in Latin while the penitent was making his or her act of contrition. The words of absolution are now said in English and they follow your act of contrition, so you can hear these words of mercy and peace! Let us conclude. After pronouncing absolution, the priest will say something along the lines of “Go in peace” or “God bless you.” You may respond with “Thanks be to God” or even a simple “Thank you, Father.” This concludes the celebration of the sacrament, but of course there is still something to be done: your “penance.” If the priest has given you prayers as your penance, you may say those
before you leave the church or at a better, more appropriate, time. And, whether your act of penance is prayers that can be said right away or actions to be performed later, it is good to spend at least a few moments in church thinking about what you have just done—and about what God has done for you. Forgiveness, pardon, peace. Good reasons to linger in the church for a while and give God thanks! To conclude: the sacrament of reconciliation is meant to ease our burdens, not increase them. The confessional is a place where we sacramentally encounter God’s mercy, not a stage upon which memorized lines must be recited perfectly. There is no one exactly perfect way to go to confession. After all, the sacrament is a gift precisely for people who are imperfect! And remember that the priest is there as a helper and guide. He is there, as the Catechism says, “not [as] the master of God’s forgiveness, but [as] its servant.” — Endnotes
Kurt Stasiak O.S.B. a monk of Saint Meinrad Archabbey, is director of Spiritual Formation for the School of Theology. Fr. Kurt has published numerous articles and book reviews appearing in a variety of publications.
Liturgies of Reconciliation bernard j. cooke It is difficult to think of anything in Catholic life that has changed more rapidly and more drastically in recent years than the sacrament of reconciliation.
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ust a few years ago, it was a common scene on a Saturday afternoon and evening to have numbers of people coming to the church to go to confession, and these numbers were greatly increased just before key religious holidays, such as Christmas and Easter. Hearing confessions was
penance
one of the principal activities of parish pastors, and not infrequently there was need to bring in an extra priest to help with these confessions. Today, one recalls this as something out of an almost-forgotten past. Saturday afternoons and evenings are now relatively quiet times around
most parishes. The parish billboard lists an hour when the pastor will be available for confessions, but scarcely anyone comes. Large numbers of people who previously would have gone to confession at least twice a month now go once or twice a year, if that often. On the other hand, when there are well-planned parish liturgies of reconciliation, they are often well attended, particularly by young people. This change has happened very rapidly, with no obvious causes. No w w w . b c . e d u / c h u r c h 21
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