Confession and Forgiveness

March 11, 2022
Author: Hannah DeVivo

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

Today we will be talking about the sacrament of Confession. Let’s break it down into a few sections.

What is a Sin?

A sin, defined by the Catechism of the Catholic Church, is an offense against reason, truth, and right conscience; it is a failure in genuine love for God and neighbor caused by a perverse attachment to certain goods.... It has been defined [by St Augustine] as "an utterance, a deed, or a desire contrary to the eternal law."

Why Do We Go to Confession?

When we commit a sin against God, we allow the enemy access to our heart and life. We remove ourselves from grace and spiritually detach ourselves from the body of Christ. The more we go against our conscience and give in to temptation, the easier we fall into sin again.

Confession is such a beautiful and grace-filled sacrament. It is so much more than going into a little room and saying sorry for all the bad things we did. The very act of going to confession shows the devil that we do not belong to him. We are actively seeking to reunite with our Lord. When we confess our sins, we break the bonds that sin had us in. We shut the door of our hearts to the evil one.

When we confess our sins out loud, we are bringing them to the light and lessening their power. We are not cowering in fear, allowing them to control us. We are looking at them squarely and admitting that we have done wrong. We are detaching ourselves from the action and admitting that we are not our sins. We are children of God made in His image. Though we may stumble, we are not content to sit in the filth of our wrongdoings. We present them before the priest, and hand them over. Once our sins are forgiven, they are not attached to us anymore.

Through the sacrament of confession, we show a true and humble sorrow for our sins. We know that we do not deserve God’s mercy and forgiveness but are confident that He gives it anyway. God’s love for you and I is so strong and overflowing that He longs to shower us with gifts that we have no way of earning. He takes our contrition and gives us His forgiveness and grace.

How Do We Go to Confession?

After we sin and feel remorse, it is time to enter back into the body of Christ. How do we do this? There are several reasons why we don’t just go outside and tell our sins to the sky.

1. The physical act of planning and going to confession is an active step away from the devil and towards God.


2. Committing sins ruptures our communion with the Church. Thus, the conversion of our hearts needs to include reconciliation with the Church. Jesus Himself showed us the importance of this when He forgave sinners. After He had forgiven them, He dined with them. He included them in His life and small community. This act, though abhorrent to the teachers and rabbi's, is a powerful and beautiful demonstration to us of welcoming back the sinners into our midst.

When you get to the Church there are several things that will take place before, during and after Confession:

1. Preparation- While waiting for your turn, it is important to take time to prepare yourself by calling to mind your sins. An examination of conscience is a great way to do this. You can have a list of the Ten Commandments with you and go through the list one by one.


2. Greeting- After you kneel or sit, the priest will welcome you and you will both make the sign of the cross. Then, you will let the priest know how long it has been since your last confession. It’s best to give an approximation of how many days, weeks, months, or years.


3. Confession- You will list the sins you reflected on before entering the confessional.


4. Penance- Some priests will give advice or thoughts they have based on what you have confessed. They will then propose an act of penance in the form of a prayer, a Bible passage, or a work of mercy.


5. Act of Contrition- After the priest has informed you of your penance, it will be time for you to say the act of contrition. There are several translations and often will be a copy of one in the confessional. If you are going to a new place, it can be helpful to have one pulled up on your phone or printed so you are ready.


6. Absolution- The priest will extend his hands out to you and say the formula of absolution, after which you make the sign of the cross and say “Amen”.


7. Dismissal- The priest will often praise God for your good and honest confession, and conclude with “Go in peace”.



How Do Priests Have the Power to Forgive Sins?

It is extremely important to remember this: only God can forgive sins. On earth, Jesus had the Divine authority to forgive sins. After His passion and death, Jesus rose from the dead and appeared to His disciples. He said to them:

“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

“Receive the Holy Spirit.”

Jesus did not tell his disciples that they could go around forgiving sins of their own accord. He imparted on them the Holy Spirit. This is a crucial point, because it shows us that when we go to confession and receive absolution, it is not the priest who is forgiving our sins. It is God, the Holy Spirit. Jesus gave His disciples the power to forgive sins in His name.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains:

The formula of absolution used in the Latin Church expresses the essential elements of this sacrament: the Father of mercies is the source of all forgiveness. He effects the reconciliation of sinners through the Passover of his Son and the gift of his Spirit, through the prayer and ministry of the Church:

God, the Father of mercies, through the death and 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. Amen.





What is Grace?

The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines grace as follows: "Grace is favor, the free and undeserved help that God gives us to respond to his call to become children of God, adoptive sons, partakers of the divine nature and of eternal life".

Since grace is a gift, there are many ways for us to obtain it. It is God’s gift to bestow as He chooses. That said, there are principal means of receiving grace: the sacraments. There are two types of grace that we can receive through the sacraments: sanctifying grace and sacramental grace.

Sanctifying Grace

Sanctifying grace is a habitual gift, a stable and supernatural disposition that perfects the soul itself to enable it to live with God, to act by his love. The main sacraments that we receive sanctifying grace from are Baptism and Reconciliation (Confession).

Sacramental Grace

Sacramental grace is the grace of the redemption, but grace in its direction and application to the seven different situations in which a Christian can find himself within the Church. This grace is received through all the sacraments.

Penance

Once we have confessed our sins, the priest will give us a penance. Scripture and the Fathers of the church speak of penance in three forms: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. When the priest gives you a penance, it could be one or a combination of the three. The reason for penance is so that we can move on from our sins and re-enter our lives with a new heart. Completing our penance embodies our willingness to be truly changed. We are reunited with God and the body of Christ. We are committed to strengthening those bonds and living in a way that God wants us to.





Before You Go

How often do you aim to go to Confession?
Have you ever struggled with the sacrament of Confession?
Have you learned anything new in this article?

Stop by this page full of Reconciliation resources that you might find helpful!

I would LOVE to hear from you. Send me an email to catholic-living@autom.com.
I wish you all a beautiful and penitential Lent! May you feel God’s presence more intimately than ever before and follow Him more trustingly. Be sure to follow and subscribe to the links below for more tips and information.