Penance, the Rite of Reconciliation

From the Desk of Father David

Dear Friends in Christ,

The Sacrament is called the Sacrament of Penance the Rite of Reconciliation, many call it simply Confession.  Some of the benefits of going to Confession are:  To know you have received God’s forgiveness and are reconciled with God and the Church, telling another person helps you be honest with yourself and see the situation clearly, sometimes you will feel better, frequently coming to confession can help you stay on the right path, and the priest can offer you some good guidance.  Recently I went to confession and the priest with God’s grace, was able to help me experience Jesus’ forgiveness in a whole new way.  My prayer for you is that you can have the same beautiful experience.

In preparing for Confession, you need to examine your life.  As you look over your life you are looking at everything.  For the times you listened to God’s guidance and did good you should offer Him thanks, confess the bad you did.  The priest doesn’t need to know exact numbers but how frequently you committed the sin.  Also, I recommend you going to confession at least every four months.  Some Scripture passages you can use are: the Beatitudes – Matthew 5:1-13, Greatest Commandment – Mark 12:28-34, Definition of Love – 1 Corinthians 13:1-13, or the Ten Commandments.

Our Parish Penance Service is this Monday, December 19th, starting at 3 pm and again at 7 pm.  There will be priests from other parishes here.

  Almighty God, we thank you for sending us Your Son to forgive our sins and to heal us.  Please give us the grace we need to forgive and heal others.

Peace,

Fr. David