Those who approach the Sacrament of Penance obtain pardon from God’s mercy for the offense committed against him, and are, at the same time, reconciled with the Church which they have wounded by their sins and which by charity, by example, and by prayer labors for their conversion.

-Lumen Gentium 11, 2

The Sacrament of Penance or Reconciliation, often called Confession since the disclosure of sin is one of its essential elements, is one of two Sacraments of Healing. If anyone points to Confession as another example of that old bugaboo “Catholic guilt,” the misunderstanding could not be further from the truth. If men and women fully grasped the enormity of what Christ offers us in the Sacrament, traffic would be snarled for miles outside every Catholic Church! To be healed, restored and forgiven: what could be a greater gift than this? A worthy confession only deepens our gratitude that Christ, the eternal physician, has left us such a beautiful instrument of reconciliation and renewal.

If it has been some time since your last Confession, there are pamphlets and resources online to help you prepare. If you have any general questions or concerns, the Director of Education would be happy to meet with you, or you can make an appointment with the pastor or parochial vicar. The confession schedule is printed on the bulletin and available online; additional times and confessors are available before Christmas and Easter and will be announced in the bulletin.

Christ came that we might have life, and have it abundantly. He cured the blind and the lame, and his compassion for poverty and physical suffering was profound. But even the greatest of earthly miracles points to heaven, signs of the health and wholeness only made possible when we are freed from sin and death. Forgiveness of sin is an act of divine mercy which we can not possibly merit. It is pure gift. We can, however, approach the Sacrament after an examination of conscience with a humble and contrite heart, firmly resolved to “sin no more and avoid the near occasion of sin.”