Reconciliation

The Confession, Giuseppe Moltini, c. 1838.

The Sacrament of Reconciliation is known in the Church as one of the two sacraments of healing, the other being the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick. In addition to being called “Reconciliation,” it is known by many other names as well:

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 whom 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 also a “confession” – acknowledgment and praise – of the holiness of God and of his mercy toward sinful man. It is called the sacrament of forgiveness, since by the priest’s sacramental absolution God grants the penitent ‘pardon and peace.’ It is called the sacrament of Reconciliation, because it imparts to the sinner the life of God who reconciles: ‘Be reconciled to God.’[1]

The Church recognizes that even after one has been sanctified in the waters of Baptism, human nature is still affected by the weaknesses brought about because of sin, and so God in His mercy opened the way to further purification and sanctification through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, that the ongoing conversion of our lives to Christ might be aided through the forgiveness of our sins and the encouragement of His grace. This ongoing conversion involves the “radical reorientation of our whole life, a return, a conversion to God with all our heart, an end of sin, a turning away from evil, with repugnance toward the evil actions we have committed. At the same time it entails the desire and resolution to change one’s life, with hope in God’s mercy and trust in the help of his grace.”[2]

In this way is Reconciliation most appropriately called a sacrament of healing, for as Pope St. John Paul II reminds us:

this reconciliation with God leads, as it were, to other reconciliations, which repair the other breaches caused by sin. The forgiven penitent is reconciled with himself in his inmost being, where he regains his innermost truth. He is reconciled with his brethren whom he has in some way offended and wounded. He is reconciled with the church. He is reconciled with all creation.[3]

At St. Edward’s, children who are preparing to make their 1st Reconciliation in connection with their 1st Holy Communion are required to participate in the Reconciliation Program in addition to the Second Grade Faith Formation curriculum. The program consists of parent orientation meetings, parent & child meetings, and workshops.

Please click on the link below to transfer to the Faith Formation page for more information.

Faith Formation page

For all other baptized Catholics seeking to experience the grace of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, the sacrament is offered every Friday from 9:30 - 10:15 AM and Saturday from 3:15 – 3:45 PM or by scheduled appointment with one of the parish priests.