What are the elements of the Sacrament of Reconciliation?
A story is told of a teacher asking her religion class what the most important thing about Confession is. One said: It s confessing your sins. Another said, It s being sorry for your sins. And still another said, It s saying your penance afterwards. And finally a young girl said with confidence, It s the forgiveness of God. She had it right. Obviously the other answers were also true, but in the end, the sacrament is centered around receiving the forgiveness of sin. Did you ever think that forgiving sin is what God loves to do most of all? How we approach the reception of God s mercy is important. We are God s children. We come to the Father to ask his forgiveness through the mercy of Jesus given by the ordained priest. It s not just ritual. It is life. The steps are really very simple. a) Examination of conscience. This is never supposed to be a torture session. Actually, our consciences will bring to mind any serious sins we have committed. Even people who have been away from the con
