What is the difference between Confession, Penance and Reconciliation?
Those three names are commonly used interchangeably for the Sacrament in which sins are forgiven. The Sacrament is called “Confession” because the penitent makes a verbal confession of his or her particular sins. It is called “Penance” from another element of the Sacrament – the good action that the priest asks the penitent to perform as a token of his or her sincerity, and as a way to bring some good into the world in reparation for the sin committed. And finally “Reconciliation” refers to the final effect of the Sacrament: the penitent is reconciled with God and the Church.
