What is the Sacrament of Reconciliation?
Of the seven sacraments instituted by Christ (and later developed as the Church grew and matured in its understanding of what Jesus gave to it), it is the Sacrament of Reconciliation (or Penance as we called it years ago) that causes so much consternation and uneasiness. Actually, it is very understandable that telling our faults, let alone our sins, to another human being could be embarrassing and even cause fear. Let s face it: We don t like to reveal negative secrets about our lives. After all, what will be thought of us? How many have said, Oh, Lord, why can t I just confess my sins to you and be done with it? In order to answer these questions, we simply have to admit that as far as our faith is concerned, Jesus himself gave us this sacrament of forgiveness. He gave it specifically to his apostles and their successors to be his ministers of God s mercy. Receive the holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained (John 20:22-23). So, if
