The Sacrament of Reconciliation is available:
Thursday during Adoration 6:00 - 8:00pm:
Ss. Mary & Patrick Church
Saturday after 8:00am Daily Mass:
Ss. Mary & Patrick Church
3:30 - 4:30pm before the Saturday Vigil:
Ss. Mary & Patrick Church
Try as we might, our lives as disciples are never perfect. Baptism cleanses us of original sin and welcomes us into God’s family, but the tendency we have to choose our own will over God’s is part of our fallen human nature. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is lovingly given to us by our heavenly Father as an opportunity to receive forgiveness for the sins we have committed since the time of our Baptism. Known by many names–Confession, Penance, and the Sacrament of Conversion–this sacrament is a return to communion with God and must be seen within the context of conversion from sin and a turning back to God. God’s mercy and forgiveness are precious gifts and we should seek them often.
The spiritual effects of the sacrament of Penance are:
- reconciliation with God by which the penitent recovers grace;
- reconciliation with the Church;
- remission of the eternal punishment incurred by mortal sins;
- remission, at least in part, of temporal punishments resulting from sin;
- peace and serenity of conscience, and spiritual consolation;
- an increase of spiritual strength for the Christian battle.
It is through the Sacrament of Reconciliation that we are able to humbly stand before our God and admit our faults. Just as the younger son knelt before his father (Luke 15:11-32), we also must kneel before Christ Jesus and ask for forgiveness.
