Penance

The Sacrament of Penance can be referred to as Confession or Reconciliation. Usually, Catholics begin participating in this sacrament as children, in preparation for their First Holy Communion. Visit our Faith Formation page to learn more about First Confession preparation for children.

To make a good confession, Catholics are asked to make a thorough examination of conscience. Honest and thoughtful contemplation of one's own sins is necessary in order to approach Our Lord in this sacrament, to offer one's remorse and contrition, before receiving absolution and penance.

"Not only does it [the Sacrament of Penance] free us from our sins but it also challenges us to have the same kind of compassion and forgiveness for those who sin against us. We are liberated to be forgivers. We obtain new insight into the words of the Prayer of St. Francis: "It is in pardoning that we are pardoned."

Jesus entrusted the ministry of reconciliation to the Church. The Sacrament of Penance is God's gift to us so that any sin committed after Baptism can be forgiven. In confession we have the opportunity to repent and recover the grace of friendship with God. It is a holy moment in which we place ourselves in his presence and honestly acknowledge our sins, especially mortal sins. With absolution, we are reconciled to God and the Church. The Sacrament helps us stay close to the truth that we cannot live without God. "In him we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28)."



 ~from the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults