CONTENTS
1. Introduction
2. Sacrament of penance
3. Method to receive
4. Obligation to receive for a. Laity, b. Seminarian, c. Priest.
5. Duty to catechize the sacrament to an i. Individual ii. Families iii. Societies
6. Inspirations to catechize the sacrament of Reconciliation
01-------INTRODUCTION “Exclude the evil present in your life, learn a lesson from the faults and guilt performed in the past and rejoin with God in the Heavenly-Earthly relationship”; This is the main idea of every spiritual message. The message of Saint Jonah to the Ninevities: “REPENT(1)” Proclamation of Jesus: “REPENT AND BELIEVE(2)” Catechism of the Roman Catholic Church: “EXAMINE, CONFESS AND CHANGE” tell us that since the disobedience of Adam in the Garden of Eden the Temple of the Holy Spirit-body of human being had defiled by the loss of Sanctifying Grace. “The grace by which man is made acceptable to God as His associate in the divine life is called SANCTIFYING GRACE. It is called “grace” because it is a gift freely given and “sanctifying” because it’s effect is to make man’s very essence a thing holy in itself with a supernatural holiness.”(3) In every age and in every era there had been different methods, procedures and schemes to follow/observe in order to cleanse the soul from the inherited loss and to sanctify the corporal structure from the condemnation of the Just Judge. Damnation of mankind proves God’s justice. To change this attitude of life, to cease the growth of sin and to sweep the inherited guilt RCC plays a very vital role and extends a helping hand by the ministry of her sacraments. The sacrament of Penance a k a Sacrament of Confession and Reconciliation is an evidence of God’s infinite love and boundless mercy. The elements of the sacrament show that our Heavenly Abba does not abandon those who disobey His word and astray from his path but, He all the time waits like the Father of the Prodigal Son. It is also the duty of the reconciled ones to guide their brethren wandering in the darkness and in the gloom of fault and sin. This is because the ones joined in deep intimacy with God have got the chasubles of eternal knowledge by the Spirit of God; just to make their fellows and societies capable of their native homeland (Paradise). “Every person who wears a chasuble is a teacher and must teach all the time in every state.”(4)
02-----Sacrament
of Penance
“To err is human; And to forgive divine”(5), This is entirely true. A man cannot resist to avoid temptations and “God cannot cease to forgive for it is His profession.” (6)Alike Adam and Jesus every human is tempted and in the result some are destroyed by the devil while, the others destroy Devil just like Jesus. The Catholic Church by her liturgical ceremonies and inspirational acts, spiritual teachings and perfect instances heals the wounded in the spiritual warfare and most importantly “washes away the stains of guilt by the ministry of the Sacrament of Penance.” “This sacrament is like life to the dead in the spiritual warfare, consolation to the distressed and medicine to the sick in soul” “In the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist Lord shows the greatness of His love but in penance He gives the proof of His boundless mercy and compassion.”(7) By receiving this sacrament stains of the soul are blotted out from the spirit and the state of sanctity is restored along with renewed mind, heart and body. “ Be transformed by the renewal of your mind.”(8) “Now you are mine and I am yours; in your soul my cherished dwelling place do I dwell.”(9) This sacrament (for the sinful members of the Church) is known by several names because of its nature, effects and the grace it signifies: •
“Sacrament of Conversion for it calls a man to conversion.
•
Sacrament of Penance for it consecrates the sinner.
•
Sacrament of Confession for it is a confession of sins.
•
Sacrament of Forgiveness for it grants the penitent pardon & peace.
•
Sacrament of Reconciliation for it reconciles Father and Son.”(10)
God has granted you forgiveness but you mustn’t forgive yourself. This is because the day you forget you past you will lose your future, and you have to carry on this friendship with the Christ. Therefore never forget the shortcomings and happenings of the past but instead wander in their sorrow too, considering them accidents while learning to ride a bicycle. As “you do not learn to ride a bicycle in a classroom”(11). “...In thy sight none is pure from sin.”(12) Conversion in daily life is accomplished by the change of attitude towards life not by the change of lifestyle. Begin to intent good works as you acknowledge any fault for not mere word but your good deeds will transform your life. “The beginning of good works is the confession of evil works.”(13)
03--------METHOD
TO RECEIVE
In the sacrament of penance the repentant Christian confesses his sins to a duly authorized Priest, who standing in the place of God pronounces the absolution by means of which they are forgiven. The steps to confession are • Examination of Conscience • Contrition in heart • Confession of sins • Penance • Act of contrition • Absolution 01.Examination of Conscience Before one gets to the Church he must mentally review all the sins that are to be confessed. These faults can include the not-good-things present in life, imperfections and personal shortcomings. True sorry and complete bruising of heart (contrition) is essential to change the psyche of a being. Therefore the examination must be done with full attention and concentration. Contrition It is breaking of heart (in Latin), which means willful regret for one’s sins. Contrition is not just feeling of guilt but conviction of the evil and the resolution to sin no more. If one truly resolves to sin no more only then his committed sins are forgiven. “Contrition is sorrow of the soul and detestation for the sin committed, together with the resolution not to sin again.”(13) Confession Confession of sins before the Holy Christ, in the guise of Priest; is an important part of the Penance’s ministry. It is just like this that you are a patient and need remedy for the illness. But unless you are not going to tell the physician (Priest) your sickness and show him your wounds he is unable to give you any type of prescription. “It is not enough that man acknowledge his sins to God from Whom nothing is hidden; he must also confess them to the Priest God’s representative.”(14) “ Who falls into sin cannot by himself wash away his fault, he needs the Priest.” (15) Penance Absolution takes away sin but not disorders. To set up that satisfaction is “Penance”. Penance can be recitation of prayer/s, reading from the Holy Scripture or doing of a charitable work. It is like to make up for the short shortcoming.
Act of Contrition The act of contrition is recited before the Priest to express sorrow at having offended God and resolution to sin no more. “ O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee and I detest all my sins because of Thy just punishments, but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, who art all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve with the help of Thy grace, to sin no more and avoid the near occasions of sin.” Absolution In sedes confessionalis ( the confessional) during the pronunciation of absolution; gap between God and human (due to the sin of man) is filled up. “Sorrow of mind and detestation for sin, with the purpose of not sinning again ( in the future) is completed when the Priest fulfilling the command of Jesus and the virtue of the Sacrament of Hoy Orders utters the words of consolation: “Ego vos absolvo ab omnibus censures et peccatis. In nomine Patris, et Filli, et Spiritus Sancti.” (Therefore, I absolve you of your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.) (16) Carrying on of Penance This means to avoid every occasion of sin, to bear the effects of sins comtted and to make restitution to anyone you have made. “Take the good and cast the evil; Listen to my song.” (17)
04----Obligation
to receive
FOR LAITY It is necessary for a layman to receive this sacrament frequently because, every human forms a part of the mystical body of th Hoy Christ that, is entirely holy and pure. Even a spot of fault/ guilt can impure it. Therefore the “purity of intention, prayerful attitude and earnest living is essential along with frequent confessions” (18) . As the “Sacrament of Penance is repeatable”(19)
For SEMINARIAN Seminarian is a person who pays heed to the call of God and intends to lead a celibate, worthy and valuable life; serving God’s nation of humans. He gets this responsibility by receiving the Sacrament of Holy Orders which entrusts a person the mission entrusted by Christ.His apostles to exercise the apostolic ministry till the end of time by their successors. Therefore a seminarian is like a plant still in growth, which must prevent himself from all evil and preserve him from the comittance of sin. But since, he is also one of us and can unintentionally disobey God so he is also obliged to confess his faults as to keep his body holy and soul chaste.
For PRIEST FOR A priest it is very important to keep his body, soul and mind holy and pure. He is Second Christ during various ceremonies and by different acts. But, he is also a human being –a transformed sinful creature and celebrant of the Holy sacrifice in which he holds the Chalice and Ciborium containing the boundless sea of sanctity and glory.
05----Duty
to catechize the Sacrament of Penance to
An INDIVIDUAL Our whole life ought to be one continued Penance. (“Sincere turning from creatures towards God is called Penance.(20)”) “Unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish.”(21) “Woe to you that now laugh, for you shall mourn and weep.”(22) As we all are baptized in the same formula possesses the same sanctifying grace and share the same dwelling of God. Therefore, we ought to take care and help each other as our own self. By doing this we show our gratitude to others.. Penance is a sacrament that must be explained to every individual so that he may become aware of his bad-sinful state and may by confessing his faults, allow the King of Glory to “come and reign within thee.”(23) To FAMILIES The Sacrament of penance is not only a thing to be catechized to the sinful members of the Church but, it must be explained to the Christian families, too. So that which are feeble may enstrengthen themselves by examining their short-comings; while the ones that are already in a good state may improve in their state of grace making their families a gathering alike the horde in Jerusalem where the Spirit descended and bestowed His different kind of blessings. Parents in a family are also bound to catechize and practice Penance frequently, giving their children a good example by making Christ the king of their house. To SOCIETY To change an inner being of a human the change of his society is very necessary because, unless the society in which he lives is not bearing worthy morals and giving good examples it cannot make its members a good person. So therefore a Priest must keep the society obedient to God fulfilling the responsibility of his Prophetic office. While the indwellers of a society must live in harmony and nurture love of neighbor in their heart to carry out the commandment of love that Lord Jesus spoke: “Love one another as I have loved you.”(24)
06----Inspirations
to Catechize the Sacrament
“Preservation is the greatest victory achieved by the Christian and requires the greatest struggle.” (St. Augustine) “If we confess our sins he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1-John 1/9) “The Sacrament of Penance is for those who have fallen after Baptism.” (Council of Trent 14/2) “The early Christians did not hesitate to confess their sins openly before all the faithful.” ( St Augustine) “Noe was a hundred years building the ark and thinkest thou in a brief moment to construct the ark which is to save thee from temporal and eternal punishment.” (St Thomas) “Before applying thyself to good deeds ; confess thy misdeeds.” (St Augustine) The Christian will not be questioned about the commencement of his life (says St Augustine) but by his climax, so let us formate our bodies so that that on the day of judgment when we may be brought before the just judge HE may proudly say of us: “ THIS IS MY BODY ”(25)
REFRENCES MENTIONED IN THE ASSIGNMENT
1. The Book of Jonah 3/7 2. Gospel of Mark 1/15 3. The Faith in Practice. Page 45 4. Greek mythology 5. Saint Augustine 6. The Great Ones 7. My spiritual Exercises 8. The World’s Great Catholic Poetry. Page 188 9. The Catechist. Page 215 10.C.C.C., chap. 2, Article 4, I, 1423,1424 11.Jesus said: “ I thirst” 12.Saint Paul. Letter to the Romans 12/12 13.The Prayer of the Frog. Page 264 14.The Confessions of Saint Augustine. Page 6 15.C.C.C., Chap. 2, Article IV, 2643 16.Origen (254) 17.The Riddle of Roman Catholicism. Page 120 18.Saint Augustine, In Io.ev. 12, 13:Pl 35, 1491 19.The World’s Great Catholic Poetry. Page 54 20.Canon 906 21.Trent, Denz 911 22.The Catechism Explained. Part II, 4 23.Gospel of Luke 13/3 24. Gospel of Luke 13/3
25.The Wellsprings. Page 225
Bibliography
1 .Rev. Padre Kerney John (CSSp), My Spiritual Exercises, PJ Kennedy & sons, 1945. US 2. Anton C.Pegis (FRSC), Summa Contra Gentiles, Doubleday & company Inc, 1955. US 3. Harold C. Gardiner(SJ), The Confessions of Saint Augustine, Cardinal editions, US 4. De Mello Anthony, The Prayer of the Frog, Gujrat Sahitya Prakash, 1989, India 5. Walsh Tomas, The World’s Great Catholic Poetry, Macmillan Company,1943 6. Canon Howe, The Catechist, R&T Washbourne Ltd.,1917, Manchester 7. Fr. Desplanques (SJ) , Living the Mass, 1959, Maryland 8. De Mello Anthony, The Wellsprings, Gujrat Sahitya Prakash, 1984, India 9. Catherine de Hueck Doherty, Kiss of Christ, Madonna house publications, 1998, Ontario 10. Edward Le Joly (SJ), Jesus said: “I Thirst”, St, Paul publications, 1981, Allahabad 11. Fr. Francis Spirago, The Catechism Explained, Benzinger Bros, 1899, Chicago 12. Colman e. O’Neil, (OP), Meeting Christ in the Sacraments, Alba house,1967, NY. 13. Nicolaus Halligan, Administration of the Sacraments, Alba house, 1963, Ny 14. Fr.Phillip Hugho, The Faith in Practice, Catholic Board Club, 1939, London 15. Fr.Evarst Pinto, The Lord is Good, Catecchetical Center,1984. Karachi 16. Jaroslav Pelikan, the Riddle of Roman Catholicism, Abingdon Press, 1952, NY 17. St. Aquinas Thomas, Summa Theoligica. 18. The Divine Office 19. The Holy Bible 20. Catechism of the Catholic Church, Theological publications, 2009, India