Reconciliation

Not only does the Sacrament of Reconciliation 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 with the same merciful forgiveness we have received.

Jesus entrusted the Sacrament of Reconciliation to the Church, a divine grace of healing. This is the Father’s gift to us so that any sin committed after baptism can be forgiven. In Confession, we have the opportunity to repent, repair what has been broken, and recover the grace of friendship with God. It is a holy moment, in which we place ourselves before God and honestly acknowledge our sins, especially mortal sins. With absolution, we are reconciled to God and the Church. The Sacrament of Reconciliation helps us stay close to this truth: we cannot live without God or His abundant mercy.

Has it been some time since your last confession? Is this your first confession? Follow these steps to make a good confession:

  • Prepare yourself for confession. Don’t know where to start? Review the Examination of Conscience and prepare your heart and mind.

  • When it’s your turn, enter the confessional. The priest will greet you.

  • You will say “bless me, Father, for I have sinned.” You’ll tell the priest about how long it has been since your last confession. Is this your first confession? that’s okay! Tell the priest and he will help guide you.

  • You will share your sins simply and honestly. If there are mortal sins, give the kind and approximate number. More information on types of sins below!

  • The priest will give you advice and assign your penance.

  • You’ll pray the Act of Contrition (found below).

  • The priest will then give you absolution.

  • The priest will then say: “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good.”

  • You respond: “His mercy endures forever.” The priest will then dismiss you.

  • Carry out your assigned penance. The church is available after Confessions to carry out your penance!

How to go to Confession:

Act of Contrition, Prayer After Confession, Sins, and Virtues:

  • Wednesdays: 12pm Fridays: 5pm Saturdays: 2:30pm Other times are available by making an appointment with a priest. To do so, please call the parish office at (623) 546-3444

  • Come, Holy Spirit, enlighten my mind that I may clearly know my sins. Move my heart that I may be sincerely sorry for them, honestly confess them and firmly resolve to amend my life. Spirit of wisdom, grant me to see the malice of sin and my ingratitude toward you, the all-loving God. Spirit of fortitude, help me to make whatever sacrifice is needed to avoid sin in the future. Amen.

  • O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee and I detest all my sins because I dread the loss of Heaven and the pains of hell. But most of all, because they offend Thee, my God, Who art all good and deserving of my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace, to confess my sins, to do penance and to amend my life. Amen.

  • Almighty and Merciful God, Whose mercy is boundless and everlasting and of Whose goodness the riches are infinite, I thank You because You have so graciously pardoned all my sins and restored Your Heavenly favor. I am awed by Your divine compassion and the incomprehensible love of Your Son, which has led Him to institute so gentle and powerful a remedy for sins. In union with all the gratitude that has ever ascended to You from truly penitent hearts, I proclaim Your merciful praises on behalf of all in Heaven, on earth and in purgatory, for ever and ever. Amen.

  • The Ten Commandments: 1. I am the Lord Thy God. Thou shall not have strange gods before Me. 2. Thou shall not take the name of the Lord Thy God in vain. 3. Remember to keep holy the Lord’s day. 4. Honor thy father and thy mother. 5. Thou shall not kill. 6. Thou shall not commit adultery. 7. Thou shall not steal. 8. Thou shall not bear false witness. 9. Thou shall not covet thy neighbor’s wife. 10. Thou shall not covet thy neighbor’s goods.

    The Two Greatest Commandments: 1. You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart, with your whole soul, and with all your mind. 2. You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

    1. You shall attend Mass on Sundays and on Holy Days of Obligation and rest from servile labor.

    2. You shall confess your sins at least once a year.

    3. You shall receive the Sacrament of the Eucharist at least during the Easter Season.

    4. You shall observe the days of fasting and abstinence established by the Church.

    5. You shall help to provide for the needs of the Church.

  • If you went to confession and realized later on that you wanted to confess a sin and forgot in the moment or realized you had sinned and it didn’t come to mind during the Examination of Conscience, that’s okay! It happens to us all. Reconciliation is not about perfect recall of our sins but a desire to reconcile our relationship with God. If you confessed all known sins and would have confessed whatever other sins you committed if you remembered them, your sins are absolved. If it was a venial sin, you do not need to mention it in confession next time. If it was a mortal sin, it is absolved, but make sure to mention it the next time you go to confession. If you have deliberately withheld a sin, it has not been absolved and must be confessed.

  • 1. Pride: preoccupation with one’s own excellence or misery 2. Avarice/Greed: Disordered desire for possessions; setting our hearts on material things; selfishness 3. Lust: disordered desire for or inordinate enjoyment of sexual pleasure 4. Anger: uncontrolled emotion which results in desire for revenge; holding resentment 5. Gluttony: putting the pleasures of the body (food, drink, makeup, Internet, TV, etc.) over the goods of the soul 6. Envy: sadness at the good of another 7. Sloth: Bodily or Spiritual laziness or neglect

    1. Presumption on God’s Mercy

    2. despair of God’s mercy

    3. resisting and/or attacking the known truth

    4. envy at another’s spiritual good

    5. obstinacy in sin

    6. final impenitence (refusal to repent)

    1. willful murder

    2. sodomy

    3. oppression of the poor

    4. defrauding laborers of their wages

    1. by counsel

    2. by command

    3. by consent

    4. by provocation

    5. by praise or flattery

    6. by concealment

    7. by partaking

    8. by silence

    9. by defense of the sinful action

    • Immorality

    • Impurity

    • Licentiousness

    • Iodolatry

    • Sorcery

    • Hatred

    • Rivalry

    • Jealous

    • Outbursts of fury

    • Acts of selfishness

    • Dissensions

    • Factions

    • Occasions of envy

    • Drinking bouts

    • Orgies

    1. Humility: acknowledgement of truth about God, oneself or others

    2. Generosity: doing actions for the benefit of others; selflessness

    3. Chastity: proper integration of sexuality within the human person according to the mind of God and one’s state in life

    4. Meekness: gentleness of spirit that gives power of self-possession; governs anger

    5. Temperance: moderation of the desire for pleasure

    6. Brotherly love: desire for the true good of one’s neighbor, which leads one to act rightly toward him

    7. Diligence: consistency in doing what is right

  • The Theological Virtues: Faith, Hope, and Charity

    The Cardinal Virtues: Prudence, Justice, Temperance, and Fortitude

  • Corporal Works of Mercy: To feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, visit the imprisoned, shelter the homeless, visit the sick, and bury the dead

    Spiritual Works of Mercy: To admonish the sinner, instruct the ignorant, counsel the doubtful, comfort the sorrowful, bear wrongs patiently, forgive all injuries, and pray for the living and the dead

  • Gifts of the Holy Spirit: Wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord.

    Fruits of the Holy Spirit: Charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, and chastity

  • Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving

  • Chastity, poverty, and obedience

    1. Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven

    2. Blessed are the meek; for they shall possess the land

    3. Blessed are they that mourn; for they shall be comforted

    4. Blessed are they that hunger and thirst for justice; for they shall be filled

    5. Blessed are the merciful; for they shall obtain mercy

    6. Blessed are the pure of heart; for they shall see God

    7. Blessed are the peacemakers; for they shall be called the children of God

    8. Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice’s sake; for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven

    9. Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.