There are four steps in the Sacrament of Reconciliation:

• We feel contrition for our sins and a conversion of heart to change our ways.
• We confess our sins and human sinfulness to a priest.
• We receive and accept forgiveness (absolution) and are absolved of our sins.
• We celebrate God’s everlasting love for us and commit to live out a Christian life.

A mature understanding of sin includes reflecting upon our thoughts, actions and omissions as well as examining the patterns of sin that may arise in our lives.

Contrition and conversion lead us to seek forgiveness for our sins so as to repair damaged relationships with God, self, and others. We believe that only ordained priests have the faculty of absolving sins from the authority of the Church in the name of Jesus Christ (CCC 1495). Our sins are forgiven by God, through the priest.

The Spiritual effects of the Sacraments of Reconciliation include:

• 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 (CCC 1496)

Individual confession with a priest is the principal means of absolution and reconciliation of grave sins within the Church. The Sacrament of Reconciliation frees us from sinful patterns of behavior and calls us to complete conversion to Christ. Reconciliation heals our sins and repairs our relationships.

To register your child for First Reconciliation, please call our parish office at 717-272-4412.

6 STEPS FOR A GOOD CONFESSION

• Examine your conscience - what sins have you committed since your last good confession. -
• Be sincerely sorry for your sins.
• Confess your sins to the priest.
• Make certain that you confess all your mortal sins and the number of them.
• After your confession, do the penance the priest gives to you.
• Pray daily for the strength to avoid the occasion of sin, especially for those sins you were just absolved from.

ACT OF CONTRITION

O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended You, 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 You, my God, Who are all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Your grace, to confess my sins, to do penance, and to amend my life.

Amen.

Guide for Examination of Conscience [pdf]

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