Penance
This is the Sacrament in which sins committed after Baptism are forgiven. It results in reconciliation with God and the Church. (US Catholic Catechism for Adults, Glossary)
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.
Sin hurts our relationship with God, ourselves and others. As the Catechism states:
Confession Times:
Monday - Friday: 7:30-8:00 AM
Monday -Friday confessions are held in the Chapel
​Saturday: 7:30-8:00 AM and 2:30-3:30 PM
Saturday confessions are held in the Cathedral
The sinner wounds God’s honor and love, his own human dignity…and the spiritual well-being of the Church, of which each Christian ought to be a living stone. To the eyes of faith no evil is graver than sin and nothing has worse consequences for the sinners themselves, for the Church, and for the whole world. (CCC 1487, 1488)
- 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)
If you need help with an Examination of Conscience, there are numerous apps and websites that you can google to find examines based on the 10 Commandments, the virtues and the vices or based on your age or state in life. Here is one you might try: www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/sacraments-and-sacramentals/penance/examinations-of-conscience