In order to prepare yourself to celebrate well the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and to have a greater understanding of this important sacrament, please take a little time reflecting on this leaflet.
You have come to experience the Lord’s forgiveness and compassion. It is a very personal moment in your relationship with God.
To get the most from your confessional-encounter with Christ, you should prepare well. You should arouse in yourself a deep, true sorrow for your sins, how they have offended God who loves you infinitely, and how they have hurt our fellow men who need our help. You should not try to ferret out each and every sin – serious attitudes of sin will not usually come to mind immediately, nor should you waste time in useless regrets.
Please remember that the Sacrament of Reconciliation is above all an act of God’s love, it is a personal moment to be lived in a relationship of love with God.
You are invited in the light of God’s love
- To recognize the sinfulness in your life …
- To have a true sorrow for these sins …
- And a firm intention to avoid them in the future.
These elements are essential to a proper and meaningful celebration of the Sacrament. Sin is not merely a series of failures. It is also your sharing in what is actually evil:
- Unbelief, indifference, selfishness,
- Violence, contempt for the weak, eroticism,
- Racism, neglect of the poor,
- Money seeking, wastefulness,
- A spirit of pride and superiority.
Every sin, in one way or another, has a community dimension. It is something which tarnishes the Body of Christ, which together, we are. Every sin ought to arouse in us feelings of humble regret and a confident request for pardon.
