THE SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION AND PENANCE

A. Biblical Foundation
Matthew 16:19 - Peter confessed the Jesus is the Messiah; After his
confession, Jesus gave him the key to the Kingdom of God and said, Whatever
you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth
shall be loosed in heaven.
Luke 5:18-26 - Jesus preached repentance and announced forgiveness of
sins.

B. The Sacrament of Forgiving Sins

Three Terms for the sacrament of Forgiving Sins:
Confession when stressing our need to acknowledge our sins and ask
forgiveness;
Penance - focus on the conversion process of contrition, repentance and
satisfaction;
Reconciliation - restoring our graced relationships of love and friendship with
God and our neighbor.

The Sacrament of Forgiving Sins is a sacrament through which we obtain pardon

from God for sins committed after Baptism and for which we are truly repentant,
and are reconciled with the Christian community, the Church.

C. Sin and Conversion

Classification of Sin:
- Personal: committed by the individual person, but always in relation to
others and the community;
- Social: common negative moral attitudes and acts;
- Structural: as economic, social or political patterns or systems that
produce injustice and harm.
Factors that determine the gravity of a sin and its degrees:
- nature of the act
- intention of the doer
- circumstances
Classification of sin in reference to GRAVITY:
- Mortal sin sin unto death - kills our basic love relationship with God
and others.
- Venial sin - excusable sin - does not involve our fundamental core
freedom, but undermines and weakens our love relationships with God and
others.
CONVERSION - is an ongoing process of constant turning away from sin and
the occasions of sin, and toward renewing our spirit by the following means:
acknowledging our sins; being truly repentant, and with firm purpose of
amendment.
Four Steps in the Conversion Process
1) conflict 3) self-discovery
 2) encounter 4) personal transformation
Sacramental means in the Christian process of conversion: Baptism,
Penance, & Eucharist
Non-Sacramental means in the Christian process of conversion: prayer,
almsgiving and fasting, penitential services, and especially our daily acts of
sacrifice, loving service, kindness, compassion, and forgiveness.
Various Types of Conversion:
- Moral: turning away from sin toward genuine love;
- Affective: ordering our imagination, feelings and emotions toward the
good;
- Intellectual: redirecting our understanding and judgment; all entering into

- Religious: falling in love with God.

*It is the Triune God who forgives in the sacrament of Reconciliation. It is the
Father who reconciles us to Himself through Christ who empowered his apostles
with the Holy Spirit for the forgiveness of sins.

*By going to confession we affirm our faith-convictions that we are sinners,

needing Gods merciful forgiveness, which comes to us through Christ and his
Church, in the sacramental ministry of the priests, acting in Christs name and
empowered by the Spirit, who brings peace and reconciliation to the repentant
sinner.
D. Churchs Role in the Sacrament of Reconciliation
Both our sins and our reconciliation involve others. Like the Church herself, we
need to be both forgiven and forgiving. Thus, we pray daily in the Lords Prayer
(Our Father): Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.

E. Indulgences - are NOT means to forgive sins but only to remit the temporal
punishment due to sins that have already been forgiven.

Two Kinds of Indulgences:

1) Plenary the remission of all temporal punishment;
2) Partial - the remission of part of such temporal punishment

F. TEN COMMANDMENTS:
1. I am the Lord your God, you shall not have other gods beside me.
2. You shall not take the name of the Lord, your God, in vain.
3. Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day.
4. Honor your father and mother.
5. You shall not kill.
6. You shall not commit adultery.
7. You shall not steal.
8. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
9. You shall not covet your neighbors wife.
10. You shall not covet your neighbors goods.
G. Rite of Reconciliation:

*Four Steps in the Rite of Reconciliation:

Acts of the Penitent: 1) Contrition being sorry for the sins committed; (Matter)
2) Confession
3) Penance / Satisfaction
Act of the Priest-Confessor: 4) Absolution (Form)

THE SACRAMENT OF ANOINTING OF THE SICK

A. Biblical Foundation
Matthew 6:11-13 - So they set off to preach repentance; and they cast out
many devils, and anointed many sick people with oil and cured them.
1Corinthians 12:9-10 - to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gift
of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another
prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another
various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.
Christ passed his own ministry of healing the sick and the infirm to the apostles
and the Church. - James 5:14ff - Is there anyone sick among you? He
should ask for the presbyters of the Church. They, in turn, are to pray over him,
anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. This prayer uttered in faith will
reclaim the one who is ill, and the Lord will restore him to health.

B. Definition of the Sacrament

Sacred ANOINTING OF THE SICK is a sacrament instituted by Christ to give
spiritual aid and strength and perfect spiritual health, including, if need be, the
remission of sins.
It also restores bodily health to Christians who are seriously ill.
Through the sacred anointing of the sick and the prayers of her priests, the
whole Church commends those who are ill to the suffering and glorified Lord,
asking that he may lighten their suffering and save them.
The ANOINTING OF THE SICK is the sacrament which, through the laying on
of hands, the prayer of faith, and the anointing with blessed oil, provides the
sick with Christs healing grace of the Holy Spirit.

C. Sickness and Sin

Sickness is the concrete sign of the deeper, more general spiritual evil in the
world.
The Christian is called to see sickness as a sign of the oppressive presence
of evil in the world, and therefore, struggle against all sickness and seek good
health; and recognize the need of the sick for special help and comfort from
family, community, and Gods grace.
Cure refers to the medical pursuit of the eradication of disease or defect.
 Healing - refers to the holistic care that touches the body, mind, and spirit of
the sick person.

D. Renewal of the Sacrament

The renewal of this sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick includes changing
its aim to serving the sick, not only the dying or those who are at the point of
death. Hence the change of its name to Anointing of the Sick instead of
Extreme Unction; inserting the prayer of faith in which the community,
represented by the priest, the family, friends and neighbors all pray for those
to be anointed; and giving emphasis to Christ, the Healer, who transforms the
meaning and significance of the sick persons illness into sharing in his own
saving work.

E. Holy Viaticum
In danger of death, we should also receive the sacraments of Reconciliation
and Eucharist together with the Anointing.
Holy Viaticum (which means with-you-on-the-way) - the Eucharist for the
dying Christian; it vividly pictures Christ as leading and accompanying the
Christian into the heavenly banquet.