FREE ESSAY ON RECONCILIATION

RECONCILIATION

The Christian religion including the Catholic, Protestant and Eastern Orthodox churches is
known as Christianity. Within the Christian faith there are many beliefs and acts for one
to follow. Such acts consist of the sacraments, for which there is seven. Believed by
many to be one of the most intricate and difficult to understand of all the sacraments,
is the sacrament of Reconciliation. Those who approach the sacrament of Reconciliation,
obtain pardon from God's mercy for the offense committed against him, and are, at the
same time, reconciled with the Church which they have wounded by there sins. There are
also two different types of sin. The consequences of sin also vary. This sacrament can
also be referred to by many different names. Many wonder how this sacrament came to be or
how it evolved. The evolution of it goes back to the time of Jesus Christ who instituted
all the sacraments to symbolize or confer grace. This sacrament also consists of many
parts or actions, which take place throughout the act of Reconciliation. There are also
many spiritual affects which come out of this sacrament. 
There are many different names of Reconciliation, three of the names are penance,
confession, and forgiveness. It is called the sacrament of Penance because this is the
part of the sacrament that consecrates the Christian sinners' personal steps of
conversion. There are three forms of penance. These forms are fasting, prayer and
almsgiving, which express conversion in relation to oneself, to God, and to all others.
It can be called the sacrament of Confession do to the act of revealing ones sins to the
priest. This is an essential element of this sacrament. Last but not least, it can be
known as the sacrament of forgiveness, do to the priest's sacramental absolution God
grants the Penitent pardon. The truth is Reconciliation encompasses all these aspects.
All of these aspects are needed to be fully reconciled with God.
Sin is before all else an offense against God, a break of communion with Him. At the same
time it damages communion with the Church. In the eyes of the Church, no evil is worse
than sin and nothing has worse consequences for sinners themselves and for the Church.
The sinner wounds Gods honor and love, his own human dignity as a man called to be a son
of God, of which each Christian ought to follow. That is why there is the sacrament of
Reconciliation so ones sins can be wiped away. 
There are two types of sin, venial and mortal. Mortal sin destroys kindness in the heart
of man by a serious violation of God's law. It turns man away from God, who is his
ultimate end and his complete happiness, by preferring an inferior good to him. Venial
sin allows kindness to exist, although it offends and wounds God's law. For a sin to be
mortal, three conditions must be met. Mortal sin is a sin whose object is grave matter
which is also committed with a full knowledge and deliberate consent. (Catechism 455)
Grave matter is specified by the Ten Commandments, corresponding to the answer of Jesus
to the rich young man,  Do not kill, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear
false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother. (Mk 10:19) The gravity of
sins is more or less great. Murder is graver than theft. One must also take into account
the one who is hurt. Violence against parents is in itself graver than violence against a
stranger. Mortal sin requires full knowledge and complete consent. It is assumed before
hand that the sinful act, which offends Gods laws, is done knowingly. With this
knowledge, one will continue to deliberately commit the act and go against God. One
commits venial sin when, in a less serious matter, when one disobeys the mortal law in a
grave matter, but without full knowledge or without committing the act purposely.
Deliberate and unrepented venial sins disposes us little by little to commit a mortal
sin. However, venial sin does not break the covenant with God.
Sin itself has a double consequence. Grave sin deprives us of communion with God and
therefore makes us incapable of eternal life, this is also known as the eternal
punishment of sin. On the other hand every sin, even venial, entails an unhealthy
attachment to man, which must be purified either here on earth, or after death in the
state called Purgatory. This purification frees one from what is called the temporal
punishment of sin. These two punishments must not be viewed as a kind of vengeance
inflicted by God, but from the very nature of the sin. The reconciliation of the sinner
can help one attain the purification so that no punishment will remain. The forgiveness
of sin and restoration of the communion with God entail the pardon of the eternal
punishment, but the temporal punishment of sin remains. Christians must strive to accept
this temporal punishment of sin as a grace. They should strive by works of mercy and
charity, as well as by prayer and the various practices of penance to start a clean
slate.
The church teaches that Only God forgives sin. (Catechism 362) This shows that when the
priest absolves one from their sins they are doing it on behalf of God. The Sacred
Scripture speaks of reconciliation and states when Jesus grants through the Holy Spirit
the power to forgive sins upon ordinary men. When Jesus appeared to the Disciples after
His resurrection He said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are
forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained. (Jn 20:22-23) This is one of the
most inspiring innovations of the Gospel. He gives this ability to the apostles for them
to continue their mission as proclaimers of the Gospel and ministers of Christ's
redemption work. In imparting to his apostles his own power to forgive sins the Lord also
gives them the authority to reconcile sinners to the Church. He gives this power to act
out in his name. When celebrating the sacrament of Reconciliation, the priest is
fulfilling the ministry of the Good Samaritan who puts together wounds and of the just
and impartial judge whose judgement is both just and merciful. The priest is the sign and
the instrument of God's merciful love for the sinner. 
Priests are not initially granted the ability to forgive sins in the name of God. Every
priest must be trained for the ministry of the sacramental penance from his years in the
seminary, not only through the study of dogmatic, moral, spiritual and pastoral theology,
but also through the study of human sciences, training in dialogue and especially in how
to deal with people in the pastoral context.  He should have a proven knowledge of
Christian behavior, experience of human affairs, respect and sensitivity toward the one
who has fallen; he must love the truth, be faithful to the Magisterium of the Church, and
lead the penitent with patience toward healing and full maturity. (Catechism 368) 
Given the delicacy and greatness of this ministry, the Church declares that every priest
who hears confessions is bound under very severe penalties to keep absolute secrecy
regarding the sins that his penitents have confessed to him. This secret, which admits
with no exceptions, is called the sacramental seal because of what the penitent has made
known to the priest remains sealed by the sacrament.
There are many parts or actions, which take place during each act of Penance. Three of
these acts are from the penitent himself. These include the acts of contrition,
confession and satisfaction. The act of the priest is called absolution. Among the
penitent's acts, contrition occupies first place. Contrition is  sorrow of the soul and
detestation for the sin committed, together with the resolution not to sin again
(Catechism 364) 
The confession of sins frees us and facilitates our reconciliation with others.
Confession to a priest is essential part of the sacrament of Penance. Through such an
admission, man looks at the sins he is guilty of, takes responsibility for them, and
thereby opens himself again to God and to the Church in order to make a new future
possible. 
Many sins wrong our neighbor. One must do what is possible to repair harm. For example,
return stolen goods, restore the reputation of someone abused or pay compensation. Sin
injures and weakens the sinner himself, as well as his relationship with God and
neighbor. Absolution takes away sin but it does not fix all the disorders sin has caused.
The sinner must recover his full spiritual health by doing something more to make amends
for the sin. He must make satisfaction for or forgive his sins. This satisfaction is
called penance. The penance the priest gives to the penitent must take into account the
penitent's personal situation and must seek his spiritual good. It must correspond with
nature of the sins committed. It can consist of prayer, and offering, works of mercy,
services of neighbor, sacrifices and above all the patient expectance of the cross. Such
penances help lead us to Christ, who forgave our sins once for all. 
The priest, through the power of the Holy Spirit, has the ability to forgive the sins of
others in Gods name. When ones sins are officially absolved the priest will say the
formula of absolution toward the end of Penance. The formula states: God, the father of
mercies, through the death and the resurrection of his Son has reconciled the world to
himself and sent the Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sins; through the
ministry of the Church may God give you pardon and peace, and I absolve you from your
sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. (Catechism 364)
It is at this moment when this is said that the sinner encounters the power and the mercy
of God. The absolution that the priest, the minister of forgiveness, grants to the
penitent is a strong sign of the intervention of the Father in every absolution. The
priest by virtue of his sacred office appears as the witness and representative of this
ecclesial nature of the sacrament. (John Paul II 83) 
In 1551, when Julius III was the Sovereign Pontiff, he put together The Council of Trent
and wrote The Fourteenth Session. This contains the Canon Laws, which concern the
Sacrament of Penance. There are fifteen laws, but the one, which concerns confessing sins
to a priest, is Canon VI. It states: If anyone denieth, either the sacramental confession
was instituted, or is necessary to salvation, of divine right; or saith that the manner
of confessing secretly to a priest alone, which the church hath observed from the
beginning, and doth observe, is alien from the institutional and command of Christ, and
is a human invention; let him be anathema. (Julius III 6) What this is basically stating
is that if a person, denies that there is a need for him to confess his sins to a priest,
denies that this sacrament is needed for salvation, this person will be banned or
excommunicated from the church.
There are many spiritual effects of the sacrament of Reconciliation. One is
reconciliation with God by which the penitent recovers grace. There is also, forgiveness
of the eternal punishment incurred by mortal sins. Forgiveness of temporal punishments
resulting from sin is also an outcome. Peace and tranquility of conscience, and spiritual
comfort also effect an individual during Reconciliation. In addition, there is an
increase of spiritual strength. Furthermore, there is reconciliation with the communion
of the Church.
Reconciliation is a very serious sacrament not to be taken lightly. It is a gift, which
was principally given to us by God. It also has a two-fold aspect to it, which consist of
liberation from sin and communion of grace with God. It joins us with God in an intimate
friendship with him. Through reconciliation, one has made a personal commitment to God to
begin a new life. In this sacrament, the sinner, placing himself before the merciful
judgement of God, anticipates the judgement that they will be subjected to, when they
die. Though this sacrament may consist of different parts, it is through the priest that
they are put in contact with the power of God and solves them in God's name. The
strongest aspect which one can have to get them through this sacrament is faith. As
stated by Pope John Paul II, Only faith can give us certainty that at that moment every
sin is forgiven and blotted out by the mysterious intervention of the Savior. (John Paul
II 82) 
Bibliography
John Paul II Reconciliatio et Paenitentia: Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation on
Reconciliation and Penance Boston: St. Paul's Books and Media, 2 December 1984.
Julius III The Fourteenth Session On The Most Holy Sacraments of
Penance and Extreme Unction 25 November 1551.
Ratinger, Joseph Cardinal Catechism of the Catholic Church New 
Jersey: Paulist Press,1946.