Day 199: The Sacrament of Forgiveness

Christ instituted the sacrament of Penance for all sinful members of his Church: above all for those who, since Baptism, have fallen into grave sin, and have thus lost their baptismal grace and wounded ecclesial communion. It is to them that the sacrament of Penance offers a new possibility to convert and to recover the grace of justification. the Fathers of the Church present this sacrament as "the second plank [of salvation] after the shipwreck which is the loss of grace." CCC 1446

In today's reading, the Catechism delves into the mechanics of the Sacrament of Penance & Reconciliation. In short, for this sacrament to be efficacious, it requires the penitent, prompted by the Holy Spirit, to seek repentance and a priest granting absolution in the name of Christ, along with a way for us to make penitential satisfaction. 

The Catechism Compendium summarizes the acts of the penitent:

They are: a careful examination of conscience; contrition (or repentance), which is perfect when it is motivated by love of God and imperfect if it rests on other motives and which includes the determination not to sin again; confession, which consists in the telling of one’s sins to the priest; and satisfaction or the carrying out of certain acts of penance which the confessor imposes upon the penitent to repair the damage caused by sin. (#303)

The Catechism Companion, Vol II comments on how this sacrament has changed over the centuries to its current form today:

In the early Church, confession was sometimes reserved for certain major sins like murder, adultery, and apostasy. Strict discipline was practiced, including public acknowledgment of sin and extended periods of penance. In the 800s, priests from Ireland introduced private confession between the penitent and the priest. This empowered God's mercy and grace alongside the awareness of the ugliness and awfulness of sin. The essential elements of the sacrament have remained the same throughout history. (p. 162)

While ideally a penitent will have "perfect contrition" for their sins, a less-than perfect contrition "is also a gift of God, a prompting of the Holy Spirit" (CCC 1452-53).

Ukrainian Byzantine Rite Greek-Catholic church of the Bernhardines in Lviv, Ukraine.

The sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation extends the mercy of God to the sinner through the instrumentality of the priest. In the sacrament we can turn back to God and receive divine grace again (see CCC 1446). (p. 163)