Discuss the liturgical celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation of one penitent. Include: How is this sacrament part of the Mysterion? , a brief history of the rite, what are the essential elements and explanatory rites and what are the meanings behind the various parts of the rite? What are the effects of the sacrament? The liturgical celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation of one penitent is one of the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church.It is a part of the Churches mysterion, as it is a sacrament instituted by Jesus Christ in which an individual confesses their sins made after their initial cleansing in the Sacrament of Baptism and is given forgiveness by a priest which has been given the authority to forgive sins by Jesus Christ.
This particular sacrament is important because the individual has a chance to confesses their sins and become reconciled with the love of God and with the Church.This paper will explore a brief history of the Sacrament of Reconciliation as well as outline the essential elements of the sacrament and the importance and effect the Sacrament of Reconciliation has on the Church and its people. The mystery of the Sacrament of Reconciliation is centred from the notion that God reconciled with the world through sending his only son Jesus Christ, made man in order to free human beings from the slavery of sin.Through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, Jesus was able to fulfil the covenant that God made with his people and brought reconciliation and salvation to the world.
The sacrament of reconciliation is part of the Mysterion as the salvation of people by God is directly linked to the development of repentance within the gospels. Following Jesus’ resurrection, the Holy Spirit was sent to the apostles, giving them authority to forgive or retain sins in the name of God and to preach repentance. An example of this is found in the Gospel of Mark where he states, “Repent and believe the Gospel” (1:15)Following from the development of reconciliation within the gospels, the earliest commentaries regarding the notion of reconciliation are found throughout the gospel of Paul. Compared to other gospels, the gospel of Paul gives great attention to reconciliation as it aims to outline the importance of reconciliation in its own right. The letters attributed to Paul are a prime example of this, “For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life.But more than that, we even boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
(Rom 5:10-11). As Paul brings the idea of reconciliation to the forefront of the Christian tradition, the development of reconciliation as a sacrament follows. The elements of the Sacrament of Reconciliation and the ways in which the penitent is able to reconcile have varied and continually changed over the centuries. In the days of the early Church, Christians distinguished their sins from lesser or greater sins.Only the greater sins required the process of reconciliation, while lesser sins could be forgiven through prayer alone.
Following from this, in the third century, the Sacrament of Reconciliation emerged as a ritual involving the entire community. The confession of the penitent was a public occurrence, where an individual was made to repent their sins openly to the community within the Church. Various forms of punishment were issued for the scale of one’s sins, the most important being that an individual could not take part in the sacrament of the Eucharist.A major change in the act of penance came from the Council of Nicea (325) AD where bishops were given sole authority to act on behalf of God and forgive the sins of the penitent, however this was later changed in the fifth century as presbyters were also given similar authority.
The sacrament of reconciliation began to make the move from public to private in the sixth century as influence of ‘monastic practice’ from the missionary work of the Irish and Anglo-Saxon Christians began to spread. Through this influence, the idea of a ‘once only confession’ was also challenged.The Council of Trent in 1551 supported this method of reconciliation by pushing the idea of individual penance to the forefront of Christian practice. Through this, the idea of reconciliation was given greater importance to the individual as well as the community as the focus became shifted from the forgiveness of sins to a renewed sense of rebuilding ones relationship with God. This is the same conclusion reached by the Vatican II in 1964 and is still predominant in Christian practice today.
While it is evident that the sacrament of reconciliation has changed over time, the underlying meanings and core intentions behind the practice remain the same. That is, Christians who have sinned are given a path to which they can be forgiven for their sins in order reconcile their relationship with God and the Church. Through this, each element of the sacrament of penance is given importance, as they directly correlate to the core beliefs behind the development of the sacrament. The three predominant parts of the sacrament of reconciliation include the contrition, confession and the act of penance.The contrition is arguably the most important component as it is the initial commitment made by the penitent to commit to their beliefs under the eyes of God and vow not only to reveal all of their secrets to the priest, but also vows not to sin again.
The act of contrition is a genuine attempt of enlightenment by the penitent, in order to strengthen their resolve to live the way Jesus lived. It is this section of reconciliation which forms the basis for the parts that follow. The second act is the act of confession. This is when a person takes responsibility for their actions and confesses their sins to a priest.It is an essential part of penance as it consciously requires a self examination and admittance of sins committed, no matter how severe.
The minister then passes a spiritual judgment with the power invested him through Christ and through the priest, God is able to forgive the individual for their wrong doing. The penitent must confess all sins and withhold nothing back, with the belief that if they do they are holding back everything from God and cannot fully be reconciled as they are holding secrets which could damage their soul.The previous two acts are not yet completely fulfilled until the penitent gives simple justice to the sin committed. Although Absolution can take away the sin it does not fully rectify the problem caused by the sinner.
The sinner must take the next step to make ‘satisfaction’ for or ‘expiate’ their sins. The penance must correspond to the seriousness of the nature of the sin committed. Various acts can consist of prayers, offerings, and works of mercy, service to a neighbour, voluntary self denial or sacrifices which relate directly to the sin.Absolution follows in which the Priest speaks essential words and performs the sign of the cross which indicates the reconciliation comes from the mercy of God. This explanatory right connects the bonds in which were broken in the first place by sin. It reconnects the penitent to the Pascal mystery of Christ as well as again receiving the grace of the Holy Spirit.
The most important part of the sacrament is the reconciliation that the penitent has with God unto which the Church and the ministries have performed this sacrament in order to achieve this. The effects of the sacraments (200)God made man and manmade sin, Sin did not come from God because God is perfect. This particular sacrament of reconciliation has a profound effect on both the Church and the people. After receiving grace at baptism humans are to make mistakes and sin. The celebration and frequent use of this sacrament provides a remedy to venial sins.
Venial sins are committed every day and are considered to be a ‘lesser sin’. This helps with the believers of Christ to strive for the perfection of Grace that is received at Baptism. Also the effect helps clear the vision and path to follow and live like Jesus.The effect of this sacrament is not fully effective and does not fully serve a purpose until it taken and made a part of the penitent’s life, so that every day the relationship is strengthened with Jesus.
The Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation with a priest ordained in the name of Jesus Christ not only reconciles the sinner to God but also reconciles the individual with the entire Church. It is a healing process, an opportunity for a person who has done wrong to admit to their sins and commit to making things right again so that they may be forgiven through this encounter with God.Reconciliation is particularly important for an individual, as they are able to be forgiven for a sin, regardless of how bad it may be. This enables the sinner to not only be forgiven by God and the Church but also enables them to forgive themselves and endeavour to live as a good Christian and make things right again.
The sacrament of reconciliation also encourages individuals to forgive each other for their wrong doing, impacting the Church and its people in a positive way, creating an environment of forgiveness and acceptance.The sacrament of Reconciliation is a gift from God and a sign of his mercy it is sacrament that was instituted by Jesus so that we could have salvation. It is grounded the Christianity and has changed over time every since the early churches. Although there has been change in the way it is performed or practiced the core essential elements and meanings remain the same. The sacrament is a holy sacrament that connects us to the Pascal mystery of Christ, to the love of God, the fellowship of the Church and its people.
By enrooting this sacrament into our lives we are able to become closer with God and forward ourselves in our spiritual journey.
