Chapter 27 Christ’s Healing: Reconciliation and Anointing summoned.

summoned. PCP II declared that the EDSA experience of 1986 “continues to call us to
Jesus said to them: “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” Then be a people who work for conversion, reconciliation, and peace” (PCP II Decrees, Art.
he breathed on them and said: “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive men’s sins, they 4). Among the means recommended, it stressed that “the Sacrament of Penance must
are forgiven them; if you hold them bound, they are held bound. ” (Jn 20:21-23) be strongly emphasized in the life of the Church” (PCP II Decrees, Art. 9).
Is there anyone sick among you? He should ask for the presbyters of the Church. They 1769. The following exposition of the Sacrament of Penance/Reconciliation takes up,
in turn are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the Name [of the Lord] This prayer first, Vatican II’s desired revision of the Sacrament, focusing on God who forgives, the
uttered in faith will reclaim the one who is ill, and the Lord will restore him to health. Christian community, the Church, and the penitent’s ongoing conversion. Second, the
If he has committed any sins, forgiveness will be his. basic realities of conversion and sin are explained, followed by the third section on the
(Jas 5:14-15) revised sacramental rites with the basic actions of both penitent and confessor.
OPENING EXPOSITION
1760. Central to the healing ministry of Jesus are his call to repentance and I. PENANCE OR RECONCILIATION
reconciliation, and his compassionate acts of healing. Even before his birth he was A. Vatican II’s View of “Confession”
named “Jesus” because his mission was to save his people from their sins (cf. Mt 1:21). 1770. Pre-note on Names of the Sacrament. Different names bring out particular
He began his ministry preaching: “Repent and believe in the Gospel” (Mk 1:15). He dimensions of the Sacrament. “Confession” stresses the importance of acknowledging
identified himself by his work: “the blind recover their sight, cripples walk, lepers are our sins while asking for God’s forgiving grace. “Sacrament of Penance” emphasizes
cured, the deaf hear, dead men are raised to life, and the poor have the Good News rather the whole process of conversion, including contrition, repentance and
preached to them” (Mt 11:5). satisfaction, which the penitent enters into, both personally and as a member of the
The Risen Christ entrusted his ministry of healing and reconciliation to his Church in the Church community. “Sacrament of Reconciliation” brings out the inner relationship
apostles. Thus Peter began preaching the Good News with: “You must reform and be between being reconciled with God and being reconciled with our neighbor. This link
baptized. . . in the name of Jesus Christ, that your sins may be forgiven; then you will is stressed by Christ in his Sermon on the Mount: “go first to be reconciled with your
receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). brother,” “then come and offer your gift” to God (Mt 5:24; cf. CCC 1423).
1761. But Christ foresaw that human ills and weaknesses would lead even baptized Purpose of the Sacrament
Christians to “turn aside from [their] first love” (cf. Rv 2:4). He therefore empowered 1771. Vatican II presents the purpose of the Sacrament of Penance or Reconciliation in
his apostles with the Holy Spirit to bring God’s own healing and forgiveness of sins they the life of the Church as follows:
committed after baptism (cf. Jn 20:21-23). The primary reality for Christians, then, is Those who approach the sacrament of Penance obtain pardon from God’s mercy for
not human suffering and sin, but God’s healing and forgiveness of sin. “We go so far as offenses committed against Him, and are, at the same time, reconciled with the Church
to make God our boast through our Lord Jesus Christ through whom we have now which they have wounded by their sins and which by charity, example and prayer,
received reconciliation” (Rom 5:10). labors for their conversion (LG 11; cf. CCC 1422).
1762. This chapter on Christ’s healing, embracing both the Sacrament of Reconciliation 1772. This text and the subsequent new approved rites stress three basic realities that
and the Sacrament of Anointing, flows directly from the preceding chapters of Part III were often lost in typical routine confessions:
of this Catechism. For it is the Holy Spirit (Chap. 22) who brings God’s healing and • God who in His infinite mercy grants forgiveness and reconciles us to Himself and to
forgiveness, and reconciles us with one another. This is effected through the ministry one another in this sacrament celebrated in the context of His Word in Scripture;
of our Christian community, the Church (Chap. 23), in sacramental rituals of worship • the Church, the Christian community, as continuing Christ’s ministry of forgiveness
(Chap. 24). These Sacraments of Healing flow from the Sacraments of Initiation. The and reconciliation; and
primary sacrament of forgiveness is Baptism (Chap. 25), through which we are freed • continued personal conversion and heartfelt repentance for sins against God and
from sin and are joined to the Risen Christ our Savior, in his Body the Church. Moreover, neighbor, supported by the charity, good example and prayers of the whole
the Eucharist (Chap. 26), in which we celebrate Christ’s redeeming sacrifice, repairs our community. Each of these three essential dimensions of the Sacrament of
less grievous injuries and reconciles us in our loving relationships with God and our Reconciliation will be briefly developed in what follows.
neighbor. God Who Forgives/Reconciles
1763. This chapter is particularly important because Vatican II initiated a major renewal 1773. Many poorly catechized Filipino Catholics are still plagued by fears, superstitious
in the understanding of both Sacraments of Healing. First, the common names of both taboos, and irrational guilt feelings, based on an un-Christian view of a vengeful God.
Sacraments have been changed to bring out the deeper, fuller meaning of the faith- Jesus came to liberate us from such fears and guilt anxieties by revealing to us the
realities involved: Grace, Sin, Contrition, Forgiveness, Sickness, and Healing. Second, “Good News” that God is our loving Father who loves us in His divine Son-made-man.
the image of Christ as “healing Physician” is regained. Lastly, both Reconciliation and Thus the Christian is sorry for sin and repentant before the Triune God of Love who,
Anointing deal with basic issues of daily Christian living __ of what it means to follow through salvation history, continues to draw sinners to true repentance (R Pen. 1).
Jesus Christ as his disciples in everyday life. The Father has shown forth His mercy by reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, and
CONTEXT by making peace for all things on earth and in heaven by the blood of Christ on the
1764. Filipinos are known the world over for their many healing ways, and especially Cross (cf. 2 Cor 5:18ff; Col 1:20). Christ, the Son of God-made-man, lived among us in
for their deep order to free us from the slavery of sin, and call us out of darkness into his own
personal relationships. Thus, both Sacraments of Healing: Reconciliation and Anointing wonderful light (cf. 1 Pt 2:9).
of the Sick, After his Resurrection, Christ breathed upon the apostles and said: “Receive the Holy
touch something deeply rooted in our culture. The Filipino’s deeply-felt desire for God’s Spirit. If you forgive men’s sins, they are forgiven them; If you hold them bound, they
forgiveness, are held bound ” (Jn 20:22f).
and for spiritual healing and reconciliation, is clearly manifested through various prayer 1774. This Christian image of the Triune God is clearly presented in the new Rite of
and charismatic groups, and in social service activities. Spiritual counseling, almsgiving Penance. The ultimate purpose of the sacrament is that we should love God deeply and
for the people caught in natural disasters, fasting for spiritual favors, and many commit ourselves completely to Him: to the Father who “first loved us” (1 Jn 4:19), to
perduring devotional healing and penitential practices, all have shown remarkable Christ who gave himself up for us (cf. Gal 2:20; Eph 5:25), and to the Holy Spirit who
growth in recent years. has been poured out on us abundantly” (cf. Ti 3:6) R Pen. 5).
1765. Unfortunately, superstition and ignorance impede the full flowering of these 1775. Profession of Faith. Thus, to confess our sins in the sacrament of Penance is really
basic Christian values. Simple, good-willed people “feel” reconciled with God through to profess our Catholic Faith. By “going to Con-fession,” we implicitly affirm our FAITH
a once-a-year devotional procession, or fulfilling some personal panata. “Healing” is convictions that: a. we are sinners; b. we need the mercy of God our Father who sent
often sought through the various “faith healers,” miraculous statues, pilgrimages to His Son to save us and the Holy Spirit to dwell within us;
sites of alleged apparitions, and the like. Thus the urgent need for an adequate c. God’s mercy, always available to us, comes through:
catechesis in both these sacraments of healing __ a truly inculturated catechesis that • Christ, the “Primordial Sacrament” of God’s mercy;
can draw on the valuable elements of our “Filipino Folk Catholicism” in bringing the • the Church, the “Fundamental Sacrament” of Christ;
truth and value of Christ’s healing to the Filipino Catholic of today. We shall take up the • the priest, representing both Christ and the Church.
specific context and exposition of Reconciliation first, followed by our exposition of d. God calls us to conversion, that is, to be truly sorry for our sins, to “make up” for our
Anointing. sins and the sins of others, and to do better with the help of His Grace.
1766. Regarding Reconciliation. There has been a sharp, dramatic decline in the e. The closer intimacy with Christ and re-integration in the Church community effected
number of Catholics regularly going to “Confession,” as the Sacrament of Reconciliation in confession finds a natural completion in the Eucharistic celebration
is commonly called. Pope John Paul II recognized that “the Sacrament of Penance is in In the Christian Community, the Church
crisis” (RP 28). Many reasons are offered: the loss of a “sense of sin” and personal guilt; 1776. The second great emphasis is to view “confession” as a communitarian and
a widespread confusion over what is morally right and wrong; or a deep dissatisfaction ecclesial action. In
with impersonal routine confessions that failed to bring about any authentic spiritual contrast to the inadequate individualistic notion of penance which often characterized
conversion. the “routine confessions” in the past, we now recognize that the whole Christian
1767. For many Filipino Catholics, “confession” became so routine, so impersonal, that community is involved in forgiveness and reconciliation. For like each of her members,
it had little to do with their real daily activities in their families, businesses, and the Church herself needs to be both forgiven and forgiving, reconciled and reconciling.
communities. The “sins” confessed were often those learned from lists found in a Thus, the Christian community in every Eucharistic celebration prays as Christ the Lord
catechism, not the real moral faults that hurt their relationships to others, to God, and taught his disciples: “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us” (Mt
to their own true selves, in their everyday lives. Contrition and sorrow were usually 6:12).
reduced to the external “piety” of “going to confession” __ not any deep conversion of 1777. Our Catholic Church needs forgiveness because she is not an elite social group of
heart, or serious effort to get to the root causes of the habitual sin. Doing penance was the “saved,” but like Christ her Head receives both sinners and the just. Hence she “is
saying three Hail Mary’s, without any practical steps to repair the real harm inflicted by at the same time holy and always in need of purification, [and] constantly pursues
sin, nor to reform one’s life. The priest’s absolution was like a magical formula that repentance and renewal” (R Pen. 3, quoting LG 8). Our parish communities, then, are
wiped away all sins, without really effecting any change in the penitent’s attitudes or called to give living and concrete witness of reconciliation, bringing peace to people’s
spiritual life. minds, reducing tensions, overcoming divisions, and healing the wounds her members
1768. This deterioration in the understanding and practice of sacramental have inflicted upon one another. “We must try to be united in what is essential for
reconciliation is shown in the persistent complaints of the youth: “Why do I have to Christian Faith and life, in accordance with the ancient maxim: In what is doubtful,
confess to a priest?” “What’s the use of going to confession when I always fall into the freedom; in what is necessary, unity; in all things, charity” (RP 9).
same sins?” The response must be to situate confession within the Christian 1778. But the Church not only calls sinners to repentance by preaching the Word of
community, and within the total conversion process to which Filipino Catholics are God. She also intercedes for them and helps penitents to acknowledge and confess
their sins, and so obtain the mercy of God who alone forgives sins. For it is “to the 1787. But among Filipinos, perhaps the most common form of reconciliation is found
whole Church, as to a priestly people, that the Lord entrusted the ministry of effecting in our daily acts of sympathy, kindness, persevering patience, and works of mercy.
reconciliation in various ways” (R Pen. 8). Thus, the Church herself becomes the Especially helpful are our ordinary acts of loving service which “covers a multitude of
instrument of conversion and absolution of her penitents through the ministry sins” (1 Pt 4:8). Even simply admitting one’s own faults is a practical form of
entrusted by Christ to the apostles and their successors” (Ibid). repentance. Fraternal correction of others, when truly motivated by love, can be a real
1779. The Church was commissioned by Christ to preach the “Good News of act of love and reconciliation. For as St. James tells us: “The person who brings a sinner
forgiveness of sins for the repentant.” In the past, some mistakenly overstressed God’s back from his way will save his soul from death and cancel a multitude of sins” (Jas
hatred for sin and the terrible punishments in store for the unrepentant sinner as the 5:20).
focus of Church preaching. Today the opposite charge is made: at Mass everyone 1788. In recent years, the Church has especially encouraged penitential celebrations
comes up for Communion, seemingly without any concern for sin. which involve the proclamation of God’s Word, suitable songs, psalms, periods of
Actually, the Church is following her Lord by both calling sinners to the positive step of silence, a homily, and common prayers and litanies, climaxing in the communal
conversion, and celebrating penance in witness to Christ’s victory over sin (R Pen. 1). recitation of the Lord’s Prayer. These celebrations have proven very effective in
Thus, celebrating the Sacrament of Penance is really an “act in which the Church fostering the spirit of penitence within the parish or BEC community. They help the
proclaims her faith, gives thanks to God for the freedom Christ has won for us (cf. Gal ordinary adult Filipino Catholic to prepare more effectively for confession, and
4:31), and offers her life as a spiritual sacrifice in praise of God’s glory, as she hastens contribute effectively to the gradual formation of a Christian conscience in the children
to meet the Lord Jesus” (R Pen. 7b). and youth.
The Process of On-Going Personal Conversion Both adults and youth are aided toward that “perfect contrition” that comes from
1780. Insistence on the whole process of conversion is perhaps the most striking loving God more deeply and personally (cf. R Pen. 36f).
change introduced by the present renewal of the Sacrament of Reconciliation (cf. CCC Yet, these communal celebrations of personal Christian repentance, effective as they
1426 -30). PCP II made conversion one of its outstanding themes (cf. PCP II 64, 156, hopefully are, must not be confused with the Sacrament of Penance/Reconciliation. No
189, 271-75). The Church, solicitous in calling the faithful to continual conversion and amount of personal fervor and communal spirit can constitute a Sacrament, which is
renewal, urges them to acknowledge their sins with heartfelt repentance, celebrate the work of God’s grace through the Risen Christ, the Holy Spirit, and the Church.
the sacrament of Penance, and attend penitential celebrations (cf. Decree, R Pen.). B. The Process of Total Conversion
The Sacrament of Penance must be put against the wider horizon of the Christian virtue 1789. “Conversion” here means not only an individual act, but also the whole life-long
of penance, and within the whole process of conversion. “Going to confession” must process of moving toward closer union with Christ our Savior, in his community, the
be linked explicitly to the many other means the Church uses to bring about Church, away from sinful ways and habits (cf. CCC 1430-31). Hence it does not refer
reconciliation, particularly the Sacraments of Baptism and Eucharist, and non- only to a single act of moving from atheism to belief in God, nor from one religion to
sacramental penitential services and devotions. another. As a life-long call to repentance and turning back to God, conversion is a
1. Baptism constant theme throughout the Bible.
1781. The Nicene Creed proclaims “one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins,” indicating Conversion in the Bible
that Christ’s victory over sin touches us first and foremost in Baptism. For it is in 1. Old Testament
Baptism that we receive the Spirit of the Father and the Risen Christ, so that we may 1790. In the Old Testament, three themes predominate. First, the insistence on a real
no longer be slaves to sin, but rise with Christ and live for God (cf. Rom 6:4-10). But this conversion of the heart, inspired by love and true knowledge of God (cf. Hos 6:1-6).
new life given in Baptism does not eradicate our human weaknesses and openness to Second, an equally strong demand for a radical change in behavior. “Put away your
temptations and to sin. Thus, Christ taught his disciples to pray daily: “Forgive us our misdeeds: . . . cease doing evil; learn to do good. Make justice your aim; redress the
sins” (Lk 11:4). Moreover, he linked God’s forgiveness of our sins with our mutual wronged” (Is 1:16f). Third, the sharp realization that it is God who effects true
pardon of one another. conversion: “a clean heart create for me, O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within
Thus, the early Church considered Penance a “Second, laborious Baptism,” the means me” (Ps 51:12; cf. Ez 36:26ff).
for repairing the original grace of Baptism. Peter’s second conversion of shedding bitter 1791. These themes are sharply etched in David’s conversion which presents a
tears of repentance after denying the Lord three times (cf. Lk 22:62) served as a model. paradigm of the conversion process (cf. 2 Sam 12). It begins with the conflict between
St. Ambrose taught that in the Church there is both the water of Baptism and the tears David’s covenant with God and his grave sins of adultery and murder. There follows the
of Penance (cf. CCC 1429). encounter with Nathan the prophet who brings David to self-discovery (“I have sinned
2. Eucharist against the Lord”) and to opening himself to the transformation worked by God’s
1782. Filipino Catholics in the past were carefully instructed on the need to confess all pardon.
mortal sins in Confession before receiving Holy Communion. This wise pastoral decree 2. New Testament
of the Church guards against abusing God’s great gift to us in the Eucharist. For the 1792. Jesus continued and deepened this call to the same conversion process. “I have
Eucharist is the real symbol of our union with God and with one another. Anyone who not come to invite the self-righteous to change of heart but sinners” (Lk 5:32). Coming
is turned away from God and from the community because of mortal sin, therefore, as a source of life and light with his simple goodness and love shining through his every
should publicly repent of this sin and celebrate through the Sacrament of Penance act, Jesus naturally drew sinners into a process of conversion. The penitent woman,
God’s forgiveness and restoration to the community.* Zacchaeus the tax collector, Peter himself __ all were brought through conflict and
1783. Few Filipino Catholics, however, have been catechized to understand the encounter with Christ to true self-discovery and transformation. Christ’s teaching on
Eucharist as the traditional sacrament of reconciliation for our everyday failures and the whole process of conversion is best exemplified in his parable of the Prodigal Son,
sins committed after Baptism. The Eucharist, after all, is the sacrament celebrating the or the “Forgiving Father” (cf. Lk 15:11-32). It brings out God’s special concern and
redeeming love of the whole Christ, both Head and members. Both as communion- unconditional love for the sinner, and the human process of acknowledging one’s sin
sacrament and as sacrifice-sacrament, it thus signifies the basic value of reconciling us and turning back. Clearly no sin is beyond the mercy of God. Nothing we do can ever
to God and to one another. change or diminish God’s incredible love for each of us. But we must respond.
As communion-sacrament, the Eucharist was instituted by Christ to climax his “meal 1793. The parable illumines the same basic elements of David’s conversion process.
ministry” of reconciliation with his Paschal feast of loving communion with his apostles. First, the conflict with cultural norms in leaving the father’s house; then, the encounter
Moreover this manner of reconciling is typically Filipino: we develop smooth with the deceitful illusion of wanton living and profound disgrace of complete
interpersonal relationships (SIR) and reconcile with one another by inviting others to destitution, followed by the self-discovery in “coming to his senses” with sorrow and
come, sit down, and share in eating and drinking in a fraternal meal. determination to confess his sin before his father. Finally, the transformation worked
1784. The Eucharist also reconciles from its very nature as Sacrifice-sacrament of in the son by the father’s unheard-of compassionate welcome. The prodigal son is
Christ’s body and blood, “poured out on behalf of the many for the forgiveness of sins” restored to his position in the family through robe, ring and shoes, and to table
(Mt 26:28). In the Eucharist Christ is present and offered as “the sacrifice which has fellowship in a joyous feast. The father’s love even reconciles him with his older
made our peace” with God, in order that “we might be filled with the Holy Spirit and brother, explaining “This brother of yours was dead, and has come back to life. He was
become one body, one spirit, in Christ” (EP III). lost, and is found” (Lk 15:32). Thus, the father’s overwhelming love reconciled both
1785. Actually, Catholic tradition has consistently taught that the Eucharist is “also a prodigal and elder sons to himself and to each other.
remedy to free us from our daily faults and to preserve us from mortal sin” (Trent; ND 1794. But this reconciling love of the grace of conversion is never imposed — we must
1515; EM 35; CCC 1436). In the Eucharist, Christ’s bloody sacrifice is “represented, its freely accept and cooperate with it. Some do not. St. John tells us that “the light came
memory perpetuated and its salutary power applied for the forgiveness of sins which into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil”
we daily commit” (Trent; ND 1546). Thus the sacrifice ofthe Mass truly makes amends (cf. Jn 3:19). For example, Jesus cured the paralytic at the pool and urged him to inner
for our sins: “if we draw near to God with an upright heart and true faith, with fear and repentance: “do not sin anymore so that nothing worse may happen to you.” Unlike
reverence, with sorrow and repentance, through it we may receive mercy and favor, the healed man born blind who withstood all attacks against Jesus and ended by
and find help in time of need” (Heb 4:16). “For the Lord, appeased by this oblation, believing and worshipping him (cf. Jn 9:38), the healed paralytic did not even thank
grants grace and the gift of repentance, and He pardons wrong doings and sins, even Jesus, but went off and informed the Jews that Jesus was the one who had cured him
grave ones” (Trent; ND 1548). (cf. Jn 5:15).
Following St. Paul’s warning (1 Cor 11:29) the Church teaches that “no one who is Matthew’s Gospel even describes the process of dealing with an unrepentant sinner in
conscious of having committed mortal sin, even if he believes himself to be contrite, the community: first, private correction; then, cor-rection before two or three
should approach the Holy Eucharist without first making a sacramental confession” witnesses; finally, before the whole community. If even that fails, the sinner is to be
(Trent; ND 1522f). “If someone finds himself in a case of necessity, however, and there expelled from the com-munity (cf. Mt 18:15- 18). St. Paul explained how this apparently
is no confessor to whom he can go, then he should first make an act of perfect “harsh” excommunication is for the good of both the sinner and the community (cf. 1
contrition” (EM 35. Cf. 1983 Code of Cannon Law, 916). Cor 5:1-5).
3. Other Means for Conversion C. History of the Sacrament
1786. The Sacrament of Penance also needs to be situated within different non- 1795. The conversion process is likewise manifested in the historical development of
sacramental means for effecting ongoing conversion (cf. CCC 1434f). In the Sermon on the Sacrament of Penance in the Church. Three factors from history stand out as
the Mount, Christ clarified the three traditional Jewish forms: almsgiving, prayer, and essential for today:
fasting (cf. Mt 6:1-18). He developed the image of authentic penitential prayer in the a) being restored into the fellowship of the Christian community (cf. CCC 1443);
parable of the self-righteous Pharisee contrasted with the tax collector who “went b) through interior contrition and purpose of amendment (cf. CCC 1450-54); and
home justified” by his humble prayer: “O God, be merciful to me, a sinner” (cf. Lk 18:9- c) by the actual confession of sins and priestly absolution (cf. CCC 1455ff).
14). These factors correct the magical view fostered by “routine confessions” which focused
only on the individual penitent’s recital of sins and the priest’s absolution. Thus the
community-dimension of both sin and authentic Christian repentance was lost, and the do, and likewise being affected by what others do, so personal sin is neither committed
primary importance of the whole process of interior conversion, which leads to nor overcome in “private.” The grace of personal conversion and repentance always
confession and continues after it, was ignored. involves a community dimension.
1. Developmental process in community Social sin refers to negative moral attitudes and acts or failure to act that are common
1796. Authentic conversion then is not something we can accomplish in a moment, all to a community or particular society. Its remedy is to change what is negative or lacking
by ourselves. On the contrary, it takes time and we need the help of our family, our in the community’s moral acts or attitudes into what is positive and graced.
friends, and fellow members in our Christian community, to sustain us in our personal Structural “sin” is not a question of a particular person’s or a community’s moral
effort to turn away from sin, selfishness, pride, and toward Christ and God our Father. knowledge, attitudes and responsibility. Rather, it refers to existing structures that
Moreover, authentic Christian conversion involves restoring our relationships with the condition society in a harmful and unjust way, such as long-standing racial or sexist
other members of our Christian community. Christ taught his apostles to forgive “not prejudicial structures, unjust economic taxation systems, established military and
seven times, but seventy times seven times” (Mt 18:22). We are all responsible to our political customs, and unfair immigration legalities. These need to be reformed by a
fellow-Christians for how we give witness to our common Faith. We are all called to be long tedious process of concerted social moral effort.
“ministers of reconciliation” to one another, in our own little ways, not judging others’ Therefore, since sin is never just a private, individualistic mistake, but always injures
interior motives, but instead, witnessing to the unconditional love and acceptance of the community, it should not be confessed as some kind of superficial slip. Rather, we
Jesus Christ, our Savior. must go after the root causes of sin in our lives, like selfishness and pride, and with
2. Dimensions of Total Christian Conversion God’s grace perseveringly work against them.
1797. Our daily ongoing Christian conversion has many dimensions. We spontaneously 3. Degree
think of turning away from the self-centered pursuit of satisfying our own egotistical 1805. Sin can be venial or mortal depending on the different levels of MORAL EVIL
needs, and toward loving service of others (moral conversion). Such always involves involved. Traditionally, sin is defined as “mortal” when its nature, intention and
our feelings, emotions, and imagination needed to support an out-going love that circumstances involve grave matter, sufficient knowledge, and full consent of the will.
overcomes the temptations to prejudices, exaggerated amor propio, over-sensitivity, Precisely because the act involved is serious in itself and we act with sufficient
hatred and pride (affective conversion). But this re-direction of our affections can last knowledge, profoundly engaging our freedom, such acts cannot be dismissed as merely
only if grounded in a shift in the ways we understand and judge the basic meaning and superficial or as not really affecting our relation with God. They clearly involve a degree
value of our lives (intellectual conversion). Each of these three conversions actually of personal commitment that touches the roots of our freedom where basic decisions
contributes to a fourth which is really a “falling in love with God” (religious conversion). about our life’s values and orientations are made through the choice or avoidance of a
This happens through God’s grace, when we freely respond to the Father’s Self-giving single act.
through Jesus Christ His Son, in their Holy Spirit of undying LOVE. 1806. Mortal sins __ or sins which lead to death, the loss of true or “eternal life” __
D. Conversion and the Understanding of Sin “exclude from the Kingdom of God” (cf. 1 Cor 6:9-10; Gal 5:19-21; Eph 5:5). They are
Notion of Sin mortal because they kill the over all LOVE pattern of our relation to God, our
1798. The biblical notion of conversion developed together with the understanding of fundamental core freedom as related to God. By such sins, a person “freely rejects God,
sin. Likewise, to renew our celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation we need to his law, the covenant of love God offers, preferring to turn in on himself or to some
know: what really is SIN? Unfortunately, confessional practice sometimes drifted into created and finite reality, something contrary to the divine will” (RP 17). Such sins must
routine, without developing a deeper understanding of sin in the penitents. Real sin — be confessed in the sacrament of Penance or Reconciliation (cf. CJC 988, 1; 989).
that biblical mystery of iniquity which cost the life of God’s only Son — can only be 1807. Sins called venial (from “venia”, meaning pardon or forgiveness) are “excusable”
really grasped at the foot of the Cross. Loss of the “sense of sin” is really a loss of the sins which do not involve the person’s fundamental freedom nor lead to spiritual death.
realistic awareness of the actual damage and evil caused by sin — an awareness that is “All wrong doing is sin, but not all sin is deadly” (1 Jn 5:17). Venial sins harm our
actually a grace grounded in faith in Christ’s redeeming love for us. relationships with God and others by undermining the fervor of our life of charity, and
1. Christian Sense of Sin can gradually lead to mortal sins. Though venial sins are by definition pardonable, they
1799. A genuine “Christian sense of sin” is the opposite of a “guilt complex.” Its source should not be taken lightly, for they offend God. Some are clearly more serious than
point of reference is God, not ourselves. Since Filipinos are so person-minded, we only others because of the damage done to the person involved or others. Moreover,
really recognize the “shadow of sin” in our lives when it is contrasted directly to the carelessness with regard to them, especially when a habit develops, can lead to mortal
Person of Jesus Christ, our personal Savior, the true Light coming into the world, the sin. Our Lord warned us against ‘lukewarmness,’ saying to the church of Laodicea,
Light which enlightens everyone and offers the “light of life” (Jn 1:9;8:12). “Because you are lukewarm, neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth”
2. Talking about Sin (Rv. 3:16).
1800. Frequently, the more we “talk about” sin, the less we really grasp its reality. In Misunderstanding
fact just the way we talk about sin manifests sinful attitudes. For example, some speak 1808. One major misunderstanding of the evil and the dynamic power of sin is
of sin in a way that passes the blame on to others and denies our own responsibility, expressed in the question: “how far can I go without committing mortal sin?” This
or in a way that stirs up irrational guilt anxieties in ourselves and in others. Others mentality does not take sufficient account of the real evil of sin as a violation of our
picture sin as only breaking some impersonal law rather than as violating our basic relationships with God in love. The very life of a Christian consists in fulfilling Christ’s
relationships of respect and love with our fellow persons and with God. Still others command: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with
cynically view sin as more powerful than Christ’s redeeming grace. In brief, our talking all your mind, and with all your strength. . . You shall love your neighbor as yourself”
about sin can be sinful when we fail utterly to grasp its true evil in our very selves, (Mk 12:30f).
standing before God and the community, and thus lack all repentance, purpose of Directly contrary to this fundamental Christian pattern of true living is the attitude that
amendment, and any desire to share the Good venial sin is unimportant __ after all, it is destroying our friendship with God only a little
News of conversion in Christ. bit!
3. Descriptions of Sin 1809. As Catholics we are obliged to confess all mortal sins committed after Baptism,
1801. Sin is variously described as breaking God’s law, or our love relationship with Him and are encouraged to confess venial sins as well (CJC, Can. 988). Frequent confession
and others, or as going against one’s conscience, and the like. While expressing some can be a very valuable means for the ongoing conversion process of clarifying and
aspect of sin, all these descriptions remain abstract notions in the head, with little purifying our minds and hearts, thereby fostering real growth in our spiritual lives. We
power to portray sin’s reality. As John Paul II wrote: “It is not possible to deal with sin should use confession to judge not only our acts but also the underlying attitudes which
and conversion only in abstract terms” (RP 13). But what, then, is sin in the concrete, those acts represent. Thus, the Sacrament can help us with its grace to better root out
specifically in relation to the Sacrament of Reconciliation? the deep-seated habits of sin and con-cupiscence which trouble our relationship with
1802. The ongoing renewal of confessional practice has helped to form a more accurate God. Confession can open us up to an ever more complete awareness of our sinfulness,
view of sin. Sin as faced in the Sacrament of Reconciliation can be described in terms our need for God’s grace, and most of all, the tremendous love of God for us sinners.
of its basic reality, its structure, and its degree. In each division, we are concerned with Consequently, it will empower us, out of a sense of utang-na-loob (gratitude) to God’s
how a truer, more accurate grasp of sin can foster a deeper contrition of heart and, incredible love, to dedicate our lives more profoundly to Him.
more fruitful celebration of the Sacrament. By correcting common false, erroneous 1810. In summary, then, the sins we confess in the renewal of our confessional practice
notions of sin, we remove one major factor that has contributed greatly to making past have:
confessional practice ineffective and “routine.” • roots in our fundamental moral stance; they are not just passing superficial acts that
Dimensions of Sin can be rectified in one momentary act of repentance and amendment;
1. Reality • community dimensions; they are not just individualistic, private realities;
1803. All moral reality is made up of the objective nature of the act/attitude, the • different degrees of moral evil, which involve the “objective moral order” as
intention of the agent, and the circumstances. Sin as a moral reality is an attitude, an operative in the actual exercise of our practical evaluative knowing and willing.
action or failure to act, or a power or force that leads us into evil. Sin separates us from, E. Celebrating the Sacrament
alienates us from, i.e., makes us strangers (aliens) from . . . what? From our true selves New Emphases
(intra-personal), our neighbors (inter-personal), the larger community (societal), and 1811. The new Rite of Penance offers three different rites of Reconciliation. Besides
God, the ground and source of all three (cf. NCDP 259-63). revising the traditional rite “of Individual Penitents,” it added the rites “of Several
Real sin hurts us and our loved ones. Real sin is no joke; contrary to how it is often Penitents with Individual Confession and Absolution,” and “of Several Penitents with
portrayed in movies, TV, paperbacks, and comic books, sin is not glamorous at all. Just General Confession and Absolution,” as well as sample Penitential Services (cf. CCC
the opposite __ it really destroys, injures, dishonors, perverts, poisons, corrupts. Yet 1480-84). The Sacrament of Reconciliation or Confession now appears more communal
sin often has a compulsive aspect to it. We seem to be “caught in it” and “addicted,” and less individualistic, more liturgical and less legalistic, more focused on the ongoing
like an illness that weakens us and keeps us in the dark, with its own kind of pain. conversion process and less on simply the confession of sins and absolution. Basically,
The real sin, then, is not just a chance slip, or a momentary mistaken act that happened the revised Rite focuses on the necessity of the “inner conversion of heart”
unnoticed. Real sin has roots that involve the objective moral order and our which goes deeper than a change in external behavior.
fundamental moral stance, that is, how we view what is good and what is evil for all, 1812. These emphases respond well to what was lacking in the “routine confessions”
and our commitment to do the good. of the past. “Confession” is now better integrated with the other means the Church
2. Structure offers for reconciliation. The whole developmental process of on-going conversion with
1804. Sin, taken strictly, is always personal. But in a larger sense we speak of social and its essential communitarian dimensions now appears more clearly, while the legalistic
structural sin. These are distinguished by their proper structures and remedies. idea of sin is overcome by the insistent demand for a real change of heart against sin
Personal sin is never just “private,” with no effect on anyone else. Rather, just as all in its true evil, including its social dimensions.
“persons” are relational, always affecting others and the community in everything they Parts of the Sacrament
1813. As followers of Christ, we come to the Sacrament of Penance to be converted to
Christ with our whole hearts. Such inner conversion of heart embraces three essential
acts of the penitent:
1) contrition or heartfelt sorrow (cf. CCC 1451-54);
2) confession of all grave/mortal sins to the priest, minister of the Church, acting in the
person of Christ (cf. CCC 1455-58); and
3) penance/satisfaction for sins committed, by restitution and reparation of injury, and
firm purpose of renewal of life (cf. CCC 1461ff).
The essential act of the priest is absolution which is the efficacious sign of God’s
pardon.
1814. In scriptural images, this is how the New Rite sketches the Sacrament: the Father
receives the repentant son who comes back to him; Christ places the lost sheep on his
shoulders and brings it back to the sheepfold; and the Holy Spirit sanctifies this temple
of God again or lives more fully within it. This is expressed in a renewed and more
fervent sharing at the Lord’s table where there is great JOY at the banquet of God’s
Church over the one who has returned from afar (R Pen. 6d).
Celebrating the New Rite
1815. The New Rite proposes an ideal description of celebrating the Sacrament which,
while often not fully feasible in actual pastoral practice, nevertheless presents its life-
renewing factors. “Priest and penitent should first prepare themselves by prayer to
celebrate the sacrament (R Pen. 15). Then, after both penitent and priest have made
the Sign of the Cross, the priest welcomes the penitent warmly with words like: “May
the Lord Jesus welcome you. He came to call sinners, not the just. Have confidence in
him.” A short reading from scripture is recommended, followed by the penitent’s
confession of sins and acceptance of a penance. Here the priest is instructed to “offer
suitable counsel, “reminding the penitent that through the Sacrament of Penance the
Christian dies and rises with Christ and is thus renewed in the Paschal Mystery” (R Pen.
44).
1816. The act of penance proposed by the priest “should serve not only to make up for
the past, but also to help the penitent begin a new life and provide him with an antidote
to weakness. This act of penance should correspond to the seriousness and nature of
the sins, taking the form of prayer, selfdenial, and especially service of one’s neighbor
and works of mercy. These underline the social aspect of sin and forgiveness” (RPen.
18; cf. CCC 1460).
1817. Then the penitent prays an act of contrition and resolution of amendment, asking
for God’s pardon, and the priest confessor extends his hand over the head of the
penitent and pronounces the words of absolution:
God, the Father of mercies, through the death and 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. To which the penitent answers: “Amen” ( R Pen. 46).
1818. As the Rite itself explains, this form of absolution clearly shows the Trinitarian
reality of reconciliation which comes from the mercy of the Father, through Christ, the
Incarnate Son’s Paschal Mystery, in the reconciling love of the Holy Spirit. Moreover
the ecclesial dimension of the Sacrament is clearly stressed by the fact that
reconciliation with God is asked for and given through the ministry of the Church (R
Pen. 19).
Effects of the Sacrament
1819. For all who receive the Sacrament with a contrite heart and authentic religious
disposition, the basic effect is reconciliation with God and the Christian community, the
Church (cf. CCC 1468-70). But “just as the wound of sin is varied and multiple in the life
of individuals and of the community, so too the healing which penance provides is
varied. Those who by grave sin have withdrawn from the communion of love with God
are called back . . . to the life they have lost” ( R Pen. 7). Others, through frequent and
careful celebration of the Sacrament, find a useful remedy for venial sins, drawing
strength to overcome their daily weaknesses and gain the full freedom of the children
of God.
By thus seriously striving to perfect the grace of their Baptism, and become more
closely conformed to Christ and to follow more attentively the voice of the Spirit, they
are moved to more fervent service of God and neighbor (cf. R. Pen. 7,b).
F. Indulgences
1820. By its very nature sin has two effects. When grave/mortal, it destroys our
communion with God, thus depriving us of eternal life (eternal punishment). But all sin
also weakens and wounds our union with God and our relations with others and the
community (temporal punishment). Both these “punishments” are not imposed by
God, but rather flow from the very reality of sin.
Eternal punishment of sin is remitted when the guilt of our sins is forgiven and we are
restored to communion with God. Yet the temporal consequences remain. We are
called to work against these temporal effects by patient suffering, toil, prayer, and
acceptance of death as term of our earthly human condition. We are urged to put aside
“the old self” corrupted through deceitful desires, and “put on that new man created
in God’s image, whose justice and holiness are we born of truth” (Eph 4:22-24).
1821. But we carry on this effort precisely as members of one great communion,
Christ’s Body, the Church. Now the Church, as “communion of saints,” helps its
members by granting indulgences, that is, by authoritatively assigning the penitent a
portion of the treasury of merits of Christ and the saints to remit the temporal
punishment due to sins already forgiven. These indulgences remit before God either all
(plenary indulgence) or part (partial indulgence) of the temporal punishment due to
sins that have already been forgiven.
The “treasury” of the Church is not like “the sum total of material goods accumulated
during the course of the centuries, but rather the infinite, inexhaustible value of Christ’s
merits before God, that is Christ the Redeemer himself who offered the perfect
redemp-tive sacrifice of love for the world. “Included too are the prayers and good
works of the Blessed Virgin Mary, . . . the saints, and all who have followed in the
footsteps of Christ the Lord and by his grace led holy lives in carrying out the mission
the Father entrusted to them. In this way they attained their own salvation and at the
same time cooperated in saving their brothers/sisters in the unity of the Mystical Body”
(Paul VI, Indulgentiarum Doctrina, 5; cf. CCC 1471-79).