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I. The Sacrament of Reconciliation has its roots in the New Testament.

A. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, "receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained."
(John 20:21-23)

1. The Council of Trent defined that this power to forgive sins is exercised in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.


B. "I will give you the keys to the kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven."
(Matthew 16:19)

1. This is another example of Jesus granting authority on earth. While only Peter received the keys to the kingdom of Heaven, all of the apostles received the ability to bind and loose, or rather, forgive or retain sins on earth that follow through to heaven in John 20, as earlier quoted.

C. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.
(James 5:16)

1. This verse illustrates that the act of public confession was practiced during the days of the New Testament. It also refers to the healing promise of such a public confession.

D. As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also is Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons, and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.
(1 Corinthians 12:12)

1. Paul tells us that, as baptized believers, we are all members of the Body of Christ. This again establishes a sense of community among Christians.

E. If anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure (not to exaggerate) to all of you. This punishment by the majority is enough for such a person, so that on the contrary you should forgive and encourage him instead, or else the person may be overwhelmed by excessive pain.
(2 Corinthians 2:5-8 )

1. Expanding on the idea of the importance of community, Paul emphasizes that what each individual does impacts the entire Body.

2. These verses illustrate that when someone sins, they do not simply inflict damage upon themselves and anyone else directly involved. Because they have sinned, and thus, distanced themselves from God, their function in the Body of Christ has been impaired. The impact of sin can stretch to the entire community as a whole.

F. Your boasting is not appropriate. Do you not know that a little yeast leavens all the dough? Clear out the old yeast, so that you may become a fresh batch of dough, inasmuch as you are unleavened. For our paschal lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed. Therefore, let us celebrate the feast, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
(1 Corinthians 5:6-8 )

1. Paul illustrates that each member of the Body of Christ is comparable to bread. He writes that the sin of one member acts as infected yeast, which spreads throughout the entire mass of dough, or rather, can damage the entire community.

2. In these verses, Paul encourages a "clearing out" of the old yeast, of sin. He says we should celebrate Christ as unleavened bread, unaffected by sin, or yeast, which will allow us to celebrate with sincerity and truth. But this can only be done if all parts of the community are clear of conscience.

III. Monastic Penance (5th to 11th centuries)

A. The views on sin shifted when the status of Christianity itself was altered.

1. Initially, the sin of any individual was seen as an infection to the entire community, so reconciliation with the community was seen as the means of being reconciled to God.

2. This viewpoint evolved as the persecution of Christians drew to a close, and Christianity became the privileged religion in the Roman Empire.

B. As Christianity spread and evolved, the individual community fractured into smaller, close-knit collectives.


C. In the 6th century, Celtic monks and nuns practiced and encouraged the act of speaking of their sinfulness openly with their abbot or abbess.

1. They allowed sin to be kept secret, more personal, without diminishing the fact that such sin damages one's relationship with God.

D. This practice became more reasonable and spread within the Christian community, and it prompted penitents to seek spiritual mentors.

1. Penitents would also go before the holy men and women living in monasteries, who would then guide individuals through the process of examining their lives in light of the Gospel.

2. Many penitents would still seek a rite of reconciliation at the hands of the Bishop, but the process was soon becoming less and less public.

E. Penance itself was still usually public, and the process was still rather lengthy.

1. Instead of issuing absolution at the end of one's penance, as well as allowing the rite once in a lifetime, confessors began issuing absolution prior to the completion of penance.

a. This illustrates the beginnings of modern practices of the Sacrament :confession, absolution, followed by penance.

V. Vatican II

A. Sought to form a connection through the history of the Sacrament, allowing three format options.

1. Reconciliation involving the individual penitent and a priest.
2. Reconciliation of several penitents with individual confession and absolution. (IE, Advent and Lent services)
3. Reconciliation of several penitents with general absolution. (Rarely instituted in the United States)

B. Emphasizes both private and public results from sin.

1. The Sacrament obtains God's pardon for offending Him.
2. The Sacrament obtains reconciliation with the Church, which has also been wounded by the sin.

C. Still does not implement a strong sense of community.

1. In practice, the Sacrament still somewhat resembles Tariff Penance.
2. Negative results include the thought that only absolution from a priest is required in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, eliminating the realization that the entire community is connected.

Modern Reconciliation

This is the second half of the first class session, where I shall provide an overview of the Sacrament itself. Again, I am presenting the Catholic viewpoint of our Sacrament, because I do believe that there is a lot of misinformation about the Catholic Church in general.

Objections and Responses to the Sacrament of Reconciliation

This is the subject for the second class... it's basically a Question/Answer session. Obviously I'm going to be taking questions from the people attending my class, but I'd like to have a little to start with. So... here's where ya'll come in. Is there anything you don't agree with or don't understand about the Sacrament? Please post your questions and responses here.

Well, I'm glad that someone read part of it! whee And I don't know what kind of replies I'll get... I'm just asking for honest opinions, not hostility. 3nodding

Your history lesson is excellent Ablazed and I applaud you for looking that all up. It reminds me of my Women in Christian Tradition class. Anyhoo, I just wanted to ask if you could clear up this part of the sacrament for me.

Under section C. Satisfaction and Penance, I wanted to know if penance has to come from a priest only or can the individual clear that up with God themselves. I was just confused on that part. The rest of the sacrament you've actually clear up for me. I never really knew that much about it.

Btw your research is wonderful and I'm sure your class will go well! whee