“Those who approach the sacrament of Penance 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 their sins and which by charity, by example, and by prayer labors for their conversion.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, #1422)
Reconciliation (also known as confession and penance); “Confession” stresses the action of the believer in the sacrament, Reconciliation stresses also the action of God, who uses the sacrament to reconcile us to Himself by restoring sanctifying grace in our souls. Penance is a sacrament in which the sins committed after baptism are forgiven. Penance remits sins and restores the friendship of God to the soul by means of absolution of the priest. We know that the priest has the power of dissolving from the sins committed after baptism because Jesus Christ granted the power to the priests of His church when he said: "Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them, whose sins you shall retain, they are retained."
In section 1423-1424 of The Catechism of the Catholic Church it states: "Those who approach the sacrament of Penance 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 their sins and which by charity, by example, and by prayer labors for their conversion."
To receive the Sacrament of Penance worthily we must do 5 things:
1. We must examine our conscience.
2. We must have sorrow for our sins.
3. We must make a firm resolution to never more offend God.
4. We must confess our sins to the priest.
5. We must accept the penance which the priest gives us.
The examination of conscience is an earnest effort to recall to mind all the sins we have committed since our last confession. Before beginning the examination of conscience, we should pray to God to give us light to know our sins and grace to detest them. We can make a good examination of conscience by calling to memory the commandments of God, the precepts of the Church, the seven capital sins, and the particular duties of our state in life, to determine the sins we have committed.
Biblical references: Matt 9:2-8; Jn 20:22-23; 2 Cor 5:17-20; James 5:13-16; Matt 18:18; 1 Jn 5:16
