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A National Catholic Educational Association SEMINARY JOURNAL VOLUME SEVENTEEN NUMBER THREE Theme: The Sacrament of Reconciliation From the Desk of the Executive Director Msgr. Jeremiah McCarthy Renewing and Promoting the Sacrament of Reconciliation Cardinal Donald Wuerl The Making of a Confessor Rev. Kurt Stasiak, O.S.B. Forming Confessors with Grateful and Compassionate Hearts: Seminary Formation and the Renewal of the Sacrament of Reconciliation Msgr. Jeremiah McCarthy, Ph.D., S.T.L. Appreciating the Communal Dimension of Sin and the Sacrament of Penance Rev. Gregory M. Faulhaber, S.T.D. The Priest as Confessor in The Priest, Minister of Divine Mercy Daniel G. Van Slyke, S.T.L., Ph.D. Liturgical Formation with Zeal and Patience: “We Praise You with Greater Joy than Ever” Sr. Katarina Schuth, O.S.F., Ph.D. The Life of Piety in Writings of Abraham J. Heschel Rev. Paul F. Peri, Ed.D. Making Catholic Social Teaching Relevant to Students Cynthia Toolin, Ph.D. Locating Practical Theology in Catholic Theological Discourse and Practice Kathleen A. Cahalan, Ph.D. The Implications of Ecumenism and Interreligious Dialogue for Seminary Formation Daniel A. Keating, D.Phil. BOOK REVIEW Liturgy 101: Sacraments and Sacramentals by Daniel G. Van Slyke Reviewed by Roger Nutt, S.T.L., S.T.D. National Catholic Educational Association A THEME: THE SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION Renewing and Promoting the Sacrament of Reconciliation Cardinal Donald Wuerl, S.T.D. aint Matthew’s Gospel records how, when the people brought to Jesus the paralytic lying on a $Q\UHÀHFWLRQWRGD\RQ Sstretcher and the Lord saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Courage, child, your sins are forgiven.” renewal of the sacrament of Not only did Jesus forgive sins, he made a point of re- reconciliation should take sponding to those who challenged his assertion by heal- ing the paralytic. “But that you may know that the Son place in the context of the of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” — he New Evangelization. said to the paralytic, “Rise, pick up your stretcher and go home” (cf. Mt 9:1-8). Later, after the Resurrection, Jesus appears to his Apostles, breathes on them and says, “Receive the Holy penance, the sacrament of confession, the sacrament of Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them and forgiveness and the sacrament of reconciliation. Each whose sins you retain are retained” (Jn 20:23). Jesus not name highlights some particular aspect of this rich sacra- only forgives sins, but he entrusts to his Apostles and to ment of spiritual healing. their successors the power to forgive sins. I often tell the story of the encounter I had at an In the ordination ritual, the bishop prays over the airport some time ago. A young man about 35 years newly ordained, asking that they be “worthy coworkers old, waiting for the boarding announcement, asked me . so that your people may be renewed in the waters if I could explain something to him. He claimed that of rebirth and nourished from your altar; so that sinners he had more or less been raised as a Catholic and that may be reconciled and the sick raised up.” Among the Catholics “do something that helps them get rid of all priestly powers that come to him through the anointing the excess baggage they carry around so that they can of the Holy Spirit are the abilities to celebrate the Eu- start again brand new.” I said I assumed that he was charist and to grant absolution for sins. talking about the sacrament of confession. His reply was In this article, I would like to reflect on the that he knew we had something like that; he just did church’s understanding of the sacrament of reconcili- not know how to use it. He had never been properly ation, describe one very successful pastoral initiative instructed nor had he participated in this “Catholic way to renew the sacrament of penance, and share a few of getting rid of excess baggage.” thoughts on elements in formation to strengthen one’s The condition of this young man relative to his awareness of the importance of the sacrament of confes- knowledge of the faith and, therefore, his real connect- sion. edness to the church is replicated in hundreds of thou- Throughout this article, as does the Catechism of sands of young adults across this land. That disconnect the Catholic Church and the United States Catholic Cat- is part of the reason for the call for a New Evangeliza- echism for Adults , I shall use interchangeably the various tion. names of the sacrament. This wonderful gift from God Pope Benedict XVI used the word “repropose” to is called the sacrament of conversion, the sacrament of describe the New Evangelization. Somehow in what we 4 Renewing and Promoting the Sacrament of Reconciliation do and how we express our faith, we have to be able to of reconciliation and the invitation to experience it, has repropose our belief in Christ and his Gospel for a hear- to be seen. The New Evangelization is the lens through ing among those who are convinced that they already which we see our ministry in the context of the realities know the faith and it holds no interest for them. We of our culture today. have to invite those who form the generation of under- The young man at the airport, to whom I referred catechized to hear it all over again, as if for the first earlier, is not alone. All of us at times carry a great deal time. Any reflection today on renewal of the sacrament of “baggage” that we would like to unload. Despite our of reconciliation should take place in the context of the best intentions, each of us has experienced personal fail- New Evangelization. ure. The task of the priest is to help Catholics properly In preparing to embrace the challenges of the understand the power of the sacrament of confession to priesthood today and the renewal of sacramental life free us from the weight of our sins. among so many who have not truly experienced it in a meaningful way, and particularly as we turn to the great gift of the sacrament of reconciliation, we do so aware of the lived context of the faith today. At the heart of the Entire generations have become disassociated from sacrament of reconciliation the faith and are unfamiliar with the support systems is the mercy of God. that facilitate the transmission of the faith. Deficient catechesis has produced, by some estimates, two genera- tions of baptized Catholics with little appreciation of the content of the faith and a fragile sense of allegiance to The Church’s Understanding of the Sacrament the church, its pastors and its teaching office. Coupled of Reconciliation with this situation is the widespread effect of the “her- The sacrament of reconciliation is the story of meneutic of discontinuity and rupture,” as labeled by God’s love that never turns away from us. It endures Pope Benedict XVI, that has haunted so much of col- even our short-sightedness and selfishness. Like the lege and university theological instruction over past father in the parable of the prodigal son, God waits, decades. Added to this background is the fact that the watches and hopes for our return, every time we walk sins of some priests have encouraged a distrust in the away. Like the son in the parable, all we need to do to structure of the church itself. return to our Father is to recognize our wrong, our need Living out a life of faith and attempting to share for forgiveness and our need for God’s love. the excitement of our experience of the Lord, particu- Jesus continues to speak to us of our noble calling larly in the Eucharist and in the sacrament of recon- to holiness and of his loving forgiveness. He offers us ciliation, brings us into contact with many obstacles reconciliation if we ask for it. His saving, healing and and barriers. Pope Benedict XVI, during his visit to restoring action takes place in the sacrament of reconcil- our country in April 2008, underlined three challenges iation, which is still often called penance or confession. the Gospel faces in our society today. In his homily Why do we need reconciliation? Why is it that at vespers with the bishops of the United States dur- we fail? Why is it so difficult at times to be good and ing a meeting at the Basilica of the National Shrine of to do what is right? Even though we may have good the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., he intentions, why do we often find ourselves doing what reminded us that we are challenged by secularism, the we know we should not do or failing to do the good we materialism around us and the individualism that is so know we ought to do? These perplexing questions arise much a part of our culture. from our awareness that a part of us is determined to Just as he diagnosed the problem, so too does our do good while at the same time an element within us Holy Father present a practical solution and a chal- continually turns away from the good we know we can lenge. In 2011, on the Solemnity of the Holy Apostles do. Peter and Paul at the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the In the seventh chapter of his letter to the Romans, Walls in Rome, Pope Benedict XVI summoned the en- Saint Paul describes this situation while writing about tire church to the timely and timeless call of the New what we call the human condition.
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