Weekly Prayer Service for St. Mary Catholic Church May 6-12, 2012

Penance and Reconciliation: God Is Rich in Call to Prayer ALL: (Sign of the Cross) Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit, and we shall be created, and You will renew the face of the earth. O God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit instructs the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Spirit we may be ever wise and rejoice in his consolations. We make our prayer in the name of Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Word of God LEADER: A Reading from the Gospel of John (Proclaim Jn. 20:19-23) ...The Word of the Lord. ALL: Thanks be to God.

Catechesis Through the sacraments of Christian initiation, we receive the new life of Christ. But the weakness of our human nature and our inclination to sin continues to remain and affect our lives. The Church offers us the sacraments of healing to assist in the daily journey of conversion and reconciliation. During his earthly ministry, Jesus forgave sins and healed those who were physically and spiritually broken. Those he forgave were healed, renewed in and restored to health of spirit, mind and body. The Church continues even today, in the power of the Holy Spirit, the healing work of Jesus Christ. This is the purpose of the two sacraments of healing; the sacrament of Penance and the sac- rament of the Anointing of the Sick. +When Jesus forgave sins, he also pointed to its effects: the reconciliation of sinners with God and with the community of believers. He gave the apostles his own power to for- give sins and reconcile sinners to God and to the Church (CCC 1443-1445). +Only God forgives sins. Jesus willed that the church be the sign and instrument of the forgiveness and reconciliation he won for us on the cross with his blood. He entrusted the power of absolution to the apostles and instituted the sacrament of Penance (Reconciliation), by which the baptized are offered new possibilities of conversion, for- giveness, and healing. +The “confessor” (the priest) is not the master of God’s forgiveness but its servant. He for- gives sins in the name of Jesus Christ, so that when he says, “I absolve you,” the “I” is that of Christ. The “sacramental seal” of Penance means that every priest who hears confessions is bound to keep absolute secrecy regarding the sins confessed to him. What the penitent has made known to the priest remains “sealed” by the sacrament (CCC 1466-1467). (Over) +The sacrament of Reconciliation restores us to God’s grace and friendship, and recon- ciles us with the Church (CCC 1468-1470). +Individual confession and absolution is the ordinary way for the faithful to be reconciled to God, the Church, and one another (CCC 1484). +Every sin has personal and social consequences. Sin disrupts our union with God, weakens our ability to resist temptation, and hurts us and others. After receiving sac- ramental forgiveness, the necessity of healing the consequences of sin is called “temporal punishment.” Prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and works of diminish the effects of sin. An “indulgence” is a full or partial remission of temporal punishment due to sin (CCC 1472-1479).

Application to Culture/ Faith Sharing Question LEADER: Why do we need a sacrament of reconciliation after Baptism? Allow all members of your group to have 5-10 minutes To reflect or respond to the discussion question.

Concluding Prayer ALL: Lord Jesus, Son of God Have mercy on me, a sinner. AMEN (Sign of the Cross)

Further Reading and Study U.S. Catholic Catechism for Adults, Chapter 18. John Paul II, Reconciliation and Penance (Reconciliatio et Paenitentia), 1984. —————, Rich in Mercy (Dives in Misericordia), 1980. St. Augustine, Confessions.

** Prayer service adapted from Study Guide for the U.S. Adult Catholic Catechism -

Jem Sullivan, Ph.D., Our Sunday Visitor (2006) **