The Link of Sin to the Sacrament of Reconciliation
Jesus, in the Bible introduced the Sacrament of Reconciliation when he healed the oppressed and people who were born with illnesses. We see Jesus healing ministry in the passages “ Jesus Heals the Man Born Blind”. In this passage we can see that Jesus is showing compassion and mercifulness when he was healing the blind physically and mentally from his original sin as we can also refer to this act as Reconciliation as Jesus is washing him away from his sins. We commemorate this sacrament of Reconciliation by attending reconciliation where the priest re-enacts Jesus’ actions of forgiveness and understanding. In our daily life, we face and make many personal decisions as well as choices, which can either damage our relationship with God or diminish it. For many different reasons we may end up choosing bad choices and either commit a Venial sin or Mortal sin which turns us away from Gods love and can ruin our relationship with Him. If by disobeying a minor wickedness of God’s word we can weaken the relationship with God and this can be presented by going against one of the minor Ten Commandments like “Do not Lie” or “Honour Your Mother and Father”. This type of sin is known as the Venial Sin. When we do commit as sin like this we still need to confess our sins, through the Sacrament of Reconciliation .
Mortal sin is also a major factor apart of the Sacrament of Reconciliation as it can destroy our relationship with God if we undertake this wrongdoing. Mortal sin can be quite rare for one who is within God’s community as it includes the offence of murder, which is the vilest sin you could take on. By committing either a Venial or Mortal Sin we diminish the relationship with oneself, God and the surrounding community affecting everything that revolves around us undergoing many complications and feelings in our lives. However, to build our relationship once again with God, we can part take in the Sacrament of Reconciliation which washes away our sins.
These sins can be forgiven through Gods power and understanding. We attend reconciliation with the knowledge and attitude that what we have done was wrong and should never be done again. The priest re-enacts Jesus’ actions by restating the Act 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.”
From this passage, we view that God gives us “pardon and peace” meaning he has forgiven and excused our sins and allows us to live on with no regrets, stress or frustration. Before this re-enactment, the priest asks of our Act of Contrition. In this prayer, we admit to God and ourselves that we have committed wrong doing and that we ask for his forgiveness and to be cleansed from the regret and hatred that lies beneath our skin.
With the Venial or Mortal sin forgiven we then undertake the responsibility of Penance. Penance is important as this is the completion of being forgiven and strengthens our relationship with oneself, God and the community back again. After the Sacrament of Reconciliation, in our minds we comprehend our mistake of making the wrong choices and that it shall never happen again although we also learn how such things can be fixed, with Gods power, faith, forgiveness and love and that he will always take us back as his children just as long as we have faith in him Him and follow his commandments and as Jesus stated, 'The Kingdom of God is open for everyone who has faith.'
The Sacrament of Reconciliation is linked to sin because when we sin in order to cleanse our sins and move on we need to undergo a process which is the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The elements in this sacrament all participate in cleansing our sins, that is the basic relation of sin to the Sacrament of Reconciliation.