Time to revisit the Sacrament of Reconciliation

The Sacrament of Reconciliation may be celebrated in several ways.

Most of us have experienced a communal celebration where the community comes together and each person has an opportunity to briefly confess sins and receive personal absolution. Another way is private reconciliation. This way is no longer celebrated in the “confessional box” but ordinarily in a specially designed reconciliation room in the church. The priest and the penitent are invited to use a very different format than the old “bless me Father” followed by the “grocery list” of sins. We have provided this new format, along with Scripture suggestions and various revised prayers of sorrow. These prayers replace the former “Act of Contrition.” They are based on Scripture and a more positive spirituality imaging a merciful and compassionate God.

All of this has been designed by the Church as a result of the Vatican II changes.