Why We Need Confession Read the essay, then answer the focus and reflection questions. You know this story: God made the world. God made man. God placed man in the Garden of Eden and gave him rules for his benefit. Then the Serpent Satan played to man s pride, twisting and distorting God s plan in man s mind. Adam and Eve listened to the Serpent and chose to disobey God. God banished man from the garden and His presence. This would be a very sad story if it ended there. Thankfully there is more to the story! God deeply desires a relationship with each one of us. The problem is that we often still listen to Satan rather than to God. When we freely choose to reject God, we must be reconciled to Him, that is, brought back into friendship with Him. To help us be reconciled to the Father, Jesus gave us a way to access His mercy whenever we need it: Confession. We need Confession anytime that we need to be brought back into God s grace. All sins are a failure to love, and they all hurt our relationship with God. But the most serious sins, called mortal sins, result in separation from God, because we have freely chosen to separate ourselves. Remember that God created you in His image with intellect, free will, and the capacity to love. Sin and evil exist because of free will. If we were not free to choose between good and evil, we would not be responsible for our actions. Because we are free to choose, we are responsible for them. You don t live in the Garden of Eden, but you have the same choice to make as Adam and Eve. You can use your free will to disobey God, as Adam and Eve did, or you can choose to return His love by believing in Him and keeping His commandments. God rejoices when sinners repent, and He will never give up on you. Think about biblical sinners who experienced conversion and went on to become holy, such as King David, who abandoned his men in battle, was unfaithful to his wife, tried to cover it up, and then had his mistress s husband killed. St. Peter denied Jesus three times. St. Matthew was a greedy tax collector turned Apostle. St. Paul viciously persecuted the Church before becoming the greatest missionary of all time. God s grace has no limit. The story of Adam and Eve was not the end of the story of our salvation. With our consent and cooperation, Jesus gives us the great gift. He not only writes a happy ending to the story of our lives, but He rewrites our past, making our entire life into a story of salvation. The stories in which the characters live happily ever after are the best stories! Confession is the key to make sure our relationships with both God and one another end in reconciliation, or happily ever after. 250
1. What choice did Adam and Eve have? 2. What is the result of mortal sin? 3. How do you face the same choice as Adam and Eve? Reflection Questions 4. Don t be afraid of confession, Pope Francis said. When someone is in line for confession he feels all these things even shame but then, when he finishes confessing, he leaves free, great, beautiful, forgiven, clean, happy. Why would someone feel happy after Confession? Have you ever felt this way? Explain. 5. One may still feel guilty after confessing a sin and receiving absolution. Why might this be? 6. Now that you have learned more about this Sacrament, how does it help you to become more like your Heavenly Father? 251
Symbols of the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation Priests who have received the faculty of absolving from the authority of the Church can forgive sins in the name of Christ. Read the information, then complete the chart with your own original drawings. Symbol Background Your drawing Keys a single key or a pair of crossed keys Jesus told St. Peter: I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven (Matthew 16:19). Purple stole a long, thin strip of cloth that a priest wears over his shoulders Purple is the liturgical color of sorrow and repentance. A raised hand The priest holds his right hand over your head as he absolves you of your sins in the person of Christ. The Cross The priest makes the Sign of the Cross over you as he closes the Prayer of Absolution, And I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. 252
Penance and Reconciliation Graphic Organizer Use information from this guide, your class notes, and the Catechism of the Catholic Church nos. 1422-1498 to complete 1-5 on this chart. Share your personal reflections for 6-7. 1 Scriptural basis of this Sacrament. 2 Words spoken with this Sacrament (form). 3 Things used or done when this Sacrament is received (matter). 4 Effects of this Sacrament. 5 Ordinary minister of this Sacrament. 6 How does this Sacrament reveal God s life-giving love? 7 How does this Sacrament help you to become more like your Heavenly Father? 253
Sophia SketchPad Reflection Question Answer the question below after watching and discussing the video. Did you gain any new insights about the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation after watching this video? If so, what were they? If not, which part of the video did you think provided the clearest or most interesting information? Explain. 254