There have been many
sacraments of forgiveness and reconciliation in the history of the Church. Private confession evolved during the Middle
Ages and became dominant in the modern church.
Baptism was the first sacramental ritual to be clearly associated with
the forgiveness of sins. Those who were
baptized believed themselves to be freed from their sinful past and reconciled
with God.
In the earliest Church it
was common for the community to ostracize those who refused correction by the
community and continued to sin. But they
could be brought back once they confessed their sin to the community and
repented of it. St. Clement of
Alexandria taught that a fallen Christian could be forgiven after their baptism
– but only once, for to fall and repent repeatedly was seen to mock God’s
mercy.
By the third century, a
general pattern for public reconciliation of known sinners began to
appear. Those who wanted to rejoin the
community went to the bishop and confessed their error, but before they could
be readmitted to the church they had to publically reform their lives. They were excluded from receiving the
Eucharist until the community and bishop were convinced their change of heart
was complete, and that could be a few weeks or a number of years. In some place penitents were required to stay
away from public amusements; in others they were forbidden to hold public
office.
In the Fifth Century,
Pope Leo the First recognized that not just bishops, but also priests could
intercede for the penitent and through God’s mercy offer forgiveness of sins.
Through the centuries the
practice has been changed from the public acknowledgement of sin (which could
be very humiliating) to private confession with a priest. Penance has gone from months or years of
public reform to private acts. What
hasn’t changed is the need for a contrite heart and true sorrow for our sins to
receive forgiveness.
Whether we call it
“Confession” or “Penance” or “Reconciliation” the Sacrament restores us to
communion with God and our community from which sin separates us.
Our parish community will
celebrate Reconciliation this coming Monday, March 31st at 7:00 PM. As in Lents past, we will have a number of
priests available to hear your individual confessions. If you cannot make it to our service, the
Lenten services at Holy Ghost, Assumption and Annunciation are listed in the
Bulletin.