• Question of the Week
• From the Rector
• News
• Calendar
• Question Box
• About Us
• Contact Us
• School
• Renovation

• Formation
• Activities
• Stewardship
• Parish Council
• Accountability

• Institutional Accountability
• Personal Accountability: Precepts of the Church
• Accountability to God: Grace and the Sacraments
• Accountability to God: Guide to the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation
• Conflict Resolution
• How the Local Church is Organized
• Parish Advisory Council
• Parish Finance Committee
• Guidelines for the Parish Finance Council

Accountability to God

Welcome to the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation!

Whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven… whose sins you hold bound, they are held bound.” (St. John 20:23)

Because of a great deal of confusion about the sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation (Confession), as well as about religion in general, we provided this guide for your use in preparing to celebrate the wonderful sacrament of Christ’s forgiveness.

• Confession IS the only ordinary means by which Catholics are freed from serious sin and strengthened to avoid it in the future. If in doubt as to what constitutes grave (mortal) sin, an examination of conscience guide is provided in this section.
• While God forgives sins, confession IS the place where we are “absolved” (i.e. “freed”) from our sins… so that our sins don’t keep working on us. We take responsibility for our sins, we perform a “penance” as a sign of our willingness to make up for wrongdoing, and we get on with life, confident in God’s grace and love!
• Confession IS a forum for us to take radical responsibility for our actions and our participation in what is sinful in the life of the world. Sin is disobedience of God’s commands and a rupturing of the communion that is meant to exist between the person of faith and God and His Church. This is essentially why confession to a priest is necessary… as Christ was an “agent” of reconciliation, so is the priest who stands in Persona Christi – in the Person of Christ.
• Confession IS meant as a remedy for serious sin and a help to avoiding it in the future. As such, “devotional” confessions or confession of venial (lesser) sins should be made only periodically throughout the year.

Due to some emerging areas of concern that have been observed in the lives of the faithful, it is also important to realize that…

• Confession is NOT a psychiatrist booth or an “answer kiosk.” Rarely is it possible for a priest and penitent to analyze one’s life or feelings or to respond to a list of questions presented in the forum of the confessional. Feelings may come and go and may not, in fact, be sinful… tell the priest what you DID. It’s better to schedule an appointment with a priest outside the confessional so as to seek answers to questions or better resolve particular personal circumstances, or to make a lengthy or general confession, and in consideration of the great numbers of penitents who may be waiting at the times of scheduled confessions.
• Confession is NOT the place to “confess everyone else’s sins,” or to place blame for one’s sins on the actions of others. Remember… this is where we take radical responsibility for our own wrongdoing… not to explain it away.
• Confession is NOT the place to seek counsel for marriage problems. Please schedule an appointment with a priest outside the confessional to adequately and fairly discuss such delicate matters.
• Confession is NOT the place to argue with a priest over Church teachings or assert one’s opinions or to express displeasure with the Church or to confront. Remember that this IS a sacrament of the Church and unseemly behavior is entirely out of place. It poses no reasonable problem to schedule an appointment with a priest outside the confessional so as to better resolve concerns or questions.

The sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation (Confession) is celebrated at Ss. Simon & Jude each Tuesday from 5:30p-6, on Saturday at 4p, and again at 8p. To schedule an appointment with a priest, phone the parish office (602-242-1300)