Reconciliation (formerly
known as the Sacrament of Confession and sometimes called the Sacrament of
Penance) is one of the Church’s two Sacraments of Healing The Sacrament of Reconciliation
affirms the truth that God loves us without fail and forgives us before we even
recognise we need to be forgiven.
The
Sacrament of Reconciliation emphasises the relational nature of our lives and
reminds us that as individuals and as a community we stand in need of god’s
forgiving and healing love in all our relationships: with ourselves, God,
others and the world. Most obvious is our relationship with God, self and
others, but more and more now we recognise our relationship with the natural
world, when we see the damage humankind has perpetrated upon the environment.
Furthermore, when one of these aspects or relationship of our lives is hurting
the whole of our lives and relationships are effected. We are all interrelated –
God, self, others and the natural world. We only have to see this when we are
feeling sad or stressed and we walk or sit in nature and feel ourselves
comforted, this then effects the way we feel and the way we relate to others –
and hopefully the way we become conscious of God in all things.
The
Sacrament of Reconciliation is a powerful aspect of the life of the Church that
ensures the inner growth of its members who are responsive to the purifying
love of God. It is a life giving sacrament to which we are encouraged to avail
ourselves as often as we feel the need of restoration through forgiveness. It
is a sacrament about truth and integrity – about being true to myself in
relationship to myself, others, God and the world in which I live.
When will St Mary’s celebrate First
Reconciliations for 2020?
Parents of
the child to receive his or her first reconciliation are asked to come to a
Faith Formation Night on Tuesday the 13th of October and to a
Reconciliation Commitment Mass on the weekend of the 17th and 18th of October.
First
Reconciliations will take place as follows:
- Tuesday the 10th of November at 6.30pm
- Saturday the 14th of November at 10.00am