Jesus Heals Us in the Sacrament of Reconciliation Chapter 14

Jesus Invites Us to Change Our Hearts Why do you think Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus? Why do you think Jesus chose to go to Zacchaeus’s house? Zacchaeus was moved by the love Jesus showed him. It made him realize that he had sinned and hurt people. He wanted to change and to share his joy with others.

Jesus Invites Us to Change Our Hearts Jesus was probably very happy that Zacchaeus had wanted to see him so much. What would have happened if Zacchaeus had become discourages and gone home without seeing Jesus?

Jesus Wants to Meet with Us Jesus is looking for us wherever we are. He is waiting for us to come to him and listen to him. Jesus wants to heal us from sin. If we are watching for him, Jesus will speak to our hearts. He will let us know that he loves us and wants to be with us.

Jesus Wants to Meet with Us We will want to change our lives and do what he tells us. We will be filled with contrition, the sadness we feel for our sin. Like Zacchaeus, we can find a place where we can meet Jesus, where he will share his healing with us. We can meet him in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Jesus Wants to Meet with Us In this sacrament, Jesus tells us of his forgiving love. He wants to change our hearts so that we can live with him forever. He wants us to be sorry for our sins so that he can take them away and fill our hearts with love. He asks us to confess our sins and to let him forgive us.

Jesus Wants to Meet with Us Ordinary sins are forgiven through the Eucharist, but when we meet with Jesus in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we strengthen our relationship with him. Knowing that Jesus loves us, we can admit that we have sinned. Jesus loves us even though we sometimes disobey God. He wants to heal our weakness and help us gron strong in love.

Jesus Wants to Meet with Us We are sorry for our sins and confess them because we love Jesus. We promise to keep trying to become holy. Perfect contrition is feeling sorry for our sin because we love God and want to be close to him. As we come to know how much Jesus loves us, we want to be more like him.

Jesus Wants to Meet with Us We want to give up our selfishness and share all that we have with others. We want to be kind to those we have hurt. We want to be obedient to those we have disobeyed. Like Zacchaeus, we try to make up for hurtful things we have done.

Jesus Wants to Meet with Us When we receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we show Jesus our love. Saying “I am sorry” and asking forgiveness are signs of our love. Forgiving those who have hurt us is also a sign of love. Jesus always forgives us, so we must do the same for one another.

Jesus Wants to Meet with Us When it is hard to ask for or to give forgiveness, we can remember how much Jesus loves us and ask him to help us. How Jesus must rejoice each time we celebrate this sacrament! Each time he can say to us, as he said to Zacchaeus, “Today salvation has come to this house.”

Jesus Gives the Gift of Peace According to the Gospel of John, Jesus gave us the gift of the Sacrament of Reconciliation on Easter Sunday night. The disciples were gathered behind locked doors when Jesus appeared to them. He gave them peace and then enabled them to bring his peace to others. He said to them, “Receive the holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them and whose sins you retain are retained.” John 20:22-23

REFLECT!

Jesus Gives the Gift of Peace Through the centuries, the way we receive Christ’s forgiveness has changed. Today we may celebrate the sacrament privately. We may also participate in a communal celebration, which prepares us to confess our sins individually. The Church knows how important and how helpful this sacrament is. It is a Church precept (law) that Catholics must confess their sins at least once a year.

We Meet Jesus in the Sacrament When we meet Jesus, it is through the priest. The priest acts in Jesus’ name and in the name of the whole Church. Preparing God loves us and wants us to be happy forever. He has given us his Holy Spirit to help us follow his way of love.

We Meet Jesus in the Sacrament Preparing To prepare for the sacrament, we pray to the Holy Spirit. We ask the Spirit to show us how we have loved or failed to love. We ask the Spirit to be with us and to help us as we celebrate this sacrament. God then speaks to us in his holy Word. God often talks about forgiveness because he is waiting to show forgiving love to very sinner. God’s Word tells us that he loves us and is waiting to forgive us.

We Meet Jesus in the Sacrament Preparing We examine our conscience to see how we have walked with Jesus on the path of love. Have we followed in his footsteps at home, at school, and elsewhere? Have we love God, others, and ourselves? We tell God we are sorry, and we promise to try to be more loving, more like Jesus. We want to change our ways and renew our baptismal covenant.

We Meet Jesus in the Sacrament Confessing We decide what we will tell the priest when we confess our sins. Anyone who has completely turned from God by committing mortal sin must tell that sin in confession. Children usually commit venial sins. They will confess the sins they commit the most often, or the sins that hurt others the most.

We Meet Jesus in the Sacrament Confessing When we confess our sins, we tell the priest how we have failed in love and how often. It is also good to tell the reason if we know it.

We Meet Jesus in the Sacrament Receiving a Penance After we confess our sins, the priest talks to us. He gives a penance-something that will help us keep our promise to be better. This may be either a prayer or something good to do. It is a sign that we want to make up for our sins. Sometimes the priest may ask us what we think would be a good penance. We do our penance as soon as possible so that we do not forget it.

We Meet Jesus in the Sacrament Receiving Forgiveness Then comes the most wonderful part of the sacrament. We tell Jesus we are sorry in an Act of Contrition. Jesus forgives our sins through the words and actions of the priest. The priest extends his hand over us and gives us absolution. He says “I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

We Meet Jesus in the Sacrament Receiving Forgiveness As he says this, we make the Sign of the Cross.