Confession Opportunities in Lent

Regular Confession Times
at St. Anne's

Saturdays
4:00pm-5:00pm In the Church

You can also make an appointment with a priest at the Parish Office by calling 369-1907.

Please Note: There will NOT be ANY confessions available during the Triduum, April 17-20, 2014.

Questions and Answers about Confession

Why should I go to Confession?

Every time we sin, we hurt ourselves, other people and God. The Sacrament of Reconciliation (also called Penance or Confession) was given to us by Christ to help us reconcile with Christ and his Church when we have committed harm. Through the Sacrament, we acknowledge our sins, express our sorrow in a meaningful way, receive the forgiveness of Christ and his Church, make reparation for what we have done and resolve to do better in the future. During his public life, Jesus both forgave sins and reintegrated sinners into the community. This is the goal of the Sacrament of Confession: to forgive sins and to provide reconciliation with the Church. The Sacrament of Penance & Reconciliation involves four parts: contrition, confession, penance and absolution.

• Contrition: a sincere sorrow for having offended God and the most important act of the penitent. There can be no forgiveness of sin if we do not have sorrow and a firm resolve not to repeat our sin.
• Confession: confronting our sins in a profound way to God by speaking about them —aloud— to a priest.
• Penance: an important part of our healing is the “penance” imposed in reparation for our sins.
• Absolution: the priest imparts the words which reconcile a sinner to God through the merits of the Cross.

Why do I have to confess my sins to a priest?

As the Catechism of the Catholic Churchpoints out, our faith in the forgiveness of sins is tied to faith in the Holy Spirit and the Church: “It was when he gave the Holy Spirit to his apostles that the risen Christ conferred on them His own divine power to forgive sins: ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained’” (976; cf. John 20:22-23).

Will the priest ever repeat what I have said in my confession?

A priest can never reveal to anyone what he is told in a confession. This obligation of absolute secrecy is most serious and is called the sacramental seal (CCC no. 1467).

Information found on http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/sacraments/penance/sacrament-of-penance-question-and-answer.cfm