The Sacrament of Reconciliation

Not only does the Sacrament of Penance free us from our sins but it also challenges us to have the same kind of compassion and forgiveness for those who sin against us. We obtain new insight into the words of the Prayer of St. Francis: "It is in pardoning that we are pardoned."

An extraordinary commission to the Apostles after the resurrection of Jesus:  ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.  If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’ (John 20:19-23)  This is the foundation for the Sacrament of Penance, or Confession, which has existed in the Church from that moment to the present day as the privileged vehicle of the divine mercy.”

- Bishop Robert Barron