In his Pastoral letter for Lent, the Bishop of Arundel and Brighton, the Rt Revd Kieran Conry, talks about re-connecting with the Sacrament of Reconciliation, or getting to know it for the first time.
The sacrament has been referred to traditionally as ‘confession’, but the Church has recognised there’s more to the celebration than simply the act of confessing sins. It’s a re-building of our relationship with God and with each another.
“You don’t have to remember any formula of words, or how many times you have done something wrong. The priest will help you. The pope reminds us that the priest himself, bishops and even the pope himself need to celebrate this sacrament. So if you haven’t ‘been to confession’ for some time and want to discover it again, this Lent might be a good time to do it.
“There are even a couple of smart-phone ‘apps’ that you can look at; one is called simply ‘Confession’, I think, and the other is Mea culpa. They don’t allow you to confess over the phone – the pope says it has to be person-to-person – but they might help if you have that technology.”
To download Bishop Conry’s Pastoral Letter please use the link in the top right-hand corner of this article.
catholicnews.org.uk/confession
Visit our full section of information and resources on the Sacrament of Reconciliation
