Reconciliation (Confession) is offered every Saturday from 4 PM - 5 PM or by appointment. Please call the office at 403-381-8891 to make an appointment.
First Reconciliation
Registration for First Reconciliation is now open for Fall 2024! Please find the registration form here. When completed, please return it to the parish office or scan it to [email protected]. If your child will be participating in First Reconciliation in Fall 2024, then they will be automatically registered for First Communion in 2025.
Registration Age The minimum age to participate in First Reconciliation is seven years old, or anyone in Grade 2 or above. Required Documents
A completed copy of the sacrament registration form (found here)
A copy of your child's baptismal certificate
$25 registration fee (to cover cost of resources). This fee can be waived in case of financial difficulty.
Further Information If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the sacramental preparation coordinator, Zachary, at [email protected] or at 403-381-8891. He will be happy to help you!
You can also visit the parish office, Monday - Friday from 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM.
HOW TO GO TO RECONCILIATION
As you prepare yourself for confession, do an Examination of Conscience, and reflect on your sins. Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you to make a good confession.
Begin by making the sign of the cross and saying, “Bless me Father for I have sinned. It has been _____ (weeks, months, years) since my last confession."
Then you will tell the priest the sins that you have committed since your last confession and the number of times you committed it.
You do not have to go into any explicit detail like dates and times or in what way. Make sure you do say the act of sin IE "for being lustful by looking at porn on five occasions." When we include the action and number it helps father to understand the potential root of the sin. The guidance and advice he would give us is now more tailored to understanding the ways the sin impacts our lives and affects us. If you feel it is necessary you can tell him the circumstances.
When you are finished, you will tell the priest, "For all my sins I am truly sorry." or "those are all the sins I remember"
The priest will briefly discuss your sins and will offer advice and encouragement on leading a better Christian life.
He will give you a penance to perform (usually a prayer or good deed)
The priest may ask you to say the Act of Contrition, expressing your sorrow for your sins.
Finally, the priest , acting in the person of Christ, will absolve you of your sins through the Prayer of Absolution.
At the end of his absolution he will say, “I absolve you of your sins in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. ”
Make the sign of the cross and respond "Amen".
He will then dismiss you by saying some variation of “Go in peace. ” Reply, “Thanks be to God”.
As soon as possible, complete your penance and rejoice in the fact that your sins have been forgiven by the blood of Jesus Christ.
What is considered a sin?
Answer The Catechism of the Catholic Church says in 1849 Sin is an offence against reason, truth, and right conscience; it is failure in genuine love for God and neighbour caused by a perverse attachment to certain goods. It wounds the nature of man and injures human solidarity. It has been defined as "an utterance, a deed, or a desire contrary to the eternal law."121
Are there different types of sins?
Answer: We commit varying types of sins as humans, the two types are venial and mortal. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says in 1853 Sins can be distinguished according to their objects, as can every human act; or according to the virtues they oppose, by excess or defect; or according to the commandments they violate. They can also be classed according to whether they concern God, neighbour, or oneself; they can be divided into spiritual and carnal sins, or again as sins in thought, word, deed, or omission.
What makes something a mortal sin?
Answer:CC 1859 Mortal sin requires full knowledge and complete consent. It presupposes knowledge of the sinful character of the act, of its opposition to God's law. It also implies a consent sufficiently deliberate to be a personal choice. Feigned ignorance and hardness of heart133 do not diminish, but rather increase, the voluntary character of a sin.
What Makes something a Venial sin?
Answer: CC 1862 One commits venial sin when, in a less serious matter, he does not observe the standard prescribed by the moral law, or when he disobeys the moral law in a grave matter, but without full knowledge or without complete consent.
Why do i confess to a priest?
Answer: Jesus has given priests the ability to be in persona Christi. To act in the person of Christ. CC 1443 During his public life Jesus not only forgave sins, but also made plain the effect of this forgiveness: he reintegrated forgiven sinners into the community of the People of God from which sin had alienated or even excluded them. A remarkable sign of this is the fact that Jesus receives sinners at his table, a gesture that expresses in an astonishing way both God's forgiveness and the return to the bosom of the People of God.44 Just as Jesus received sinners at His table, so does the Church receive sinners. We embrace and welcome sinners to come into our faith, our community, and our parishes. If we didn't, we would have no church. We are all sinners being welcomed by Christ into His Church. Confession allows us to remove our sins and to no longer let them define us, but to have us be defined by Christ.
What sins do i need to confess?
Answer: All of them. Even if our sins are venial we still have distanced ourself from God. Even the smallest pebble in a shoe can cause great damage over time. A good practice to have with confession is if you feel as though you are done confessing but unsure if you forgot to say something end with "Thats all I can remember". It can bring a peace of mind knowing that if you forgot something that sin is not withheld from God by your humanity.
What gives the priest authority to forgive my sins?
Answer: CC1444 In imparting to his apostles his own power to forgive sins the Lord also gives them the authority to reconcile sinners with the Church. This ecclesial dimension of their task is expressed most notably in Christ's solemn words to Simon Peter(Our First Pope): "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."45 "The office of binding and loosing which was given to Peter was also assigned to the college of the apostles united to its head."46 To conclude 1445 The words bind and loose mean: whomever you exclude from your communion, will be excluded from communion with God; whomever you receive anew into your communion, God will welcome back into his. Reconciliation with the Church is inseparable from reconciliation with God.
How do my sins affect others?
Answer: One of the reasons we go to a priest and confess our sins, is because the priest also represents the community that we have hurt through our sins. What happens to us in our lives affect our moods, our thoughts and our actions. In the same way so does our sins. Even our sins committed behind closed doors affect others, because they affect us.
Doesnt goD get tired of hearing my sins?
Answer: No, Never. God never tires of us coming to Him. We tire of confessing the same sins, we tire of being sinful but God never tires of forgiving us. No matter how long we have avoided confession, or how recently we just went God meets us with the same mercy and love. The story of the prodigal son shows the heart of God, and the way we are seen by Him.
