227 JESUS INSTITUTES THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE

YOUCAT Lesson 227

YOUCAT the catechism for Catholic youth

227  Who instituted the sacrament of Penance?

Jesus himself instituted the sacrament of Penance when he showed himself to his apostles on  Easter day and commanded them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.  If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained” (John 20:22a-23).  [1439, 1485]

…….Illustration above: …..John 20:19-20  Appearance to the Disciples.^*   On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.”  When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.  The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. …..227

Nowhere did Jesus express more beautifully what happens in the sacrament of Penance than in the parable of the Prodigal Son: We go astray, we are lost and can no longer cope.  Yet our Father waits for us with great, indeed, infinite longing; he forgives us when we come back; he takes us again, forgives our sins.  Jesus himself forgave the sins of many individuals; it was more important to him than working miracles.  He regarded this as the great sign of the dawning of the kingdom of God, in which all wounds are healed and all tears are wiped away.  Jesus forgave sins in the power of the Holy Spirit, and he handed that power on to his apostles.  We fall into the arms of our heavenly Father when we go to a priest and confess.  314, 524

“What is repentance?  A great sorrow over the fact that we are the way we are.”  Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach (1830-1916, Austrian writer)

THE MANY FORMS OF PENANCE IN CHRISTIAN LIFE

…….1439   The process of conversion and repentance was described by Jesus in the parable of the prodigal son, the center of which is the merciful father(compare Luke 15:11-24.)³⁷   the fascination of illusory freedom, the abandonment of the father's house; the extreme misery in which the son finds himself after squandering his fortune; his deep humiliation at finding himself obliged to feed swine, and still worse, at wanting to feed on the husks the pigs ate; his reflection on all he has lost; his repentance and decision to declare himself guilty before his father; the journey back; the father's generous welcome; the father's joy - all these are characteristic of the process of conversion. The beautiful robe, the ring, and the festive banquet are symbols of that new life - pure worthy, and joyful - of anyone who returns to God and to the bosom of his family, which is the Church. Only the heart of Christ who knows the depths of his Father's love could reveal to us the abyss of his mercy in so simple and beautiful a way. –Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition

IN BRIEF

.......1485 "On the evening of that day, the first day of the week," Jesus showed himself to his apostles. "He breathed on them, and said to them: 'Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained"' (Jn 20:19, 22-23).