Sacrament of Reconciliation

Monday-Thursday: 9:30a.m. - St. Patrick Church
​Friday: 9:30am - St. Matthew Church
Saturday: 9:30am and 2:45p.m. –  St. Patrick Church
Confessions may also be arranged by appointment

The Sacrament of Penance is an experience of the gift of God's boundless mercy.  Not only does it 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 are liberated to be forgivers.  We obtain new insight into the words of the Prayer of St. Francis: "It is in pardoning that we are pardoned."

What We Believe
​Those who approach the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Penance, Confession) obtain pardon from God's mercy for the offense committed against him, and are, at the same time, reconciled with the Church which they have wounded by their sins and which by charity, by example, and by prayer labors for their conversion. ( Catholic Catechism 1422 )

Since Christ entrusted to his apostles the ministry of reconciliation, bishops who are their successors, and priests, the bishops' collaborators, continue to exercise this ministry. Indeed bishops and priests, by virtue of the sacrament of Holy Orders, have the power to forgive all sins "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."
Catechism of the Catholic Church(CCC), 1461

The Catholic Tradition Before going to confession, the penitent compares his or her life with the Ten Commandments, the Beatitudes, Seven Deadly Sins, and the example of Christ and then prays to God for forgiveness. | See Below: How to Go to  Confession

Confidentiality or Seal of the Confessional during the course of confession is absolute. This strict confidentiality is known as the Seal of the Confessional. Priests may not reveal what they have learned during confession to anyone, even under the threat of their own death or that of others. 
'Given the delicacy and greatness of this ministry and the respect due to persons, the Church declares that every priest who hears confessions is bound under very severe penalties to keep absolute secrecy regarding the sins that his penitents have confessed to him.' CCC, 1467

Why a Sacrament after Baptism?
1425 "You were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God." One must appreciate the magnitude of the gift God has given us in the sacraments of Christian initiation in order to grasp the degree to which sin is excluded for him who has "put on Christ." But the apostle John also says: "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." And the Lord himself taught us to pray: "Forgive us our trespasses," linking our forgiveness of one another's offenses to the forgiveness of our sins that God will grant us.

1426 Conversion to Christ, the new birth of Baptism, the gift of the Holy Spirit and the Body and Blood of Christ received as food have made us "holy and without blemish," just as the Church herself, the Bride of Christ, is "holy and without blemish." Nevertheless the new life received in Christian initiation has not abolished the frailty and weakness of human nature, nor the inclination to sin that tradition calls concupiscence, which remains in the baptized such that with the help of the grace of Christ they may prove themselves in the struggle of Christian life. This is the struggle of conversion directed toward holiness and eternal life to which the Lord never ceases to call us.[CCC 1425-1426]
read more on Sacrament of Reconciliation from CCC

How to Go to Confession

1. PREPARATION: Before going to confession, the penitent compares his or her life with the Ten Commandments, the Beatitudes, and the example of Christ and then prays to God for forgiveness.
2. GOING TO CONFESSION: After the priest welcomes you, both of you make the sign of the cross. Then you may wish to indicate facts about your life, the time of the last confession, difficulties in leading the Christian life, and anything else that may help the priest.
3. CONFESSION OF SINS AND THE ACT OF PENANCE: Confess your sins. The priest then offers suitable advice and imposes an act of penance or satisfaction, which may include prayer, self-denial, or works of mercy.
4. PRAYER OF THE PENITENT: Pray a prayer expressing sorrow for your sins and resolving not to sin again. 
   1. O my God, I am heartily sorry for Having offended Thee, And I detest all my sins, Because I dread the loss of heaven, And the pains of hell; But most of all because They offend Thee, my God, Who are all good and Deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, With the help of Thy grace To confess my sins, To do penance And to amend my life. Amen.​
5. ABSOLUTION: The priest extends his hands over your head and pronounces the formula of absolution, making the sign of the cross over your head during the final words. You answer, ‘Amen.”
6. DISMISSAL: The priest dismisses you with the command to go in peace. Continue to express your conversion through a life renewed according to the Gospel and more and more steeped in the love of God.