Reconciliation
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Preliminary QuestionsBibliography |
Constitution on the LiturgyHistory of the Sacrament of Reconciliation |
To Think About |
What did the sacrament look like at the time of the Council? What is the immediate history of the current Rite of Reconciliation? Read the Rite of Reconciliation. Are there ritual options in the rite which you have never seen used? Which ones? How does the theology presented in the Introduction compare with that which you learned at the time of your First Confession? Did you celebrate first Reconciliation before or after your first reception of the Eucharist?
NCCB-CL Newsletter, XXVIII (June/July 1992), pp 22-26. [Excellent commentary on article 72 of the Sacrosanctum Concilium.]
Richard M. Gula, S.S. To Walk Together Again, Chapter 6 "Reconciliation Through the Ages" pp 187-226.
James Dallen. The Reconciling Community: The Rite of Penance, "The Reform of Penance," pp 205-249, "Theological Foundations," pp 250-297, "Liturgies of Conversion and Reconciliation," pp 298-248, and "Shaping the Future," pp 349-407.
Kenan B. Osborne, O.F.M. Reconciliation and Justification, "The Sacrament of Reconciliation, Justification and Vatican II," 198-220, "Post-Vatican II Theology and Unresolved Issues on Justification and the Sacrament of Reconciliation," pp 221-254.
Annibale Bugnini. The Reform of the Liturgy 1948-1975, Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 1990, Chapter 39 "Reconciliation," pp 664-683.
1. 1963 Dec 04 Promulgation of Sacrosanctum Concilium, The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy. The Constitution contains one article on Penance, article 72: "The rite and formularies for the sacrament of penance are to be revised so that they more clearly express both the nature and effect of the sacrament."
2. This did not appear in the first draft. Note chapter title: "The Other Sacraments and Sacramentals." Penance was not mentioned. Devotional Practice / Liturgical Sacrament.
3. Jounel (the chef d'equip entrusted with the reform of the Rite) told us in class: "We were to write the new Ordo directed by article 72 but also (and more importantly) by the understanding of liturgical law and the general liturgical principles of Chapter One. [Class notes, Institut Superieur de Liturgie, Paris France, October 1972] This involves moving the popular understanding of "confession" from the category of "devotion" [Confessions of Devotion] and "ascetical practice" to the category of liturgy and, specifically, the category of sacrament.
4. The Second Vatican Council’s reform of the Sacrament of Reconciliation consists primarily in returning the rite to the categories of "liturgy" and "sacrament." To check yourself to see if you have made this paradigm shift in your own theological understanding of the Sacrament of Reconciliation take your "image" of confession, and see how well it fulfills the following standard definitions of sacrament.
The Church continues the healing ministry of Jesus. The risen Lord commissioned the disciples to continue his work of healing and forgiveness. "He breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.’" (John 20:22-23) "Over the centuries the concrete form in which the Church has exercised this power received from the Lord has varied considerably." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1447)
History of the Sacrament of Reconciliation |
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| Name | (Jesus and Sub-apostolic Church) | Canonical Penance (Order of Penitents) | Celtic Penance (Tariff Penance) | Confession | Reconciliation |
| Dates | 30-300 | 300-600 | 600-900 | 900-1974 | 1974-present |
| Paradigm (Think...) | Jesus in the Gospels | Baptism | Doctor visit | Juridical trial | Eucharist |
| Process (Stages) | Former life conversion catechumen elect faithful |
Sin contrition penance eucharist (=absolution) reconciliation |
Sin telling penance |
Sin conscience confession absolution penance |
Sin Word sorrow reconciliation shalom |
| Liturgy | Baptism-confirmation-eucharist | Order of Penitents: weepers kneelers hearers |
None | [None] words of absolution |
Gathering Story Telling Reconciling Commissioning |
| Ministries | Community and its ministers and its overseer | Community and its ministers and its overseer | Holy person (who can read a tariff from the book) | An ordained priest with proper jurisdiction | The community and its ministers and its pastor |
| Positive Aspects | Part of the ongoing journey of the holy Church | A liturgical process involving the whole community | Healing; quicker; repeatable | Repeatable; eradicate sins, sin by sin | The celebration (and the sin) is ecclesial and public |
| Negative Aspects | No provision for exceptional tragic situations | Once only; long and very hard; punishment | Private; no liturgy; (danger of money abuses) | Sin is private; not liturgical but devotional; routine | ? |
Be able to reproduce by memory the above table on the history of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. How has your knowledge of the history of the Sacrament of Reconciliation affected your understanding of this sacrament? How will you be able to convey this essential information to the members of your parish who did not study this history during their catechetical instruction?
© Copyright: Tom Richstatter, Franciscan Province of St. John the Baptist, Cincinnati Ohio, Order of Friars Minor. All Rights Reserved. This page was created by Fr. Thomas Richstatter, O.F.M. Every effort has been, and is being made, to acknowledge sources when the ideas are not my own. Any failure to comply with the United States Copyright Act (Title 17, United States Code) will be corrected immediately should I become aware of it. This site was updated on 06/05/07 . Your comments on this site are welcome at webmaster2@tomrichstatter.org.