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After saying this he breathed on them and said: "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone's sins, they are forgiven; if you retain anyone's sins, they are retained."
John 20: 22-23.
Only God forgives sins. Since he is the Son of God, Jesus says of himself, 'The Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins', and exercises this divine power: 'Your sins are forgiven.' Further, by virtue of his divine authority he gives this power to men to exercise in his name. CCC 1441
Christ institutes the sacrament of Penance for all sinful members of the Church: above all for thse who, since Baptism, have fallen into grave sin, and have thus lost their baptismal grace and wounded the ecclesial communion. It is to them that the sacrament of Penance offers a new possibility to convert and recover the grace of justification. CCC 1446.
During 2015 there will be some changes made in the programme of preparation for and the celebration of this sacrament. This affects children who are currently in Year 2 in primary school. Please note that some changes have been made to the next course for children's reconciliation in the 2015 programme compared to previous years. Children will be prepared for the sacrament while they are in Year 2. The course will start in March. There will be a meeting on Tuesday, 7th Marh in The John Paul II Centre for children to enrol for the sacrament. A rite of enrolement will be celebrated at the 9.00 am Mass on Sunday, 15th March which all children must attend as well as regularly attending one of the Masses each Sunday. Classes of preparation will take place on five Saturdays from the 21st of March - details on this wbsite or from the back of the church or the parish office. The final session will be on Saturday, 4th July. The children will then make their first Confession at 7.00 pm on Wednesday, 8th July at the Church of the Immaculate Conception.
First Reconciliation and Holy Communion application form (PDF file will open in a new window)
What the Catechism of the Catholic Church says.
Rite of preparation for the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Please note that attendance at the introductory rite and all the above meetings and classes are a requirement for the Sacrament of Reconciliation