2. Sin is the deliberate choice of something opposed to
God's law of love in one's thoughts, words or deeds.
God loves us and desires our holiness. He wants to
give himself to us, but we say "no" to him through our
sins. Sin is its own worst punishment. There are two
kinds of sin: mortal and venial. Mortal (or serious) sin
destroys love. It turns one away from God and
community. It is a grave violation of God's law. In order
for a sin to be mortal, the sinful act must be serious;
the person had to have understood that it was
seriously wrong; and the person had to have been free
in committing a sin. So I cannot commit a mortal sin if
the matter is not serious, if I did not know what I was
doing, or if I did not act in full freedom. Venial sin is a
minor offense against God that hurts our friendship
with him but does not destroy it.

4. When man sins, something is lost, for mortal man, it is lost for at least the duration of
the mortal existence. This does not presuppose repentance. Repentance is real, but it
does not remove from us the effects of our actions, our habits. What is lost? What is
lost is the purity we brought to mortality, and it is the function of the atonement, at a
later time it seems, to purge from us these evil "effects". What is lost is a human
being who is changed by the sin, who is no longer able to say to himself and God, "I
have never sinned that sin," who will not be able, at least in this life, to forget the fact
that he did commit sin. What is lost is a man who, having committed adultery for
example, though fully repentant and forgiven, will be more tempted to do it again than
had he never committed the sin at all; thus the struggle now becomes more difficult. It
is like a man climbing a mountain, who, allowing Satan to get one of his hooks into
his back with an added weight, will still be able to climb the mountain, but only with
increased effort.

9. Repent!
Repent!
Repent!

10. Do I really need to
repent??!!

12. Reconciliation (or “Confession”) is the
sacrament where Baptized Catholics receive
forgiveness from God’s mercy for the offense
committed against him, and are reconciled with
the Church which they have wounded by their
sins. It is the place where you meet the risen
Jesus, who gave the apostles - the first priests -
the power to forgive sins in his name (John
20:23).

13. it's why Jesus died, so that we can be reconciled to the
living God. His death established a new covenant
between God and man. Not only are we forgiven of our
offenses by His great love and mercy, but we are also
adopted. Our identity and a new life are now found
through Him. We are called into a relationship, not a
religion. This is the core tenet of being a Christian.

14. As an aspect of our interactions with
other people, Christians strive to
maintain harmony and to forgive
others. It is a free will act of love; an
expression of it. This does not imply
that they are accepting of all
behaviors. They will take a stand
against those things which are not
right and against people who desire to
do wrong or evil. They do that
because of their love for other people.

15. Only Baptized Catholics can
receive the sacrament of
confession. If you are not
Catholic but would like to
learn more about the Catholic
faith, speak to a priest. He
will be glad to answer your
questions.

16. All Catholics, including priests,
bishops and even the pope, are
required to go to confession at
least one a year. However,
frequent confession (at least
monthly) is highly recommended.
Pope John Paul II even highly
recommended the practice of
weekly confession, which he
followed himself. He said that “it
would be an illusion to seek after
holiness without partaking
frequently of this sacrament of
conversion and reconciliation.” If
you would like to receive the
sacrament, simply ask a priest
and he will help you.

17. If you have committed a serious (mortal)
sin, it is very important to go to
confession as soon as possible. Anyone
who has committed a mortal sin cannot
receive communion until he/she has first
gone to confession and received God’s
forgiveness, since receiving communion
in a state of serious sin does not bring
grace but judgment (1 Cor 11:27-30). For
example, a Catholic who has deliberately
missed Mass on Saturday/Sunday or on
a day of obligation without a serious
reason should first go to confession
before he again receives communion,
since Sunday (or Saturday evening)
Mass attendance is obligatory for
Catholics.

18. SIN?

20. Keys.
A single key or a pair of keys, usually
crisscrossed in the shape of an “X,”
occasionally one of top of the other, is the
most common symbol for the Sacrament of
Reconciliation. The symbol originates with
Jesus’ words to Peter, “I will give you the
keys to the kingdom of heaven” (Mt
16:19a), by which Jesus imparted his
authority to the Church, and his continuing
statement, “Whatever you bind on earth
shall be bound in heaven, and whatever
you loose on earth shall be loosed in
heaven” (Mt 16:19b), by which he
established the Sacrament of
Reconciliation and gave the Church the
authority to forgive sins.
(see also Jn 20:23).

21. A Stole.
The stole is the primary symbol of the
ordained priesthood, and it is the
priest in personal Christi, as a
representative of Christ, who grants
sacramental absolution. A stole is a
long, narrow strip of cloth worn over
the shoulders which hangs in front in
equal lengths on the right and left
sides. The stole signifies the priest’s
authority to preside over the
sacraments in general, and his
authority to absolve sins in particular.
When a priest hears confessions, he
wears a purple stole which symbolizes
repentance and sorrow.

22. A Raised Hand.
During the Rite of
Reconciliation, after the
penitent makes the Act of
Contrition, the priests offers
the Prayer of Absolution, the
blessing that removes the
person’s sins, and as he
does so he extends his right
hand over the penitent’s
head.

23. The Cross.
The priest makes a Sign of the
Cross over the penitent as he
recites the final words of the
Prayer of Absolution, “And I
absolve you from you sins in the
name of the Father, and of the
Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”
Jesus “himself bore our sins in
his body upon the Cross” (1 Pt
2:24a). Jesus has reconciled all
things through himself, and he
has made peace by the blood of
his Cross (Col 1:20).

24. A Scourging Whip.
Before Jesus, our Suffering
Servant, was crucified, he was
scourged at the pillar. “He was
crushed for our sins, by his
stripes we were healed; through
his suffering, my servant shall
justify many, and their guilt he
shall bear; he shall take away
the sins of many, and win
pardon for their offenses” (Is
53:5,11,12). The apostle Peter
reflected, “By his [Jesus’]
wounds we were healed” (1 Pt
2:24b).

25. Sinner!!!

28. Now, always
remember to be
good!
God loves you!

30. • http://www.israelcatholic.com/content/view/37/106/lang,en/
• http://www.ststephenchurch.org/Sacraments/rec_overview/r
ec_symbols.shtml
• http://www.catholic-pages.com/morality/sin.asp
• http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080322102
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