Reconciliation

If I was telling a non catholic friend about the sacrament of Reconciliation, I would start by explaining the basic meaning of it. Reconciliation, probably better known to my friend as Penance, is a sacrament where you confess your sins to a priest and are forgiven for them by the power of God through the priest. The four parts of the sacrament are confession, where you confess particular sins, penance, where you are given a special task to complete to respond to Gods grace like saying a prayer, contrition where you say the act of contrition and finally absolution where you are forgiven for your sins. The act of contrition is a prayer, which I have pinned so that my friend can see and read it. Next, I would explain to my friend how to prepare for the sacrament by examining your conscience which is looking in your heart for the sins you have commuted. I would tell her that a sin is not an accident, mistake or temptation and that sin must have motivation, intrinsic, an internal factor that pushes and extrinsic, an external factor that pushes. Also I would make sure she understands that the priest can not reveal what she says during confession and if he does he will be excommunicated from the church. Lastly, I would explain how revealing your sins should not be a shameful experience but a safe and happy one because the priest and God are excited and proud of the strength you have to show up. By looking at the quotes I have pinned, she could get a feel for Gods love and forgiveness that are shown multiple times throughout the Bible.