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At St. Johns...

Adults are prepared for the reception of the sacraments of Penance and the Holy Eucharist as part of the R.C.I.A program.

Children are prepared for the reception of the sacraments of Penance and the Holy Eucharist in a two-year preparation program through the Religious Education Program, usually beginning in grade 1 and grade 2. For children older than grade 2, parents may make arrangements through the Religious Education Office.

St. John's offers a communal penance service during Lent and Advent. Check the calendar for dates and times.

The Sacrament of Penance
By: The U.S. Conf. of Catholic Bishops

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.”

Jesus entrusted the ministry of reconciliation to the Church. The Sacrament of Penance is God’s gift to us so that any sin committed after Baptism can be forgiven. In confession we have the opportunity to repent and recover the grace of friendship with God. It is a holy moment in which we place ourselves in his presence and honestly acknowledge our sins, especially mortal sins. With absolution, we are reconciled to God and the Church. The Sacrament helps us stay close to the truth that we cannot live without God. “In him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). While all the Sacraments bring us an experience of the mercy that comes from Christ’s dying and rising, it is the Sacrament of Reconciliation that is the unique Sacrament of mercy.

St. John the Baptist

Roman Catholic Church

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