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Home » BALTIMORE CATECHISM » Baltimore Catechism No. 2 (Grades 6-8) Vol. 1

Lesson 17 : On The Sacrament Of Penance

187. Q. What is the Sacrament of Penance?
      A. Penance is a Sacrament in which the sins committed after Baptism are forgiven.

 

188. Q. How does the Sacrament of Penance remit sin, and restore to the soul the friendship of God?
      A. The Sacrament of Penance remits sins and restores the friendship of God to the soul by means of the absolution of the priest.

 

189. Q. How do you know that the priest has the power of absolving from the sins committed after Baptism?
      A. I know that the priest has the power of absolving from the sins committed after Baptism, because Jesus Christ granted that power to the priests of His Church when He said: "Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; whose sins you shall retain, they are retained."

 

190. Q. How do the priests of the Church exercise the power of forgiving sins?
      A. The priests of the Church exercise the power of forgiving sins by hearing the confession of sins, and granting pardon for them as ministers of God and in His name.

 

191. Q. What must we do to receive the Sacrament of Penance worthily?
      A. To receive the Sacrament of Penance worthily we must do five things:

  • We must examine our conscience.
  • We must have sorrow for our sins.
  • We must make a firm resolution never more to offend God.
  • We must confess our sins to the priest.
  • We must accept the penance which the priest gives us.

 

192. Q. What is the examination of conscience?
      A. The examination of conscience is an earnest effort to recall to mind all the sins we have committed since our last worthy confession.

 

193. Q. How can we make a good examination of conscience?
      A. We can make a good examination of conscience by calling to memory the commandments of God, the precepts of the Church, the seven capital sins, and the particular duties of our state in life, to find out the sins we have committed.

 

194. Q. What should we do before beginning the examination of conscience?
      A. Before beginning the examination of conscience we should pray to God to give us light to know our sins and grace to detest them.