On March 28th, Tuesday at 7:00 p.m., we shall have our Lenten Communal Penance Service. Over 25 priests are coming to hear your confession and grant God’s forgiveness through the Prayer of Absolution:
God the Father of mercies, through the death and resurrection of his Son has reconciled the world to himself and poured out the Holy Spirit for the forgiveness of sins; through the ministry of the Church may God grant you pardon and peace, and I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. (Revised English Translation for use beginning Ash Wednesday 2023)
Let us reflect on each and every line with the help of Fr. Michael Novajosky (Diocese of Bridgeport).
God the Father of mercies. The prayer of absolution begins by stating how any of this is possible: mercy. The sacrament of reconciliation exists because it is offered as a merciful gift. It is a gift to us no matter where we are with our faith.
Through the death and resurrection of his Son has reconciled the world to himself. Every celebration of the sacrament of reconciliation is possible and has effect because of the Paschal Mystery. By the Incarnation, the Son of God joins himself to our nature to bridge the infinite chasm that was created by sin. The Resurrection of Easter Sunday that follows the Cross of Good Friday is the renewal of life and human nature that follows from the defeat of sin by his triumphant death.
And poured out the Holy Spirit for the forgiveness of sins. On the evening of his Resurrection, the Lord Jesus appeared to the Apostles gathered in the upper room and said, “’Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.’”
Through the ministry of the Church may God grant you pardon and peace. Forgiveness is accomplished by the Lord. The Lord’s will to forgive and the capacity to forgive was entrusted to the Church. “Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” The Apostles accepted this gift to the Church, carried it out and passed it on faithfully. It is through the ministry of the Church today that the gift of forgiveness of sin is accomplished.
And I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. These are the essential words of the minister that make or break the sacrament. The source and one active in the act of forgiveness is invoked and stated clearly. It is the Blessed Trinity with the names of Father, Son and Spirit called upon to accomplish the task of reconciliation. The work is brought about through the priest. He is the means and instrument. Be not afraid.