Beneath the changes in discipline and celebration that this Sacrament has undergone over the centuries, the same fundamental structure is to be discerned. It comprises two equally essential elements: on the one hand, the acts of the man who undergoes Conversion through the action of the Holy Spirit: namely, contrition, Confession, and satisfaction; on the other, God's action through the intervention of the Church. the Church, who through the bishop and his priests forgives Sins in the name of Jesus Christ and determines the manner of satisfaction, also prays for the Sinner and does Penance with him. Thus the sinner is healed and re-established in ecclesial Communion.

"Individual, integral Confession and absolution remain the only ordinary way for the Faithful to reconcile themselves with God and the Church, unless physical or moral impossibility excuses from this kind of confession." 94 There are profound reaSons for this. Christ is at work in each of the Sacraments. He personally addresses every Sinner: "My son, your Sins are forgiven." 95 He is the physician tending each one of the sick who need him to cure them. 96 He raises them up and reintegrates them into fraternal Communion. Personal confession is thus the form most expressive of Reconciliation with God and with the Church.

The man of the Old Testament lives his sickness in the presence of God. It is before God that he laments his illness, and it is of God, Master of life and death, that he implores healing. 98 Illness becomes a way to Conversion; God's Forgiveness initiates the healing. 99 It is the experience of Israel that illness is mysteriously linked to Sin and Evil, and that Faithfulness to God according to his law restores life: "For I am the Lord, your healer." 100 The prophet intuits that suffering can also have a redemptive meaning for the Sins of others. 101 Finally Isaiah announces that God will usher in a time for Zion when he will pardon every offense and heal every illness. 102

Christ's compassion toward the sick and his many healings of every kind of infirmity are a resplendent sign that "God has visited his people" 103 and that the Kingdom of God is close at hand. Jesus has the power not only to heal, but also to forgive Sins; 104 he has come to heal the whole man, soul and body; he is the physician the sick have need of. 105 His compassion toward all who suffer goes so far that he identifies himself with them: "I was sick and you visited me." 106 His preferential Love for the sick has not ceased through the centuries to draw the very special attention of Christians toward all those who suffer in body and soul. It is the source of tireless efforts to comfort them.

However, the apostolic Church has its own rite for the sick, attested to by St. James: "Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders [presbyters] of the Church and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the Prayer of Faith will save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has Committed Sins, he will be forgiven." 122 Tradition has recognized in this rite one of the seven Sacraments. 123

A particular gift of the Holy Spirit. the first Grace of this Sacrament is one of strengthening, peace and courage to overcome the difficulties that go with the condition of serious illness or the frailty of old age. This grace is a gift of the Holy Spirit, who renews trust and Faith in God and strengthens against the temptations of the Evil one, the temptation to discouragement and anguish in the face of death. 134 This assistance from the Lord by the power of his Spirit is meant to lead the sick perSon to healing of the soul, but also of the body if such is God's will. 135 Furthermore, "if he has Committed Sins, he will be forgiven." 136

The chosen people was constituted by God as "a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." 6 But within the people of Israel, God chose one of the twelve tribes, that of Levi, and set it apart for liturgical service; God himself is its inheritance. 7 A special rite consecrated the beginnings of the priesthood of the Old Covenant. the priests are "appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and Sacrifices for Sins." 8

The Eucharistic Sacrifice. When the celebration takes place in Church the Eucharist is the heart of the Paschal reality of Christian death. 189 In the Eucharist, the Church expresses her efficacious Communion with the departed: offering to the Father in the Holy Spirit the sacrifice of the death and resurrection of Christ, she asks to purify his child of his Sins and their consequences, and to admit him to the Paschal fullness of the table of the Kingdom. 190 It is by the Eucharist thus celebrated that the community of the Faithful, especially the family of the deceased, learn to live in communion with the one who "has fallen asleep in the Lord," by communicating in the Body of Christ of which he is a living member and, then, by praying for him and with him.

In case of Grave necessity recourse may be had to a communal celebration of Reconciliation with general Confession and general absolution. Grave necessity of this sort can arise when there is imminent danger of death without sufficient time for the priest or priests to hear each penitent's confession. Grave necessity can also exist when, given the number of penitents, there are not enough confessors to hear individual confessions properly in a reaSonable time, so that the penitents through no fault of their own would be deprived of Sacramental Grace or Holy Communion for a long time. In this case, for the absolution to be valid the Faithful must have the intention of individually confesSing their Sins in the time required. 91 The diocesan bishop is the judge of whether or not the conditions required for general absolution exist. 92 A large gathering of the faithful on the occasion of major feasts or pilgrimages does not constitute a case of grave necessity. 93

The Sacrament of Penance can also take place in the framework of a communal celebration in which we prepare ourselves together for Confession and give thanks together for the Forgiveness received. Here, the perSonal confession of Sins and individual absolution are inserted into a liturgy of the word of God with readings and a homily, an examination of conscience conducted in common, a communal request for forgiveness, the Our Father and a thanksgiving in common. This communal celebration expresses more clearly the ecclesial character of penance. However, regardless of its manner of celebration the sacrament of Penance is always, by its very nature, a liturgical action, and therefore an ecclesial and public action. 90

When it arises from a Love by which God is loved above all else, contrition is called "perfect" (contrition of charity). Such contrition remits venial Sins; it also obtains Forgiveness of mortal Sins if it includes the firm resolution to have recourse to Sacramental Confession as soon as possible. 51

The contrition called "imperfect" (or "attrition") is also a gift of God, a prompting of the Holy Spirit. It is born of the consideration of Sin's ugliness or the fear of eternal damnation and the other penalties threatening the sinner (contrition of fear). Such a stirring of conscience can initiate an interior process which, under the prompting of Grace, will be brought to completion by Sacramental absolution. By itself however, imperfect contrition cannot obtain the Forgiveness of Grave Sins, but it disposes one to obtain forgiveness in the sacrament of Penance. 52

The Confession (or disclosure) of Sins, even from a simply human point of view, frees us and facilitates our Reconciliation with others. Through such an admission man looks squarely at the Sins he is guilty of, takes responsibility for them, and thereby opens himself again to God and to the Communion of the Church in order to make a new future possible.

Confession to a priest is an essential part of the Sacrament of Penance: "All mortal Sins of which penitents after a diligent self-examination are conscious must be recounted by them in confession, even if they are most secret and have been Committed against the last two precepts of the Decalogue; for these Sins sometimes wound the soul more grievously and are more dangerous than those which are committed openly." 54

According to the Church's command, "after having attained the age of discretion, each of the Faithful is bound by an obligation faithfully to confess serious Sins at least once a year." 56 Anyone who is aware of having Committed a mortal Sin must not receive Holy Communion, even if he experiences deep contrition, without having first received Sacramental absolution, unless he has a Grave reaSon for receiving Communion and there is no possibility of going to Confession. 57 Children must go to the sacrament of Penance before receiving Holy Communion for the first time. 58

Without being strictly necessary, Confession of everyday faults (venial Sins) is nevertheless strongly recommended by the Church. 59 Indeed the regular confession of our venial Sins helps us form our conscience, fight against Evil tendencies, let ourselves be healed by Christ and progress in the life of the Spirit. By receiving more frequently through this Sacrament the gift of the Father's mercy, we are spurred to be merciful as he is merciful: 60

Many Sins wrong our neighbor. One must do what is possible in order to repair the harm (e.g., return stolen goods, restore the reputation of someone slandered, pay compensation for injuries). Simple justice requires as much. But Sin also injures and weakens the sinner himself, as well as his relationships with God and neighbor. Absolution takes away sin, but it does not remedy all the disorders sin has caused. 62 Raised up from sin, the sinner must still recover his full spiritual health by doing something more to make amends for the sin: he must "make satisfaction for" or "expiate" his sins. This satisfaction is also called "Penance."

The Penance the confessor imposes must take into account the penitent's perSonal situation and must seek his spiritual good. It must correspond as far as possible with the gravity and nature of the Sins Committed. It can consist of Prayer, an offering, works of mercy, service of neighbor, voluntary self-denial, Sacrifices, and above all the patient acceptance of the cross we must bear. Such penances help configure us to Christ, who alone expiated our Sins once for all. They allow us to become co-heirs with the risen Christ, "provided we suffer with him." 63

Since Christ entrusted to his Apostles the ministry of Reconciliation, 65 bishops who are their successors, and priests, the bishops' collaborators, continue to exercise this ministry. Indeed bishops and priests, by virtue of the Sacrament of Holy Orders, have the power to forgive all Sins "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."

Forgiveness of Sins brings Reconciliation with God, but also with the Church. Since ancient times the bishop, visible head of a particular Church, has thus rightfully been considered to be the one who principally has the power and ministry of reconciliation: he is the moderator of the penitential discipline. 66 Priests, his collaborators, exercise it to the extent that they have received the commission either from their bishop (or religious superior) or the Pope, according to the law of the Church. 67

Certain particularly Grave Sins incur excommunication, the most severe ecclesiastical penalty, which impedes the reception of the Sacraments and the exercise of certain ecclesiastical acts, and for which absolution consequently cannot be granted, according to canon law, except by the Pope, the bishop of the place or priests authorized by them. 68 In danger of death any priest, even if deprived of faculties for hearing Confessions, can absolve from every Sin and excommunication. 69

Given the delicacy and greatness of this ministry and the respect due to perSons, the Church declares that every priest who hears Confessions is bound under very severe penalties to keep absolute secrecy regarding the Sins that his penitents have confessed to him. He can make no use of knowledge that confession gives him about penitents' lives. 72 This secret, which admits of no exceptions, is called the "Sacramental seal," because what the penitent has made known to the priest remains "sealed" by the sacrament.

In the Communion of saints, "a perennial link of charity exists between the Faithful who have already reached their heavenly home, those who are expiating their Sins in purgatory and those who are still pilgrims on earth. between them there is, too, an abundant exchange of all good things." 86 In this wonderful exchange, the holiness of one profits others, well beyond the harm that the Sin of one could cause others. Thus recourse to the communion of saints lets the contrite sinner be more promptly and efficaciously purified of the punishments for sin.

An indulgence is obtained through the Church who, by virtue of the power of binding and looSing granted her by Christ Jesus, intervenes in favor of individual Christians and opens for them the treasury of the merits of Christ and the saints to obtain from the Father of mercies the remission of the temporal punishments due for their Sins. Thus the Church does not want simply to come to the aid of these Christians, but also to spur them to works of devotion, Penance, and charity. 89

Since the Faithful departed now being purified are also members of the same Communion of saints, one way we can help them is to obtain indulgences for them, so that the temporal punishments due for their Sins may be remitted.

Like all the Sacraments, Penance is a liturgical action. the elements of the celebration are ordinarily these: a greeting and blesSing from the priest, reading the word of God to illuminate the conscience and elicit contrition, and an exhortation to repentance; the Confession, which acknowledges Sins and makes them known to the priest; the imposition and acceptance of a penance; the priest's absolution; a Prayer of thanksgiving and praise and dismissal with the blessing of the priest.

The Byzantine Liturgy recognizes several formulas of absolution, in the form of invocation, which admirably express the mystery of Forgiveness: "May the same God, who through the Prophet Nathan forgave David when he confessed his Sins, who forgave Peter when he wept bitterly, the prostitute when she washed his feet with her tears, the Pharisee, and the prodigal Son, through me, a Sinner, forgive you both in this life and in the next and enable you to appear before his awe-inspiring tribunal without condemnation, he who is blessed for ever and ever. Amen."

The Gospel is the revelation in Jesus Christ of God's mercy to Sinners. 113 The angel announced to Joseph: "You shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their Sins." 114 The same is true of the Eucharist, the Sacrament of redemption: "This is my Blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the Forgiveness of Sins." 115

"God created us without us: but he did not will to save us without us." 116 To receive his mercy, we must admit our faults. "If we say we have no Sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our Sins, he is Faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 117

God's first commandment condemns the main Sins of irreligion: tempting God, in words or deeds, sacrilege, and simony.

The fourth commandment illuminates other relationships in society. In our brothers and sisters we see the children of our parents; in our couSins, the descendants of our ancestors; in our fellow citizens, the children of our country; in the baptized, the children of our mother the Church; in every human perSon, a son or daughter of the One who wants to be called "our Father." In this way our relationships with our neighbors are recognized as personal in character. the neighbor is not a "unit" in the human collective; he is "someone" who by his known origins deserves particular attention and respect.

Prostitution does injury to the dignity of the perSon who engages in it, reducing the person to an instrument of sexual pleasure. the one who pays Sins Gravely against himself: he violates the chastity to which his Baptism pledged him and defiles his body, the temple of the Holy Spirit. 139 Prostitution is a social scourge. It usually involves women, but also men, children, and adolescents (The latter two cases involve the added Sin of scandal.). While it is always gravely sinful to engage in prostitution, the imputability of the offense can be attenuated by destitution, blackmail, or social pressure.

Every word or attitude is forbidden which by flattery, adulation, or complaisance encourages and confirms another in malicious acts and perverse conduct. Adulation is a Grave fault if it makes one an accomplice in another's vices or grave Sins. Neither the desire to be of service nor friendship justifies duplicitous speech. Adulation is a venial Sin when it only seeks to be agreeable, to avoid Evil, to meet a need, or to obtain legitimate advantages.

Etymologically, "concupiscence" can refer to any intense form of human desire. Christian theology has given it a particular meaning: the movement of the sensitive appetite contrary to the operation of the human reaSon. the apostle St. Paul identifies it with the rebellion of the "flesh" against the "spirit." 301 Concupiscence stems from the disobedience of the first Sin. It unsettles man's moral faculties and, without being in itself an offense, inclines man to commit Sins. 302

Baptism confers on its recipient the Grace of purification from all Sins. But the baptized must continue to struggle against concupiscence of the flesh and disordered desires. With God's grace he will prevail - by the virtue and gift of chastity, for chastity lets us Love with upright and undivided heart; - by purity of intention which consists in seeking the true end of man: with simplicity of vision, the baptized perSon seeks to find and to fulfill God's will in everything; 312 - by purity of vision, external and internal; by discipline of feelings and imagination; by refuSing all complicity in impure thoughts that incline us to turn aside from the path of God's commandments: "Appearance arouses yearning in fools"; 313 - by Prayer:

The Temple of Jerusalem, the house of Prayer that David wanted to build, will be the work of his Son, Solomon. the prayer at the dedication of the Temple relies on God's promise and covenant, on the active presence of his name among his People, recalling his mighty deeds at the Exodus. 29 The king lifts his hands toward heaven and begs the Lord, on his own behalf, on behalf of the entire people, and of the generations yet to come, for the Forgiveness of their Sins and for their daily needs, so that the nations may know that He is the only God and that the heart of his people may belong wholly and entirely to him.

Prayer to Jesus is answered by him already during his ministry, through signs that anticipate the power of his death and Resurrection: Jesus hears the prayer of Faith, expressed in words (the leper, Jairus, the Canaanite woman, the good thief) 84 or in silence (the bearers of the paralytic, the woman with a hemorrhage who touches his clothes, the tears and ointment of the Sinful woman). 85 The urgent request of the blind men, "Have mercy on us, Son of David" or "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" has-been renewed in the traditional prayer to Jesus known as the Jesus Prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner!" 86 Healing infirmities or forgiving Sins, Jesus always responds to a prayer offered in faith: "Your faith has made you well; go in peace."

The Prayer of the Church venerates and honors the Heart of Jesus just as it invokes his most holy name. It adores the incarnate Word and his Heart which, out of Love for men, he allowed to be pierced by our Sins. Christian prayer loves to follow the way of the cross in the Savior's steps. the stations from the Praetorium to Golgotha and the tomb trace the way of Jesus, who by his holy Cross has redeemed the world.

In the Roman liturgy, the Eucharistic assembly is invited to pray to our heavenly Father with filial boldness; the Eastern liturgies develop and use similar expressions: "dare in all confidence," "make us worthy of...." From the burning bush Moses heard a voice saying to him, "Do not come near; put off your shoes from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground." 26 Only Jesus could cross that threshold of the divine holiness, for "when he had made purification for Sins," he brought us into the Father's presence: "Here am I, and the children God has given me." 27

In Christ, and through his human will, the will of the Father has been perfectly fulfilled once for all. Jesus said on entering into this world: "Lo, I have come to do your will, O God." 99 Only Jesus can say: "I always do what is pleaSing to him." 100 In the Prayer of his agony, he consents totally to this will: "not my will, but yours be done." 101 For this reaSon Jesus "gave himself for our Sins to deliver us from the present Evil age, according to the will of our God and Father." 102 "and by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." 103

This petition is astonishing. If it consisted only of the first phrase, "and forgive us our trespasses," it might have been included, implicitly, in the first three petitions of the Lord's Prayer, Since Christ's Sacrifice is "that Sins may be forgiven." But, according to the second phrase, our petition will not be heard unless we have first met a strict requirement. Our petition looks to the future, but our response must come first, for the two parts are joined by the single word "as."

With bold confidence, we began praying to our Father. In begging him that his name be hallowed, we were in fact asking him that we ourselves might be always made more holy. But though we are clothed with the Baptismal garment, we do not cease to Sin, to turn away from God. Now, in this new petition, we return to him like the prodigal Son and, like the tax collector, recognize that we are Sinners before him. 133 Our petition begins with a "Confession" of our wretchedness and his mercy. Our hope is firm because, in his Son, "we have redemption, the Forgiveness of Sins." 134 We find the efficacious and undoubted sign of his forgiveness in the Sacraments of his Church. 135

Now - and this is daunting - this outpouring of mercy cannot penetrate our hearts as long as we have not forgiven those who have trespassed against us. Love, like the Body of Christ, is indivisible; we cannot love the God we cannot see if we do not love the brother or sister we do see. 136 In refuSing to forgive our brothers and sisters, our hearts are closed and their hardness makes them impervious to the Father's merciful love; but in confessing our Sins, our hearts are opened to his Grace.

There is no limit or measure to this essentially divine Forgiveness, 146 whether one speaks of "Sins" as in Luke ( ⇒ 11:4), "debts" as in Matthew ( ⇒ 6:12). We are always debtors: "Owe no one anything, except to Love one another." 147 The Communion of the Holy Trinity is the source and criterion of truth in every relation ship. It is lived out in Prayer, above all in the Eucharist. 148

One can Sin against God's Love in various ways: - indifference neglects or refuses to reflect on divine charity; it fails to consider its prevenient goodness and denies its power. - ingratitude fails or refuses to acknowledge divine charity and to return him love for love. - lukewarmness is hesitation or negligence in responding to divine love; it can imply refusal to give oneself over to the prompting of charity. - acedia or spiritual sloth goes so far as to refuse the joy that comes from God and to be repelled by divine goodness. - hatred of God comes from pride. It is contrary to love of God, whose goodness it denies, and whom it presumes to curse as the one who forbids Sins and inflicts punishments.

The first commandment is also concerned with Sins against hope, namely, despair and presumption: By despair, man ceases to hope for his perSonal Salvation from God, for help in attaining it or for the Forgiveness of his Sins. Despair is contrary to God's goodness, to his justice - for the Lord is Faithful to his promises - and to his mercy.

It is precisely in the Passion, when the mercy of Christ is about to vanquish it, that Sin most clearly manifests its violence and its many forms: unbelief, murderous hatred, shunning and mockery by the leaders and the people, Pilate's cowardice and the cruelty of the soldiers, Judas' betrayal - so bitter to Jesus, Peter's denial and the disciples' flight. However, at the very hour of darkness, the hour of the prince of this world, 126 The Sacrifice of Christ secretly becomes the source from which the Forgiveness of our Sins will pour forth inexhaustibly.

There are a great many kinds of Sins. Scripture provides several lists of them. the Letter to the Galatians contrasts the works of the flesh with the fruit of the Spirit: "Now the works of the flesh are plain: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, factions, envy, drunkenness, carouSing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God." 127

Sins can be distinguished according to their objects, as can every human act; or according to the virtues they oppose, by excess or defect; or according to the commandments they violate. They can also be classed according to whether they concern God, neighbor, or oneself; they can be divided into spiritual and carnal Sins, or again as sins in thought, word, deed, or omission. the root of sin is in the heart of man, in his free will, according to the teaching of the Lord: "For out of the heart come Evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a man." 128 But in the heart also resides charity, the source of the good and pure works, which sin wounds.

Sins are rightly evaluated according to their gravity. the distinction between mortal and venial Sin, already evident in Scripture, 129 became part of the tradition of the Church. It is corroborated by human experience.

Grave matter is specified by the Ten Commandments, corresponding to the answer of Jesus to the rich young man: "Do not kill, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your Father and your mother." 132 The gravity of Sins is more or less great: murder is graver than theft. One must also take into account who is wronged: violence against parents is in itself graver than violence against a stranger.

"Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has Forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal Sin." 136 There are no limits to the mercy of God, but anyone who deliberately refuses to accept his mercy by repenting, rejects the forgiveness of his Sins and the Salvation offered by the Holy Spirit. 137 Such hardness of heart can lead to final impenitence and eternal loss.

Vices can be classified according to the virtues they oppose, or also be linked to the capital Sins which Christian experience has distinguished, following St. John Cassian and St. Gregory the Great. They are called "capital" because they engender other Sins, other vices. 138 They are pride, avarice, envy, wrath, lust, gluttony, and sloth or acedia.

The catechetical tradition also recalls that there are "Sins that cry to heaven": the Blood of Abel, 139 The Sin of the Sodomites, 140 The cry of the people oppressed in Egypt, 141 The cry of the foreigner, the widow, and the orphan, 142 injustice to the wage earner. 143

Sin is a perSonal act. Moreover, we have a responsibility for the Sins Committed by others when we cooperate in them: - by participating directly and voluntarily in them; - by ordering, advising, praising, or approving them; - by not disclosing or not hindering them when we have an obligation to do so; - by protecting Evil-doers.

Thus Sin makes men accomplices of one another and causes concupiscence, violence, and injustice to reign among them. Sins give rise to social situations and institutions that are contrary to the divine goodness. "Structures of sin" are the expression and effect of perSonal sins. They lead their victims to do Evil in their turn. In an analogous sense, they constitute a "social sin." 144

The Grace of the Holy Spirit has the power to justify us, that is, to cleanse us from our Sins and to communicate to us "the righteousness of God through Faith in Jesus Christ" and through Baptism: 34

The first work of the Grace of the Holy Spirit is Conversion, effecting justification in accordance with Jesus' proclamation at the beginning of the Gospel: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." 38 Moved by grace, man turns toward God and away from Sin, thus accepting Forgiveness and righteousness from on high. "Justification is not only the remission of Sins, but also the sanctification and renewal of the interior man. 39

Justification has been merited for us by the Passion of Christ who offered himself on the cross as a living victim, holy and pleaSing to God, and whose Blood has become the instrument of atonement for the Sins of all men. Justification is conferred in Baptism, the Sacrament of Faith. It conforms us to the righteousness of God, who makes us inwardly just by the power of his mercy. Its purpose is the glory of God and of Christ, and the gift of eternal life: 40

Thus a true filial spirit toward the Church can develop among Christians. It is the normal flowering of the Baptismal Grace which has begotten us in the womb of the Church and made us members of the Body of Christ. In her motherly care, the Church grants us the mercy of God which prevails over all our Sins and is especially at work in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. With a mother's foresight, she also lavishes on us day after day in her liturgy the nourishment of the Word and Eucharist of the Lord.

This petition goes to the root of the preceding one, for our Sins result from our consenting to temptation; we therefore ask our Father not to "lead" us into temptation. It is difficult to translate the Greek verb used by a Single English word: the Greek means both "do not allow us to enter into temptation" and "do not let us yield to temptation." 150 "God cannot be tempted by Evil and he himself tempts no one"; 151 on the contrary, he wants to set us free from evil. We ask him not to allow us to take the way that leads to sin. We are engaged in the battle "between flesh and spirit"; this petition implores the Spirit of discernment and strength.

In the course of its history, Israel was able to discover that God had only one reaSon to reveal himself to them, a Single motive for choosing them from among all peoples as his special possession: his sheer gratuitous Love. 38 and thanks to the prophets Israel understood that it was again out of love that God never stopped saving them and pardoning their unFaithfulness and Sins. 39

In her Magisterial teaching of the Faith and in the witness of her saints, the Church has never forgotten that "Sinners were the authors and the ministers of all the sufferings that the divine Redeemer endured." 389 Taking into account the fact that our Sins affect Christ himself, 390 The Church does not hesitate to impute to Christians the Gravest responsibility for the torments inflicted upon Jesus, a responsibility with which they have all too often burdened the Jews alone:

To God, all moments of time are present in their immediacy. When therefore he establishes his eternal plan of "predestination", he includes in it each perSon's free response to his Grace: "In this city, in fact, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place." 395 For the sake of accomplishing his plan of Salvation, God permitted the acts that flowed from their blindness. 396 "He Died for our Sins in accordance with the Scriptures"

The Scriptures had foretold this divine plan of Salvation through the putting to death of "the righteous one, my Servant" as a mystery of universal redemption, that is, as the ransom that would free men from the slavery of Sin. 397 Citing a Confession of Faith that he himself had "received", St. Paul professes that "Christ Died for our Sins in accordance with the scriptures." 398 In particular Jesus' redemptive death fulfils Isaiah's prophecy of the suffering Servant. 399 Indeed Jesus himself explained the meaning of his life and death in the light of God's suffering Servant. 400 After his Resurrection he gave this interpretation of the Scriptures to the disciples at Emmaus, and then to the Apostles. 401

Consequently, St. Peter can formulate the apostolic Faith in the divine plan of Salvation in this way: "You were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your Fathers... with the precious Blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was destined before the foundation of the world but was made manifest at the end of the times for your sake." 402 Man's Sins, following on original Sin, are punishable by death. 403 By sending his own Son in the form of a slave, in the form of a fallen humanity, on account of sin, God "made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." 404

By giving up his own Son for our Sins, God manifests that his plan for us is one of benevolent Love, prior to any merit on our part: "In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the expiation for our Sins." 408 God "shows his love for us in that while we were yet Sinners Christ Died for us." 409

The Son of God, who came down "from heaven, not to do (his) own will, but the will of him who sent (him)", 413 said on coming into the world, "Lo, I have come to do your will, O God." "and by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." 414 From the first moment of his Incarnation the Son embraces the Father's plan of divine Salvation in his redemptive mission: "My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work." 415 The Sacrifice of Jesus "for the Sins of the whole world" 416 expresses his loving Communion with the Father. "The Father Loves me, because I lay down my life", said the Lord, "(for) I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father." 417

Jesus gave the supreme expression of his free offering of himself at the meal shared with the twelve Apostles "on the night he was betrayed". 429 On the eve of his Passion, while still free, Jesus transformed this Last Supper with the apostles into the memorial of his voluntary offering to the Father for the Salvation of men: "This is my body which is given for you." "This is my Blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the Forgiveness of Sins." 430

The cup of the New Covenant, which Jesus anticipated when he offered himself at the Last Supper, is afterwards accepted by him from his Father's hands in his agony in the garden at Gethsemani, 434 making himself "obedient unto death". Jesus prays: "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. . ." 435 Thus he expresses the horror that death represented for his human nature. Like ours, his human nature is destined for eternal life; but unlike ours, it is perfectly exempt from Sin, the cause of death. 436 Above all, his human nature has been assumed by the divine perSon of the "Author of life", the "Living One". 437 By accepting in his human will that the Father's will be done, he accepts his death as redemptive, for "he himself bore our Sins in his body on the tree." 438

Christ's death is both the Paschal Sacrifice that accomplishes the definitive redemption of men, through "the Lamb of God, who takes away the Sin of the world", 439 and the sacrifice of the New Covenant, which restores man to Communion with God by reconciling him to God through the "Blood of the covenant, which was poured out for many for the Forgiveness of Sins". 440

"For as by one man's disobedience many were made Sinners, so by one man's obedience many will be made righteous." 443 By his obedience unto death, Jesus accomplished the substitution of the suffering Servant, who "makes himself an offering for Sin", when "he bore the sin of many", and who "shall make many to be accounted righteous", for "he shall bear their iniquities". 444 Jesus atoned for our faults and made satisfaction for our Sins to the Father. 445

It is Love "to the end" 446 that confers on Christ's Sacrifice its value as redemption and reparation, as atonement and satisfaction. He knew and loved us all when he offered his life. 447 Now "the love of Christ controls us, because we are convinced that one has Died for all; therefore all have died." 448 No man, not even the holiest, was ever able to take on himself the Sins of all men and offer himself as a sacrifice for all. the existence in Christ of the divine perSon of the Son, who at once surpasses and embraces all human persons, and constitutes himself as the Head of all mankind, makes possible his redemptive sacrifice for all.

"By the Grace of God" Jesus tasted death "for every one". 459 In his plan of Salvation, God ordained that his Son should not only "die for our Sins" 460 but should also "taste death", experience the condition of death, the separation of his soul from his body, between the time he expired on the cross and the time he was raised from the dead. the state of the dead Christ is the mystery of the tomb and the descent into hell. It is the mystery of Holy Saturday, when Christ, lying in the tomb, 461 reveals God's great sabbath rest 462 after the fulfilment 463 of man's salvation, which brings peace to the whole universe. 464

The mystery of Christ's resurrection is a real event, with manifestations that were historically verified, as the New Testament bears witness. In about A.D. 56 St. Paul could already write to the Corinthians: "I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ Died for our Sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve. . ." 490 The Apostle speaks here of the living tradition of the Resurrection which he had learned after his Conversion at the gates of Damascus. 491

The glorious Messiah's coming is suspended at every moment of history until his recognition by "all Israel", for "a hardening has come upon part of Israel" in their "unbelief" toward Jesus. 568 St. Peter says to the Jews of Jerusalem after Pentecost: "Repent therefore, and turn again, that your Sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for establishing all that God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old." 569 St. Paul echoes him: "For if their rejection means the Reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?" 570 The "full inclusion" of the Jews in the Messiah's Salvation, in the wake of "the full number of the Gentiles", 571 will enable the People of God to achieve "the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ", in which "God may be all in all". 572

Jesus gave scandal above all when he identified his merciful conduct toward Sinners with God's own attitude toward them. 367 He went so far as to hint that by sharing the table of Sinners he was admitting them to the messianic banquet. 368 But it was most especially by forgiving Sins that Jesus placed the religious authorities of Israel on the horns of a dilemma. Were they not entitled to demand in consternation, "Who can forgive sins but God alone?" 369 By forgiving sins Jesus either is blaspheming as a man who made himself God's equal, or is speaking the truth and his perSon really does make present and reveal God's name. 370

If the Law and the Jerusalem Temple could be occasions of opposition to Jesus by Israel's religious authorities, his role in the redemption of Sins, the divine work par excellence, was the true stumbling-block for them. 363

God is the Father Almighty, whose fatherhood and power shed light on one another: God reveals his fatherly omnipotence by the way he takes care of our needs; by the filial adoption that he gives us ("I will be a father to you, and you shall be my Sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty"): 109 finally by his infinite mercy, for he displays his power at its height by freely forgiving Sins.

In time we can discover that God in his almighty providence can bring a good from the consequences of an Evil, even a moral evil, caused by his creatures: "It was not you", said Joseph to his brothers, "who sent me here, but God. . . You meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive." 178 From the greatest moral evil ever Committed - the rejection and murder of God's only Son, caused by the Sins of all men - God, by his Grace that "abounded all the more", 179 brought the greatest of goods: the glorification of Christ and our redemption. But for all that, evil never becomes a good.

Following St. Paul, the Church has always taught that the overwhelming misery which oppresses men and their inclination towards Evil and death cannot be understood apart from their connection with Adam's Sin and the fact that he has transmitted to us a sin with which we are all born afflicted, a sin which is the "death of the soul". 291 Because of this certainty of Faith, the Church baptizes for the remission of Sins even tiny infants who have not Committed perSonal sin. 292

The consequences of original Sin and of all men's perSonal Sins put the world as a whole in the sinful condition aptly described in St. John's expression, "the sin of the world". 300 This expression can also refer to the negative influence exerted on people by communal situations and social structures that are the fruit of men's sins. 301

Jesus means in Hebrew: "God saves." At the annunciation, the angel Gabriel gave him the name Jesus as his proper name, which expresses both his identity and his mission. 18 Since God alone can forgive Sins, it is God who, in Jesus his eternal Son made man, "will save his people from their sins". 19 in Jesus, God recapitulates all of his history of Salvation on behalf of men.

The name "Jesus" signifies that the very name of God is present in the perSon of his Son, made man for the universal and definitive redemption from Sins. It is the divine name that alone brings Salvation, and henceforth all can invoke his name, for Jesus united himself to all men through his Incarnation, 23 so that "there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." 24

The name of the Saviour God was invoked only once in the year by the high priest in atonement for the Sins of Israel, after he had sprinkled the mercy seat in the Holy of Holies with the sacrificial Blood. the mercy seat was the place of God's presence. 25 When St. Paul speaks of Jesus whom "God put forward as an expiation by his blood", he means that in Christ's humanity "God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself." 26

The Word became flesh for us in order to save us by reconciling us with God, who "Loved us and sent his Son to be the expiation for our Sins": "the Father has sent his Son as the Saviour of the world", and "he was revealed to take away Sins": 70

Jesus knew and Loved us each and all during his life, his agony and his Passion, and gave himself up for each one of us: "The Son of God. . . loved me and gave himself for me." 116 He has loved us all with a human heart. For this reason, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, pierced by our Sins and for our Salvation, 117 "is quite rightly considered the chief sign and symbol of that. . . love with which the divine Redeemer continually loves the eternal Father and all human beings" without exception. 118

All Christ's riches "are for every individual and are everybody's property." 187 Christ did not live his life for himself but for us, from his Incarnation "for us men and for our Salvation" to his death "for our Sins" and Resurrection "for our justification". 188 He is still "our advocate with the Father", who "always lives to make intercession" for us. 189 He remains ever "in the presence of God on our behalf, bringing before him all that he lived and suffered for us." 190

Jesus' public life begins with his Baptism by John in the Jordan. 228 John preaches "a baptism of repentance for the Forgiveness of Sins". 229 A crowd of Sinners 230 - tax collectors and soldiers, Pharisees and Sadducees, and prostitutes - come to be baptized by him. "Then Jesus appears." the Baptist hesitates, but Jesus insists and receives baptism. Then the Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove, comes upon Jesus and a voice from heaven proclaims, "This is my beLoved Son." 231 This is the manifestation ("Epiphany") of Jesus as Messiah of Israel and Son of God.

The Baptism of Jesus is on his part the acceptance and inauguration of his mission as God's suffering Servant. He allows himself to be numbered among Sinners; he is already "the Lamb of God, who takes away the Sin of the world". 232 Already he is anticipating the "baptism" of his Bloody death. 233 Already he is coming to "fulfil all righteousness", that is, he is submitting himself entirely to his Father's will: out of Love he consents to this baptism of death for the remission of our Sins. 234 The Father's voice responds to the Son's acceptance, proclaiming his entire delight in his Son. 235 The Spirit whom Jesus possessed in fullness from his conception comes to "rest on him". 236 Jesus will be the source of the Spirit for all mankind. At his baptism "the heavens were opened" 237 - the heavens that Adam's sin had closed - and the waters were sanctified by the descent of Jesus and the Spirit, a prelude to the new creation.

Jesus invites Sinners to the table of the kingdom: "I came not to call the righteous, but Sinners." 258 He invites them to that Conversion without which one cannot enter the kingdom, but shows them in word and deed his Father's boundless mercy for them and the vast "joy in heaven over one sinner who repents". 259 The supreme proof of his Love will be the Sacrifice of his own life "for the Forgiveness of Sins". 260

Jesus entrusted a specific authority to Peter: "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." 287 The "power of the keys" designates authority to govern the house of God, which is the Church. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, confirmed this mandate after his Resurrection: "Feed my sheep." 288 The power to "bind and loose" connotes the authority to absolve Sins, to pronounce doctrinal judgements, and to make disciplinary decisions in the Church. Jesus entrusted this authority to the Church through the ministry of the Apostles 289 and in particular through the ministry of Peter, the only one to whom he specifically entrusted the keys of the kingdom.

From the beginning of Jesus' public ministry, certain Pharisees and partisans of Herod together with priests and scribes agreed together to destroy him. 317 Because of certain acts of his expelling demons, forgiving Sins, healing on the sabbath day, his novel interpretation of the precepts of the Law regarding purity, and his familiarity with tax collectors and public Sinners 318 --some ill-intentioned perSons suspected Jesus of demonic possession. 319 He is accused of blasphemy and false prophecy, religious crimes which the Law punished with death by stoning. 320

The Holy Spirit is at work with the Father and the Son from the beginning to the completion of the plan for our Salvation. But in these "end times," ushered in by the Son's redeeming Incarnation, the Spirit is revealed and given, recognized and welcomed as a person. Now can this divine plan, accomplished in Christ, the firstborn and head of the new creation, be emboDied in mankind by the outpouring of the Spirit: as the Church, the Communion of saints, the Forgiveness of Sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.

Because we are dead or at least wounded through Sin, the first effect of the gift of Love is the Forgiveness of our Sins. the Communion of the Holy Spirit 126 in the Church restores to the baptized the divine likeness lost through sin.

Holy Communion separates us from Sin. the body of Christ we receive in Holy Communion is "given up for us," and the Blood we drink "shed for the many for the Forgiveness of Sins." For this reaSon the Eucharist cannot unite us to Christ without at the same time cleansing us from past sins and preserving us from future sins:

As bodily nourishment restores lost strength, so the Eucharist strengthens our charity, which tends to be weakened in daily life; and this living charity wipes away venial Sins. 228 By giving himself to us Christ revives our Love and enables us to break our disordered attachments to creatures and root ourselves in him:

By the same charity that it enkindles in us, the Eucharist preserves us from future mortal Sins. the more we share the life of Christ and progress in his friendship, the more difficult it is to break away from him by mortal Sin. the Eucharist is not ordered to the Forgiveness of mortal sins - that is proper to the Sacrament of Reconciliation. the Eucharist is properly the sacrament of those who are in full Communion with the Church.

The Lord Jesus Christ, physician of our souls and bodies, who forgave the Sins of the paralytic and restored him to bodily health, 3 has willed that his Church continue, in the power of the Holy Spirit, his work of healing and Salvation, even among her own members. This is the purpose of the two Sacraments of healing: the sacrament of Penance and the sacrament of Anointing of the Sick.

"Those who approach the Sacrament of Penance obtain pardon from God's mercy for the offense Committed against him, and are, at the same time, reconciled with the Church which they have wounded by their Sins and which by charity, by example, and by Prayer labors for their Conversion." 4

It is called the Sacrament of Confession, Since the disclosure or confession of Sins to a priest is an essential element of this sacrament. In a profound sense it is also a "confession" - acknowledgment and praise - of the holiness of God and of his mercy toward sinful man. It is called the sacrament of Forgiveness, since by the priest's sacramental absolution God grants the penitent "pardon and peace." 6 It is called the sacrament of Reconciliation, because it imparts to the sinner the Love of God who reconciles: "Be reconciled to God." 7 He who lives by God's merciful love is ready to respond to the Lord's call: "Go; first be reconciled to your brother." 8

"YOU were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God." 9 One must appreciate the magnitude of the gift God has given us in the Sacraments of Christian initiation in order to grasp the degree to which Sin is excluded for him who has "put on Christ." 10 But the apostle John also says: "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." 11 and the Lord himself taught us to pray: "Forgive us our trespasses," 12 linking our Forgiveness of one another's offenses to the forgiveness of our Sins that God will grant us.

Jesus calls to Conversion. This call is an essential part of the proclamation of the kingdom: "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel." 16 In the Church's preaching this call is addressed first to those who do not yet know Christ and his Gospel. Also, Baptism is the principal place for the first and fundamental conversion. It is by Faith in the Gospel and by Baptism 17 that one renounces Evil and gains Salvation, that is, the Forgiveness of all Sins and the gift of new life.

The human heart is heavy and hardened. God must give man a new heart. 25 Conversion is first of all a work of the Grace of God who makes our hearts return to him: "Restore us to thyself, O Lord, that we may be restored!" 26 God gives us the strength to begin anew. It is in discovering the greatness of God's Love that our heart is shaken by the horror and weight of Sin and begins to fear offending God by sin and being separated from him. the human heart is converted by looking upon him whom our Sins have pierced: 27

The interior Penance of the Christian can be expressed in many and various ways. Scripture and the Fathers insist above all on three forms, fasting, Prayer, and almsgiving, 31 which express Conversion in relation to oneself, to God, and to others. Alongside the radical purification brought about by Baptism or martyrdom they cite as means of obtaining Forgiveness of Sins: effort at Reconciliation with one's neighbor, tears of repentance, concern for the Salvation of one's neighbor, the intercession of the saints, and the practice of charity "which covers a multitude of Sins." 32

Eucharist and Penance. Daily Conversion and penance find their source and nourishment in the Eucharist, for in it is made present the Sacrifice of Christ which has reconciled us with God. Through the Eucharist those who live from the life of Christ are fed and strengthened. "It is a remedy to free us from our daily faults and to preserve us from mortal Sins." 35

Reading Sacred Scripture, praying the Liturgy of the Hours and the Our Father - every Sincere act of worship or devotion revives the spirit of Conversion and repentance within us and contributes to the Forgiveness of our Sins.

Only God forgives Sins. 39 Since he is the Son of God, Jesus says of himself, "The Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins" and exercises this divine power: "Your sins are forgiven." 40 Further, by virtue of his divine authority he gives this power to men to exercise in his name. 41

During his public life Jesus not only forgave Sins, but also made plain the effect of this Forgiveness: he reintegrated forgiven Sinners into the community of the People of God from which Sin had alienated or even excluded them. A remarkable sign of this is the fact that Jesus receives sinners at his table, a gesture that expresses in an astonishing way both God's forgiveness and the return to the bosom of the People of God. 44

In imparting to his Apostles his own power to forgive Sins the Lord also gives them the authority to reconcile Sinners with the Church. This ecclesial dimension of their task is expressed most notably in Christ's solemn words to Simon Peter: "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." 45 "The office of binding and looSing which was given to Peter was also assigned to the college of the apostles united to its head." 46

Because it is the memorial of Christ's Passover, the Eucharist is also a Sacrifice. the sacrificial character of the Eucharist is manifested in the very words of institution: "This is my body which is given for you" and "This cup which is poured out for you is the New Covenant in my Blood." 185 In the Eucharist Christ gives us the very body which he gave up for us on the cross, the very blood which he "poured out for many for the Forgiveness of Sins." 186

"Christ, 'holy, innocent, and undefiled,' knew nothing of Sin, but came only to expiate the Sins of the people. the Church, however, clasping Sinners to her bosom, at once holy and always in need of purification, follows constantly the path of Penance and renewal." 299 All members of the Church, including her ministers, must acknowledge that they are sinners. 300 In everyone, the weeds of sin will still be mixed with the good wheat of the Gospel until the end of time. 301 Hence the Church gathers sinners already caught up in Christ's Salvation but still on the way to holiness:

Communion with the dead. "In full consciousness of this communion of the whole Mystical Body of Jesus Christ, the Church in its pilgrim members, from the very earliest days of the Christian religion, has honored with great respect the memory of the dead; and 'because it is a holy and a wholesome thought to pray for the dead that they may be loosed from their Sins' she offers her suffrages for them." 498 Our Prayer for them is capable not only of helping them, but also of making their intercession for us effective.

The Apostle's Creed associates Faith in the Forgiveness of Sins not only with faith in the Holy Spirit, but also with faith in the Church and in the Communion of saints. It was when he gave the Holy Spirit to his Apostles that the risen Christ conferred on them his own divine power to forgive Sins: "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." 518

Our Lord tied the Forgiveness of Sins to Faith and Baptism: "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation. He who believes and is baptized will be saved." 519 Baptism is the first and chief Sacrament of forgiveness of Sins because it unites us with Christ, who Died for our sins and rose for our justification, so that "we too might walk in newness of life." 520

In this battle against our inclination towards Evil, who could be brave and watchful enough to escape every wound of Sin? "If the Church has the power to forgive Sins, then Baptism cannot be her only means of using the keys of the Kingdom of heaven received from Jesus Christ. the Church must be able to forgive all penitents their offenses, even if they should sin until the last moment of their lives." 522

After his Resurrection, Christ sent his Apostles "so that repentance and Forgiveness of Sins should be preached in his name to all nations." 524 The apostles and their successors carry out this "ministry of Reconciliation," not only by announcing to men God's forgiveness merited for us by Christ, and calling them to Conversion and Faith; but also by communicating to them the forgiveness of Sins in Baptism, and reconciling them with God and with the Church through the power of the keys, received from Christ: 525

Catechesis strives to awaken and nourish in the Faithful faith in the incomparable greatness of the risen Christ's gift to his Church: the mission and the power to forgive Sins through the ministry of the Apostles and their successors:

The Creed links "the Forgiveness of Sins" with its profession of Faith in the Holy Spirit, for the risen Christ entrusted to the Apostles the power to forgive Sins when he gave them the Holy Spirit.

Baptism is the first and chief Sacrament of the Forgiveness of Sins: it unites us to Christ, who Died and rose, and gives us the Holy Spirit.

By Christ's will, the Church possesses the power to forgive the Sins of the baptized and exercises it through bishops and priests normally in the Sacrament of Penance.

"In the Forgiveness of Sins, both priests and Sacraments are instruments which our Lord Jesus Christ, the only author and liberal giver of Salvation, wills to use in order to efface our Sins and give us the Grace of justification" (Roman Catechism, I, 11, 6).

Christ sent his Apostles so that "repentance and Forgiveness of Sins should be preached in his name to all nations." 41 "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." 42 The mission to baptize, and so the Sacramental mission, is implied in the mission to evangelize, because the sacrament is prepared for by the word of God and by the Faith which is assent to this word:

From the very day of Pentecost the Church has celebrated and administered holy Baptism. Indeed St. Peter declares to the crowd astounded by his preaching: "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the Forgiveness of your Sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." 26 The Apostles and their collaborators offer Baptism to anyone who believed in Jesus: Jews, the God-fearing, pagans. 27 Always, Baptism is seen as connected with Faith: "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household," St. Paul declared to his jailer in Philippi. and the narrative continues, the jailer "was baptized at once, with all his family." 28

For catechumens who die before their Baptism, their explicit desire to receive it, together with repentance for their Sins, and charity, assures them the Salvation that they were not able to receive through the Sacrament.

The different effects of Baptism are signified by the perceptible elements of the Sacramental rite. Immersion in water symbolizes not only death and purification, but also regeneration and renewal. Thus the two principal effects are purification from Sins and new birth in the Holy Spirit. 64

By Baptism all Sins are forgiven, original Sin and all perSonal sins, as well as all punishment for sin. 65 In those who have been reborn nothing remains that would impede their entry into the Kingdom of God, neither Adam's sin, nor personal sin, nor the consequences of sin, the Gravest of which is separation from God.

Baptism not only purifies from all Sins, but also makes the neophyte "a new creature," an adopted Son of God, who has become a "partaker of the divine nature," 68 member of Christ and coheir with him, 69 and a temple of the Holy Spirit. 70

Over the centuries the concrete form in which the Church has exercised this power received from the Lord has varied considerably. During the first centuries the Reconciliation of Christians who had Committed particularly Grave Sins after their Baptism (for example, idolatry, murder, or adultery) was tied to a very rigorous discipline, according to which penitents had to do public Penance for their Sins, often for years, before receiving reconciliation. To this "order of penitents" (which concerned only certain grave sins), one was only rarely admitted and in certain regions only once in a lifetime. During the seventh century Irish missionaries, inspired by the Eastern monastic tradition, took to continental Europe the "private" practice of penance, which does not require public and prolonged completion of penitential works before reconciliation with the Church. From that time on, the Sacrament has been performed in secret between penitent and priest. This new practice envisioned the possibility of repetition and so opened the way to a regular frequenting of this sacrament. It allowed the Forgiveness of grave sins and venial sins to be integrated into one sacramental celebration. In its main lines this is the form of penance that the Church has practiced down to our day.