RITE FOR RECONCILIATION

OF INDIVIDUAL PENITENTS

CONFESSOR'S BOOKLET

Reception of the Penitent

1. When the penitent comes to confess his sins, the

priest welcomes him warmly and greets him with kind-

ness.

2. Then the penitent makes the sign of the cross which

the priest may make also.

In the name of the Father, and of the

Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The priest invites the penitent to have trust in God,

in these or similar words:

May God, who has enlightened every

heart,

help you to know your sins

and trust in his mercy.

The penitent answers:

Amen.



Or:

The Lord does not wish the sinner to die

but to turn back to him and live.

Come before him with trust in his mercy.
(Ezekiel 33:11)

Or:

May the Lord Jesus welcome you.

He came to call sinners, not the just.

Have confidence in him.

(Luke 5:32)

Or:

May the grace of the Holy Spirit

fill your heart with light,

that you may confess your sins with

loving trust

and come to know that God is merciful.

Or:

May the Lord be in your heart

and help you to confess your sins with

true sorrow.

Or:

If you have sinned, do not lose heart.

We have Jesus Christ to plead for us

with the Father:

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I

-

he is the holy One,

the atonement for our sins

and for the sins of the whole world.

(1 John 2:1-2)

Reading of the Word of God (Optional)

3. Then the priest may read or say from memory a

text of Scripture which proclaims God’s mercy and calls

man to conversion.

Let us look on Jesus

who suffered to save us

and rose again for our justification.

Isaiah 53:4-6

It was our infirmities that he bore,

our sufferings that he endured.

While we thought of him as stricken,

as one smitten by God and afflicted.

But he was pierced for our offenses,

crushed for our sins.

Upon him was the chastisement that

makes us whole,

by his stripes we were healed.

We had all gone astray like sheep,

each following his own way;

But the Lord laid upon him

the guilt of us all.

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Ezekiel 11:19-20

Let us listen to the Lord as he speaks

to us:

I will give them a new heart and put a

new spirit within them; I will remove the

stony heart from their bodies, and re-

place it with a natural heart, so that they

will live according to my statutes, and

observe and carry out my ordinances;

thus they shall be my people and I will

be their God.

Matthew 6:14-15

Let us listen to the Lord as he speaks

to us:

If you forgive the faults of others, your

heavenly Father will forgive you yours.

If you do not forgive others, neither will

your Father forgive you.

Mark 1:14-15

After John's arrest, Jesus appeared in

Galilee proclaiming the good news of

God: “This is the time of fulfillment. The

reign of God is at hand! Reform your

lives and believe in the gospel!’’

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Luke 6:31-38

Let us listen to the Lord as he speaks

to us:

Do to others what you would have them

do to you. If you love those who love

you, what credit is that to you? Even

sinners love those who love them. If

you do good to those who do good to

you, how can you claim any credit? Sin-

ners do as much. If you lend to those

from whom you expect repayment, what

merit is there in it for you? Even sinners

lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid

in full.

Love your enemy and do good; lend with-

out expecting repayment. Then will your

recompense be great. You will rightly

be called sons of the Most High, since

he himself is good to the ungrateful and

the wicked.

Be compassionate, as your Father is

compassionate. Do not judge, and you

will not be judged. Do not condemn, and

you will not be condemned. Pardon, and

you shall be pardoned. Give, and it shall

be given to you. Good measure pressed

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down, shaken together, running over,

will they pour into the fold of your gar-

ment. For the measure you measure

with will be measured back to you.

Luke 15:1-7

The tax collectors and sinners were all

gathering around to hear him, at which

the Pharisees and the scribes murmured,

“This man welcomes sinners and eats

with them." Then he addressed this

parable to them: “Who among you, if he

has a hundred sheep and loses one of

them, does not leave the ninety-nine in

the wasteland and follow the lost one

until he finds it? And when he finds it,

he puts it on his shoulders in jubilation.

Once arrived home, he invites friends

and neighbors in and says to them,

‘Rejoice with me because I have found

my lost sheep.’ I tell you, there will like-

wise be more joy in heaven over one

repentant sinner than over ninety-nine

righteous people who have no need to

repent.

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John 20:19-23

On the evening of that first day of the

week, even though the disciples had

locked the doors of the place where they

were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came

and stood before them. “Peace be with

you,” he said. When he had said this,

he showed them his hands and his side.

At the sight of the Lord the disciples

rejoiced. “Peace be with you,” he said

again.

As the Father has sent me,

so I send you.”

Then he breathed on them and said:

“Receive the Holy Spirit.

If you forgive men’s sins,

they are forgiven them;

if you hold them bound,

they are held bound.”

Romans 5:8-9

It is precisely in this that God proves

his love for us: that while we were still

sinners, Christ died for us. Now that

we have been justified by his blood, it

is all the more certain that we shall be

saved by him from God’s wrath.

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Ephesians 5:1-2

Be imitators of God as his dear children.

Follow the way of love, even as Christ

loved you. He gave himself for us as an

offering to God, a gift of pleasing fra-

grance.

Colossians 1:12-14

Give thanks to the Father for having

made you worthy to share the lot of the

saints in light. He rescued us from the

power of darkness and brought us into

the kingdom of his beloved Son. Through

him we have redemption, the forgiveness

of our sins.

Colossians 3:8-10, 12-17

You must put that aside now: all the

anger and quick temper, the malice, the

insults, the foul language. Stop lying to

one another. What you have done is put

aside your old self with its past deeds

and put on a new man, one who grows

in knowledge as he is formed anew in

the image of his Creator.

Because you are God’s chosen ones, holy

and beloved, clothe yourselves with

heartfelt mercy, with kindness, humility,

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meekness, and patience. Bear with one

another; forgive whatever grievances you

have against one another. Forgive as the

Lord has forgiven you. Over all these

virtues put on love, which binds the

rest together and makes them perfect.

Christ’s peace must reign in your hearts,

since as members of the one body you

have been called to that peace. Dedi-

cate yourselves to thankfulness.

Let the word of Christ, rich as it is, dwell

in you. In wisdom made perfect, instruct

and admonish one another. Sing grate-

fully to God from your hearts in psalms,

hymns, and inspired songs. Whatever

you do, whether in speech or in action,

do it in the name of the Lord Jesus. Give

thanks to God the Father through him.

1 John 1:6-7, 9

If we say, “We have fellowship with him,”

while continuing to walk in darkness,

we are liars and do not act in truth.

But if we walk in light,

as he is in the light,

we have fellowship with one another,

and the blood of his Son Jesus

cleanses us

from all sin.

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But if we acknowledge our sins,

he who is just can be trusted

to forgive our sins

and cleanse us from every wrong.

A reading may also be chosen from those given in

nos. 101-201 for the reconciliation of several penitents.

The priest and penitent may choose other readings from

scripture.

Confession of Sins and Acceptance of Satisfaction

4. Where it is the custom, the penitent says a general

formula for confession (for example, / confess to al-

mighty God) before he confesses his sins.

If necessary, the priest helps the penitent to make

an integral confession and gives him suitable counsel.

He urges him to be sorry for his faults reminding him

that through the sacrament of penance the Christian

dies and rises with Christ and is thus renewed in the

paschal mystery. The priest proposes an act of penance

which the penitent accepts to make satisfaction for sin

and to amend his life.

The priest should make sure that he adapts his coun-

sel to the penitent's circumstances.

Prayer of the Penitent

5. The priest then asks the penitent to express his

sorrow, which the penitent may do in these or similar

words:

My God,

I am sorry for my sins with all my heart.

In choosing to do wrong

and failing to do good,

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I have sinned against you

whom I should love above all things.

I firmly intend, with your help,

to do penance,

to sin no more,

and to avoid whatever leads me to sin.

Our Savior Jesus Christ

suffered and died for us.

In his name, my God, have mercy.

Or:

Remember, Lord, your compassion and

mercy which you showed long ago.

Do not recall the sins and failings of my

youth.

In your mercy remember me. Lord,

because of your goodness.

(Psalm 25:6-7)

Or:

Wash me from my guilt

and cleanse me of my sin.

I acknowledge my offense;

my sin is before me always.

Or:

(Psalm 51:4-5)

Father, I have sinned against you

and am not worthy to be called your son.

Be merciful to me, a sinner.

(Luke 15:18: 18:13)

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Or:

Father of mercy,

like the prodigal son

I return to you and say:

“I have sinned against you

and am no longer worthy to be called

your son.”

Christ Jesus, Savior of the world,

I pray with the repentant thief

to whom you promised Paradise:

“Lord, remember me in your kingdom.”

Holy Spirit, fountain of love,

I call on you with trust:

“Purify my heart,

and help me to walk as a child of light.”

Or:

Lord Jesus,

you opened the eyes of the blind,

healed the sick,

forgave the sinful woman,

and after Peter's denial confirmed him

in your love.

Listen to my prayer:

forgive all my sins,

renew your love in my heart,

help me to live in perfect unity with my

fellow Christians

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that I may proclaim your saving power

to all the world.

Or:

Lord Jesus,

you chose to be called the friend of

sinners.

By your saving death and resurrection

free me from my sins.

May your peace take root in my heart

and bring forth a harvest

of love, holiness, and truth.

Or:

Lord Jesus Christ,

you are the Lamb of God;

you take away the sins of the world.

Through the grace of the Holy Spirit

restore me to friendship with your

Father,

cleanse me from every stain of sin

in the blood you shed for me,

and raise me to new life

for the glory of your name.

Or:

Lord God,

in your goodness have mercy on me:

do not look on my sins.

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but take away all my guilt.

Create in me a clean heart

and renew within me an upright spirit.

Or;

Lord Jesus, Son of God,

have mercy on me, a sinner.

Absolution

6. Then the priest extends his hands over the peni-

tent’s head (or at least extends his right hand) and says:

God, the Father of mercies,

through the death and resurrection of

his Son

has reconciled the world to himself

and sent the Holy Spirit among us

for the forgiveness of sins;

through the ministry of the Church

may God give 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.

The penitent answers:

Amen.

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Proclamation of Praise of God and Dismissal

7. After the absolution, the priest continues:

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.

The penitent concludes:

His mercy endures for ever.

Then the priest dismisses the penitent who has been

reconciled, saying:

The Lord has freed you from your sins.

Go in peace.

Or:

May the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ,

the intercession of the Blessed Virgin

Mary and of all the saints,

whatever good you do and suffering you

endure,

heal your sins,

help you to grow in holiness,

and reward you with eternal life.

Go in peace.

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Or:

The Lord has freed you from sin.

May he bring you safely to his kingdom

in heaven.

Glory to him for ever.

Amen.

Or:

Blessed are those

whose sins have been forgiven,

whose evil deeds have been forgotten.

Rejoice in the Lord,

and go in peace.

Or:

Go in peace,

and proclaim to the world

the wonderful works of God,

who has brought you salvation.

Published by authority of the Bishops' Committee on the Liturgy

Rite of Penance. Copyright © 1974. International Committee on English in the
Liturgy, Inc.

Direct quotes from the Scriptures are taken from the New American Bible,

copyright © 1970 by the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C.,
and reproduced herein by license agreement. All rights reserved.

1976

PUBLICATIONS OFFICE, UNITED STATES CATHOLIC CONFERENCE

1312 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20005

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