My House - Diocesan Anti-Pornography Initiative

Prayer and Reconciliation

God of glory and majesty, you have clothed your creation with the raiment of beauty and the mantle of dignity, and have created man and woman in your own divine image and likeness. Forgive those who have distorted the gift of human love, and offer them the grace to turn away from their sins, and embrace the gospel of life. Liberate those imprisoned by addiction, and provide them the wisdom to seek help and break the chains of despair and shame. Soothe the suffering of those who have been exploited by pornography, and enable all families and individuals to live in a peaceful and just society. May we embrace your gift of chastity as a means of giving you glory, and of sharing in your loving plan of salvation.

Amen.

“Choose this day whom you will serve— but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Joshua 24:15

God, the Father of mercies,
through the death and the 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.

Rite of Absolution
Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation

Among the many wonderful things our Lord accomplished during his time on earth, perhaps the greatest was the manner in which he forgave those who had sinned. He recognized their sadness and brokenness, assured them of God’s love and mercy, and called them to a new way of living.

To Matthew the tax collector, he offered the simple invitation, “Follow me.” To the woman who had been caught in adultery and brought before him for condemnation, after everyone else had departed (“Let the one among you without sin cast the first stone…”), he said, “Neither do I condemn you; go now, and sin no more.” To the repentant thief whose cross stood beside his, even as they both hung there dying, he said, “Amen, I assure you, this day you will be with me in paradise.”

The Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation is our Lord’s opportunity to assure you of God’s love and mercy, for through the ministry of the Church and words of the priest, it is really Christ himself who is saying to you, “I absolve you.”

Our sins rupture our relationship with God, and also our relationship with the Church, the Body of Christ. God wants nothing more than for us to return to him, sorrowful for our sins, and to begin a new chapter in our relationship with him and one another. God gives us the grace, through the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation, to turn away from our sins, to know the healing power of his mercy, and to walk again with him, confident of his love for us, the essence of why Christ came to save us.

Feel free to respond to Jesus’ loving invitation to renewed life in him. Trust in the power of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Contact any priest for further information; he will be happy to share with you the peace and pardon of the Lord Jesus.

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but that, through him, the world might be saved.

                                                                                          John 3:17