Christian way of life

A penitential liturgy for all parishioners marks the preparation of the faithful with the priest to the sacrament of Reconciliation inside the church. This encounter is followed by confession and individual absolution – the faithful draw close to the priest on their own initiative – and a final common prayer. The Sacrament of Reconciliation, experienced in the community, is a common practice in English churches, ensuing the decision to draw close to the sacrament. To learn more about the subject, Silvia Guazzetti interviewed, for SIR Europe, Martin Foster, in charge of liturgy for the English Bishops’ Conference. Is preparation to the Sacrament of Penance very widespread? “In England and Wales most parishes offer it twice, during Lent and Advent. It’s popular among the parishioners”.Is it questioned at all?“No, it’s a perfectly valid form, like the form whereby the faithful decide to turn to the priest in the confessional. There is also a third form envisaging that in exceptional circumstances, like a shipwreck, the priest is entitled to impart absolution to all faithful at once. When the sacrament of Reconciliation was reformed in 1976, the third form was employed incorrectly in everyday life rather than on exceptional circumstances only. The Vatican made clear that joint absolution could be administered only in serious cases when there were no other options”.Why is this second formula – envisaging common final prayer and preparation for the Sacrament – so popular across England and Wales? “Because it helps those who have been distant from the Church and fear that they won’t remember the opening and final prayers to draw close to Reconciliation. Also during communal penance a priest is always present in the confessional for those who feel they need more time. At the beginning of the service the priest reminds those who need more time that they can refer to the priest in the confessional or be imparted the weekly Sacrament of Penance in the church”.Does the Church prefer one formula to the other?“No, the Church conceived the two forms as complementary and this is how they ought to be imparted. The communal formula underlines the fact that when we sin we are drifting away from God and from the community. An aspect that is less emphasised in individual confession”.And what if the faithful adopted only one of the two formulas, the communal one for example? “He wouldn’t be fully enjoying the possibility of using the communal form of Sacrament in some circumstances of their lives and the individual one in others, that is a richness granted by the Church. What counts is that both formulas be used appropriately. For example, it’s important that the Church help the faithful draw close to the Sacrament by making it available on times of the day that everyone can attend and help them overcome their fear by providing written material with the initial preparation and the final prayers”.Is the Sacrament of Penance less frequently imparted today compared to the past?“Perhaps less faithful attend it regularly, but it’s also true that those who do are more prepared to this Sacrament. Many are still bound to childhood memories, when this sacrament was viewed as a list of minor sins. A lot of people don’t depart from this belief and fail to perceive the Sacrament as a response to love and to God’s compassion, providing an exhaustive view of life, and not merely as a list of venial sins. These two aspects were underlined in the reform of the Sacrament stating that what counts the most is how we live our lives as Christians. I also believe that as relates to this Sacrament, we ought to consider that the faithful are no longer aware of their sins nor of what is truly sinful. This is due to two key-features of our era: individualism that leads us to say that we’re always right, and relativism that tells us that my own action is all that counts. It ensues that people are less aware of how they can change their lives”.