297. Why is there a sacrament of Reconciliation after Baptism?

Since the new life of grace received in Baptism does not abolish the weakness of human nature nor the inclination to sin (that is,concupiscence), Christ instituted this sacrament for the conversion of the baptized who have been separated from him by sin.


Veja este tema no Catecismo

Paragraph 1425

1425. "YOU were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God."9One 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."10But the apostle John also says: "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us."11and the Lord himself taught us to pray: "Forgive us our trespasses,"12linking our forgiveness of one another's offenses to the forgiveness of our sins that God will grant us.

Paragraph 1426

1426. Conversion to Christ, the new birth of Baptism, the gift of the Holy Spirit and the Body and Blood of Christ received as food have made us "holy and without blemish," just as the Church herself, the Bride of Christ, is "holy and without blemish."13Nevertheless the new life received in Christian initiation has not abolished the frailty and weakness of human nature, nor the inclination to sin that tradition calls concupiscence, which remains in the baptized such that with the help of the grace of Christ they may prove themselves in the struggle of Christian life.14This is the struggle of conversion directed toward holiness and eternal life to which the Lord never ceases to call us.15

Paragraph 1484

1484. "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."94There 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."95He is the physician tending each one of the sick who need him to cure them.96He 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.


Acesse nossos estudos biblicos:

What is the message of redemption present in the book of Abdias, specifically in Abdias 1:17?

The Fall of Mankind: How Did Adam and Eve’s Disobedience Affect the World? (Genesis 3:1-24)

What is the New Earth mentioned in Revelation 21:1 and what is its importance in the Christian faith?

What does Malachi 4:1 say about the punishment of the wicked?

What is the Battle of the Valley of Jehoshaphat mentioned in the book of Joel and what is its significance?

What is the example of perseverance in the faith that Paul set in 2 Timothy 4:7?

What is the importance of humility and repentance according to the book of Baruch?