Repentance and Reconciliation
 

When Christ started preaching in Galilee, his first message was: “Reform your lives and believe the Gospel”. (Mark 1:15) Nevertheless, God’s mercy carries with it a price tag: our willingness to reform, repent or change our ways, to turn away from sin and back to God.  Once we have done this however, the gates of God’s forgiveness instantly open up.

"Prepare the
Way of the Lord
Make straight
the path"

The Catholic Church has always taught that as soon as we sincerely repent and seek the Lord’s mercy, all our sins are forgiven.  It consequently teaches and encourages every member to approach God directly through Jesus and ask for forgiveness.  Yet, normally there remains with in the human person, a great need to express verbally her or his wrongdoing and to experience actual forgiveness through some word or gesture.  For this reason, Jesus gave us a sacrament to meet that need.

The Church’s sacrament of Penance, also called Reconciliation or Confession, provides an exceptional opportunity for this.  Through this sacrament, repentant persons not only have occasion to disclose their sins, but actually to experience the mercy of God who through the words and gesture of the priest, forgives their sins.

Reconciliation Times at St Michael’s:

Rite 1 – (Individual) Fridays 11.30am, Saturdays 9.30am,
or by appointment phone 09 520 1226