Availability and Theology of Reconciliation

Availability of Reconciliation at Our Lady of Good Counsel

• The sacrament of Reconciliation is offered at 3:30 p.m. each Saturday in the Reconciliation Room of the Crypt Chapel. 
• During Advent and Lent, a communal penance service is celebrated for families and parishioners.  These times will appear on the website when they are scheduled.  
• In addition, confession is available upon request by calling for an appointment with one of the parish priests at 856-235-0181.      

Theology of Reconciliation

In the course of our journey toward the kingdom of God, at times, we stray from our lifetime goal to do God’s will.  Often, we fail in loving God and our neighbors, and we sin.  The Church responds to such personal sin with a sign of God’s forgiveness and healing, the sacrament of Reconciliation.  When we celebrate the sacrament of Reconciliation, our loving relationship with Christ and the Church is restored.  Those who acknowledge their sinfulness, express sorrow in their hearts, and seek to change and make a new start have already begun the process of sacramental forgiveness. 

A person may receive the sacrament of Reconciliation in three ways:  through individual confession, in a communal penance service which includes individual confessions, and, in an emergency, in a communal service that includes general absolution.  A communal penance service emphasizes our intimate connection to a community of believers and our need to be reconciled with both the community and the Lord. (CC 1431, 1440, Exploring Our Catholic Faith, Benzinger)