The sacrament of reconciliation: its impact on the spiritual growth of christians in Villa-Maria Catholic Parish in light of Reconciliatio et Paenitentia.

Abstract

To speak of Reconciliation is, for the men and women of our time, an invitation to accept the Good news of love, of adoption as children of God and hence of brotherhood. The Church puts forward this invitation to know better and understand modern man and the contemporary world, to solve their puzzle and reveal their mystery, to discern the ferments of good and evil within them that has long caused many people to direct at man and the world a questioning gaze about the existence of many deep and painful divisions; divisions rooted in man. In his condition, as a created being, he is subject to a thousand of shortcomings, but he feels untrammelled in his inclination and destined for a higher life. Sinful as he is, he often does the very thing he hates and does not do what he wants. And so he feels himself divided, and the result is a host of discords in social life. Unfortunate still, many people are obscured from this state of affairs, not even a moment of thinking about it. And others delude themselves to have found peace in a modern fashionable world view as a result of secularism. Such divisions and longing for reconciliation really exist among the people of Villa Maria Catholic Parish. They can be addressed by understanding and practicing the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Therefore this paper examines and studies how the Sacrament of Reconciliation impacts the spiritual life of Christians in Villa-Maria Catholic Parish. Specifically this paper attempts to answer three research questions: 1) What is the Sacrament of Reconciliation according to the people of Villa-Maria Catholic parish? 2) What is the relationship between the Sacrament of Reconciliation and the Spiritual growth of the Christians in Villa-Maria Catholic Parish? 3) Why is there a decline in the practice of the Sacrament of Reconciliation amongst the Christians of Villa-Maria Catholic Parish and how can the sacrament lead to their Spiritual Growth? After establishing the impact of the Sacrament of Reconciliation on the spiritual growth of Christians, this paper recommends some ways in which the church can help Christians to improve their practice of the Sacrament of Reconciliation so that it also leads to their spiritual growth, especially in Villa Maria Catholic Parish (researcher’s place study).