Holy Thursday Reconciliation Service at Mississippi Abbey

When people asked G.K. Chesterton why he joined the Catholic Church he replied, “To get rid of my sins.”  In his Autobiography he continues, “The Catholic Church teaches that sin confessed and repented is actually abolished and that the sinner does really begin again as if he or she had never sinned.” 1 

Abolished!  That means it ceases to exist, if you look for it throughout the whole universe you will not be able to find it.  It’s gone forever. That’s the power of God’s forgiveness.

There are many ways for us to tell God we are sorry for our sins, but the clearest way for God to tell us we are forgiven is in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  God wants us to hear Him say out loud, “I forgive you.”  Your sin is abolished; it doesn’t exist anymore. 

  1. K. Chesterton, Autobiography, last chapter.