Divine Mercy feast marks use of updated sacramental Rite of Penance 

Celebration of the Feast of Divine Mercy on the Second Sunday of Easter took on an additional significance this year as some subtle changes have been made to the order of the Sacrament of Penance. The changes took effect on the feast day.

“This is an opportunity,” according to Father Christopher Seibt, director of the diocesan Office of Liturgy and R.C.I.A. “Like it’s been for all of the rituals that have experienced an updated translation, it’s an opportunity to go back to basics in the celebration of the Sacrament of Penance.”

Father points out that the confession rite sometimes is handled in a hastier fashion than it should be. 

“It’s really meant to be a liturgical action. And like all liturgical actions, Christ is acting in it, the Church is acting to respond to his work of redemption. And so, it’s a good opportunity with this new translation to look at the celebration, the Sacrament of Penance, and to ask ourselves in our parishes, Are we doing it as a liturgical action to its full, rich extent of the rite?”

While time spent in confession with a priest can become conversational at times, the sacramental process should always be observed.

“There’s a difference between confession and spiritual direction,” Fr. Seibt points out. “If you follow the structure, it can be very pastoral in the sense that both the penitent and the priest are aware of the structure.” He adds that penitents needing words of advice from the priest can also be accommodated within the structure of the sacrament. 

Father Seibt has developed some guides and aids to help familiarize penitents with the new changes and to help one prepare to make a meaningful confession. One tool was originally designed with young people going to confession for the first time in mind. 

“I developed a ‘Going to Confession in 12 Easy Steps’ card, yes. And this card, and all of the materials are available on the Office of Liturgy website.” 

Kudos go to Fr. Christopher Seibt and the diocesan Office of Liturgy for their work in this project as the Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions actually adopted some of the local materials prepared by the diocesan office for their prescribed order of penance and shared them with other member dioceses. 

“I feel like I’m able to make a contribution, and I enjoy doing that. I’m glad that they found them (the materials) helpful and good enough to share with others.”

• The “12 Easy Steps” document is available from The Catholic Sun here: thecatholicsun.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Confession-in-12-Easy-Steps.pdf
• The Office of Liturgy website is here: syracusediocese.org/offices/liturgy/