Dear Father,
At the beginning of Mass, the priest forgives our sins, so why do I have to go to confession? It seems like a waste of time by repeating things.
-Deen
Dear Deen,
Almost every Mass begins with the Penitential Act, but this is not the same as the Sacrament of Penance and therefore it does not substitute for the sacrament.
After the Sign of the Cross and the priest’s greeting, he begins the Penitential Act with: “Brothers and sisters, let us acknowledge our sins, and so prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries.”
The Penitential Act at Mass is our general acknowledgement of being sinners and needing God’s forgiveness as a means of preparing for divine worship. The General Instruction of the Roman Missal (#51) points out that this beginning part of the Mass is intended to help us dispose ourselves to hear God’s Word and to celebrate the Eucharist.
It is essential to remember what the essence of the Mass is: the worship of Almighty God by taking in His Word and offering Him a sacrifice. The sacrifice we offer is the same as what Jesus Christ offered, namely His entire life and suffering and death.
This is the supreme act of divine worship for eternity. We have nothing better to offer God than uniting ourselves, our lives, with the offering of Christ’s sacrifice. By offering our lives, we are offering the gift of ourselves, which is most pleasing to the Father when we unite our personal sacrifice with Christ’s.
While we need to be offering God ourselves throughout each day of our lives, we do this supremely at the Sacrifice of the Mass. Even with human dignitaries, we prepare ourselves by dressing up, speaking politely, and even giving a gift of some sort, all in the hope of being in that person’s good graces.
I think of the parable of the man without proper clothing at a wedding (Matthew 22). His audacity gained him a quick and infelicitous dismissal. The Penitential Act at Mass is the time for each of us to consider whether we are interiorly properly dressed. (It wouldn’t be a bad idea to make sure we’re exteriorly prepared to be in God’s presence, too!)
We can understand the Matthew 22 parable in another way: the need for deeper conversion and repentance that comes through the Sacrament of Penance.
If we have offended God mortally, that is, broken friendship with Him by serious sins, then we need to get our wedding garment cleaned in order to properly attend to His wedding banquet. At the very least, we begin with a sincere act of contrition, which includes the intention to get to confession as soon as possible (not just sometime down the road).
Someone will undoubtedly point out to me that the General Instruction speaks about the priest giving absolution during the Penitential Act. However, the Instruction also clearly states that this particular absolution “lacks the efficacy of the Sacrament of Penance.” In other words, the sacramental grace is lacking.
The absolution of the Sacrament of Penance takes away sins an individual confesses, notably mortal sins. In confession, the priest uses the words “I absolve you from your sins … ” Notice the particularity of certain sins of an individual.
However, at the beginning of Mass, the priest prays generally: “May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life.” Observe how the priest includes himself and prays in a general way for forgiveness.
Individuals who are aware of having committed mortal sins are obliged to go to confession. If they are unable to find a priest for confession, though obliged to worship God at Mass, they may not receive Holy Communion.
The Penitential Act at Mass may help a person with mortal sins who can’t make it to confession by giving him an opportunity to deepen his sorrow for sins and may attain for him the graces to make a good sacramental confession and to reform his life.
Also, the Penitential Act at Mass assists OCIA (formerly RCIA) initiates. Catechumens needing to be baptized as well as those already baptized in other Christian communities entering the Catholic Church may receive graces to deepen their relationship with God during the Penitential Act.
Finally, we are able to receive forgiveness of venial sins through the Penitential Act at Mass. That’s because, as St. Thomas Aquinas teaches, any act of charity done for love of God removes venial sin.
I hope that this helps everyone to overcome any perfunctory responses to the priest during the Penitential Act at Mass. Mean what you say!