Archbishop Wuerl has penned his first pastoral letter as Archbishop of Washington: God’s Mercy and the Sacrament of Penance. (pdf)

It is excellent – no surprise coming from Archbishop Wuerl, who has written some fine catechetical materials. He leads the reader through the nature of sin, the reality and power of redemption through the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross, and then step-by-step through the sacrament:

The Catechism reminds us that the sacrament of Reconciliation must be seen within the context of conversion. "Jesus calls to conversion. This call is an essential part of the proclamation of the kingdom…" (1427). And even if our conversion is ongoing and only partial, we are still subject to the effort that will some day reach completion. The Catechism points out that after he denied his Master three times Saint Peter’s conversion "bears witness" to Jesus’ infinite mercy (1429).

The importance of the sacrament of Penance is that it really does restore and renew our baptismal holiness. A Catholic who has committed grave sin is obliged to ask forgiveness for it in this sacrament. Once we do this and receive sacramental absolution, we are restored again to holiness – to an innocence before God. So powerful is the grace of this sacrament that the Rite of Penance reminds us that "frequent and careful celebration of this sacrament is also very useful as a remedy for venial sins. This is not a mere ritual repetition or psychological exercise, but a serious striving to perfect the grace of baptism so that, as we bear in our body the death of Jesus Christ, his life may be seen in us ever more clearly" (Introduction, 7).

He then outlines steps to strengthen his people’s understanding and practice of the sacrament, which include a catechetical dimension and a pastoral one as well:

We lead by example. By frequent reception of the sacrament of Penance, priests become a living sermon on the importance of the sacrament to the faithful. I remember being strongly impressed when, as a young person, I heard one of our parish priests speak about his going to confession – with regularity.

In order to highlight both the importance of the sacrament of Penance and its availability especially in the coming Lenten season, every pastor is asked to review the parish confession schedule to ensure the adequate availability of the sacrament of Penance to the faithful. I am also asking the deans to work with the priests of their respective deaneries so that we can provide a series of deanery-wide reconciliation services to which the faithful of the deanery will be invited and at which I will join a large number of our priests in hearing confessions.

In addition, during this Lenten season, beginning with the Wednesday of the first week of Lent until the Wednesday of Holy Week, priests will be available in every church throughout the Archdiocese from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in order to hear confessions. The name given to this pastoral initiative is "The Light Is On For You,” highlighting that the light will be on churches throughout the Archdiocese as a beacon of hope, reconciliation, and absolution.

Such an archdiocesan-wide concerted effort at sacramental Reconciliation has two obvious positive benefits: the administration of the sacraments to those who come to the penance services and the public witness to the importance of this sacrament.

To facilitate this effort I have asked the secretariat for pastoral life to work with the College of Deans to see that appropriate and useful material is made available to the parishes in anticipation of these deanery-wide reconciliation services.

Conclusion

As we complete these thoughts on the sacrament of Penance, we might well reflect that the deepest spiritual joy each of us can sense is the freedom from whatever would separate us from God and the restoration of our friendship with so loving and merciful a Father who receives each of us with all the forgiveness and love lavished on the prodigal son. Renewed, refreshed and reconciled in this sacrament, we who have sinned become a "new creation." Once more we are made new. It is this newness of spirit and soul that I hope all of us experience this Lent.