“Baptism does snatch us from the power of sin and death and brings us to the new life of the children of God, but it does not free us from human weakness and the inclination to sin. That is why we need a place where we can be reconciled with God again and again. That place is confession.”
-YouCat 226

The first of the two Sacraments of Healing is the Sacrament of Reconciliation. This sacrament looks to address our spiritual ailment: the way in which, even after Baptism, we continue to be affected by the power of sin in our lives. We bring to Confession our sin, our weakness, the moments in which we choose to turn from God rather than toward Him and His goodness.

“It does not seem like a modern thing to go to confession; it can be difficult and may cost a great deal of effort at first. But it is one of the greatest graces that we can receive again and again in life—it truly renews the soul, completely unburdens it, leaving it without the debts of the past, accepted in love, and equipped with new strength. God is merciful and he desires nothing more earnestly than for us, too, to lay claim of his mercy. Someone who has gone to confession turns a clean, new page in the book of his life” (YouCat 226).