Reconciliation

Reconciliation

Comparing Traditions: Reconciliation
      Since their formal establishment at the Council of Trent, the traditions of the Catholic Sacraments have played an invaluable role in guiding its’ followers through the art of self cultivation. These spiritual exercises not only lend considerable focus to ones relationship with God, but also ask the practitioner to go deeper and examine him or herself. While the more public sacraments of baptism, communion, and matrimony garner considerable attention, it is the act of reconciliation that commands the most of the faithful. The sacrament itself asks the confessor to relay their sins to a priest, under the cloak of anonimity, with the understanding that the priest is acting as a medium in place of God. The Priest’s power to grant forgiveness, in the name of Christ, allows for the confessor to go forth into the world a temporarily clean soul. This beautiful act is central to keeping focused as a Catholic and truly living in the footsteps of Christ. Just as many other Catholic practices were challenged and altered during the Reformation, the act of confession similarly came under fire. While followers of the Lutheran tradition still consider reconciliation important, the differences are quite apparent. These differences in interpretations of confession provide an interesting opportunity for an examination of the act’s power in reforming and guiding its’ practitioners. Examining the history and modern application of the act allows for proper consideration of the differences, ultimately guiding a conclusion in favor of the Catholic tradition in terms of developing its’ followers. An examination of historical texts, including Luther’s commentary in the 95 Theses, the Lutheran argument in the Augsburg Confession, and the Catholic responses through the Confutation of the Augsburg Confession provide a frame to examine the early schism over the practice.
Though not formally declared a sacrament until the Council of Trent in the...