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RECONCILIATION
The Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation (commonly called Penance, Reconciliation, or Confession) is one of the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church (called sacred mysteries in the Eastern Catholic Churches), in which the faithful obtain absolution for the sins committed against God and neighbour and are reconciled with the community of the Church.[a] By this sacrament Catholics believe they are freed from all sins committed after baptism.[1] The sacrament of Penance is considered the normal way to be absolved from mortal sin.
However, while every mortal sin is a grave sin, not every grave sin is a mortal sin; Either lack of the full consent of the will, or the lack of full knowledge of the seriousness of the sin is enough to prevent the grave sin from being mortal. Thus, mortal sin requires one to make a premeditated choice to choose grave sin, knowing that it will separate one's self from the grace bestowed at justification.
Furthermore, while the priest acts as Christ in forgiving the lost sinner and is the ordinary means of forgiveness, the priest does not act in lieu of Christ, but by his power. Those who repent with full [perfect] contrition are forgiven in cases where formal reconciliation is not possible before death provided they would have desired to make a timely confession.
Because it is not always obvious when a serious sin is mortal, due to mitigating circumstances like coercion, mental illness, lack of knowledge, and perfect contrition, it is not always possible to deduce a person's state of grace. Thus, Christ ultimately judges us at our death as only He can see our heart and soul objectively.
However, while every mortal sin is a grave sin, not every grave sin is a mortal sin; Either lack of the full consent of the will, or the lack of full knowledge of the seriousness of the sin is enough to prevent the grave sin from being mortal. Thus, mortal sin requires one to make a premeditated choice to choose grave sin, knowing that it will separate one's self from the grace bestowed at justification.
Furthermore, while the priest acts as Christ in forgiving the lost sinner and is the ordinary means of forgiveness, the priest does not act in lieu of Christ, but by his power. Those who repent with full [perfect] contrition are forgiven in cases where formal reconciliation is not possible before death provided they would have desired to make a timely confession.
Because it is not always obvious when a serious sin is mortal, due to mitigating circumstances like coercion, mental illness, lack of knowledge, and perfect contrition, it is not always possible to deduce a person's state of grace. Thus, Christ ultimately judges us at our death as only He can see our heart and soul objectively.