Catechist Background and Preparation
To prepare for the session, read all the readings:
Isaiah 43:18-19, 21-22, 24b-25
Psalm 41:2-3, 4-5, 13-14
2 Corinthians 1:18-22
Mark 2:1-12
Spend a few minutes reflecting on what these readings mean for you today. Was there a particular reading which appealed to you?
Was there a word or image that engaged you?
Read the Word in Liturgy and Catholic Doctrine sections. These pieces give you background for what you will be doing this session. Read over the session outline and make it your own. Check to see what materials you will need for the session.
The Word in Liturgy
Deutero-Isaiah (chaps. 40-55), from which today’s first reading is taken, was written in the late sixth century before Christ, when the Jewish people returned from their exile in Babylon. Our text today compares that joyful return to a new exodus, and also identifies it with God’s ongoing act of creation. Because of the centrality of the exodus story for the identity of the chosen people, it was natural to compare with it other acts of deliverance. Yet the author of Deutero-Isaiah also stresses the forward-looking nature of the present divine initiative. He encourages his readers not to dwell on the past but to see something new in the mercies of God, which call the people home in spite of their sinfulness.
The early chapters of Mark seem to alternate between the wilderness and the city, where Jesus proclaims the reign of God to ever-growing crowds. The throng here is so large that those carrying the paralyzed man on a stretcher cannot get through. Houses in first-century Palestine commonly had thatched roofs that would have been easy to disassemble, yet Jesus lauds as a sign of faith the perseverance and ingenuity displayed by those who broke through the roof. The complete cure of the paralytic restores him to health in body and spirit, and astonishes the crowd. It also serves as an intimation for the Christian reader of the true nature of Jesus and his mission of reconciliation.
Scribes were experts in the written law and its oral presentation, and gained their office only after rigorous study and a laying on of hands. Because Jewish tradition strictly held that no one could forgive sins but God alone, Jesus’ pronouncement of forgiveness was certainly startling to those present, and would occasion question and even outrage. It is striking that so early in the Galilean ministry Jesus answers an accusation of blasphemy—the charge that would be leveled at him when he was later on trial before the Sanhedrin. This narrative also foreshadows a controversy familiar to Mark’s community: the Christian understanding of baptism for the forgiveness of sins contributed to the rupture that took place between Church and Synagogue in the 80s.
Catholic Doctrine
The Sacrament of Reconciliation
God loves us completely and unconditionally and from this abundance flows the forgiveness of sins. In Jesus Christ this divine love is fully manifested. The life, ministry, suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus, as a whole, unlocks for us the font of new, risen, healed life as we are incorporated into the mystery of Christ and his Church in baptism. Those who fall into sin after baptism are not baptized again, but instead experience the bountiful mercy and forgiveness of God in the sacrament of reconciliation.
How is the rupturing effect of sin repaired in the celebration of reconciliation? First of all, those who are moved by the Spirit to avail themselves of the sacrament do so marked by a radical reorientation of the inner person. In other words, prompted by God’s grace, true sorrow for one’s sins encourages a person to an inner change of heart and conversion and therefore leads the sinner to be reconciled (CCC 1431). Part of this inner change may also be prompted by an examination of conscience assisted by the scriptures or with the help of a spiritual director.
The believer then approaches the sacrament. There are four parts to the actual celebration. First, the love of God—which has moved one to celebrate the sacrament—is proclaimed and the believer expresses sorrow and contrition for having sinned. In addition, a firm resolution to avoid sin in the future is also expressed (CCC 1451). Second, the sins themselves are admitted. This is always done privately to a priest, who presides over the celebration of this sacrament. The priest cannot make use of, act upon, or reveal these sins under any circumstances (CCC 1467). The private and secret nature of confession that binds the priest to silence is called “the sacramental seal.” Third, the wrong that is done in sinning must be compensated and therefore satisfaction offered. This is also known as penance (CCC 1459-60). While frequently this satisfaction is offered by prayer, it can also extend to concrete activities of charitable works, service of one’s neighbor, and voluntary self-sacrifice. Fourth, the priest extends his hands over the head of the believer in blessing and prays a prayer of absolution. The absolution prayer expresses that it is God alone who forgives and reconciles the sinner to God and to the Church (CCC 1441).
Catholics believe that there is no experience of pain or sickness outside the reach of God’s healing presence. There is no sin so terrible that God cannot forgive it.
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