A priest is available to celebrate the sacrament at 3:30 pm in the Church and will remain while there are people in the Church.

The introduction to the Rite of Penance quotes Vatican II's Constitution on the Church. It teaches, “In the Sacrament of Penance the faithful ‘obtain from God's mercy pardon for having offended him and at the same time reconciliation with the Church, which they have wounded by their sins and which by charity, example, and prayer seeks their conversion.’” The Sacrament is a celebration of reconciliation offered and effected by Jesus Christ. It is reconciliation not only with God, but also with God’s people, the Church and world.

The words of absolution in the Sacrament begin with a proclamation of that reconciliation. Then the words clearly point out that we are reconciled, “through the ministry of the Church” and through the constant invitation of God who offers pardon and peace to us all.

Pope Francis warned, “The confessional is not a dry cleaners, a business of sorts that just washes out the stain of sin.” Confession is an encounter with Jesus whose “mercy motivates us to do better.” “The sacrament of reconciliation is a sacrament of healing,” he pointed out at an earlier time. “But I say to you,” he stressed to pilgrims, “every time we go to confession, God embraces us.”