Do Catholics need to atone for their sins?

[normdplume]

I’m sure atonement is a good idea after sinning, but I’m curious whether it is a requirement for Catholics, such as repentance. Does atonement fall under penitence (i.e., showing sorrow and regret)?

Thanks

 

[CRV]

Scroll down to Reparation, under this heading you will find 5 sections with links to the relevant section of the catechism.

 

[Emeraldlady]

I’m sure atonement is a good idea after sinning, but I’m curious whether it is a requirement for Catholics, such as repentance. Does atonement fall under penitence (i.e., showing sorrow and regret)?

Thanks

For Catholics repentance is a recognition of the horrible price Christ paid for us. Repentance has the form of both intense sorrow and intense gratitude. The Church recognises how easily we take Christs sacrifice for granted and feel entitled and provides the forum for us to come to the foot of the Cross with the appropriate response.

 

[Tower_Of_David]

CCC1472: To understand this doctrine and practice of the Church, it is necessary to understand that sin has a double consequence . Grave sin deprives us of communion with God and therefore makes us incapable of eternal life, the privation of which is called the “eternal punishment” of sin. On the other hand every sin, even venial, entails an unhealthy attachment to creatures, which must be purified either here on earth, or after death in the state called Purgatory. This purification frees one from what is called the “temporal punishment” of sin. These two punishments must not be conceived of as a kind of vengeance inflicted by God from without, but as following from the very nature of sin. A conversion which proceeds from a fervent charity can attain the complete purification of the sinner in such a way that no punishment would remain.

 

[po18guy]

Well…

ATONEMENT. The satisfaction of a legitimate demand. In a more restricted sense it is the reparation of an offense. This occurs through a voluntary performance that outweighs the injustice done. If the performance fully counterbalances the gravity of the guilt, the atonement is adequate. And if the atonement is done by someone other than the actual offender, but in his stead, it is vicarious.

Applied to Christ the Redeemer, through his suffering and death he rendered vicarious atonement to God for the sins of the whole human race. His atonement is fully adequate because it was performed by a divine person. In fact, it is superabundant because the positive value of Christ’s expiation is actually greater than the negative value of human sin. (Etym. Middle English at one , to set at one, to reconcile; of one mind, in accord.)

Having posted that, the following also apply:

PENANCE. The virtue or disposition of heart by which one repents of one’s own sins and is converted to God. Also the punishment by which one atones for sins committed, either by oneself or by others. And finally the sacrament of penance, where confessed sins committed after baptism are absolved by a priest in the name of God. (Etym. Latin paenitentia , repentance, contrition.) See also SACRAMENT OF CONFESSION , SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION .

SACRAMENT OF PENANCE. The sacrament that, by means of certain acts of the penitent and by the absolution of a qualified priest, remits sins committed after baptism. As defined by the Catholic Church, it is “truly and properly a sacrament, instituted by Christ our Lord, for reconciling the faithful to God as often as they fall into sin after baptism” (Denzinger 1701). The required acts of the penitent are contrition, confession, and the willingness to make satisfaction. These acts are called the matter of the sacrament. The priest’s absolution is the form.

The sacrament of penance was instituted by Christ on Easter Sunday night, when he told the Apostles, “Receive the Holy Spirit. For those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven; for those whose sins you retain, they are retained” (John 20:22-23). The Catholic Church interprets these words to imply that Christ conferred on the Apostles and their successors not merely the right to declare that a person’s sins are forgiven but also the power of forgiving in Christ’s name those who are judged worthy of remission and of withholding absolution for those who are not disposed to be absolved.

From the Modern Catholic Dictionary, by Fr. John Hardon†, S.J.

 

[normdplume]

Thank you, all.