Sacramental Consultation
Sacramental consultation is the sacrament for the individual, just as the Act of Consecration of Man is the sacrament for the community. It is only given upon request. It is prepared in a confidential conversation between the person requesting the sacrament and a priest.
Sacramental consultation implies the desire to seek a more conscious connection to the Christ's presence working in one's life and the desire to learn how to love. It is a sacrament of inward listening. This sacrament brings the blessing of knowing 'He walks with me' and prepares us for communion.
What is new about this sacrament, is that the priest will not say, 'Your sins are forgiven.' Rather, it offers an opportunity for our journey of life to be witnessed in its deepest striving and searching. Together, the person and the priest go into conversation with an attitude of speaking and listening in the presence of Christ, to the point where His healing, strengthening presence inspires to 'take up our bed and walk' and move on with what destiny has given us to carry.
The sacrament itself is a blessing, in that one can turn towards the future as someone who continually learns; not free of sin, but free to begin anew.
Sacramental consultation implies the desire to seek a more conscious connection to the Christ's presence working in one's life and the desire to learn how to love. It is a sacrament of inward listening. This sacrament brings the blessing of knowing 'He walks with me' and prepares us for communion.
What is new about this sacrament, is that the priest will not say, 'Your sins are forgiven.' Rather, it offers an opportunity for our journey of life to be witnessed in its deepest striving and searching. Together, the person and the priest go into conversation with an attitude of speaking and listening in the presence of Christ, to the point where His healing, strengthening presence inspires to 'take up our bed and walk' and move on with what destiny has given us to carry.
The sacrament itself is a blessing, in that one can turn towards the future as someone who continually learns; not free of sin, but free to begin anew.