New translation of sacrament of penance starts on Ash Wednesday

Father John Hall, pastor of St. Anne Parish in New Castle and St. Elizabeth of Hungary Parish in Cambridge City, celebrates the sacrament of penance on Nov. 22, 2019, with a participant in the National Catholic Youth Conference held at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis. (File photo by Sean Gallagher)

By Sean Gallagher

Lent, which begins this year on Ash Wednesday on Feb. 22, is a time when many Catholics experience God’s mercy through the sacrament of reconciliation.

Those who will take part in this sacrament this year during Lent may hear slightly different words from the priest in the prayer of absolution than they’ve heard in the past.

That’s because the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is beginning the implementation of a new translation of the Order of Penance, which priests may begin to use starting on Ash Wednesday. All priests must start using the new translation by April 16, the Second Sunday of Easter, also known as Divine Mercy Sunday.

“This new translation is a part of the revisions and updating of all the rites that has been in process since the release of the third edition of the Roman Missal in 2011,” explained Father Patrick Beidelman, executive director of the archdiocesan Secretariat for Worship and Evangelization. “This process of retranslation updates the rites to be consistent with the most recent wording of the prayers for the Mass. It also allows for some new adaptations and additions for the benefit of the faithful.”

The new translation of the prayer of absolution is as follows:

“God, the Father of mercies, through the death and resurrection of his Son has reconciled the world to himself and poured out the Holy Spirit for the forgiveness of sins; through the ministry of the Church may God grant you pardon and peace. And I absolve you of your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

The changes in the prayer are as follows:

• “Poured out the Holy Spirit for the forgiveness of sins” was previously translated as “sent the Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sins.”
• “May God grant you pardon and peace” was previously translated as “may God give you pardon and peace.”

The essential words of the prayer of absolution, “I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” remain unchanged.

Father Beidelman said that availability for use of the new translation of the Order of Penance can be an opportunity for Catholics of central and southern Indiana to reflect upon the meaning of the sacrament and to enter more deeply into it.

“I believe anytime that we highlight the gift of the sacrament of reconciliation in our lives, we are given the opportunity to open our hearts wider to the power of God’s mercy and grace at work in our lives,” he said. “It reminds us that we are not on our own in living as disciples of Jesus, but that through confession God gives us the ability to be released from our sins and empowered to strive for holiness and live faithfully in our daily lives.

“The gift of confession is expressed powerfully and beautifully in the words of the Order of Penance.” †