Advent Communal Penance Service at 12:10pm. Over a dozen priests available, including confessors in English, Spanish, German and American Sign. No 11:00am Confessions and no 12:10pm Mass. See below for the full schedule of Confessions during the week before Christmas.

Communal Penance Service

All are welcome to experience the love and mercy of Christ through the Sacrament of Penance at the Advent Communal Penance Service, Come Home for Christmas, on Tuesday, December 18 at 12:10pm in the Cathedral. More than a dozen priests including confessors in American Sign and Spanish will be available for confession.

Schedule for Confessions The Week Before Christmas

• Monday, December 17 - 11am to Noon & 6-7pm (during Evening Eucharistic Adoration, in English & Spanish)
• Tuesday, December 18 - 12:10pm (English, Spanish & other languages, part of our Advent Communal Penance Service, above ) 
• Wednesday, December 19 - 11am to Noon
• Thursday, December 20 - 11am to Noon (English & Spansih)
• Friday, December 21 - 11am to Noon 
• Saturday, December 22 - 4 to 5pm (English & Spanish)
• Monday, December 24 - 11am to Noon

How Do I Prepare to Receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation?

For a step-by-step guide, click here.

What is the Sacrament Called?

We refer here to Reconciliation and to Penance, but the sacrament has many names. Understanding the various names helps in our understanding of the tremendous benefits that this sacrament brings to those who open their hearts to receive it.

It is called the Sacrament of Conversion because it makes sacramentally present Jesus' call to conversion, the firt step in returning to the Father from whom one has strayed by sin. It is called the Sacrament of Penance, since it consecrates the Christian sinner's personal and ecclesial steps of conversion, penance, and satisfaction. It is called the Sacrament of Confession since the disclosure or confession of sins is an essential element of this Sacrament. In a profound sense, it is also a "confession"—acknowledgment and praise—of the holiness of God and of his mercy toward sinful man. It is called the Sacrament of Forgiveness, since by the priest's sacramental absolution, God grants the penitent "pardon and peace." It is called the Sacrament of Reconciliation because it imparts to the sinner the love of God who reconciles: "Be reconciled to God" (2 Cor 5:20). He who lives by God's merciful love is ready to respond to the Lord's call: "Go, first be reconciled to your brother." (Catechism of the Catholic Church,1423-24, citing Mt 5:24)