Pastor John Blewett of St. Mary's Catholic Church in Platteville, Wisconsin, recently shared with parishioners about the sacraments of Penance and Reconciliation.

“Though baptism cleanses us from all sin (original and actual), the inclination to sin remains part of the human condition,” Blewett wrote to the congregation. “Baptism does not abolish the weakness and frailty of our human nature inherited from original sin.”

It is because humans are likely to return to sin and fall repeatedly from grace that the grace of God is necessary, Blewett wrote.

“The Divine Physician has left for us the sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation as the means by which we return to Him seeking healing and forgiveness for sins committed after baptism,” Blewett wrote.

Penance and Reconciliation form the path by which the faithful return again to God every time they have sinned and fallen away from Him, Blewett wrote.

“The confession of venial sins is also recommended as a way to help combat sinful tendencies,” Blewett wrote.