This is a great question. In a previous question, I spoke of how we have the Word of Love [the Gospels in which in so many ways Jesus expresses in Word, His love for us] but an important part of our faith are the actions of Jesus’ love, and these are the sacraments. In this way; our asking for a grace-filled healing, Jesus through His powerful actions giving us that healing and forgiveness [this is what we would call the essence of the Sacrament of Reconciliation] has been around since Jesus Himself. The exact ways this happens has changed, but we have tried different ways for different reasons. Having a ‘confessional’; a place where we go to confess and the priest gives us absolution – this developed as we began to realize this confession to God through the priest should be between us and God alone; this was a development. The way we begin, the prayers we use, the Act of Contrition which are all beautiful prayers that help us; they’ve come through the beautiful traditions of our faith.
