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Note added at 2002-07-01 17:29:40 (GMT)
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The Forgiveness of Sins
All pardon for sins ultimately comes from Christ’s finished work on Calvary, but how is this pardon received by individuals? Did Christ leave us any means within the Church to take away sin? The Bible says he gave us two means.

Baptism was given to take away the sin inherited from Adam (original sin) and any sins we personally committed before baptism—sins we personally commit are called actual sins, because they come from our own acts. Thus on the day of Pentecost, Peter told the crowds, \"Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit\" (Acts 2:38), and when Paul was baptized he was told, \"And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on his name\" (Acts 22:16). And so Peter later wrote, \"Baptism . . . now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a clear conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ\" (1 Pet. 3:21).

For sins committed after baptism, a different sacrament is needed. It has been called penance, confession, and reconciliation, each word emphasizing one of its aspects. During his life, Christ forgave sins, as in the case of the woman caught in adultery (John 8:1–11) and the woman who anointed his feet (Luke 7:48). He exercised this power in his human capacity as the Messiah or Son of man, telling us, \"the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins\" (Matt. 8:6), which is why the Gospel writer himself explains that God \"had given such authority to men\" (Matt. 9:8).

Since he would not always be with the Church visibly, Christ gave this power to other men so the Church, which is the continuation of his presence throughout time (Matt. 28:20), would be able to offer forgiveness to future generations. He gave his power to the apostles, and it was a power that could be passed on to their successors and agents, since the apostles wouldn’t always be on earth either, but people would still be sinning.

God had sent Jesus to forgive sins, but after his resurrection Jesus told the apostles, \"‘As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.’ And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained’\" (John 20:21–23). (This is one of only two times we are told that God breathed on man, the other being in Genesis 2:7, when he made man a living soul. It emphasizes how important the establishment of the sacrament of penance was.)





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Note added at 2002-07-01 17:32:34 (GMT)
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http://www.catholic.com/library/Forgiveness_of_Sins.asp

http://www.born-again-christian.info/forgiveness.htm

http://www.globalserve.net/~bumblebee/ecclesia/forgive.htm

e.g.:
"The central acts of worship in the Episcopal Church are sacraments. They express the Church’s belief in the sacramental nature of the universe and life, the belief that God is not divorced from His creation but is present and always at work in all aspects of it.
Holy Baptism - Through this sacrament, sinful man is cleansed; he is made a new creature in Christ and is received into the Christian fellowship.
Holy Communion (Holy Eucharist) - In receiving the consecrated Bread and Wine of the sacrament of the Holy Communion, man’s spirit is nourished and strengthened by the Body and Blood of Christ.
Confirmation - The laying of the Bishop’s hands on the baptized believer and endowing him with the power to assume personal responsibility for his baptismal vows.
Penance - Confession and absolution of sins.
Ordination - Admission to the ancient orders of the ministry - bishops, priests and deacons.
Matrimony - Creating a lifelong union of husband and wife.
Unction - For the healing of the sick."

HTH,

Serge L.

.

You can use pardon too!

verb has to translated in same time in accordance of the verbs before.

Both "forgiveness of sins" and "the forgiveness of sins" occur. But because their is definteness in the original Spanish phrase, then that should be indicated in the translation.

Also, THE forgiveness of sins is the common phrase in the English liturgy of both Catholic and Anglican churches.

The sacrament of penance is today known as Reconciliation, in the USA Catholic Church.





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Note added at 2002-07-02 02:29:18 (GMT)
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The 7 sacraments in todays USA Catholic Chiurch are called:

1) Baptism
2) Reconciliation (used to be Penance)
3) Eucharist (used to be Communion)
4) Confirmation
5) Marriage
6) Annointing of the sick (used to be Last Rites)
7) Sacred Vows

Hope this helps -

"PENANCE
Jesus gave his Apostles the power to forgive sins. The sacrament of Penance is also known as the Sacrament of Confession or Reconciliation. In this sacrament the penitent confesses his sins to the priest in the confessional, and the priest then gives absolution to the repentant soul, making the Sign of the Cross, and saying the words " I absolve you from your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." It is Jesus through the priest who forgives your sins. Jesus describes the process of conversion and penance in the Parable of the Prodigal Son [Luke 15:11-24]. As the penitent must make restitution or satisfaction for his sins, the priest gives a penance to the forgiven one, usually prayer, fasting, or almsgiving."

www.cathworld.org/worlds/cath/sacraments

Regards, Sery