• The extension of hands and these words - "I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen."

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you." When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. (Jesus) said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained." John 20:19-23

The spiritual effects of the sacrament of Penance are:

• Reconciliation with God by which the penitent recovers grace
• Reconciliation with the Church
• Remission of the eternal punishment incurred by mortal sins
• Remission, at least in part, of temporal punishments resulting from sin
• Peace and serenity of conscience, and spiritual consolation
• An increase of spiritual strength for the Christian battle