Our souls are cleansed (Fr. Patrick Michaels with Fr. Brian Howard)

In the Sacrament of Reconciliation,
placing his hands on your head,
the priest receives your brokenness and mends it,
restoring you to community. 

 --Fr. Patrick Michaels, 

Scripture Class, February 2018 

   If you’ve been around the Catholic Church very much, then you’ve surely noticed a priest imposing hands over or laying hands on some object or person, for example, when he’s blessing something or someone, or in the sacraments. In the Mass the priest holds his hands over the bread and wine during the epiclesis of the Eucharistic Prayer, in the ordination of a priest or deacon, the bishop lays his hands on their heads before praying the Prayer of Ordination, and in the Sacrament of Reconciliation the priest holds his hand over the person while praying the Prayer of Absolution.

   In the Sacraments, whenever the priest imposes hands over something [or someone], he calls down the Holy Spirit and that thing [or that person] changes. In the Mass, the Holy Spirit changes the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ. In the Sacrament of Holy Orders, a man becomes a deacon, priest, or bishop. In the Sacrament of Reconciliation, our sins are forgiven and our souls cleansed.

--Fr. Brian Howard     

Image source: https://gracelutheranrialto.com/2017/04/06/corporate-confession-individual-absolution/
Quotation source