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Type of Sacrament:
'Sacrament of the
Dead' (click
here for more info.)
Is Sacrament Obligatory?
Yes
(for those who have reached the age of reason).
As stated by the Council of Trent: "For those who fall into
sin after Baptism the Sacrament of Penance is as necessary to
salvation as is Baptism for those who have not been already baptized."
Also, Church law may require the faithful to receive the Sacrament
of Penance at least once a year.
"The
sacrament of Penance is necessary for salvation to all who have
committed a mortal sin after Baptism." (Catechism of St. Pius
X)
"Can.
989 After having reached the age of discretion, each member of the
faithful is obliged to confess faithfully his or her grave sins at
least once a year." (1983 Code of Canon Law)
"As
the frailty and weakness of human nature are universally known and
felt by each one in himself, no one can be ignorant of the great
necessity of the Sacrament of Penance." (Catechism of the
Council of Trent)
"[T]he
Church obliges all to confess once a year; because she commands
all to receive Holy Communion once a year, viz. at Easter,
wherefore all must go to confession before that time." (St.
Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and "greatest theologian
in the history of the Church")
"Can.
988 §1 A member of the Christian faithful is obliged to confess
in kind and number all grave sins committed after baptism and not
yet remitted directly through the keys of the Church nor
acknowledged in individual confession, of which the person has
knowledge after diligent examination of conscience. §2 It is
recommended to the Christian faithful that they also confess
venial sins." (1983 Code of Canon Law)
"My
children, it is like a person who has a slight illness; he need
not go and see a doctor, he may cure himself without. If he has a
headache, he need only go to bed; if he is hungry, he has only to
eat. But if it is a serious illness, if it is a dangerous wound,
he must have the doctor; after the doctor come the remedies. In
the same way, when we have fallen into any grievous sin, we must
have recourse to the doctor, that is the priest; and to the
remedy, that is confession." (Catechism of St. John Vianney)
"We
are bound to confession on two counts: first, by the Divine law,
from the very fact that confession is a remedy, and in this way
not all are bound to confession, but those only who fall into
mortal sin after Baptism; secondly, by a precept of positive law,
and in this way all are bound by the precept of the Church laid
down in the general council (Lateran iv, canon 21) under Innocent
III, both in order that everyone may acknowledge himself to be a
sinner, because 'all have sinned and need the grace of God'
(Romans 3:23); and that the Eucharist may be approached with
greater reverence; and lastly, that parish priests may know their
flock, lest a wolf may hide therein." (St. Thomas Aquinas,
Doctor of the Church and "greatest theologian in the history
of the Church")
"Baptism
is administered but once, and cannot be repeated; Penance may by
administered and becomes necessary, as often as we may have sinned
after Baptism. Hence the Council of Trent declares: For those who
fall into sin after Baptism the Sacrament of Penance is as
necessary to salvation as is Baptism for those who have not been
already baptized. This saying of St. Jerome that Penance is a
second plank, is universally known and highly commended by all
subsequent writers on sacred things. As he who suffers shipwreck
has no hope of safety, unless, perchance, he seize on some plank
from the wreck, so he that suffers the shipwreck of baptismal
innocence, unless he cling to the saving plank of Penance, has
doubtless lost all hope of salvation." (Catechism of the
Council of Trent)
Recipients:
Persons
of either sex who have "arrived at the use of reason"
"The custom of never admitting
children to confession, or of never absolving them when they have
arrived at the use of reason, is to be disapproved entirely.
Therefore, the local ordinaries will see to it, even by applying
the remedy of the law, that this custom is entirely
abandoned." (Congregation on the Sacraments, August 8, 1910 A.D.)
"As the law of confession was no doubt
enacted and established by our Lord Himself, it is our duty to
ascertain, on whom, at what age, and at what period of the year,
it becomes obligatory. According to the canon of the Council of
Lateran...no person is bound
by the law of Confession until he has arrived at the use of reason - a time determinable by no fixed number of years. It may,
however, be laid down as a general principle, that children are
bound to go to confession as soon as they are able to discern good
from evil, and are capable of malice; for, when a person has
arrived at an age when he must begin to attend to the work of his
salvation, he is bound to confess his sins to a priest, since
there is no other salvation for one whose conscience is burdened
with sin." (Catechism of the Council of Trent)
Can This Sacrament Be Repeated?
Yes.
Frequent confession is recommended even for those who have not
fallen into serious sin.
When Should Sacrament Be Received?
The Sacrament becomes necessary once a person has committed a
mortal sin and should be received as soon as possible. For those
not guilty of a mortal sin (both children and adults), the Sacrament
should be received regularly (even weekly). The
Sacrament may also be obligatory each year before Easter.
"The faithful should be careful above all
to cleanse their consciences from sin by frequent confession. When
a person is in mortal sin nothing can be more salutary, so
precarious is human life, than to have immediate recourse to
confession. But even if we could promise ourselves a long life,
yet it would be truly disgraceful that we who are so particular in
whatever relates to cleanliness of dress or person, were not at
least equally careful in preserving the luster of the soul
unsullied from the foul stains of sin." (Catechism of the Council
of Trent)
"In the same canon holy Church has defined
the period within which we are especially bound to discharge the
duty of confession. It commands all the faithful to confess their
sins at least once a year. If, however, we consult our eternal
interests, we will certainly not neglect to have recourse to
confession as often, at least, as we are in danger of death, or
undertake to perform any act incompatible with the state of sin,
such as to administer or receive the Sacraments. The same rule
should be strictly followed when we are apprehensive of forgetting
some sin, into which we may have fallen; for we cannot confess
sins unless we remember them, neither do we obtain pardon unless
our sins are blotted out through sacramental confession."
(Catechism of the Council of Trent)
General
Prerequisites:
Contrition for sin, intention of making
satisfaction, proper faith/disposition. Note: For other requirements of penance, see below
Ordinary
Ministers:
A validly ordained priest with proper jurisdiction.
"Can. 965 A priest alone is the
minister of the sacrament of penance." (1983 Code of Canon
Law)
"The minister of the sacrament of Penance is a priest
authorized by the Bishop to hear confessions." (Catechism of St. Pius X)
"Whoever discharges this sacred function
must be invested not only with the power of orders, but also with
that of jurisdiction." (Catechism of the Council of Trent)
"[T]he minister of the Sacrament of Penance
must be a priest possessing ordinary or delegated jurisdiction"
(Catechism of the Council of Trent)
"A priest must be
authorized by the Bishop to hear confessions
because to administer this sacrament validly the power of Orders
is not enough,
but there is also necessary the power of jurisdiction, that is,
the power to judge, which must be given by the Bishop."
(Catechism of St. Pius X)
"Can.
966 §1 The valid absolution of sins requires that the minister
have, in addition to the power of orders, the faculty of
exercising it for the faithful to whom he imparts
absolution." (1983 Code of Canon Law)
"Can.
991 All Christ's faithful are free to confess their sins to
lawfully approved confessors of their own choice, even to one of
another [approved Catholic] rite." (1983 Code of Canon Law)
"Therefore,
since the nature and essence of a judgment require that the
sentence be imposed only on subjects, there has always been the
conviction in the Church of God, and this Synod confirms it as
most true, that this absolution which the priest pronounces upon
one over whom he has no ordinary or delegated jurisdiction has no
value." (Council of Trent)
"Can.
986 §2 In an urgent necessity, every confessor is bound to hear
the confessions of Christ's faithful, and in danger of death every
[validly ordained] priest is so obliged." (1983 Code of Canon Law)
"Can.
976 Any [validly ordained] priest, even though he lacks the faculty to hear
confessions, can validly and lawfully absolve any penitents who
are in danger of death, from any censures and sins, even if an
approved priest is present." (1983 Code of Canon Law)
"In order that none may perish, if
there is imminent danger of death, and recourse cannot be had to
the proper priest, the Council of Trent teaches that according to
the ancient practice of the Church of God it is then lawful for
any [validly ordained] priest, not only to remit all kinds of sin, whatever faculties they might otherwise require, but also
to absolve from excommunication." (Catechism of the Council
of Trent)
"The absolution of the penitent, for
the sake of which he makes his confession, is imparted by none but
priests to whom the keys are intrusted... The grace which is given
in the sacraments, descends from the Head to the members.
Wherefore he alone who exercises a ministry over Christ's true
body is a minister of the sacraments, wherein grace is given; and
this belongs to a priest alone, who can consecrate the Eucharist.
Therefore, since grace is given in the sacrament of Penance, none
but a priest is the minister of the sacrament: and consequently
sacramental confession which should be made to a minister of the
Church, should be made to none but a priest." (St. Thomas
Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and "greatest theologian in the
history of the Church")
"Can.
881 § 1 All priests of either type of clergy ["secular
clergy" and "regular clergy"] who are approved for
the hearing of confessions in a place, wither so enabled by
ordinary or delegated jurisdiction, can also validly and licitly
absolve wanderers and travelers from another diocese or parish
coming to them, and likewise Catholics of any oriental rite."
(1917 Code of Canon Law)
Form /
Matter: Absolution by the priest: "I absolve
thee..." / Acts of the Penitent ("the three parts of
Penance"): (1) contrition, (2) confession ["A
sacramental accusation of one's sins {to the priest}, made to obtain pardon by
virtue of the keys." (Catechism of the Council of Trent)],
and (3) satisfaction. Note: Sins may also be considered the
matter (see below).
"The form of the sacrament of Penance is this:
'I
absolve thee from thy sins.'" (Catechism of St. Pius X)
"Absolution is the form of prayer or words
the priest pronounces over us with uplifted hand when he forgives
the sins we have confessed. It is given while we are saying the
Act of Contrition after receiving our Penance." (Baltimore
Catechism)
"The parts of the sacrament of Penance are contrition,
confession, and satisfaction on the part of the penitent, and
absolution ["the sentence which the priest pronounces in the
name of Jesus Christ when remitting the penitent's sins"] on the part of the
priest." (Catechism of St. Pius X)
"Now it is peculiar to this Sacrament that
besides matter and form, which it has in common with all the other
Sacraments, it has also, as we have said, those parts which
constitute Penance, so to say, whole and entire; namely,
contrition, confession and satisfaction." (Catechism of the
Council of Trent)
"Now the form is: I absolve thee, as may be
inferred not only from the words, whatsoever you shall bind upon
earth shall be bound also in heaven, but also from the teaching of
Christ our Lord, handed down to us by the Apostles. Moreover,
since the Sacraments signify what they effect, the words, I
absolve thee, signify that remission of sin is effected by the
administration of this Sacrament; and hence it is plain that such
is the perfect form of the Sacrament." (Catechism of the
Council of Trent)
"The matter of the sacrament of Penance is divided into remote
and proximate. The remote matter consists of the sins committed by
the
penitent after Baptism; and the proximate matter are the acts of
the penitent himself, that is, contrition ["contrition or sorrow for sin is a grief of the soul leading us
to detest sins committed and to resolve not to commit them any
more"], confession ["confession of sins consists in a distinct accusation of our
sins made to the confessor in order to obtain absolution and
receive penance for them"], and satisfaction
["satisfaction or penance is that prayer or other good work which
the confessor enjoins on the penitent in expiation of his
sins"]." (Catechism of St. Pius X)
"The
holy synod doth furthermore teach, that the form of the sacrament
of penance, wherein its force principally consists, is placed in
those words of the minister, I absolve thee, &c: to which
words indeed certain prayers are, according to the custom of holy
Church, laudably joined, which nevertheless by no means regard the
essence of that form, neither are they necessary for the
administration of the sacrament itself. But the acts of the
penitent himself, to wit, contrition, confession and satisfaction,
are as it were the matter of this sacrament. Which acts, inasmuch
as they are, by God's institution, required in the penitent for
the integrity of the sacrament, and for the full and perfect
remission of sins, are for this reason called the parts of
penance." (Council of Trent)
"The
fourth sacrament is penance, the matter of which is, as it were,
the acts of the penitent, which are divided into three parts. The
first of these is contrition of heart, to which pertains grief for
a sin committed together with a resolution not to sin in the
future. The second is oral confession, to which pertains that the
sinner confess integrally to his priest all sins of which he has
recollection. The third is satisfaction for sins according to the
decision of the priest, which is accomplished chiefly by prayer,
fasting, and alms. The words of absolution which the priest utters
when he says: Ego te absolvo etc., are the form of this sacrament,
and the minister of this sacrament is the priest who has either
ordinary authority for absolving or has it by the commission of a
superior. The effect of this sacrament is absolution from
sins." (Pope Eugenius IV, "Exultate Deo", 1439
A.D.)
"There is nothing that should be better
known to the faithful than the matter of this Sacrament; hence
they should be taught that Penance differs from the other
Sacraments in this that while the matter of the other Sacraments
is some thing, whether natural or artificial, the matter, as it
were, of the Sacrament of Penance is the acts of the penitent, -
namely, contrition, confession and satisfaction, - as has been
declared by the council of Trent. Now, inasmuch as these acts are
by divine institution required on the part of the penitent for the
integrity of the Sacrament, and for the full and perfect remission
of sin, they are called parts of Penance. It is not because they
are not the real matter that they are called by the Council the
matter as it were, but because they are not of that sort of matter
which is applied externally, such, for instance, as water in
Baptism and chrism in Confirmation. As regards the opinion of some
who hold that sins themselves are the matter of this Sacrament, it
will be found, when carefully examined, that it does not really
differ from the explanation already given. Thus we say that wood
which is consumed by fire is the matter of fire. In the same way,
sins which are destroyed by Penance may properly be called the
matter of Penance." (Catechism of the Council of Trent)
Chief
Effects:
*
Takes away all sins: "Penance...takes away all the sins of thought and deed committed after
Baptism" (Catechism of the Council of Trent)
"The sacrament of Penance has the power of remitting all sins no
matter how numerous and great they are, provided it is received
with the
requisite dispositions." (Catechism of St. Pius X)
"Can.
870 In the sacrament of penance, through judicial absolution
imparted by a legitimate minister, those sins committed after
baptism are remitted from the rightly disposed faithful."
(1917 Code of Canon Law)
*
Restores sinners to friendship with God: "First of all, then, the great efficacy of Penance consists in
this, that it restores us to the grace of God, and unites us to
Him in the closest friendship."
(Catechism of the Council of Trent)
*
Reconciles the sinner with the Church: "Can.
959 In the sacrament of penance the faithful who confess their
sins to a lawful minister, are sorry for those sins and have a
purpose of amendment, receive from God, through the absolution
given by that minister, forgiveness of sins they have committed
after baptism, and at the same time they are reconciled with the
Church, which by sinning they wounded." (1983 Code of Canon
Law)
*
In pious souls, may restore tranquility of conscience and bring joy to the
soul: "In pious souls who approach this Sacrament with devotion, profound
peace and tranquility of conscience, together with ineffable joy
of soul, sometimes accompany this reconciliation. For there is no sin,
however great or horrible, which cannot be effaced by the
Sacrament of Penance, and that not merely once, but over and over
again. On this point God Himself thus speaks through the Prophet:
If the wicked do penance for all his sins which he hath committed,
and keep all my commandments, and do judgment, and justice, living
he shall live, and shall not die, and I will not remember all his
iniquities that he hath done. And St. John says: If we confess our
sins; he is faithful and just, to forgive us our sins; and a
little later, he adds: If any man sin - he excepts no sin whatever - we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the
just; for he is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours
only, but for the sins of the whole world."
(Catechism of the Council of Trent)
*
Puts out the fires of hell: "Confession puts out the
fires of hell for you." (St. Pacianus of Barcelona)
"It
is of faith that Heaven exists for the good and Hell for the
wicked. Faith teaches that the pains of Hell are eternal, and it
also warns us that one single mortal sin suffices to condemn a
soul forever because of the infinite malice by which it offends an
infinite God." (St. Anthony Mary Claret)
"[B]y
sin we have offended God, the supreme and most amiable Good; have
lost heaven and deserved hell." (Catechism of St. John
Neumann)
*
Repairs a sinful man instantly: "[A] man is repaired
in an instant by Divine grace." (St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor
of the Church and "greatest theologian in the history of the
Church")
*
Gives the penitent graces to avoid future sin: "[I]t is an excellent thing to go to confession often, because the
sacrament of Penance, besides taking away sin, gives the graces
necessary to avoid sin in the future." (Catechism of St. Pius X)
*
Restores virtues: "[G]race is infused into man through
Penance. Now all the gratuitous virtues flow from grace, even as
all the powers result from the essence of the soul... Therefore all the virtues are restored through
Penance." (St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and
"greatest theologian in the history of the Church")
*
Reduces punishment in purgatory: "[O]ne who has
confessed and received absolution will be less punished in
Purgatory than one who has gone no further than contrition."
(St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and "greatest
theologian in the history of the Church")
*
Frees a soul from the chains of sin: "For sins are, so
to say, the chains by which the soul is bound, and from which it
is freed by the Sacrament of Penance." (Catechism of the
Council of Trent)
*
Leads to piety and holiness: "[M]ost holy persons are firmly persuaded
that whatever of piety, of holiness, of religion, has been
preserved to our times in the Church, through God's goodness, must
be ascribed in great measure to confession. It cannot, therefore,
be a matter of surprise that the enemy of the human race, in his
efforts to destroy utterly the Catholic Church, should, through
the agency of the ministers of his wicked designs, have assailed
with all his might this bulwark, as it were, of Christian virtue.
It should be shown, therefore, in the first place that the
institution of confession is most useful and even necessary to us."
(Catechism of the Council of Trent)
*
Discourages penitents from relapsing into sin since they will
have to confess their sins and do penance for them / Provides
remedies for the remains of sin: "For, doubtless, these satisfactory punishments greatly
recall from sin, and check as it were with a bridle, and make
penitents more cautious and watchful for the future; they are also
remedies for the remains of sin, and, by acts of the opposite
virtues, they remove the habits acquired by evil living."
(Council of Trent)
* Encourages fear of the Lord and satisfies our
obligations to the Lord.
*
Turns away God's wrath: "Neither
indeed was there ever in the Church of God any way accounted surer
to turn aside the impending chastisement of the Lord, than that
men should, with true sorrow of mind, practice these works of
penitence. Add to these things, that, whilst we thus, by making
satisfaction, suffer for our sins, we are made conformable to
Jesus Christ, who satisfied for our sins, from whom all our
sufficiency is; having also thereby a most sure pledge, that if we
suffer with him, we shall also be glorified with him."
(Council of Trent, 1551 A.D.)
*
Confers grace, remits punishment, revives merits, aids against
future sin, restores peace of conscience: "The sacrament of
Penance confers sanctifying grace by which are remitted the mortal
sins and also the venial sins which we confess and for which we
are sorry; it changes eternal punishment into temporal punishment,
of which it even remits more or less according to our
dispositions; it revives the merits of the good works done before
committing mortal sin; it gives the soul aid in due time against
falling into sin again, and it restores peace of conscience."
(Catechism of St. Pius X)
*
Opens the gates of heaven for sinners by providing an easier
means for the salvation of sinners than perfect contrition:
"Contrition, it is true, blots out sin; but who does not know
that to effect this it must be so intense, so ardent, so vehement,
as to bear a proportion to the magnitude of the crimes which it
effaces? This is a degree of contrition which few reach; and
hence, in this way, very few indeed could hope to obtain the
pardon of their sins. It, therefore, became necessary that the
most merciful Lord should provide by some easier means for the
common salvation of men; and this He has done in His admirable
wisdom, by giving to His Church the keys of the kingdom of heaven.
According to the doctrine of the Catholic Church, a doctrine
firmly to be believed and constantly professed by all, if the
sinner have a sincere sorrow for his sins and a firm resolution of
avoiding them in future, although he bring not with him that
contrition which may be sufficient of itself to obtain pardon, all
his sins are forgiven and remitted through the power of the keys,
when he confesses them properly to the priest. Justly, then, do
those most holy men, our Fathers, proclaim that by the keys of the
Church the gate of heaven is thrown open, a truth which no one can
doubt since the Council of Florence has decreed that the effect of
Penance is absolution from sin." (Catechism of the Council of
Trent)
*
Healing and cleansing of sinners: "To appreciate further the great advantages
of confession we may turn to a fact taught by experience. To those
who have led immoral lives nothing is found so useful towards a
reformation of morals as sometimes to disclose their secret
thoughts, all their words and actions, to a prudent and faithful
friend, who can assist them by his advice and cooperation. For the
same reason it must prove most salutary to those whose minds are
agitated by the consciousness of guilt to make known the diseases
and wounds of their souls to the priest, as the vicegerent of
Christ our Lord, bound to eternal secrecy by the strictest of
laws. (In the Sacrament of Penance) they will find immediate
remedies, the healing qualities of which will not only remove the
present malady, but will also have such a heavenly efficacy in
preparing the soul against an easy relapse into the same kind of
disease and infirmity." (Catechism of the Council of Trent)
"In the life of the body a man is sometimes sick, and unless
he takes medicine, he will die. Even so in the spiritual life a
man is sick on account of sin. For that reason he needs medicine
so that he may be restored to health; and this grace is bestowed
in the sacrament of Penance." (St. Thomas
Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and "greatest theologian in the
history of the Church")
"Confession is a fair ornament of the soul, which both
cleanses a sinner and makes the righteous more thoroughly
cleansed. Without confession, the righteous is deemed ungrateful,
and the sinner accounted dead." (St. Bernard, Doctor of the
Church)
*
Helps preserve the social order: "Another advantage of confession, which
should not be overlooked, is that it contributes powerfully to the
preservation of social order. Abolish sacramental confession, and
that moment you deluge society with all sorts of secret and
heinous crimes - crimes too, and others of still greater enormity,
which men, once that they have been depraved by vicious habits,
will not dread to commit in open day. The salutary shame that
attends confession restrains licentiousness, bridles desire and
checks wickedness." (Catechism of the Council of Trent)
*
Restrains the movements of the soul: "Nothing
is better able to restrain the movements of the soul, better able
to subject to right reason the natural appetites, than
penance." (Pope Pius XII)
*
According to the Council of Trent,
satisfaction: "Atones to the Church, deters others from sin, makes
us like unto Christ, heals the wounds of sin, and disarms the
vengeance of God and averts punishments decreed against us."
*
Obtains for us pardon for our sins: "We confess our sins with a view to obtain
pardon. In this respect the tribunal of penance differs from other
tribunals, which take cognizance of capital offences, and before
which a confession of guilt does not secure acquittal and pardon,
but penalty and punishment." (Catechism of the Council of
Trent)
*
Makes penitents more conscious of sin and more aware that they
have offended Almighty God.
*
Helps excite the faithful to a hatred for sin: "Pastors
should also take care that the faithful be excited to a supreme
hatred of sin, both because its turpitude and baseness are very
great and because it brings us the gravest losses and misfortunes.
For sin deprives us of the friendship of God, to whom we are
indebted for so many invaluable blessings, and from whom we might
have expected and received gifts of still higher value; and along
with this it consigns us to eternal death and to torments unending
and most severe." (Catechism of the Council of Trent)
*
Destroys uneasiness: "Christ our Lord was pleased to
number Penance among the Sacraments. One of His reasons certainly
was to leave us no room for doubt regarding the remission of sin
which was promised by God when He said: If the wicked do penance,
etc. For each one has good reason to distrust the accuracy of his
own judgment on his own actions, and hence we could not but be
very much in doubt regarding the truth of our internal penance. It
was to destroy this, our uneasiness, that our Lord instituted the
Sacrament of Penance, by means of which we are assured that our
sins are pardoned by the absolution of the priest; and also to
tranquilize our conscience by means of the trust we rightly repose
in the virtue of the Sacraments. The words of the priest
sacramentally and lawfully absolving us from our sins are to be
accepted in the same sense as the words of Christ our Lord when He
said to the paralytic: Son, be of good heart: thy sins are
forgiven thee." (Catechism of the Council of Trent)
"Jesus
was not content with giving us his assurance that if, after having
sinned, we have recourse with humble repentance to the divine
Majesty, we shall obtain pardon: as the sentence of God's mercy
would thus be without any outward sign, a cruel anxiety would have
ever been upon us, leaving us in doubt of our forgiveness.
Therefore did this loving Savior ordain that men should give us
pardon, in his name. That we might know that the Son of Man hath
power on earth go forgive sins, he gave power to his delegates to
pronounce over us a sentence of absolution which our very ears
might hear, and which would convey to our souls the sweet
confidence of pardon. O ineffable sacrament, by whose means heaven
is peopled by countless numbers who else had been lost, and who
will for ever sing the mercies of the Lord! O irresistible power
of the words of absolution, which, deriving their efficacy from
the Blood of our Redeemer, take away all our iniquities, and
plunge them into the abyss of divine mercy! The eternity of
torments due to these iniquities would never have expiated them;
and yet these few words of the priest: I absolve thee, have
utterly annihilated them. Such is the sacrament of penance. In
return for the humble confession of our sins and the sincere
sorrow for having committed them, we receive pardon, and this not
only once or twice only, but as often as we approach the sacred
tribunal; not for this or that kind of sin only, but for every sin
whatsoever." (Dom Gueranger)
*
Remits sin, gives grace, restores peace, reopens the gates of
heaven, preserves us in the future, enables us to gain
indulgences: "A good confession: (1)
Remits the sins we have committed and gives us the grace of God;
(2) Restores us peace and quiet of conscience; (3) Reopens the
gates of Heaven and changes the eternal punishment of hell into a
temporal punishment; (4) Preserves us from falling again, and
renders us capable of partaking of the treasury of Indulgences."
(Catechism of St. Pius X)
*
Is good for one's psychological health: "There
are many souls stretched out on a psychoanalytic couch today who
would be far better off if they brought their consciences to the
confessional box." (Archbishop Fulton Sheen)
*
Teaches us how to do better. Not only can good confessors provide advice to help us in the future, but our own preparing for
confession may help us realize how we could have done better.
*
Comforts the sinner: "What
a comfort to the guilty, when, stung with remorse and repenting of
his sins, he hears the word of the priest who says to him in God's
name: 'I absolve thee from thy sins!'" (Pope Pius XI, "Ad
Catholici Sacerdotii", 1935 A.D.)
*
Helps the sinner become more humble.
*
Renews our baptism and gives us a 'second life':
"Repentance
is the renewal of Baptism and a contract with God for a second
life." (St. John Climacus)
*
Helps us to encounter Christ:
"You know the story of the box which was long ignored and
even ridiculed as worthless; and one day it was opened and found
to contain the great heart of a giant. In every Catholic Church
that box exists. We call it the confessional box. It is ignored
and ridiculed by many, but in it is to be found the Sacred Heart
of the forgiving Christ, forgiving sinners through the uplifted
hand of His priest as He once forgave through His own uplifted
hands on the Cross. There is only one forgiveness - the
Forgiveness of God. There is only one 'Forgive' - the 'Forgive' of
an eternal Divine act in which we come in contact at various
moments of time. As the air is always filled with symphony and
speech, but we do not hear it unless we tune it in on our radios,
so neither do souls feel the joy of that eternal and divine
'Forgive' unless they are attuned to it in time; and the
confessional box is the place where we tune in to that cry from
the Cross." (Archbishop Fulton Sheen)
*
Helps us to become more grateful towards God and assists us in
increasing our love of God.
Additional
Information:
*
While we are alive, it is never too late for repentance:
"To
him who still remains in this world no repentance is too late. The
approach to God's mercy is open, and the access is easy to those
who seek and apprehend the truth...pardon is granted to the man
who confesses, saving mercy is given from the divine goodness to
the believer, and a passage is opened to immortality even in death
itself." (St. Cyprian, 3rd century A.D.)
*
Now is the time for repentance:
"Don't
imitate those who deceive themselves by saying, 'I will sin and
then go to confession.' How do you know that you will have time to
make your confession? Isn't it madness to wound yourself, in the
hope that a doctor will be found to heal the wound?" (St.
John Bosco)
"There
is hope of mercy in time and in eternity; but there is confession
in time only, and not in eternity. There is no confession of sins
in any time except in this present life. By his own will each man
is permitted and has throughout life the freedom to choose
confession. But when we die we lose life and along with it the
right to exercise our will. For then a law already set down unto
rest or unto punishment sustains, in accord with its past
exercise" (St. Hilary of Poitiers, Doctor of the Church, c.
365 A.D.)
"I
entreat you, beloved brethren, that each one should confess his
own sin, while he who has sinned is still in this world, while his
confession may be received, while the satisfaction and remission
made by the priests are pleasing to the Lord. Let us turn to the
Lord with our whole heart, and expressing our repentance for our
sin with true grief, let us entreat God's mercy." (St.
Cyprian, 3rd century A.D.)
"O
folly of sinners! If you purchase a house, you spare no pains to
get all the securities necessary to guard against the loss of your
money; if you take medicine, you are careful to assure yourself
that it cannot injure you; if you pass over a river, you
cautiously avoid all danger of falling into it; and for a
transitory enjoyment, for the gratification of revenge, for a
beastly pleasure, which lasts but a moment, you risk your eternal
salvation, saying: I will go to confession after I commit this
sin. And, when, I ask are you to go to confession? You say: On
tomorrow. But who promises you tomorrow? Who assures you that you
shall have time for confession, and that God will not deprive you
of life, as he has deprived so many others, in the act of sin?...
You cannot be certain of living for another hour" (St. Alphonsus Liguori, Doctor of the Church)
*
All sins must be punished: "If you want God to
forgive, you must confess. Sin cannot go unpunished. It were
unseemly, improper, and unjust for sin to go unpunished. Since,
therefore, sin must not go unpunished, let it be punished by you,
lest you be punished for it. Let your sin have you for its judge,
not its patron. Go up and take the bench against yourself, and put
your guilt before yourself. Do not put it behind you, or God will
put it in front of you." (St. Augustine, Doctor of the
Church, c. 5th century A.D.)
*
All
sins can be forgiven, without exception.
"In
the Church there is no denial of a place of repentance for any
crime whatsoever." (St. Augustine, Doctor of the Church)
"[God]
promised His mercy to all, and granted to His priests the license
of forgiving sins without any exception." (St. Ambrose of
Milan, Doctor of the Church, c. 387 A.D.)
"It
is most evident from the preaching of the Lord that we have been
commanded to restore the grace of heavenly Sacrament to those
guilty even of the most grave crime, if, with their whole heart and
by an open confession of their sin, they do penance. It is
certain, therefore, that you have no excuse for remaining in your
sins." (St. Ambrose of Milan, Doctor of the Church, c. 387 A.D.)
"When
we read in Scripture that certain persons did not obtain pardon
from God, even though they earnestly implored it, we know that
this was due to the fact that they had not a true and heartfelt
sorrow for their sins. Thus when we find in Sacred Scripture and
in the writings of the Fathers passages which seem to assert that
certain sins are irremissible, we must understand the meaning to
be that it is very difficult to obtain pardon for them. A disease
is sometimes called incurable, because the patient is so disposed
as to loathe the medicines that could afford him relief. In
the same way certain sins are not remitted or pardoned because the
sinner rejects the grace of God, the only medicine for salvation.
It is in this sense that St. Augustine wrote: When a man who,
through the grace of Jesus Christ, has once arrived at a knowledge
of God, wounds fraternal charity, and, driven by the fury of envy,
lifts up his head against grace, the enormity of his sin is so
great that, though compelled by a guilty conscience to acknowledge
and confess his fault, he finds himself unable to submit to the
humiliation of imploring pardon." (Catechism of the Council
of Trent)
*
Without penance, the guilt of sins committed long ago
still remains:
"Just as in the case of those sins which cannot themselves be
permanent, because they pass away as soon as they are committed,
but their guilt remains, and if not remitted, will remain in
eternity, so too with concupiscence; when remitted, guilt is taken
away. For not to have sin means not to be guilty of sin. If
anyone, for example, committed adultery, even if he never does it
again, he is guilty of adultery until it be remitted... He has the
sin, therefore, although that which he committed no longer exists
because it passed away along with the passing of time at which he
committed it." (St. Augustine, Doctor of the Church, c. 419 A.D.)
*
Persons should not be ashamed, bashful, or reluctant about confessing their
sins:
"For
if the sick man is ashamed to confess his wound to the physician,
medicine will not cure that to which it is not applied." (St.
Jerome, Doctor of the Church)
"[T]he
case is not desperate for a person to have been wounded, but for
him to neglect the cure of his wounds." (St. John Chrysostom,
Doctor of the Church)
"Let
the sinner be glad in that he is invited to pardon." (Pope
St. Leo the Great, Doctor of the Church)
"We
should perform our penance overwhelmed with joy at being able to
satisfy God, whom we have offended, and at finding such an easy
means of effacing our sins which should have earned eternal
sufferings for us." (St. John Vianney)
"Let
no one then ever put forth so cold an excuse as, I dare not, I am
ashamed, I cannot open my mouth. The devils have that kind of
fear. The devil would fain close against you every door of access
to God." (St. John Chrysostom, Doctor of the Church)
"After
we have offended God, the Devil labors to keep the mouth closed,
and to prevent us from confessing our guilt." (St. Alphonsus
Liguori, Doctor of the Church)
"For
just as fevers are not able to be assuaged when they are deep
seated, but offer a hope of cessation when they break, so too the
illness of sins burn on while it is hidden, but disappears when it
shows itself in confessions." (St. Ambrose of Milan, Doctor
of the Church, c. 385
A.D.)
"Remember that when the priest gives you absolution, you have
but one thing to think of - that the Blood of the good God is
flowing over your soul to purify it and make it as bright as it
was made by its Baptism." (St. John Vianney)
"Confession
is an act of honesty and courage; an act of entrusting ourselves,
beyond sin, to a loving and forgiving God. It is an act of the
prodigal son who returns to his Father and is welcomed by Him with
the gift of peace." (Pope John Paul II)
"My
children, when we have a little stain on our souls, we must do
like someone who has a beautiful crystal globe of which she takes
great care. If the globe gets a little dusty, when she sees it,
she will pass a sponge over it, and there is the globe bright and
shining again." (St. John Vianney)
"The
difficulty and the shame of confessing one's sins could seem heavy
indeed, if it were not lightened by many wonderful advantages and
consolations which most assuredly are conferred in absolution on
all those who approach this sacrament [of Penance] worthily."
(Council of Trent)
"Although
it may be a heavy burden to confess one's sins to another, still
it must be done, because it is of divine precept, and because
pardon can be obtained in no other way; and, moreover, because the
difficulty is compensated by many advantages and great
consolations." (Catechism of St. Pius X)
"If
the serpent, the devil, has secretly and without the knowledge of
a third person, bitten anyone, and has infused into him the poison
of sin; if unwilling to disclose his wound to his brother or
master, he is silent and will not do penance, his master, who has a
tongue ready to cure him, can render him no service." (St.
Jerome, Doctor of the Church)
"Why
should the sinner be ashamed to make known his sins, since they
are already known and manifest to God, and to His angels, and even
to the blessed in heaven? Confession opens the door to heaven.
Confession brings hope of salvation. Because of this the Scripture
says: 'First, tell thy iniquities, that you may be justified' (Is
43:26). Here we are shown that the man will not be saved who,
during his life does not confess his sins." (St. Ambrose,
Doctor of the Church)
"Boethius
says (De Consolatione Philosophiae i): 'If you want the physician
to be of assistance to you, you must make your disease known to
him.' But it is necessary for salvation that man should take
medicine for his sins. Therefore it is necessary for salvation
that man should make his disease known by means of
confession." (St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and
"greatest theologian in the history of the Church")
"If,
when we are seriously ill, the medicines prepared for us by the
art and industry of the physician are wont to be welcome and
agreeable to us, how much more welcome and agreeable should those
remedies prove which the wisdom of God has established to heal our
souls and restore us to the life of grace, especially since they
bring with them, not, indeed, uncertain hope of recovery, like the
medicines that are applied to the body, but assured health to such
as desire to be cured!" (Catechism of the Council of Trent)
"But
how grand are these other words of our Gospel: Whatsoever you
shall loose upon earth, shall be loosed also in heaven! Oh, the
hope and joy they bring to our hearts! How countless is the number
of sinners, who are soon to feel the truth of this consoling
promise! They will confess their sins, and offer to God the homage
of a contrite and humble heart;
and, at the very moment that the hand of the priest shall
loose them upon earth, than hand of God will loose them from the
bonds which held them as victims to eternal punishment." (Dom
Gueranger)
"For anyone who has been wounded in a battle ought not be
reluctant to put himself in the care of a wise physician, because
he was overcome and lost the battle. And when he has been healed,
he will not be rejected by the king, but will again be counted and
reckoned in his army. So also he that has been struck by Satan
ought not be ashamed to bewail his folly, and to give it up, and
to seek a remedy in repentance... [If] anyone is ashamed, he will
not be able to be cured, since he does not wish to make his ills
known to the physician" (St. Aphraates, c. 336-345 A.D.)
"[T]he faithful should not despair of the infinite goodness
and mercy of God. For since God is most desirous of our salvation,
He will not delay to pardon us. With a father's fondness, He
embraces the sinner the moment he enters into himself, turns to
the Lord, and, having detested all his sins, resolves that later
on, as far as he is able, he will call them singly to mind and
detest them. The Almighty Himself, by the mouth of His Prophet,
commands us to hope, when He says: The wickedness of the wicked
shall not hurt him, in what day soever he shall turn from his
wickedness." (Catechism of the Council of Trent)
"Have
you sinned? Go into church and wipe out your sin. As often as you
might fall down in the marketplace, you pick yourself up again. So
too, as often as you sin, repent your sin. Do not despair. Even if
you sin a second time, repent a second time. Do not by any
indifference lose hope entirely of the good things prepared. Even
if you are in extreme old age and have sinned, go in, repent! For
here there is a physician's office, not a courtroom; not a place
where punishment of sin is exacted but where the forgiveness of
sin is granted." (St. John Chrysostom, Doctor of the Church,
4th century A.D.)
"I
appeal first to you brethren who refuse penance for your
acknowledged crimes: you, I say, who are timid after your
impudence, who are bashful after your sins, who were not ashamed
to sin but now are ashamed to confess. Remember that confession
extinguishes hell for you. And you may guess the intensity of hell
from what is visible. Some of its chimneys boil away the greatest
mountains by its subterranean fires. Etna in Sicily and Vesuvius
in the Campania burn with unflagging balls of fire; and they will
test us, sear us, devour us in an eternity of judgement, nor will
they be finished after any number of ages." (St. Pacian of
Barcelona, c. 392 A.D.)
"And
believe me when I tell you that afterwards you will feel more
happy at having confessed your sins than if you had been made
monarch of the whole earth. Recommend yourself to the Blessed
Virgin Mary, and she will obtain for you strength to overcome all
repugnance. And if you lack the courage to disclose your sins at
once to the confessor, say to him: 'Father, I need your help. I
have committed a certain sin which I cannot bring myself to
confess.' The confessor will then adopt an easy means of dragging
from its den the wild beast that would devour you. All you will
have to do is answer Yes or No to his interrogations. And behold,
both this temporal and eternal hell have disappeared, the grace of
God is recovered, and peace of conscience reigns supreme."
(St. Alphonsus Liguori, Doctor of the Church)
"Confession
is all of this, so that it may excite repentance; so that it may
honor God by fear of danger; so that it may, by its own
pronouncement against the sinner, stand in place of God's
indignation; and so that it may by temporal mortification, I will
not say frustrate, but rather expunge the eternal punishments.
Therefore, while it abases a man, it raises him; while it covers
him with squalor, the more it does cleanse him; while it condemns,
it absolves. In so far as you do not spare yourself, the more,
believe me, will God spare you! Most men, however, either flee
from this work, as being an exposure of themselves, or they put it
off from day to day. I presume
they are more mindful of modesty than of salvation, like those who
contract a disease in the more shameful parts of the body and shun
making themselves known to physicians; and thus they perish along
with their own bashfulness... 'But it is a miserable thing thus to
come to confession!' Yes, evil leads to misery. But where there is
repentance misery ceases, because it is thereby turned to
salvation. If you are inclined to draw back from confession,
consider in your heart
the hell which confession extinguishes for you... Why do you
hesitate to approach what you know will heal you?" [Tertullian ("an excellent early Christian
writer" - although he would ultimately fall into heresy), c.
203 A.D.]
*
The Sacrament of Penance is composed of three necessary parts:
"Penance is composed of these three parts in such a way that
though contrition and confession, which justify man, are alone
required to constitute its essence, yet, unless accompanied by its
third part, satisfaction, it necessarily remains short of its
absolute perfection. These three parts, then, are so intimately
connected with one another, that contrition includes the intention
and resolution of confessing and making satisfaction; contrition
and the resolution of making satisfaction imply confession; while
the other two precede satisfaction." (Catechism of the
Council of Trent)
"If
any one denieth that for the entire and perfect remission of sins
there are required three acts of the penitent, which are as it
were the matter of the sacrament of penance, to wit, contrition,
confession, and satisfaction, which are called the three parts of
penance; or saith that there are two parts only of penance, to
wit, the terrors with which the conscience is smitten upon being
convinced of sin, and the faith, generated by the gospel or by the
absolution, whereby one believes that his sins are forgiven him
through Christ; let him be anathema." (Council of Trent)
Some
other elements for a worthy confession...
"Our
confession is worthy when we have done all that is required for a
good confession and when, through the absolution, are sins are
really forgiven." (Baltimore Catechism)
"It
is an abuse to confess any kind of sin, whether mortal or venial,
without a will to be delivered from it, since confession was
instituted for no other end." (St. Francis de Sales, Doctor
of the Church)
"Having
prepared properly for confession by an examination of conscience,
by sorrow, and by a purpose of amendment, I will go to make an
accusation of my sins to the confessor in order to get
absolution." (Catechism of St. Pius X)
"See,
my children, to receive the Sacrament of Absolution, we need three
things: faith, which reveals to us the presence of God in the
priest; hope, which enables us to believe that God will give us
his pardon; charity, which makes us love God and fills our heart
with regret for having displeased him." (St. John Vianney)
"The
chief qualities of a good Confession are three: it must be humble,
sincere, and entire [including the number and kinds of our sins
(e.g. blasphemy, disobedience, anger, impurity, etc.) and the
circumstances which change their structure (e.g. anything that
makes it another kind of sin)]." (Baltimore Catechism)
The
sixteen conditions usually assigned as necessary for confession as
related in the Summa Theologica (as 'essential to confession or
requisite for its well-being'): "Simple, humble, pure,
faithful, frequent, undisguised, discreet, voluntary, shamefaced,
entire, secret, tearful, not delayed, courageously accusing, ready
to obey."
"It
is a beautiful thought, my children, that we have a Sacrament
which heals the wounds of our soul! But we must receive it with
good dispositions. Otherwise we make new wounds upon the old ones.
What would you say of a man covered with wounds who is advised to
go to the hospital to show himself to the surgeon? The surgeon
cures him by giving him remedies. But, behold! this man takes his
knife, gives himself great blows with it and makes himself worse
than he was before. Well, that is what you often do after leaving
the confessional [after a bad confession]." (Catechism of St.
John Vianney)
*
Proper dispositions for Penance: "The right dispositions for Penance are: (1) To
confess all our moral sins as we know them; (2) To be sorry for them,
and (3) to have the determination never to commit them or others again." (Baltimore Catechism)
"Can.
987 In order that the faithful may receive the saving remedy of
the sacrament of penance, they must be so disposed that,
repudiating the sins they have committed and having the purpose of
amending their lives, they turn back to God." (1983 Code of
Canon Law)
*
Requirements to receive the Sacrament of Penance worthily: "To receive the Sacrament of Penance
worthily we must do five things: 1.) We must examine our
conscience, 2.) We must have sorrow for our sins, 3.) We must make
a firm resolution never more to offend God, 4.) We must confess
our sins to the priest, and 5.) We must accept the [appropriate] penance which
the priest gives us." (Baltimore Catechism)
"To
make a good confession five things are necessary: (1) Examination
of conscience; (2) Sorrow for having offended God; (3) A
resolution of sinning no more; (4) Confession of our sins; (5)
Satisfaction or penance" (Catechism of St. Pius X)
*
The most important part of preparation for confession is
contrition for sins: "The most important part of the
preparation for confession is sincere sorrow for the sins
committed and the firm determination to avoid them for the
future." (Baltimore Catechism)
"Neither
will that confession deliver you which is made without true
repentance. For true repentance is a grief of heart and sorrow of
soul because of the evils a man has committed. True repentance
causes us to grieve over them with a firm intention of never
committing them again." (St. Ambrose, Doctor of the Church)
*
According to
the Fathers of the Council of Trent, contrition is defined as:
"A
sorrow and detestation for sin committed, with a purpose of
sinning no more. And a little further on the Council, speaking of
the motion of the will to contrition, adds: If joined with a
confidence in the mercy of God and an earnest desire of performing whatever is necessary to the proper reception of the
Sacrament, it thus prepares us for the remission of sin... From
this definition, therefore, the faithful will perceive that the
efficacy of contrition does not simply consist in ceasing to sin,
or in resolving to begin, or having actually begun a new life; it
supposes first of all a hatred of one's ill-spent life and a
desire of atoning for past transgressions... To signify the
intensity of this sorrow the name contrition has rightly been
given to the detestation of sin of which we speak. The word means
the breaking of an object into small parts by means of a stone or
some harder substance; and here it is used metaphorically, to
signify that our hearts, hardened by pride, are beaten and broken
by penance. Hence no other sorrow, not even that which is felt for
the death of parents, or children, or for any other calamity, is
called contrition. The word is exclusively employed to express the
sorrow with which we are overwhelmed by the forfeiture of the
grace of God and of our own innocence." (Catechism of the Council
of Trent)
*
Conditions Required for Contrition: "[S]orrow for sin and a firm purpose of
avoiding sin for the future are two conditions indispensable to
contrition" (Catechism of the Council of Trent)
"We
must, then, in the first place, detest and deplore all out sins.
If our sorrow and detestation extend only to some sins, our
repentance is not salutary, but feigned and false. Whosoever shall
keep the whole law, says St. James, but offend in one point, is
become guilty of all... In the next place, our contrition must be
accompanied with a desire of confessing and satisfying for our
sins... Thirdly, the penitent must form a fixed and firm purpose
of amendment of life. This the Prophet clearly teaches in the
following words: If the wicked do penance for all his sins which
he hath committed, and keep all my commandments, and do judgment,
and justice, living he shall live, and shall not die: I will not
remember all his iniquities which he hath done. And a little
after: When the wicked turneth himself away from his wickedness
which he hath wrought, and doth judgment and justice, he shall
save his soul alive. Still further on he adds: Be converted and do
penance for all your iniquities, and iniquity shall not be your
ruin. Cast away from you all your transgressions, by which you
have transgressed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new
spirit. To the woman taken in adultery Christ our Lord commanded
the same thing: Go thy way, and sin no more; and also to the lame
man whom He cured at the pool of Bethsaida: Behold, thou art made
whole, sin no more." (Catechism of the Council of Trent)
"Again, not less necessary for contrition
than the other chief conditions is a care that it be accompanied
by entire forgiveness of the injuries which we may have received
from others. This our Lord and Savior admonishes when He declares:
If you will forgive men their offences, your heavenly Father will
forgive you also your offences, but if you will not forgive men,
neither will your Father forgive you your offences."
(Catechism of the Council of Trent)
*
God is always pleased with true contrition: "For whereas most other pious practices,
such as alms, fasting, prayer and similar holy and commendable
works, are sometimes rejected by God on account of the faults of
those who perform them, contrition can never be other than
pleasing and acceptable to Him. A contrite and humble heart, O
God, exclaims the Prophet, thou wilt not despise. Nay more, the
same Prophet declares elsewhere that, as soon as we have conceived
this contrition in our hearts, our sins are forgiven by God: I
said, I will confess my injustice to the Lord, and thou hast
forgiven the wickedness of my sin. Of this truth we have a figure
in the ten lepers, who, when sent by our Lord to the priests, were
cured of their leprosy before they had reached them; which gives
us to understand that such is the efficacy of true contrition, of
which we have spoken above, that through it we obtain from the
Lord the immediate pardon of all sins." (Catechism of the Council
of Trent)
*
Penitents are bound to make restitution: "[If] the penitent has taken anything from
his neighbor, he is bound to restitution. Likewise if, by word or
deed he has injured his neighbor's honor or reputation, he is
under an obligation of repairing the injury by procuring him some
advantage or rendering him some service. Well known to all is the
maxim of St. Augustine: The sin is not forgiven unless what has
been taken away is restored." (Catechism of the Council of
Trent)
"[P]riests should be very careful not to give
absolution to any penitent, whose confession they have heard,
without obliging him to make full satisfaction for any injury to
his neighbor's goods or character for which he seems responsible.
No person is to be absolved until he has first faithfully promised
to restore all that belongs to others." (Catechism of the Council
of Trent)
"We
should make satisfaction to one whom we have offended, by asking
his pardon, or by some other suitable reparation." (Catechism
of St. Pius X)
"Besides
performing his penance after confession, the penitent, if he [has
injured] another in his goods or reputation, or if he has given him scandal, must as soon as possible, and as far as he is able,
restore him his goods, repair his honor, and remedy the scandal
[e.g. by removing the occasion of it and by edifying by word and
example those whom he has scandalized]." (Catechism of St.
Pius X)
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