Lesson 22: Beginning Again

Guide Questions

What are "Sacraments of Healing"? Which are they?
Why is there a need for them?
What is the virtue of penance?
What is the Sacrament of Penance?
What are other ways of doing penance?
Can an unbaptised person go to confession?
Why is there a need for it after Baptism?
When and how did Christ institute this sacrament?
Is contrition or sorrow for sin a kind of feeling?
What is the matter and form of Confession?

1. "We carry this treasure in earthen vessels." (II Corinthians 4:7)

1.1 Sacraments of Healing

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (1420) explains that the life we have received from God is not permanent because it is contained in vessels that can break.

Through the sacraments of Christian initiation, man receives the new life of Christ. Now we carry this life "in earthen vessels," and it remains "hidden with Christ in God" [II Corinthians 4:7; Colossians 3:3]. We are still in our "earthly tent," subject to suffering, illness, and death [II Corinthians 5:1]. This new life as a child of God can be weakened and even lost by sin.

This is why our Lord Jesus Christ instituted two sacraments that make it possible to STRENGTHEN whatever is weak, or to RESTORE whatever may have been lost. Such is the infinite mercy of God! The CCC (1421; cf also Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church 295) teaches us:

The Lord Jesus Christ, physician of our souls and bodies, who forgave the sins of the paralytic and restored him to bodily health [cf Mark 2:1-12], has willed that his Church continue, in the power of the Holy Spirit, his work of healing and salvation, even among her own members. This is the purpose of the two sacraments of healing: the sacrament of PENANCE and the sacrament of ANOINTING OF THE SICK.

1.2 The Sacrament of Penance

The Sacrament of Penance has been instituted by Jesus Christ to forgive sins committed AFTER Baptism, or, in the words of the CCCC (297; cf CCC 1425-1426, 1484):

for the CONVERSION of the baptized who have been separated from him by sin.

Baptism does not automatically make saints of the baptised. When a person is baptised into the Church, he commits himself to do everything possible to save his soul and to be holy, making use of the means that Jesus Christ has established in His Church. The Sacrament of Penance is one of those means. Thus, the CCCC (299; cf CCC 1427-1429) affirms that

Conversion is a continuing OBLIGATION for the whole Church. She is holy but includes sinners in her midst.

Sacred Scripture reminds us that sin is very much a part of our lives. Saint John, in his First Letter (1:8) writes:

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

Even in our prayers, we acknowledge that we fall. For example, every time we recite the Lord's Prayer, we say

Forgive us our trespasses. (cf Luke 11:4; Matthew 6:12)

And when we pray to the Blessed Virgin, we say

Pray for us sinners....

Can we not confess directly to God? Why is there a need for a sacrament? We have explained in Lesson 17 the rationale for the sacraments, the reason why God chose certain signs and established these as proofs that grace is being given. The Sacrament of Penance is the visible guarantee that a person's sins are forgiven. If he were to confess directly to God, how would he know he has been forgiven? So God set up a tribunal on earth that would dispense Divine Justice and Mercy.

1.3 Names given to this Sacrament

The different names given to this Sacrament shows what it does. The CCCC (296; cf CCC 1422-1424) enumerates these names:

It is called the sacrament of Penance, the sacrament of Reconciliation, the sacrament of Forgiveness, the sacrament of Confession, and the sacrament of Conversion.

Why these names?

Sacrament of Conversion: it is the sacrament by which a person goes back to God.
Sacrament of Penance: shows that conversion includes doing penance, making up, for one's sins.
Sacrament of Confession: makes it clear that forgiveness can be obtained if one gives an account of one's sins in the sacrament.
Sacrament of Forgiveness: shows the effect of sorrow for sin or contrition.
Sacrament of Reconciliation: because it reconciles one with God and with one's neighbour.

1.4 When did Jesus institute this Sacrament?

Point 298 of the CCCC (cf CCC 1485) says:

The risen Lord instituted this sacrament on the evening of Easter when he showed himself to his apostles 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 20:22-23).

2. Conversion of Heart and Interior Penance

2.1 "Rend your heart and not your garments." (Joel 2:13)

Tearing the garments, shaving or pulling off the hair of the head, throwing dust or ashes on the head were expressions of grief. But the prophet Joel says that God does not want merely external actions, but interior change, heartfelt sorrow and repentance. The CCC (1430; CCCC 300) says:

Jesus' call to conversion and penance, like that of the prophets before him, does not aim first at outward works, "sackcloth and ashes," fasting and mortification, but at the conversion of the heart, interior conversion. Without this, such penances remain sterile and false; however, interior conversion urges expression in visible signs, gestures and works of penance [cf Joel 2:12-13; Isaiah 1:16-17; Matthew 6:1-6; 16-18].

2.2 Two components of repentance or sorrow for sin

Point 1431 of the CCC points out that sorrow for sin has two components:

[1] Interior repentance is a radical reorientation of our whole life, a return, a conversion to God with all our heart, an end of sin, a TURNING AWAY from evil, with REPUGNANCE toward the evil actions we have committed.

[2] At the same time it entails the desire and RESOLUTION to change one's life, with hope in God's mercy and trust in the help of his grace.

This conversion of heart is accompanied by a salutary pain and sadness which the Fathers called animi cruciatus (affliction of spirit) and compunctio cordis (repentance of heart) [cf Council Of Trent (1551) DS 1676-1678; 1705; cf Roman Catechism, II, V, 4].

Repugnance toward the evil actions also implies recognising that we have OFFENDED GOD who is All-Good and deserving of all our love. The turning away from the evil action is not a result of merely feeling oneself stupid for having committed such an act; it is rather an acknowledgement that one has turned against Someone who ought to be loved above everything.

2.3 Work of God's grace

Conversion is not possible without God's initiative. He is the one Who takes the first step after we fall. It is He who always loves us first (cf I John 4:19). Though He is the offended party, He is always the first one to offer reconciliation. Point 1432 of the CCC explains:

The human heart is heavy and hardened. God must give man a new heart [cf Ezekiel 36:26-27]. Conversion is first of all a work of the grace of God who makes our hearts return to him: "Restore us to thyself, O LORD, that we may be restored!" [Lamentations 5:21] God gives us the strength to begin anew. It is in discovering the greatness of God's love that our heart is shaken by the horror and weight of sin and begins to fear offending God by sin and being separated from him. The human heart is converted by looking upon him whom our sins have pierced [cf John 19:37; Zechariah 12:10]:

Let us fix our eyes on Christ's blood and understand how precious it is to his Father, for, poured out for our salvation it has brought to the whole world the grace of repentance.

2.4 The Holy Spirit "convinces" of sin

The Holy Spirit is FIRE, and fire brings both LIGHT and HEAT (i.e., energy, strength). He brings light to our MIND, so that we can examine our conscience and discover sin. But he also gives strength and courage to our WILL to get up once again, to make a fresh start. Point 1433 of the CCC tells us:

Since Easter, the Holy Spirit has proved "the world wrong about sin" [cf John 16:8-9], i.e., proved that the world has not believed in him whom the Father has sent. But this same Spirit who brings sin to light is also the Consoler who gives the human heart grace for repentance and conversion [cf John 15:26; Acts 2:36-38; John Paul II, Dominum et Vivificantem 27-48].

2.5 Main forms of penance in the Christian life

The CCCC (301; cf CCC 1434-1439) says:

Penance can be expressed in many and various ways but above all in fasting, prayer, and almsgiving. These and many other forms of penance can be practiced in the daily life of a Christian, particularly during the time of Lent and on the penitential day of Friday.

Nonetheless, ordinary Christians cannot fast everyday because of the demands of their work and family life. Are there acts of penance that the ordinary faithful can do everyday? Saint Josemaria Escriva gives some recommendations. He says in Forge (no 784):

It is not the spirit of penance to do great mortifications some days, and nothing on others.

--The spirit of penance means knowing how to overcome yourself every single day, offering up both great and small things for love, without putting on a show.

He gives more examples that ordinary faithful can do (Homily "In the Footsteps of Christ," Friends of God 138):

Penance is fulfilling exactly the timetable you have fixed for yourself, even though your body resists or your mind tries to avoid it by dreaming up useless fantasies. Penance is getting up on time and also not leaving for later, without any real reason, that particular job that you find harder or most difficult to do.

Penance is knowing how to reconcile your duties to God, to others and to yourself, by making demands on yourself so that you find enough time for each of your tasks. You are practising penance when you lovingly keep to your schedule of prayer, despite feeling worn out, listless or cold.

Penance means being very charitable at all times towards those around you, starting with the members of your own family. It is to be full of tenderness and kindness towards the suffering, the sick and the infirm. It is to give patient answers to people who are boring and annoying. It means interrupting our work or changing our plans, when circumstances make this necessary, above all when the just and rightful needs of others are involved.

Penance consists in putting up good-humouredly with the thousand and one little pinpricks of each day; in not abandoning your job, although you have momentarily lost the enthusiasm with which you started it; in eating gladly whatever is served, without being fussy.

For parents and, in general, for those whose work involves supervision or teaching, penance is to correct whenever it is necessary. This should be done bearing in mind the type of fault committed and the situation of the person who needs to be so helped, not letting oneself be swayed by subjective viewpoints, which are often cowardly and sentimental.

A spirit of penance keeps us from becoming too attached to the vast imaginative blueprints we have made for our future projects, where we have already foreseen our master strokes and brilliant successes. What joy we give to God when we are happy to lay aside our third-rate painting efforts and let him put in the features and colours of his choice!

3. Basic Structure of the Sacrament: Matter and Form

The CCC (no 1447) gives a brief history of the rite of the Sacrament of Penance.

Over the centuries the concrete form in which the Church has exercised this power received from the Lord has varied considerably. During the first centuries the reconciliation of Christians who had committed particularly grave sins after their Baptism (for example, idolatry, murder, or adultery) was tied to a very rigorous discipline, according to which penitents had to do public penance for their sins, often for years, before receiving reconciliation. To this "order of penitents" (which concerned only certain grave sins), one was only rarely admitted and in certain regions only once in a lifetime. During the seventh century Irish missionaries, inspired by the Eastern monastic tradition, took to continental Europe the "private" practice of penance, which does not require public and prolonged completion of penitential works before reconciliation with the Church. From that time on, the sacrament has been performed in secret between penitent and priest. This new practice envisioned the possibility of repetition and so opened the way to a regular frequenting of this sacrament. It allowed the forgiveness of grave sins and venial sins to be integrated into one sacramental celebration. In its main lines this is the form of penance that the Church has practiced down to our day.

The main elements of the Sacraments, however, have always been the same.

3.1 Matter

REMOTE matter: the SINS of the penitent. A distinction is further made between sufficient matter and necessary matter.
PROXIMATE matter: the ACTS of the penitent (i.e., what the penitent does with his sins). There are three acts (cf CCC 1448): namely,
- CONTRITION. This has already been discussed above. For a person to be sorry for his sins, he must first make a careful EXAMINATION OF CONSCIENCE. Regarding the examination of conscience, the CCC (1454) says:
  - The reception of this sacrament ought to be prepared for by an examination of conscience made in the light of the Word of God. The passages best suited to this can be found in the Ten Commandments, the moral catechesis of the Gospels and the apostolic Letters, such as the Sermon on the Mount and the apostolic teachings [cf Matthew 5-7; Romans 12-15; I Corinthians 12-13; Galatians 5; Ephesians 4-6; etc].
- Contrition is of two kinds: perfect and imperfect. Here is what the CCC says on perfect (1452) and imperfect (1453) contrition. The difference lies in the motive.
  - [1] When it arises from a love by which God is loved above all else, contrition is called "PERFECT" (contrition of charity). Such contrition remits venial sins; it also obtains forgiveness of mortal sins if it includes the firm resolution to have recourse to sacramental confession as soon as possible [cf Council of Trent (1551): DS 1677].
  - [2] The contrition called "IMPERFECT" (or "ATTRITION") is also a gift of God, a prompting of the Holy Spirit. It is born of the consideration of sin's ugliness or the fear of eternal damnation and the other penalties threatening the sinner (contrition of fear). Such a stirring of conscience can initiate an interior process which, under the prompting of grace, will be brought to completion by sacramental absolution. By itself however, imperfect contrition cannot obtain the forgiveness of grave sins, but it disposes one to obtain forgiveness in the sacrament of Penance [cf Council of Trent (1551): DS 1678; 1705].
- CONFESSION. Points 1457 and 1458 of the CCC speak about the obligation to confess one's sins.
  - According to the Church's command, "after having attained the age of discretion, each of the faithful is bound by an obligation faithfully to confess serious sins at least once a year" [cf Code of Canon Law, canon 989; Council of Trent (1551): DS 1683; DS 1708]. Anyone who is aware of having committed a mortal sin must not receive Holy Communion, even if he experiences deep contrition, without having first received sacramental absolution, unless he has a grave reason for receiving Communion and there is no possibility of going to confession [cf Council of Trent (1551): DS 1647; 1661; Code of Canon Law, can. 916; CCEO, can. 711]. Children must go to the sacrament of Penance before receiving Holy Communion for the first time [cf Code of Canon Law, can. 914].
  - Without being strictly necessary, confession of everyday faults (venial sins) is nevertheless strongly recommended by the Church [cf Council of Trent: DS 1680; Code of Canon Law, can. 988 # 2]. Indeed the regular confession of our venial sins helps us form our conscience, fight against evil tendencies, let ourselves be healed by Christ and progress in the life of the Spirit. By receiving more frequently through this sacrament the gift of the Father's mercy, we are spurred to be merciful as he is merciful [cf Lk 6:36] ....
- Saint Josemaria summarised the characteristics of a good confession in four points. He said each confession should be
- SATISFACTION. Points 1459 and 1460 of the CCC explain the two-fold purpose of satisfaction or doing penance.
  - Many sins wrong our neighbor. [1] One must do what is possible in order to REPAIR THE HARM (e.g., return stolen goods, restore the reputation of someone slandered, pay compensation for injuries). Simple justice requires as much. But sin also injures and weakens the sinner himself, as well as his relationships with God and neighbor. Absolution takes away sin, but it does not remedy all the disorders sin has caused [cf Council of Trent (1551): DS 1712]. [2] Raised up from sin, the sinner must still RECOVER HIS FULL SPIRITUAL HEALTH by doing something more to make amends for the sin: he must "make satisfaction for" or "expiate" his sins. This satisfaction is also called "penance."
  - The penance the confessor imposes must take into account the penitent's personal situation and must seek his spiritual good. It must correspond as far as possible with the gravity and nature of the sins committed. It can consist of prayer, an offering, works of mercy, service of neighbor, voluntary self-denial, sacrifices, and above all the patient acceptance of the cross we must bear. Such penances help configure us to Christ, who alone expiated our sins once for all. They allow us to become co-heirs with the risen Christ, "provided we suffer with him" [Romans 8:17; Romans 3:25; 1 Jn 2:1-2; cf. Council of Trent (1551): DS 1690].

3.2 Form

The form of the Sacrament are the words of absolution: "And I absolve you from your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen."

Lesson 22: Beginning Again

Guide Questions

1. "We carry this treasure in earthen vessels." (II Corinthians 4:7)

2. Conversion of Heart and Interior Penance

3. Basic Structure of the Sacrament: Matter and Form

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