Chapter IX. Of the Sacrament of Penance! of Confession, and the Preparation for It of Absolution, Etc

Q. What do you mean by a sacrament of penance?

A, An institution of Christ, by which our sins are forgiven, which we fall into after baptism.

Q. In what does this institution consist?

A. On the part of the penitent it consists in these three things, viz. contrition, confession, and satisfaction; and on the part of the minister, in the absolution pronounced by the authority of Jesus Christ. So that penance is sl sacrament by which the faithful, that have fallen into sins, confessing the same with a true repentance, and a sincere purpose of making satisfaction to God, are absolv ed from their sins by the ministers of God.

Q. How do you prove that the ministers of God have any such power as to absolve sinners from their sins?

A, I prove it from St. John xx. 22, 23. whero Christ said to his ministers, 'Receive ye the Holy Ghost, whosesoever sins ye forgive they are for-given unto them, and whosesoever sins ye retain they are retained.' And St. Matt, xviii. 18. 'Verily I say unto you, whatsoever ye shall bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Q. But was this power given to any besides the Apostles?

A. It was certainly given to them and to their successors till the end of the world; no less than tha commission of preaching, baptizing, &;c. which, though addressed to the Apostles, was certainly designed to continue with their successors, the pastors of the church for ever, according to that of Christ, Matt, xxviii. 20. "Lo I am with you always even till the end of the world.' And so the Protestant church uuderstands these texts, in the order for the visitation of the sick, in the common prayer-book, where she prescribes a form of absolution the same in substance as that used in the Catholic Church, viz.

^Our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath left power to his Church to absolve all sinners, who truly repent and believe in him, of his great mercy forgive thee thine offences: and by his authority commit-ted to me, I absolve thee from all thy sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.'

Q. Is it then your doctrine that any man can forgive sins?

A. We do not believe that any man can forgive sins by his own power, as no man by his own power can raise the dead to life: because both the one and the other equally belong to the power of God. But as God has oometimes made men his |instruments in raising the dead to life; so we be- 'deve that he has been pleased to appoint that his ministers should in virtue of his commission, as his instruments, and by his power, absolve repenting sinners: and as this is evident from the texts above quoted, it must be false zeal, under pretext of maintaining the honour of God, to contradict this commission which he has so evidently given to his Church.

Q. But will not sinners thus be encouraged to go on in their evil ways, upon the confidence of being absolved by the pastors of the Church, whenever they please, from their sins?

A. The pastors of the Church have no power to absolve any one without a sincere repentance, and a firm purpose of a new life; and therefore, the Catholic doctrine of absolution, can be no encouragement to any man to go on in his sins.

Q. What then is required on the part of the sinner in order to obtain forgiveness of his sins in the sacrament of penance?

A. Three things, viz. contrition, confession, and satisfaction. By contrition, we mean, 'a, hearty sorrow for having offended so good a God, with a firm purpose of amendment.' By confession we mean, 'a full and sincere accusation made to God's minister, of all mortal sins, which after a diligent examination of conscience, a person can call to his remembrance.' By satisfaction, we mean, ' a faithful performance of the penance enjoined by the priest.'

Q. What preparation then do you recommend before confession, in order to discharge one's self well of this important duty?

A. A person that is preparing himself for confession has four things to do before he goes to confession. First, he must pray earnestly to God for his divine grace, that he may be enabled to make a true and good confession. Secondly, he must carefully examine his own conscience, in order to find out what sins he has committed, and how often.

Thirdly, he must take due time and pains to beg God's pardon, and to procure a hearty sorrow for his sins. Fourthly, he must make firm resolutions with God's grace to avoid the like sins for the future, and to fly the immediate occasions of them.

Q. Why must he begin his preparation by praying earnestly to God for his divine grace?

A. Because a good confession is a work of the utmost importance, and withal a difficult task, by reason of the pride of our hearts, and that fear and shame which are natural to us, and which the devil, who is a mortal enemy to confession, seeks to improve with all his power. And therefore a Christian that desires to make a good confession, ought in the first place to address himself to God by fervent prayer for his divine assistance. And the more he finds the enemy busy to instil into him an unhappy fear or shame, the more earnestly must he implore the mercy and grace of God upon this occasion.

Q. In what manner must a person examine his conscience in order to make a good confession?

A. He must use a moral diligence to find out the sins he has committed; which requires more or less time and care, according to the length of?rme from his last confession, and the greater or ■ess care that he usually takes to the state of his conscience. The common method of examination IS 10 consider what one has done against any of tne commandments of God; what neglects there may have been of Church precept; how one baa discharged one's self of the common duties of a Christian, and of the particular duties of one's respective station of life; how far one has been guilty of any of the seven sins, which are commonly called capital, because they are the springs or fountains from whence all our sins flow, &c. And for the helping of a person's memory in this regard, the table of sins which is found in the manual or other prayer-books may be of no small service.

Q. Is a person to examine himself as to the number of times that he has been guilty of this or that sin?

A, Yes: because he is obliged to confess, as near as he can, the number of his sins. But in sins of habit, which have been of long standing and very numerous, it will be enough to examine and confess the length of time that he has been subject to such a sin, and how many times he has fallen into it, in a d»y^, in a week or month, one time with another.

Q. What method do you prescribe to a person, in order to procure that hearty sorrow for sin, which is the most necessary part of the preparation for confession?

A, The best method to procure it is to beg it heartily of God; for it must be his gift. None but God can give that change of heart, which is so essential to a good confession, and he has been pleased to promise, St. Matt. vii. 7. 'Ask and it shall be given you: seek and ye shall find: knock and it shall be opened unto you.' To this end also pious meditation and considerations, and devout acts of contrition, which are found in books of devotion, will much contribute, if read leisurely and attentively, so as to sink into the heart. But because many persons content themselves with running over in haste the Prayers before Confession, which they meet with in their books, with little or no change in the heart, which perhaps, is grown hard by sinful habits, it is to be feared their performances are too often nothing worth in the sight of God.

Q. What then do you advise in the case of habitual sinners, in order to procure a true change of heart?

-4. I advise them to a spiritual retreat for some days, in which being retired as much as possible from the noise of the world, they may think of the great truths of religion, of the end for which they came into this world, of the benefits of God, of the enormity of sin, of the sudden passing away of all that this world admires, of the four last things, of the passion of Christ, &;c. that so the serious considerations of these great truths, joined to retirement and prayer, may make a due impression on their hearts, and effectually convert them to God. Those whose circumstances will not permit them to make a regular^retreat, may at least endeavour during some days to think as often and as seriously as they can upon the truths above-mentioned; and by frequently and fervently calling upon the Father of mercies, in the midst of all their employments, may hope to procure to themselves the like grace.

Q. What must be the chief motive of a sinner's sorrow and repentance, in order to qualify him for absolution?

A. Divines are not perfectly agreed in the resolution of this query; but all are perfectly agreed in advising every one to aim at the best motive he can; and that the best and safest way is to renounce and detest our sins for the love of God above all things.

Q. What do you mean by the resolution of amendment, which you suppose to be a necessary ingredient in the preparation for confession?

A. I mean a full determination of the soul to fly for the future all wilful sin, and the immediate occasions of it.

Q. What do you mean by the immediate occasions of sin?

A, All such company, places, employment, diversions, books, &;c. which are apt to draw a person to mortal sin, either in deed, word, or in thought.

Q. And is a person indispensably obliged to avoid all such immediate occasions of sin?

A, He is obliged to avoid them to the very utmost of his power, according to that gospel-rule of parting even with a hand or an eye, that is an occasion of offence to the soul, St. Matt, xviii. 8, 9.

Q. What scripture do you bring to recommend the confession of our sins to Gfod's ministers?

A, First, the precept of God in the Old Testament, Numb. V. 6, 7. 'When a man or woman shall commit any sin that men commit, to do a trespass against the Lord, and that person be guilty, then they shall confess their sin which they have done, &c.' Secondly, the example of the people that hearkened to the preaching of St. John the Baptist, who were baptized by him, 'confessing their sins,' St. Matt. iii. 6. Thirdly, the prescription of St. James v. 16. 'Confess your sins one to another;' that is, to the priests, or elders of the church, whom the Apostle had ordered to be called for, v. 14. Fourthly, the practice. of the first christians, Acts xix. 18. 'Many that believed came, and confessed and declared their deeds.'

Q. How do you prove that there is any command of Christ, for the confession of our sins to his ministers?

A, I prove it from the commission which Christ has given to his ministers, St. John xx. 22, 23.

Q. Are christians then obliged to confess all their sins to the ministers of Christ?

A. They are obliged to confess all such sins as are mortal, or of which they have reason to doubt, lest they may be mortal; but they are not obliged to confess venial sins, because as these do not exclude eternally from the kingdom of heaven, so there is not a strict obligation of having recourse for the remission of them to the keys of the Church.

Q. But by what rule shall a person be able to make a judgment whether his sins be mortal or venial?

A, All those sins are to be esteemed mortal¹² which the word of God represents to us as hateful to God, against which he pronounces a woe, or of which it declares that such as do those things shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven: of these we have many instances, Rom. i. 29, 30, 31. 1 Cor. vi. 9, 10. Galat. v. 19, 20, 21. Ephes. v. 5. Apocalypse xxi. 8. and in the Old Testament, Isai. v. Ezek. xviii., &c. But though it be very easy to know that some sins are mortal, and others but venial, yet to pretend to be able always perfectly to distinguish which are mortal and which are not, is above the reach of the most able divines; and therefore a prudent Christian will not easily pass over sins in confession, under pretence of their being venial, unless he be certain of it. And this caution is more particularly necessary in certain cases, where persons being - ashamed to confess their sins, are willing to persuade themselves they are but venial; for in such cases it is much to be feared, lest their self-love should bias their judgment.

Q. Is it a great crime to conceal, through shame or fear, any mortal sin in confession?

A. Yes, it is a great crime; because it is telling a lie to the Holy Ghost; for which kind of sin Ananias and Saphira were struck dead, by a just judgment of God, Acts v. It is acting deceitfully with God, and that in a matter of the utmost consequence. It is a sacrilege, because it is an abuse of the sacrament of penance, and is generally followed by another greater sacrilege in receiving unworthily the body and blood of Christ. And what is still more dreadful, such sinners seldom stop at the first bad confession and communion, but usually go on for a long time in these sins, and very often die in them. But it is not only a great t^rime to conceal orles's sins in confession, it is a great folly and madness too; because, such offenders, if they have not renounced their faith, know very well that these sins must be confessed, or that they must burn for them; and they cannot be ignorant, that these bad confessions do but increase their burthen, by adding to it the dreadful guilt of repeated sacrileges, which they will have far more difficulty of confessing, than these very sins of which they are now so much ashamed.

Q. Have you any instances in Church-History, of remarkable judgments of God, upon those that have presumed to approach to the blessed sacrament, without making a sincere confession of their sins?

A, Yes, we have several recorded by St. Cyprian, (L. de Lapsis) and other grave authors; but the most common, and indeed the most dreadful punishment of these sins, is a blindness and hardness of heart, which God justly permits such sinners to fall into, and which is the broad road to final impenitence.

Q. Have you any things to offer by way of encouragement to sinners to confess their sins sincerely?

A. Yes; first, the great benefit that their souls will reap in the remission of their sins, promised by Christ, St. Matt, xviii. 18. and St. John xx. 22. 23. and the other advantages which an humble confession of sins brings along with it: such as a present comfort and ease of conscience, a remedy against future sins, directions and prescriptions from the minister of God, for the curing the spiritual maladies of the soul, &;c. Secondly, that by this short passing confusion, which will last but a moment, they will e'scape the dreadful shame of having their sins written on their foreheads at the last day to their eternal confusion. Thirdly, that the greater their sins have been, the greater will be the joy, as of the whole court of heaven, so of their confessor here upon earth, to see their sincere conversion to God testified by the humble confession of their shameful sins:. upon which account, so far from thinking worse of them he will conceive far greater hopes of their future progress, and a more tender affection for them. Fourthly, that by the law of God and his Church, whatever is declared in confession can never be discovered directly or indirectly to any one, upon any account whatsoever, but remains an eternal secret betwixt God and the penitent soul; of which the confessor cannot, even to save his own life, make any use at all to the penitent's discredit, disadvantage or any other grievance whatsoever. Vide Becretum Innocentli XL die 18. Novemb, Anno 1682.

Q. But suppose it has been the sinner's misfortune to have made a bad confession, or perhaps a great many bad confessions, what must he do to repair this fault, and to reinstate himself in God's grace?

A, He must apply himself to God by hearty prayer for his grace and mercy; and so prepare himself to make a good general confession of all his sins, at least from the time of his going astray: because all the confessions that he has made since he began to conceal his sins were all sacrilegious, and consequently null and invalid; and therefore must be all repeated again.

Q. But is he obliged in this case to confess agaij those sins which he has confessed before?

A. He is, because the concealing of any one mortal sin in confession makfes the whole confession nothing worth; and all the following confessions, until this fault is repaired, are all null; and therefore they must all be made again. But if it be to the same confessor, who has a confused remembrance of the sins before confessed, it may suffice for the penitent to accuse himself in general f^ terms of all that has been confessed before; and then to specify in particular the sins that have been omitted, together with the number of the bad confessions and communions that have been made by him.

Q. Are there any other cases in which the confession is nothing worth, and consequently must be made again, besides this case of concealing mortal Bin?

A, Yes, if the penitent has taken no care to examine his conscience, or to procure the necessary sorrow for his sins, or a true purpose of amendment, his confession is good for nothing, and must be repeated; and also, if the priest to whom he has made his confession has not had the nece^ sary faculties and approbation.

Q. What if the penitent, through forget fulness, pass over some mortal sin in confession?

A. This omission, provided there was no considerable negligence which gave occasion to it, does not make the confession invalid. But then the sin that has been thus omitted must be confessed afterwards, when the penitent remembers it: and if he remembers it before communion, it ought to be confessed before he goes to communion; if he rememJ^ers it not till after communion, he must confess it in the next confession.

Q. Is a person obliged to confess the circumstances of his sms?

A» He is obliged to confess such circumstances as alter the kind or nature of the sin; and also, such as notably aggravate the guilt j but in modest and decent terms, particularly in confessing.the circumstances of sins against chastity.

Q. Would it be a crime to neglect the penance or satisfaction enjoined by the priest?

A Yes it would; the more because we ought to regard the penance enjoined as an exchange which God makes of the eternal punishments, which we have deserved by sin, into these small penitential works.

Q. Has the Church of God always enjoined penances to sinners?

A, Yes, she has, and in the primitive times much more severe than now-a-days, when three, seven or ten years of penance used to be imposed for sins of impurity, perjury, &c.

Q. Does the Church at present approve of giving ordinarily very slight penances for very great sins?

A. So far from it, that the Council of Trent, Sess. 14. chap. 8. gives us to understand, that a confessor, by such excessive indulgence, is in danger of drawing upon his own head the guilt of his penitent's sins, and declares that a priest ought to enjoin a suitable penance according to the quality of the crime and the penitent's ability.

Q. Ought the penitent to content himself with performing the penance enjoined, so as to take no farther thought about making satisfaction to God for his sins?

A. No, by no means; for it is to be feared, that the penance enjoined is seldom sufficient to take off all the punishment due to God's justice upon account of our sins; and it is certain, that the more a penitent is touched with a hearty sorrow for his offences against God, the more he will be desirous

;i of making satisfaction, and revenging upon himself by penitential severities the injury done to God by his sins. Hence the life of a good Christian ought to be a perpetual penance.

Q. What then do you recommend to a penitent, besides the performance of his penance, in order to cancel the punishment due to his sins, and to make satisfaction to the divine Justice?

A. I recommend to him, first, ever to maintain in himself a penitential spirit, and in that spirit to perform all his prayer; daily offering up to God the sacrifice of a contrite and humble heart. Secondly, I recommend to him alms-deeds, both corporal and spiritual, according to his ability. Thirdly, fasting and other mortifications, especially the retrenching all superfluities in eating, drinking, and sleeping; all unnecessary diversions, and much more all such as are dangerous; all idle curiosity, vanity, &c. Fourthly, 1 recommend to him to have recourse to indulgences, and to perform with religious exactitude the conditions thereunto required. Fifthly, in fine, I recommend to him to take from the hands of God, in part of penance for his sins, all sicknesses, pains, labours, and all other crosses whatsoever, and daily to ofl!er them up to God, to be united to and sanctified by the sufferings and death of Jesus Christ.

Q. What is the form and manner of confession?

A, The penitent, having duly prepared himself by prayer, by a serious examination of his conscience, and a hearty contrition for his sins, kneels down at the confession chair on one side of the priest, and making the sign of the cross upon himself, asks the priest's blessing, saying, ' Pray, Father! give me your blessing.' Then the priest blesses him in the following words: 'The Lord be in thy heart, and in thy lips, that thou mayst truly and* humbly confess all thy sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, Amen.' After which the penitent says the Confiteor, in Latin, or in English, as far as Med Culpa^ ^c. and then accuses himself of all his sins as to the kind, number, and aggravating circum stances; and concludes with this or the like form: 'Of these, and all other sins of my whole life, I humbly accuse myself; I am heartily sorry for them, 1 beg pardon of God, and penance and absolution of you, my ghostly father.' And so he finishes the Confiteor, ' Therefore, I beseech thee, &c.' And then attends to the instructions given by the priest, and humbly accepts the penance enjoined.

Q. What is the form of absolution?

A, First, the priest says: 'May the Almighty God have mercy on thee, and forgive thee thy sins, and bring thee to life everlasting. Amen.'

Then stretching forth his right hand towards the penitent, he says, ' Ma^ the Almighty and merciful Lord give thee pardon, absolution and remission of thy sins. Amen.'

'Our Lord Jesus Christ absolve thee, and I, by his authority, absolve thee, in the first place, from every bond of excommunication or interdict, as far as I have power, and thou standest in need: in the next place, I absolve thee from all thy sins, in the name of the Father, ►J* and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.'

' May the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, the merits of the blessed Virgin Mary, and of all the saints, and whatsoever good thou shalt do, or whatsoever evil thou shalt suffer, be to thee unto the remission of thy sins, the increase of grace, and the recompence of everlasting life. Amen.'

Q. In what case is a confessor to defer or deny absolution?

A» The rule of the Church is to defer absolution, excepting the case of necessity, to those of whose disposition the confessor has just cause to doubt, and to deny absolution to those who are certainly indisposed for it; which is the case of all such as refuse to forgive their enemies, or to restore ill-gotten goods, or to forsake the habits or immediate occasions of sin, or, in a word to comply with any part of their duty, to which they are obliged under mortal sin. RU» Rom. de Sacramento Pcenitentice,

Q. How do you prove, from all that has been said, that penance, i. e. the confession and absolution of sinners, is properly a sacrament?

A. Because it is an outward sign of inward grace, ordained by Jesus Christ; which is the very notion and definition of a sacrament: the outward sign is found in the sinner's confession, and the form of absolution pronounced by the priest; the inward grace is the remission of sins promised by Jesus Christ, St. John xx, 22, 23. and the ordinance of Christ is gathered from the san>e place, and from St. Matt, xviii. 18.

Footnotes

1. Receive ye the Holy Ghost: whose soever sins you remit they are remitted unto them, and whose soever sins you retain, they are retained.' And St. Matt, xviii. 18. 'Verily 1 say unto you, whatsoever you shall bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.' For it is visible, that this commission of binding or loosing, forgiving or retaining sins, according to the merits of the cause and the disposition of the penitent, cannot be rightly executed without taking cognizance of the state of the soul of him who desires to be absolved from his sins by virtue of this commission; and consequently cannot be rightly executed without confession. So that we conclude with St. Augustine,* that to pretend it is enough to confess to God alone, is making void the power of the keys given to the church, St. Matt. xvi. 19; that it is contradicting the gospel, and making void the commission of Christ. ↩

2. Homil. 49. Inter. 50. 13* ↩