Part 111, Chapter VI: Piety of the Confessor

Piety of the Confessor

IT IS NOT without reason that the great Apostle, St. Paul, urges his disciple, Timothy, to practise piety, declaring it to be a great treasure, useful in all things (i Tim. 4, 8). A priest animated by the spirit of piety is a worthy instrument in God's hands to accomplish marvels for the salvation of souls.

In the sacred tribunal the confessor frees souls from the misery of sin and forms the Son of God within them anew. He inspires penitents with sentiments of purest devotion, makes them taste the sweetness of God's love, teaches them to know the meaning of true piety, helps them in the practice of the other Christian virtues and at the same time sanctifies himself.

What is piety? Do you wish to know it and to possess it? Practise mental prayer. 1. assure you that if you do not practise mental prayer you will never grasp the meaning of true piety, and, consequently, you will not be truly fitted to hear confessions. It is not sufficient for a priest to drive sin out of souls by absolution; he must form in them the Christian virtues, whose foundation, says St. Ambrose, is piety. Pietas virtutum omnium fundamentum.(1)

How can you infuse piety into a soul unless you yourself possess it? How can you nourish if you have no food to give? The more pious the confessor is, the more effectively he will work for the salvation of souls. Truly then, he should strive unceasingly to acquire and practise this indispensable virtue. For this end, three things are suggested. The first concerns what the confessor should do before entering the con (1). In Psalm. 118.

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fessional; the second ' what he should do while he is there; and the third, what he should do after leaving the confessional.

1. Before entering the confessional, he should spend some time in recollection before the Blessed Sacrament to recall the importance of what he is about to do. In the Sacrament of Penance he must be a saviour of souls, destroying sin and opening heaven by the infusion of grace. He must remember that he i s about to apply to men the fruits of the Redemption, to fill up in souls those things that are wanting of the sufferings of Christ (Col. 1, 24), and to make Jesus live and reign in them. These considerations should arouse within him a great desire to discharge his duty in a fitting manner. He must make an act of humility in view of his unworthiness and incapacity, and must be filled with mistrust of self lest he become like the torch that consumes and destroys itself while bestowing light on others.

He must put his entire confidence in Our Lord, protesting that his only desire is to serve and to please His Master, begging for the light and graces he needs. If necessary, he must go to confession or at least make an act of contrition, so as to have his own soul pure and holy. He must pray to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the angels and saints for guidance. He must recall that many saints now in heaven heard confessions with holy dispositions and he must ask the Holy Ghost to grant him the same dispositions. Thus he will dispose his soul in such a way that he will not deprive God of the honor and glory that must be rendered to the Father of Eternal Mercy by the worthy administration of the Sacrament of Penance. Let him be resolved to place no obstacle in the path of the rich graces which God wishes to impart to those who come to confession.

2. While in the confessional, the priest must elevate his mind and heart to God and follow the suggestions enumerated herewith to maintain the spirit of his saintly work.

When the first penitent enters the confessional, the confessor must think of the incomparable love of God the Father who gave His Only begotten Son for this very person, and thus give himself to God to work with the same love for the salvation of the soul before him. As the second comes, he must consider the great love of God the Son for the penitent and unite himself to this divine love. As the third

approaches, he must recall the infinite love of the Holy Ghost for this soul and cooperate with Him for the same purpose. When the fourth penitent kneels down, the priest must envision the ineffable love of the Son of God who became incarnate for the salvation of this very soul. The confessor then continues to recall the divine love manifested in the other mysteries of Holy Faith, imploring Almighty God to apply the fruits of each to the soul of each penitent.

Let the priest also dwell upon the incomparable charity of the maternal heart of Mary, begging her blessing and assistance upon the work in hand. He might also invoke the saints as well as the martyrs , confessors, patriarchs and apostles.

This method will help the confessor to maintain the spirit of recollection and to cultivate a great love of prayer. Likewise, it will render the task of hearing confessions less burdensome and fatiguing, for love and fervor will fill his heart.

It is well for the priest to keep a crucifix in the confessional to be a constant reminder of the ardent love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus for souls. So, too, in difficulties it will urge the confessor to seek light and strength from the Divine Saviour, especially when dealing with sins against the Sixth Commandment.

3. After confession, the priest should kneel humbly before the altar to beseech Christ’s mercy on behalf of his penitents, and to ask forgiveness for any errors of judgment he may have unknowingly committed while engaged in his sacerdotal labor in the confessional. He should thank Our Lord Jesus Christ for the graces bestowed on the confessor and the penitents, and ask Him to compensate for any deficiency i n himself or in the persons who have come to confession. He should beg the Blessed Virgin Mary, the angels and the saints to offer to the Son of God every one whom Divine Providence has directed to his ministry , with the earnest prayer that none of these souls may perish. 157-