“Circulars to distributors of CATOLICISMO,” 1950s
by Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira
“A Roman and Apostolic Catholic, the author of this text submits himself with filial devotion to the traditional teaching of Holy Church. However, if by an oversight anything is found in it at variance with that teaching, he immediately and categorically rejects it.”
The words “Revolution” and “Counter-Revolution” are employed here in the sense given to them by Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira in his book Revolution and Counter-Revolution, the first edition of which was published in the monthly Catolicismo, Nº 100, April 1959.
INDEX
Prayer in preparation for Confession
EXAMINATION OF CONSCIENCE
Difficulties in the examination of conscience
The examination of conscience and our capital vice
Conclusion
REPENTANCE
The necessity for sincere repentance
Attrition and contrition
THE PURPOSE OF AMENDMENT
The necessity for a firm intention to sin no more
Seeking to eliminate the roots of sin
The purpose of amendment must be concrete
Resolutions and the sensibility
THE ACCUSATION OF SINS AND SATISFACTION
Confession properly said
Satisfaction or penance
The Return of the Prodigal Son (c. 1667-1670) by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (Wikipedia), now in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
Our Lord instituted the Sacrament of Penance on the day of His Resurrection when He said to the Apostles: “Whose sin you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained.” (John 20:23)
Confession is one more proof of the infinite love of God for mankind. Our Lord was not content with redeeming men. Foreseeing that human frailty would cause them to fall many times, He instituted this Sacrament in order to raise them up anew. For the end of giving man the certainty that he is being forgiven, He didn’t want absolution to depend solely upon interior acts, which can lend themselves to doubts and scruples. He created the Tribunal of Penance, whose explicit and audible sentences do not lend themselves to doubts.
The finality of this Sacrament is twofold: a primordial finality, which consists of pardoning sins committed, above all mortal sins, reconciling man with God; and a complementary finality, which is to grant man strength in order to sin no more. We ought never to forget this second finality, which is not always given its due importance. As with all the Sacraments, in the Sacrament of Penance we receive special graces and depart it with the soul fortified for interior combat. For this as well as to purify the soul of all its faults, the Church recommends frequent confession, even for those that are habitually in a state of grace.
When a person is unable to confess, his sins, even mortal sins, are forgiven by means of perfect contrition, that is, repentance based upon pure love of God, and not secondary motives such as the fear of Hell, the desire for Heaven, or temporal interests. Yet, even for those unable to confess, perfect contrition is only worthy when accompanied by the firm intention of having recourse to the Sacrament of Penance as soon as circumstances permit. This being so, Confession is not only the normal means for the pardon of our sins. It is also a recourse that by no means can be scorned or put aside, under the pain of not blotting out the stain of sin, as elevated as the dispositions of the penitent soul might appear.
If in order to preserve the health of the body we make every sacrifice, endure the most uncomfortable and painful treatment, make enormous expenditures, what ought we not to do in order to preserve, fortify, or recover the life of the soul, that is, sanctifying grace? Our life on this earth is fleeting, while our existence in the future is eternal, be it in Heaven or Hell.
We would call a man crazy were he to uselessly expose himself to the danger of becoming a leper. But, would he be any less crazy than someone that, having sinned mortally, would put off his confession? What is leprosy compared to eternal condemnation?
Members of the Group ought to be, before all else, men of the interior life. For this, it is appropriate that they have profound knowledge of the means of sanctification that the Church places at the disposition of the faithful. In the following pages we will present some observations on the diverse parts of a good confession. It is not our intention to study here everything that Catholic morals teach us in its regard, which may be easily found in succinct form in a good manual on piety. We will only focus on certain aspects that seem more opportune to us.
Prayer in preparation for Confession
A well-made confession ought to consist of diverse parts:
1) Preparation, which consists of preparatory prayer, examination of conscience, contrition for sins, and the formation of good resolutions;
2) The accusation of one’s sins to the priest;
3) The prayers following Confession, the most important of which is the penance assigned by the priest, but which also includes the renewal of resolutions made in preparation, thanksgiving for the pardon obtained, petitions for supernatural assistance, etc.
It is convenient that preparation for Confession begin with a prayer. Why? Because only with special graces can we confess our sins well. In effect, our natural lights do not allow us to profoundly know our soul, nor to be sorry for our sins or to form firm resolutions. Our Lord said: “Without Me you can do nothing.” We ought not to have, therefore, the pretension of wanting to prepare ourselves for Confession without the help of Our Lord.
Therefore, with all humility let us recognize that by ourselves we couldn’t even distinguish between good and evil. And let us ask Our Lady and the saints to illuminate us, making us understand the malice of faults committed, inspiring us with sincere sorrow for having offended our King and Lord, and granting us the grace of a lively desire to sin no more.
EXAMINATION OF CONSCIENCE
The examination of conscience is the consideration of our past acts and their judgement according to Catholic morals. It is absolutely necessary for a well-made confession. Without it, the accusation of sins is impossible or most deficient.
The examination of conscience will be better done if the period of time in question is relatively small, for we will find it very difficult to recall what happened a long time ago.
The examination of conscience cannot be made in a hurried and summary manner. It is not sufficient that, on considering the 7th Commandment, for example, I content myself with verifying that I did not steal anything. It is necessary to go further and examine myself concerning this Commandment in all of its consequences, even those most subtle. This precept is the foundation of the right to private property, which is natural law. I must therefore ask myself if I have not concurred that this right, so violated in our days, might suffer undue restrictions. I should ask myself if in conversation, discussion, or in articles, I have defended this right as behooves a Catholic who loves the doctrine of the Church. I should ask if I have made acts of reparation when I saw the right of private property disrespected, be it simply on the part of someone in particular or on the part of the public powers or if I have preoccupied myself with its integral maintenance. This is because, as it is a natural right, to preoccupy myself with its maintenance is to love and defend the order created by God on Earth.
I cannot say that I love God if I do not love the order that He created, and to love this order is to defend it, be interested in it and sacrifice for it. For example, I read in the newspaper that the House of Representatives approved a law determining that the subsoil is the property of the State. I cannot be indifferent to this law without in a certain way incurring the displeasure of God, for it profoundly violated the right to private property.
I am going to examine myself as regards the 1st Commandment of the Law of God: To love God above all things. Love ought to be reflected in concrete attitudes. Considering my acts I will be able to know if I have or not loved God as I should. He who loves God loves the things of God; he loves everything He created. He loves His order and he loves the Church He instituted in order to conduct us to eternal salvation.
It is in consideration, for example, of my love for the Catholic Church, her institutions, her rites, traditions, and customs, that I can take stock of my love for God. To love the Church is not to have a platonic and inoperative love in relation to Her. This love, if it is real, must translate into action. Thus, I ought to be sad when I behold a tradition of the Church ridiculed, when I see a pious custom abandoned by the faithful, when I perceive the Catholic habits of an entire people gradually weakening until they disappear completely. I ought to examine if I employ all my strength to avoid the spread of this evil; if I work as much as is possible to remedy this situation; if in my conversations, attitudes, manners of being, this union of sentiments with the Church of God is always reflected. If to these questions I can respond to the affirmative, I am able to say that on this point I love God. If not, I will have at least committed an imperfection against the 1st Commandment.
Everything we have said regarding the 1st and 7th Commandments may be said of the other eight Commandments of the Law of God and of those of the Church, as well as of all the virtues and capital sins; ultimately, of Catholic morals in all of their concrete consequences.
Difficulties in the examination of conscience
We must not think that a serious examination of conscience is always easy to do. Due to our decadent nature, we have an aversion towards the judgement of our acts. Beyond this, Brazilians have a horror for the reflection that is indispensable for a well-made examination of conscience.
In order to overcome a defect, it is necessary that we practice the virtues that are diametrically opposed to it. If we wish to overcome our natural aversion to judging our actions, it is necessary to always judge them with maximum rigor. The horror for reflection is also only corrected with the constant, balanced, and methodical exercise of our intellectual faculties.
On making the examination of conscience as the Church commands us, we will arrive to the conclusion that we are not as good as we would like to be; that we have defects that we did not imagine; that our weaknesses are innumerable. Ultimately, we will have to recognize what St. Louis de Montfort says: “All within us is nothing but sin, and we deserve nothing more than the ire of God and eternal condemnation.”
It is not pleasant at all to recognize this truth. Our self-love revolts against it. Our nature finds the verification of our misery repugnant. This leads us, almost unconsciously, to trivialize the examination of conscience and to establish only certain light faults, to which we don’t give even the least importance.
Therefore, we ought to consider that if it is true that we are naturally so miserable, with the grace of God and through the intercession of Our Lady we will manage to scale the mountain of perfection: “Be ye perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect.”
Another difficulty we will have to confront are the obstacles created by the devil. As the examination of conscience is necessary for confession, which frees us from his fetters, the spirit of darkness cannot help but detest it. Satan will employ every means to dissuade us from making the examination of conscience; and if he doesn’t manage to do this he will cause us to hasten or simplify it.
For example, he will tell us that we don’t necessarily have to make the examination of conscience, for during our confession we will certainly remember the sins we have committed; he will tell us there is no need to scrutinize the past with such care; he will tell us that we are not capable of examining ourselves, because only saints manage to do this, and we are not saints; finally, he will do everything that Providence allows in order to dissuade us from our good intentions.
The remedy for this evil is in our not paying attention to what he says. The devil has an angelic intelligence and if we consent to argue, he will certainly come out on top. We must confide in Our Lady, whose protection is necessary to ask constantly, above all in moments of temptation. As Mary Most Holy is the creature chosen by the Most High to conquer the devil, let us ask her often to conquer him, granting us graces to resist his invitations, threats, insinuations and treachery.
The examination of conscience and our capital vice
Progress in virtue consists primarily in victory over our capital defect. With this overcome, there will be almost no difficulty in correcting our other defects. How is it possible for someone to conquer their capital vice if they don’t know it? And how is it possible to know it without an examination of conscience? Therefore, one of the primary motives for the examination of conscience is that it is indispensable for the correction of our principal defect, of which all other defects are but a consequence.
If our sanctification requires the practice of virtue diametrically opposed to our capital vice, the examination of conscience must focus upon it in a special way. If this vice is laziness, our examination of conscience will only be well done if we principally consider our physical, intellectual, and spiritual softness. We would be fooling ourselves were we to rapidly pass over those points regarding laziness and were to carefully examine ourselves as to whether or not we have compromised the truth, or given alms to the poor, which we are used to doing without great difficulty.
Conclusion
One will frequently encounter tepid people for whom the preparation for confession is composed only of the examination of conscience. After having examined themselves for five minutes – and in such a manner! – they run to the confessional, certain of having prepared themselves to receive the Sacrament of Penance.
Yet, the examination of conscience has little or no value if it is not accompanied by sincere repentance and a firm purpose of amendment.
Detail of the image of Saint Peter repenting
REPENTANCE
What is repentance? A person is said to be repentant when they sincerely lament having practiced a determined act, are firmly disposed to practice it no more, they make the resolution that, if the situation in which they practiced it were to present itself anew, they would not act in the same way.
Therefore, that there might be repentance, a vague desire that things might have gone differently is not enough. A serious act of will and the profound desire that that act had not been practiced are necessary.
The necessity for sincere repentance
Obviously, we must be repentant in order to ask pardon of God for our sins. How will we dare to ask pardon if we do not lament the evil act that we practiced? If we are disposed to act anew in the same manner if the same circumstances repeat themselves, how can we ask God to absolve us of our sins? To confess one’s sins without repentance is to practice a farce that cries out to Heaven.
We must avoid, with all diligence, that our confessions be mere external formalities lacking sincere sorrow for our sins. And we must also take care that the repentance be profound and serious, for one often encounters people that only repent of their sins in a tepid and superficial manner.
There are Catholics that confess frequently, but in whom one does not note any ascension in the spiritual life. They are in the most complete stagnation, when not in decadence. What is the reason for this evil? How can one admit that someone assiduous in the sacraments can come to a standstill or even decay in the spiritual life?
“Qui creavit te sine te, non salvabit te sine te” –He who created thee without thee will not save thee without thee. Progress in the spiritual life is not possible without our collaboration. A mechanical frequenting of the Sacraments is not enough for us to sanctify ourselves. On the contrary, it is necessary that we force ourselves to arouse holy dispositions in our souls, and that we pray much to this end. In order to receive the Sacrament of Confession, which we now study, it is necessary to have, among other dispositions, sincere repentance for the sins committed. Due to the absence or tepidity of this repentance, many people fail to progress in the spiritual life, although they confess frequently. And others even goes as far as to regress, for to receive absolution is a grace, and non-correspondence to a grace leads a soul to a state inferior to that in which it would have been had it not received it.
The tepid Catholic has this or that sorrow for the sin committed. If this repentance is sufficiently sincere for him to obtain absolution, his sins will be pardoned, but he will not garner from the Sacrament all the fruits that normally accompany it. Often, his repentance will be but an external and mechanical act, condensed into a memorized formula; in this case, the sin will not be forgiven, but, on the contrary, this soul will have committed a sacrilege, that is, an exceedingly grave sin.
The tepid soul lacks profound sorrow for having offended God. The sin does not appear to be so grave to him. He recognizes the fact that he did not act properly, but the evil committed was not that great; it could have been worse; others are worse; after all is said and done, human nature is weak, and we cannot do that which is beyond our strength. His resolution to sin no more lacks the fervor characteristic of those souls that truly love God Our Lord.
The consequences of this tepidity are most ruinous for the spiritual life. It becomes difficult, sterile, unappealing. The practices of piety become arduous, and are transformed into an immense burden, impossible to bear.
This situation normally doesn’t last that long, for either the person, distressed by this state of things – much more difficult than the courageous and total practice of acts of piety – sincerely repents and returns to the path of good, or he begins to abandon, bit by bit, any and every way of piety.
For God to grant us His pardon, with all the abundance of graces necessary for a serious amendment of life, we must have true and convinced repentance based upon supernatural motives. We must repent of the sin committed, not only because it caused us natural inconvenience. We must not seek to diminish the gravity of the evil that we practiced. We must not excuse ourselves with real or imaginary attenuating circumstances. Rather, with a contrite and humbled heart, we must bow before God Thrice Holy, and with all the heavenly court, lament from the bottom of our heart the sin we committed.
Attrition and contrition
Repentance, the absolutely essential element for the absolution of sins, can be of two kinds: attrition and contrition. Attrition is also called imperfect contrition; and contrition is also called perfect contrition.
Attrition is repentance motivated by the intrinsic ugliness of sin, by the fear of God, by fear of the chastisement that the sin merits, and by the desire for Heaven and the other rewards of virtue. Considering the temporal pains that threaten him in this life and in Purgatory, the eternal pains of Hell into which he runs the risk of falling, and how God rewards good actions, the sinner repents of the evil he practiced, and sincerely desires to not have done it.
Contrition is repentance motivated by sorrow for having offended God, and not by fear of chastisement or desire for reward. Reflecting upon the perfection of God, Who ought to be loved with all our strength, and considering the horror that exists in the act of a creature offending his sovereign Lord, the sinner repents of his sins, and would give everything not to have committed them. In contrition the soul considers that, even if the pains of sin and the rewards of virtue did not exist, he would have practiced good, for that which motivates him is love of God, and not only fear of Hell or desire for Heaven.
Contrition by itself brings pardon for sins, even if a person is not able to confess. It is however necessary that the contrite sinner have the sincere resolve to confess at the first possible opportunity. Attrition, which is not as perfect as contrition, by itself does not pardon sin. But, if accompanied by sacramental absolution, given by a confessor, it is sufficient for God to grant pardon.
Let us look at an example. A derelict soul in a state of mortal sin, not being able to confess, and seeing that he is going to fall into Hell, solely for this reason repents of his sins. In dying, he is condemned, for he only had attrition. Another soul, also in a state of mortal sin, touched by grace, has perfect contrition, that is, he repents of his sins for love of God. In dying, he is saved. A third has only attrition, as did the first, but shortly before dying, when he was already unconscious, he was seen by a priest who was passing by and received absolution, although he had no notion of it. In dying, he is saved.
We ought not, however, to hold attrition in contempt because contrition is superior. In the Spiritual Exercises, St. Ignatius recommends that we ask God, in the case that His love is not enough for us to practice virtue, to at least grant us sufficient fear of Hell. This is precisely the position that we ought to maintain: to strive to come to contrition, but to also attentively consider the motives of attrition.
Both contrition and attrition for mortal sins committed must have the following qualities:
1)It must be internal, that is, it should consist of sincere repentance for the sins committed, and not only in external manifestations;
2)It must be supernatural, that is, it should be based upon supernatural motives. If an assassin repents of his crime only because he went to prison, this repentance is by no means sufficient for him to obtain the pardon of God;
3) It ought to be supreme, that is, it ought to detest sin more than anything else;
4) It must be universal, that is, there must be repentance for all mortal sins committed; if the penitent fails to repent of a single one of them, none of them will be pardoned.
For the pardon of venial sins, three of the above mentioned qualities are sufficient; the repentance must be internal, supernatural, and supreme, but it is not necessary that it be universal. In effect, the pardon of some venial sins is possible without the pardon of all. As mortal sin destroys sanctifying grace, and can only be pardoned by the infusion of grace, there is no pardon while a single mortal sin remains.
As venial sin does not destroy grace, there can be the pardon of some sins while others are not pardoned. Evidently, however, it is highly recommendable that we also repent of all venial sins committed.
THE PURPOSE OF AMENDMENT
Strictly speaking, a firm purpose of amendment is no more than a part of repentance. In effect, those that have contrition for sins committed ought to be resolved to commit those sins no more, under pain of practicing a farce. In the meantime, let us study the two subjects separately, for the end of being able to analyze them with greater care.
The necessity for a firm intention to sin no more
In order that sins might be pardoned, the soul must be resolved to never again commit them. The repentance for past faults is not enough.
This point is easily forgotten by those that confess frequently. Falling into a routine, every week they rapidly examine the infidelities committed, formulate a certain act of repentance and confess, certain that they did everything that could be desired of them. They forget that it is necessary to take the necessary precautions that they sin no more. If the penitent has made no purpose of amendment, implicit or explicit, the confession will have no value. If he has made it only implicitly, almost imperceptible, his sins will be pardoned, but the confession will have been poorly done, and the graces that he could have received will not have descended upon him in all their abundance.
Because of this, spiritual authors teach that the purpose of amendment must fulfill three requirements:
1) It must be firm, that is, a serious act of will, through which the person makes a clear and deliberate resolution to sin no more;
2) It must be efficacious, that is, not just a vague intent to avoid sin, but also a resolution to take all the measures necessary to sin no more. The penitent has, therefore, to make the deliberation to pray asking the graces that he needs, to avoid occasions of sin, to have recourse to people that can help him and, ultimately, to use all the means at his disposal;
3) It must be universal, that is, it must include the resolution to commit no mortal sin, those that are the object of the confession as well as any others. As far as venial sins, there is no strict obligation that they be included in the purpose of amendment. However, it is convenient that they be included, for thus the graces of the confession will pour forth with greater abundance.
Seeking to eliminate the roots of sin
On making the purpose of amendment, we must not limit ourselves to the generic resolution to commit no sins: I will not lie, I will not sin by means of my gaze, I will not envy my neighbor, etc. That the purpose of amendment might be fulfilled in all it’s plenitude, and produce all the fruits of a life renovated, which it ought to produce, it is of the greatest expedience that the roots of sin be attended to.
Let us consider the case of a person who has committed various sins of human respect. He could make only a simplistic purpose of amendment: I will no longer sin through human respect. But this resolution will probably be difficult to fulfill. The moment in which it is necessary to take a firm attitude before other people, he will lack the courage, and all will continue as before. That the purpose of amendment might be well made, it is necessary to ask what the roots of human respect in this person are. Is it not a general absence of the spirit of mortification? In effect, he who is not accustomed to mortify the flesh and conquer himself in everything will with difficulty have the energy of spirit necessary to confront the dominant wave. Could it be that the root of human respect in that person is a lack of prayer? There are many people that make due with applying natural means in order to overcome their vices, but they forget the supernatural means, without which no victory is profound and lasting. Perhaps the root could be pride? Or opportunism? Or vanity? It is necessary to investigate, examine oneself, consult people of experience and virtue, etc.
If a colony of ants threatens a plantation, it is no use to plug the holes of the anthill and leave the tunnels and caverns underground intact. In little time the ants will open new exits and unplug the old, and will threaten the plantation anew. This is also the nature of our defects. They have certain external manifestations, which may be compared to the holes of the anthill. We may think that eliminating these holes has resolved everything, while in reality things are much more profound, and will only be overcome when we resolve to delve into the tunnels and caverns of our spirit that, like those of the anthill, are the hiding places to which the enemy retreats when attacked.
The purpose of amendment must be concrete
However, it is not enough that the resolution to sin no more focus upon the profound roots of vice. It is also necessary that the purpose of amendment be concrete, that is, that it not be limited to vague and platonic formulas. Rather, it must descend to the living and palpable reality of concrete cases.
Let us suppose that, in the hypothesis referred to above, that person arrives to the conclusion that the root of his human respect is hidden in his lack of prayer. He would act poorly were he to make only the following resolution: “I will pray more.” In effect, departing the church and falling into the hustle and bustle of everyday life, he sill soon forget this resolution. In the best of hypotheses, it will be remembered once in a while. In those moments, the person will recited one or another ejaculation and say to himself that, when he is able, it is necessary to pray more. But, when is it he will pray more? At what times? And what will he pray? If the resolution does not include the concrete specification of these circumstances, it will be fully practiced only with difficulty.
In order to act properly, the person must make resolutions that include all the details, such as the following: Everyday, before going to bed, I will pray five decades of the Rosary on my knees; everyday, at said hour, when I normally pass before said church, I will enter and make a ten minute visit to the Blessed Sacrament; I will meditate for half an hour, after Mass, everyday, according to such and such a book, etc.
It is necessary, however, to be careful with resounding resolutions that, in appearance, are very good and generous but which are impractical because they are disproportional with the reality of the situation. This is particularly frequent concerning resolutions made during spiritual retreats. The person, repentant of their sins and animated by the sincere desire to progress in the spiritual life, proposes a thousand different practices for himself, which afterwards are impossible to follow. These resolutions are dangerous because, when one realizes their impracticality, one tends to become despondent and feel that all that came to mind during the retreat is nothing more than a fleeting illusion.
Resolutions and the sensibility
A firm resolution does not mean sentimental effusion. That it might be sincere, it is not necessary that we feel our heart palpitate, or that we be taken by a perceptible joy. Being an act of the will and not of the sensibility, the resolution can be cold, yet very firm and serious. We will have the opportunity to broach the problem of the sensibility in pious practices when we study Holy Communion.
Concerning the resolution to sin no more, the problem of the sensibility is particularly important for the scrupulous person. Not “feeling” anything, he deems it that his resolutions are false and superficial. To him it seems that he lacks something absolutely fundamental, and that his confession will wind up being poorly made, even coming to the point of being a sacrilege. Then the scrupulous individual begins interminable gymnastics designed to awaken resolutions that to him seem sincere. In reality, he seeks to “feel” that his resolution is firm. It is fitting to emphasize, therefore, that the sensibility does not need to accompany the will in order for the resolution to be well made. If we have the desire to sin no more, if we make all the resolutions counseled by prudence that we may never again fall into old faults, we may be tranquil and confide in Our Lady, the Mother of Mercy who never fails us.
One may say the same of he who, although he may have the sincere desire to sin no more and to not fall again into the old fault, knows that he will probably not resist the next temptation he experiences. If the resolution to avoid occasions of sin is sufficiently firm, including employing every natural and supernatural means to which it is possible to have recourse, we may then approach the tribunal of Penance without scruples. Evidently we are not dealing with laxity here. But it may happen that, notwithstanding all the good will of the moment of confession, the fall seems probable. He that finds himself in this situation must pray much, and confide without measure in Our Lady certain that, bit by bit, she will extirpate the seemingly invincible evil.
THE ACCUSATION OF SINS AND SATISFACTION
Confession properly said
After having prepared ourselves to receive the Sacrament of Penance, it is necessary that we accuse ourselves of our sins to a priest, as Holy Mother Church commands. This accusation of our sins is confession properly said.
We don’t want to focus here upon all the problems related to the confession of sins; the seal of the confessional; the psychological advantages that exist in the fact of confessing to a human being like ourselves; what to do when the penitent cannot speak, etc. As we have already repeatedly observed, the objective of this circular is not to present a complete exposition of Catholic doctrine. It is only to call attention to certain problems which are given little attention in our days, as well as certain truths most related to certain points of Catholic doctrine that “Catolicismo” develops at greater length.
Initially, it is opportune to remember that all mortal sins must be accused, under the pain of the absolution not being valid. If the penitent forgets a sin, the absolution will be valid, but he will be obliged to confess this sin later, at the first confession he makes after recalling the sin. As far as venial sins, it is not necessary to accuse oneself of them for the confession to be valid. However, it is most convenient that they also be the object of accusation, for thus the repentance will be more perfect, the soul will more fully humble itself and the graces poured forth by Our Lord will be more abundant.
At the moment in which the penitent is going to describe his sins to the priest, the devil frequently uses a trick against which we must necessarily prepare ourselves with the greatest care. Above all when dealing with grave sins, the devil suggests to us the idea that the priest is not going to understand us, and because of this it is better not to accuse ourselves of that fault. With this perturbation launched in the spirit of the individual confessing, Satan even provides him with certain other suggestions as a mitigation: “Later, when calmer, you will confess your sins.”, or “Perhaps that may not have been a sin.”, or even “If the priest becomes angry, the other people in the church may perceive something.” All these are nothing more than inventions of the devil. Some are so absurd and ridiculous that one doesn’t understand how they could disturb the soul so much. The truth is that absurdities such as these take over the spirit of the penitent, they seem to him incontestably obvious, and at times wind up preventing him from confessing.
Satisfaction or penance
According to what the Council of Trent teaches us, three elements are essential for the validity of the Sacrament of Penance: contrition, confession, and satisfaction.
By satisfaction, also called penance, we must repair the offense committed against God. Thus, with the accusation of sins ended, the priest gives us certain counsels and imposes a penance upon us, that is, he determines that we practice certain acts of reparation for the end of offering God satisfaction for the offense we committed against Him.
In addition to repairing the sins we committed against God, the penitent must repair the evil that he occasionally may have practiced against his neighbor. Thus, for example, if the sin was one of theft, it is not enough that the confessor gives as a penance the recitation of certain prayers. It is also necessary to impose the restitution of the goods stolen. This reparation, motivated by the harm caused to our fellow creatures, is also included in the satisfaction, or penance.
In days of old the Church used to counsel confessors to impose grave, weighty, and at times public penance. After confessing the sinner would have to spend a certain number of days asking alms at the door of the church, or make a long pilgrimage, or even use penitential garments. Later, with the passing of time, the Church mitigated these acts of reparation.
How was this harsh and public penance justified? Did it not contradict charity? Did it not violate the seal of the confessional? Although we must recognize that the introduction of this mitigation was due to just causes, appreciated by the Church in modern times, we must also consider that the harsh and public penance of old was just and healthy for the soul. Above all, it does good for we that live in an epoch that has lost the notion of sin and it’s gravity to analyze that ancient custom, for in the penance of days gone by we find a living example in which we might contemplate the malice of sin.
In effect, an offense committed against God is of infinite gravity. The performance of an earthly good may make reparation for it. One therefore understands how it is that, in virtue of a sin, a man might spend a week vested in penitential garments or make a long and hard pilgrimage. On the other hand, the sin also causes harm to our neighbor. Even in cases in which material harm is not inflicted, it may have caused spiritual harm: scandal, bad example, etc. For these cases public penance is applied. This is what the Church does even in our days, for example, requiring that someone that belonged to a secret sect make a public abjuration before receiving the sacramental pardon.
Therefore, we must be exacting concerning ourselves when it comes to penance. Although in these days the penance is easy to fulfill, it is recommended that the faithful do penance out of their own initiative, special penance in reparation for their sins.
When a sin is committed against God, there are two consequences: guilt and punishment. The man becomes guilty before God, and absolution extinguishes that guilt, re-establishing that broken friendship. But with sin man also deserves to be punished, for every crime must be followed by a punishment. Does absolution redeem this punishment?
That we might fully understand what penance is, it is necessary to observe that this punishment is twofold: eternal and temporal. Eternal punishment, condemnation to Hell, which we deserve through mortal sin, is eliminated through absolution. But after the confession we still deserve temporal punishment, which are the chastisements that God sends us in this life and, in the other life, Purgatory. In order to redeem ourselves of this temporal punishment, it is necessary that we do penance. Were we to know the sufferings of Purgatory, which have no comparison with those of this world, with what ardor would we not make acts of reparation! It is liberalism and a lack of faith to have little esteem for penance.
There are two types of penance: sacramental and extra-sacramental. The first is that which we perform by imposition of the priest after confession. It us usually swift and easy. The second is much more serious if we wish to practice it with fervor: it includes all the acts of mortification that we make throughout our life in reparation for our sins. By means of extra-sacramental penance, we may not only obtain the remission of all the punishment we have deserved, but we may even obtain of God graces for our neighbor. As Our Lord said, there are certain devils that are only expelled through prayer and penance.
We ought also to hold the indulgences of the Church in great esteem. By means of them we obtain the remission of the temporal punishment that, due to sin, is deserved by ourselves or others. Is it comprehensible that we view indulgences with indifference? Would this not be evidence of tepidity and a lack of faith?
Notre-Dame de Paris (sculpture on the exterior) – The mercy and virginal intransigence of Our Lady. Theophilus, the monk who sold his soul to the devil