Fr Konrad Loewenstein FSSP discusses this great Sacrament, sadly trivialised by many in the post-conciliar Church. He also firmly corrects the abuse of general confession, so prevalent in recent years.
“Have mercy on me, O God, according to Thy great mercy”. (Ps 50.1)
The Sacrament of Penance, like all the seven Sacraments, was instituted by Christ Himself. The two passages in the Sacred Scripture that refer to this institution are Mt. 16.19: “I will give to thee the keys of the Kingdorn of Heaven; whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth it shall be bound also in Heaven and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth shall be loosed also in Heaven”, and Jn 20: 22.3 where Our Lord breathed on the disciples and said, “Receive ye the Holy Ghost; whosesoever sins ye remit they are remitted unto them, and whosesoever sins ye retain they are retained”.
The Church distinguishes between Original Sin and personal (or actual) sin. Original Sin is inherited from Adam without fault on our side; its remedy is the Sacrament of Baptism which is understood in Tradition as an ark which saves us from drowning. When, however, we lose our baptismal innocence through the shipwreck of personal sin, the Sacrament of Penance serves as a plank to cling onto as our final refuge: “a second plank after the shipwreck”, as St Jerome calls it.
Mortal sin
St Jerome is speaking here predominantly of mortal sin, which is called mortal because its consequence is the eternal death of Hell. Mortal sin comprises three conditions: it must be a sin of grave matter (such as murder or adultery in the broad sense), which is committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent. Mortal sin is distinguished from venial sin where one or more of these conditions is not fulfilled. Clearly, if we are in a state of mortal sin we should confess it as soon as possible; the worst thing to do, one might say, is to receive Holy Communion in a state of mortal sin, for then we commit a second mortal sin.
Every sin consists in turning towards a created good in a disordered manner. Mortal sin consists, in addition, in turning away from God: it consists in preferring this created good to the Creator, typically preferring myself to God – my pleasures, my gratification, my pride. Why the punishment for a mortal sin which is unconfessed is Hell is because Hell is the consequence of my turning away from God. Turning away from God is like breaking the bond between oneself and God, like a mountaineer cutting the rope which holds him to the vertical rock-face; it is like an acrobat letting go the hands of his fellow trapeze artist; whether there is a safety net or not depends on whether he will later be converted and confess his sin.
Penance analysed
Let us look at the Sacrament of Penance in detail. This sacrament comprises remorse, the confession and the satisfaction. The remorse is not essentially a feeling but resides essentially in the will and relates essentially to God: I do not have to feel sorry, but I have to regret what I have done because of God. There are two types of remorse: perfect remorse and imperfect remorse. Perfect remorse is known as the remorse of love: I regret my sin out of my love of God, out of my filial fear of God. I regret with my whole heart having offended Him as we pray in the Act of Contrition. Perfect remorse is also known as ‘contrition’. Imperfect remorse by contrast, or ‘attrition’, is lesser in degree. It can, e.g., be the regret at having separated oneself From God or having merited Hell as a separation from God. Either form of remorse is sufficient for the Sacrament of Confession.
Now perfect remorse is sufficient to absolve sins even outside the Sacrament of Penance. Imperfect remorse by contrast is effective only within the Sacrament of Penance. When Martin Luther reduced for his followers the number of Sacraments from seven to two (thus excluding the Sacrament of Penance) he did them an incalculable disservice because he made it impossible for them to be absolved of mortal sins in a state of imperfect remorse.
A final point concerning remorse is this: it entails the resolution not to sin again. This is why we say in the Act of Contrition, “I will not sin again”. If I do not resolve not to sin again, I cannot be said in any sense to regret the sin.
In the confessional
The second element in the Sacrament of Penance is the confession. I must confess all the mortal sins that I have committed since my last confession and any that I had forgotten in my last confession. If I forget a mortal sin my confession is valid, but I must confess it in the future if I remember it. If I purposefully conceal a venial sin, then this sin will not be forgiven but the confession is valid and all the sins I do confess will be absolved. As a general rule it is best to confess everything in confession and not be prevented by a sense of shame from confessing even a venial sin. Do not be embarrassed by what the priest may think. He has been ordained for the purpose of dispensing the Sacraments and applying God’s grace to souls. He will be pleased to administer God’s mercy to you and the more effectively he administers it the more pleased he will be.
If I do not remember the exact number of times I have committed a particular form of sin then I must give the confessor a rough idea, like “five or six times” or “two or three times a week” etc. I must also confess the relevant circumstances of sin. If, for example, a man confesses to a sinful relationship with a woman, he must say if she is married, if she is closely related, or if she is a religious: in the first case the sin is adultery (in the narrow sense), in the second case incest (perhaps), and in the third case sacrilege.
Certain further details about confession are as follows: the confessor must be a priest, the penitent must be present (a confession over the telephone is invalid), the priest must speak rather than write. The confession is a form of judgement; that is why the penitent must accuse himself of the full crime and the judge must know all the relevant facts. That is also why the priest judge must sit and the penitent-accused must kneel. The outcome of this trial is, of course, always pardon, unless the penitent shows that he has no remorse.
As for the penance that the priest imposes, or the ‘satisfaction’, it relieves the penitent from what is known as his temporal punishment (or reduces it) – this is the punishment he would have incurred in Purgatory. Temporal punishment is contrasted with eternal punishment (the effect of mortal sin). Temporal punishment has been understood as the consequence of turning towards a created good inordinately; eternal punishment as the consequence of turning away from God.
General confession and absolution
Now for a few words about general confession and general absolution. A general confession can be made of all the sins I have ever committed whether I have confessed them or not. This is appropriate if I think I have confessed them incorrectly in the past (e.g. without remorse) or if I am radically changing my life (e.g. after a conversion or on entering a religious order). It is to be avoided if it would create unrest in the soul or scrupulousness. The general absolution was introduced in war time for the particular circumstances of war, for example where multitudes of soldiers are assembled before a battle. It has become abused in recent decades. Services of general absolution do not replace the sacrament of individual confession. They are only valid if the penitent attends with the intention of confessing his mortal sins thereafter.
Frequent confession
Finally: confession is obligatory at least once a year for the purpose of confessing all mortal sins prior to the Holy Communion which is also obligatory at least once a year, particularly at Easter; although for anyone who takes his faith seriously and takes his salvation seriously, confession should be attended more frequently. If I attend confession infrequently my venial sins grow and incline me in the direction of mortal sin; my conscience becomes dull, I lack the grace to know more clearly what is right in life and to act accordingly. It is good to confess on the great Feast days of the year or even once a month, for instance on the First Fridays. Those who think they may have a vocation are advised to confess more regularly, and it is in general good to confess once a fortnight and even once a week.
Let us conclude with an extract from the Catechism of the Council of Trent: “If the roots of Penance are bitter, its fruit is sweet indeed ... It restores us to the grace of God and unites us to Him in the closest friendship. In pious souls who approach this sacrament with devotion, profound peace and tranquillity of conscience together with ineffable joy of soul sometime accompany this reconciliation.” Deo Gratias.
[Taken from the Latin Mass Society's November 2003 Newsletter.]