The Sacraments in General and the Sacrament of Penance
I. Sacraments in general:
A. A sacrament is an outward sign instituted by Christ to give grace.
That is, sacraments which are properly administered and worthily received bring about a spiritual effect in the recipient (the gift of grace or an increase thereof). That is, sacraments effect what they signify – they "work."
This is not by any kind of magic, but only because Christ himself has given these means of sanctification to his Church and guarantees their efficacy.
B. The source of all sacramental grace – recall that grace is a free gift, the very life and love of God, a share in divine nature which makes us friends of God – is the death and resurrection of Christ.
C. The Catholic and Orthodox Churches recognize seven sacraments (called "mysteries" by the Orthodox): Baptism, Confirmation [Orthodox: Chrismation], Holy Eucharist, Penance, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders and Matrimony. These can be categorized in different ways:
1. According to their purpose:
Sacraments of Initiation: Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Eucharist.
Sacraments of Healing: Penance and Anointing.
Sacraments of Vocation: Holy Orders and Matrimony.
2. According to who may receive them:
Those which bestow the grace of Christ and which must or may be received by those who are not in the state of sanctifying grace (sometimes called "sacraments of the dead"): Baptism and Penance. [Note: Baptism is the first sacrament, can only be received once, and is a pre-requisite for the reception of all the other sacraments.]
Those which may be received only by those who are already in a state of sanctifying grace (sometimes called "sacraments of the living"): Confirmation, Holy Eucharist, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders and Matrimony.
D. Protestant thought. Perhaps the biggest difference between Catholic and Orthodox theology and practice on the one hand, and Protestant theology and practice on the other, has to do with the Sacraments. The main differences are two:
1. In the number of sacrament. Protestants generally recognize only two Sacraments: Baptism and Eucharist.
2. In the way the sacraments are understood.
a) In general, Protestants do not accept that the sacraments effect what they signify, for examples:
i. that Baptism confers upon the baptized, even an infant, sanctifying grace and infuses the virtues which are needed for salvation,
ii. that the very Body and Blood, soul and divinity of the Risen Christ are contained and received in the Eucharist,
iii. that sins are really forgiven in the sacrament of Penance,
iv. that Orders makes a man a priest, and so forth.
b) Rather they hold that persons come forward to receive the two (only two) sacraments as a sign of the faith that they hold – and that the sacraments symbolize their faith or the realities believed in.
II. Penance in particular
A. Names: The sacrament of penance has several names: Penance, Reconciliation, Confession.
[The word "penance" refers to any act of self-mortification or devotion that is performed voluntarily to show sorrow or make reparation for sin – and, therefore, the word is often used in ways that have nothing to do with the Sacrament we are discussing. For example "Some Christians fast as an act of penance during Lent." For this reasons, when we use the word to refer to the Sacrament we will capitalize the P].
B. Definition: Penance is the Sacrament by which sins committed after Baptism are forgiven.
1. The "theological norm" for the Sacrament is mortal sin.
a) That is, through the sacrament of penance the baptized who have forfeited the grace of Christ by committing serious (that is, "mortal") sin are forgiven and restored to life in Christ.
b) However, the Sacrament of Penance is not reserved to those who sin seriously. A person may receive the Sacrament if he is only aware of having committed venial sin. A confession of this sort is sometimes called a "devotional confession."
2. A person who receives the Sacrament of Penance worthily receives objective forgiveness for his sins – that is, his sins have really, objectively, been forgiven.
3. The sins are forgiven by God, and the source of this forgiveness is, again, the death of Christ who gave his life that sins might be forgiven.
C. The foundation in Scripture for the Sacrament of Penance is John 20.21-23:
On the evening of the day on which Jesus rose from the dead, when the disciples were closeted in a locked room in fear, Jesus stood among them and said to them “‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.’ And when he had said this, he breathed on them 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.’”
D. Purpose. The Sacrament of Penance was instituted by Christ for the objective forgiveness of sins. Which is to say that Confession is not the same as counseling or psycho-therapy, nor is it a place simply for “getting things off one’s chest.”
E. Arguments against the Sacrament.
1. Some say that only God can forgive sins. The "Catholic answer" to this objection is:
a) It is absolutely true that only God can forgive sins. But in the Catholic understanding, Christ entrusted the Church with the power of pronouncing his forgiveness when he told the apostles: “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
b) There is an important analogy with Baptism here – the Church confers Baptism, the Sacrament which inaugurates one into life in Christ. When that life has been lost through serious sin, Church also confers the sacrament which restores it.
2. Some say that a person should be able simply to pray to God for forgiveness, and that they shouldn’t have confess to a man. The “Catholic response” to this objection is:
a) First, we certainly can and should confess our sins to the Lord in prayer and beg for his forgiveness. But it is only in the Sacrament of Penance that we can be confident that we have actually received God’s forgiveness for grave sins. It is a great gift to know for sure in faith that we have been forgiven.
b) Second, the priest hears confession in persona Christi – a Latin theological term which means "in the person of Christ." That is, Father Hayes is not sitting in the confessional as Jack Hayes, nor is Sammy confessing to Jack Hayes. Sammy is confessing to the Lord, and Father Hayes is hearing the confession in the person of Christ.
F. What is necessary for the worthy reception of the Sacrament of Penance:
There are three "acts of the penitent" (that is, the person who is receiving the sacrament). Unless the person receiving fulfills what is required by each of these acts, he does not receive the sacrament worthily and his sins are not forgiven. These three are contrition of heart, confession of the lips and the satisfaction. Each is defined and discussed below.
1. Contrition of heart. To receive the Sacrament of Penance, a person must be truly sorry for his sins and intend not to sin again. Contrition (or sorrow for sin) and the intention not to sin again must extend to all the mortal sins of which a person is conscious. Note the following:
There are two kings of contrition:
Perfect contrition – which is sorrow for sin that is motivation by love of God alone.
Imperfect contrition – which is sorrow for sin for any reason other than pure love of God. For example, sorrow for sin that arises from fear of punishment is imperfect contrition.
These two, perfect and imperfect contrition are both mentioned in the traditional act of contrition.
O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest all my sins, because of thy just punishments; but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, Who art all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace, to sin no more and to avoid the near occasions of sin. Amen.
imperfect contrition: "I detest all my sins, because of thy just punishments"
perfect contrition: "but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, Who art all good and deserving of all my love"
*****Imperfect contrition suffices for the worthy reception of the Sacrament of Penance*****
2. Confession of the lips. To receive the Sacrament of Penance, a persons must confess his sins aloud, in person, to a priest in the context of the sacrament (no emails or telephone calls). Confession of the lips or "oracular confession" (that is, spoken confession) means that a person must be in the presence of the priest. That is, one cannot call him up on the phone, write him a letter or send him an email. Note the following:
The confession of must include all mortal sins which the person is conscious of having committed. These are to be mentioned by number and kind.
For example – I killed two persons, committed adultery seventeen times and haven’t gone to Mass on any Sunday or Holy Day since last October.
It is not necessary to go into detail – but reasons that change the nature of the sin should be mentioned. For example, if you killed the two people unintentionally but while you were driving at 110 miles an hour (in these cirumstances you should also mention mentioned the reckless driving).
The term integral confession refers to one which is complete – that is, one in which the penitent confesses all mortal sins by number and kind.
A person who deliberately conceals a mortal sin in the confessional is abusing the sacrament. Not only are his sins not forgiven, but the abuse itself is a grave sin. To deliberately conceal a mortal sin is to make a sacrilegious confession, and this itself must be confessed to be forgiven.
*****NOTE: Mortal sin, no matter how grave, can be forgiven if the sinner is contrite and intends never to commit the sin again.
3. Satisfaction. The priest hearing the confession will give the person a "penance" (small p) to do – a work of reparation that, of itself, is incapable of "making up for" the sin but, in union with the satisfaction or reparation already accomplished by Christ, does do something by way of making amends for the evils and disorders the person has caused by his sins. The penitent has a moral obligation to do the penance assigned by the priest (usually it to say particular prayers but it may be a work of charity or something else).
There are three acts which are to be completed by the priest hearing the confession:
1. The priest hears the confession.
2. The priest assigns the penance.
3. The priest pronounces the words of absolution the heart of which (but not the entire formula) is “through the ministry of the Church I absolve you from your sins in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.”
Other obligations of the priest:
The priest is obliged never to reveal what has been confessed to him in the sacrament. Excommunication is the penalty for breaking the "seal of confession.
The priest is obliged to pray for those whose confessions he hears.
NOTE: Sins are forgiven when the words of absolution are pronounced.
G. The form for making one’s confession. The person intending to confess enters the confessional or the area set aside for the Sacrament, and either kneels or sits. After some words of introduction by the priest which may simply be the words of the Sign of the Cross, the person says:
Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. My last confession was .... [name how long since last confession].
The confession of sins follows. The person generally ends with words like "I am sorry for these and all my sins" [adding perhaps, "especially for my sins of ______."]
The priest then speaks. He may have a question, or give some advice or just tell the person what his sacramental penance is (the satisfaction).
The person then says the Act of Contrition: O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest all my sins, because of thy just punishments; but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, Who art all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace, to sin no more and to avoid the near occasions of sin. Amen.
The priest then says the words of absolution.
NOTE: Sins are forgiven when the words of absolution are pronounced.
H. When a Catholic is obliged to confess his sins. Catholics are obliged to receive the Sacrament of Penance in the following circumstances:
1. At least once a year in preparation for fulfilling one’s "Easter Duty." Every Catholic is obliged to receive Holy Communion during Paschal Time – which has been traditionally understood to be between the first Sunday of Lent and Trinity Sunday. More narrowly defined it would be the time between Easter Sunday and Pentecost – that is, a period of fifty days beginning on Easter Sunday.
2. When a person is conscious of mortal sin, he must receive the Sacrament of Penance before receiving any of these Sacraments: 1) Holy Eucharist (Communion), 2) Confirmation; 3) Matrimony; 4) Holy Orders – or, if one is conscious and able to, 5) the Anointing of the Sick.