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Penance and Reconciliation, Sacrament of |
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For all the misunderstanding and confusion that may have accompanied the word “confession” in the past, the sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation is one of the greatest treasures and mysteries that the Church possesses. While an individual may have been hurt by the humanity of a priest here and there, consolation and healing nonetheless have been brought to countless souls through this individual sacramental encounter with Christ. Confession for many is difficult, yet the reconciliation that results is a peace the world cannot give. The sacrament of Penance has evolved over the years. This process can be traced beginning with its scriptural origins and continuing through the faithful teaching of the Church. The term “penance” has any one of four meanings, all closely related to reconciliation. First, it refers to a virtue, a habit by which the Christian modifies his life, directing it toward perfection by practicing certain works. Second, it refers to public acts of punishment imposed by the Church or works of personal sacrifice done in atonement for sins or for the sake of personal spirituality. Third, it refers to a work of satisfaction imposed on the penitent within the context of the sacrament of Penance. Fourth, it refers to the sacrament of Penance itself. It is this fourth and final meaning with which this entry is concerned. Scriptural Testimony • The Scriptures contain ample references to the forgiveness of sins. Some references are in connection with Baptism, while others seem to be in preparation for the institution of the sacrament of Penance. The message of St. John the Baptist was one of repentance that included the confession of sins: “Then went out to him Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins” (Mt 3:5-7; cf. Mk 1:5). Jesus began his public life by preaching the need for repentance of sins: “From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand’ ” (Mt 4:17). Parables such as that of the Prodigal Son emphasized man’s need both to seek God’s forgiveness and to articulate sorrow. Beyond preaching the need for confessing sins, the Gospels include incidents where Christ, oftentimes to the scandal of his audience, applies the parables and preaching to real-life situations. The episodes involving the paralytic man (Mt 9:2-7), the “woman who was a sinner” (Lk 7:37-50), and the woman caught in adultery (Jn 8:2-11) are three examples. These instances show clearly that Jesus had the authority to forgive sins. They also prepare the way for the time when the Lord would confer on his disciples the same power. The Church has always held that the sacrament of Penance was instituted directly by Christ himself on the evening of the Resurrection. John 20:19-23 tells us: “On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being shut where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, ‘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.’ ” Five insights are worth noting from this passage. First, the disciples are gathered together: The power the Lord gives them is collective; it is given to all the disciples, not just one or two. As a result, the power to forgive sins is given to all priests. This is clearly distinguished from the power that Christ gives to Peter in Matthew 16:13-20, a passage understood to refer to papal infallibility, given exclusively to Peter as the first Pope. Second, the disciples recognize that it is the Lord – crucified, died, and risen – who is speaking to them. Hence the authority to forgive sins comes from the Lord, not from the imagination of the disciples or the consensus of the gathering. Third, the word “peace” used by Jesus lends an appreciation to the sacrament of Penance, which at times is referred to as the “sacrament of peace.” One effect of the sacrament is the peace brought about when the individual is reconciled with God. Fourth, Christ makes it clear that the disciples’ mission is of divine origin. It comes not only from himself but from the Father as well. “As the Father has sent me, even so I send you” (Jn 20:21). As Jesus is obedient in carrying out his mission from the Father, so he asks his disciples to do the same. Equally important is the presence of the Holy Spirit at the moment: “Receive the Holy Spirit” (Jn 20:21). Fifth, Our Lord gives the disciples not only the power to forgive sins but also the power to retain them. Implicit in this is the right to make a judgment as to what should be forgiven and not forgiven. Our Lord had already explicitly asserted his authority to forgive sins (cf. Mk 2:5-12). He now hands on this power to his disciples and to their successors. “In imparting to his apostles his own power to forgive sins the Lord also gives them the authority to reconcile sinners with the Church. This ecclesial dimension of their task is expressed most notably in Christ’s solemn words to Simon Peter” (CCC 1444; cf Mt 16:19). Since sin ruptures one’s relationship with God, it also damages one’s relationship with the Church of which one is a member. Forgiveness of sins restores the sinner’s friendship with God and similarly reconciles him with the Church. To “bind and loose” includes judgments excluding one from ecclesial communion and also renewing that same communion (cf. CCC 1445). Historical Development of Penance • Forgiveness of sins was an integral part of the mission of the early Church (cf. Acts 2:37-38). The Acts of the Apostles, as well as the epistles of St. Paul and St. Peter, record this growth as the early evangelizers dealt with new Christians. Those embracing Christianity were converts, either Jews or pagan Gentiles. The Didache, a Christian document of the first century commonly known also as the Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, teaches those who assemble for the Eucharistic sacrifice: “First confess your sins, so that your sacrifice may be pure.” St. Clement of Rome (30-101), the fourth Pope, writing around the end of the first century, spoke to the people of Corinth: “Be subject to the presbyters [priests] and accept discipline to penance, bending the knee of the heart.” St. Ignatius of Antioch (died 110), a bishop who wrote seven epistles during his journey from Antioch to Rome, where he was martyred, associated forgiveness from the Lord with those who do penance and are in union with their bishops: “The Lord forgives those who do penance when they return to unity with God and to the communion with the bishop.” St. Polycarp (c. 75-160), Bishop of Smyrna, in his Epistle to the Philippians, admonished all members of the community to follow Christian virtue. Priests were encouraged to be gentle and merciful in judgment of sin. They had the power to make judgments: “Be gentle and merciful towards all, not strict in judgment, knowing that we are all debtors of sin.” It seems almost certain that there was private administration of the sacrament of Penance early in the Church. Leo I, Pope from 440 to 461, warned against those who demanded public acknowledgment of sins, saying: “It is sufficient that the guilt which people have on their consciences be made known to the priests alone in secret confession.” By the thirteenth century the Church felt a need to set down some general norms regarding who was to go to confession and when. In 1215, the Fourth Lateran Council stated: “Let everyone of the faithful of both sexes, after he has reached the age of discretion, devotedly confess in private all his sins at least once a year to his own priest, and let him strive to fulfill to the best of his ability penance enjoined upon him.” Serving as a simple guideline for the faithful, this statement did not restrict the reception of the sacrament to an annual occurrence but served instead as a reminder of the bare minimum necessary for those who might neglect the sacrament. Some three hundred years later, the Council of Trent, in its fourteenth session (November 25, 1551), published its document on the sacrament, devoting nine chapters to the following topics: (1) The Necessity and Institution of the Sacrament of Penance; (2) The Difference Between the Sacrament of Penance and that of Baptism; (3) The Parts and Fruits of the Sacrament; (4) Contrition and Attrition; (5) Confession; (6) The Ministry of this Sacrament and Absolution; (7) Reservation of Cases; (8) The Necessity and Fruit of Satisfaction; (9) Works of Satisfaction. In recent times, two major aspects of the sacrament on which the Church has focused her attention have been early confession and frequent confession. Three twentieth-century Popes addressed these questions in various documents. St. Pius X in his encyclical letter Quam Singulari (August 8, 1910) insisted on both the sacrament of Penance and the reception of Holy Communion for children from the age of reason. He seemed careful not to separate the two sacraments. Since Vatican II the sacrament of Penance and the sacrament of Anointing have been linked as the “Sacraments of Healing.” The sacrament of Reconciliation reconciles the penitent to God and to the Church. The Catechism of the Catholic Church contains a significant section on the role of lifelong conversion as the Christian attitude that should accompany the sacrament and be an important consequence of it. The Catechism notes that confession should precede First Communion and that “after having attained the age of discretion, each of the faithful is bound by an obligation faithfully to confess serious sins at least once a year” (1457). In his encyclicals Mystici Corporis Christi (June 29, 1943) and Mediator Dei (November 20, 1947), Pope Pius XII urged both the faithful and priests to observe the practice of confession, including confession of venial sins. Moreover, he warned priests against discouraging the faithful from this practice, since that would be disastrous for the whole Body of Christ. In 1973, Pope Paul VI insisted that children preparing for their first Holy Communion should always be admitted to the sacrament of Penance first. As part of their catechetical instruction, children should be prepared for the two sacraments individually so that they have a proper understanding of each. Nevertheless, at no time should first Holy Communion ever precede first confession. “Children must go to the sacrament of Penance before receiving Holy Communion for the first time” (CCC 1457; cf. Canon 914). Elements of the Sacrament • The Code of Canon Law provides a summary of the Church’s understanding of the sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation, indicating its relevance to the individual penitent and to his relation to the Church as a whole: “In the sacrament of penance the faithful, confessing their sins to a legitimate minister, being sorry for them, and at the same time proposing to reform, obtain from God forgiveness of sins committed after baptism through the absolution imparted by the same minister; and they likewise are reconciled with the Church which they have wounded by sinning” (Canon 959). Besides mentioning the essential points (Penance is a sacrament, is intended for the faithful, and requires a legitimate minister), this canon calls attention to other significant matters. These include the fact that, in addition to verbal confession, both sorrow for sins and a proposal to reform are required of the penitent; that forgiveness comes from God himself through his minister; that sinners have wounded the Church by their sinning; and that one effect of absolution is reconciliation with the Church. These various elements suggest why there are different names for this sacrament. Traditionally, it has been referred to as Confession. More formally, it is called the sacrament of Penance. Since the Second Vatican Council, the term “sacrament of Reconciliation” has been used. As noted, it has even been referred to as the “Sacrament of Peace.” The name, however, has not really changed nor has the sacrament. Rather, the different expressions represent ways of considering the sacrament from various aspects. When we speak of that moment in which our sins are made known to the minister of the Church, the sacrament is called Confession. When we speak of the penance the priest gives to make satisfaction for sins committed, it is referred to as the sacrament of Penance. If we consider the immediate effect of the sacrament, it is called Reconciliation. (The principal effect of the sacrament is the restoration of the sinner’s relationship with God that has been ruptured by sin. Additionally, the sinner is reconciled with the other members of the Church who have been hurt by his sins.) Finally, if we consider the ultimate effect of the sacrament, it may be understood as the sacrament of Peace. Peace is the tranquility of order; when man has restored his relationship with God, his life is in right order and he is at peace with God and neighbor. In short, the action performed by the penitent is called confession; the sacrament is called Penance; the rite (or ritual) is called Reconciliation; the effect of the sacrament is peace. In one sentence: We confess our sins in the sacrament of Penance by using the Rite of Reconciliation, and are brought to peace as a result of this. The Council of Trent summarizes all of this neatly: “But the acts of the penitent, himself, to wit, contrition, confession, and satisfaction, are as it were the matter of this sacrament. Which acts, inasmuch as they are, by God’s institution, required in the penitent for the integrity of the sacrament and for the full and perfect remission of sins, are for this reason called the parts of penance. But the thing signified indeed and the effect of this sacrament, as far as regards its force and efficacy, is reconciliation with God, which sometimes, in persons who are pious and who receive this sacrament with devotion, is wont to be peace and serenity of conscience with exceeding consolation of spirit.” All of the sacraments have four essential elements: form, matter, subject, and minister. The form (or formula) is the words spoken as the sacrament is being administered. The matter is normally what is seen and felt. The subject is the one who receives the sacrament. The minister is the one who administers it. In the sacrament of Penance, the form is the words of absolution spoken by the priest. The absolution may be conditional if it is based on the penitent’s willingness to fulfill a specific condition, such as making restitution if something has been stolen. The complete formula is: “God the Father of mercies, through the death and Resurrection of his Son, has reconciled the world to himself and sent the Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sins. Through the ministry of the Church may God grant you pardon and peace, and I absolve you from your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” The matter of the sacrament of Penance is twofold. Remotely, it consists of the sins of the penitent; proximately, it refers to the acts of the penitent, that is, these sins are repented and confessed with a will to make satisfaction. While the matter is generally understood to be that “which is seen and felt,” here it applies to that part of a sacrament with or to which something is done in order to confer grace. To this extent, then, one perceives how the idea of “matter” applies both to the sins that are forgiven and to the three accompanying acts of the penitent: contrition (CCC 1451-1454), confession (CCC 1455-1458), and satisfaction (CCC 1459-1460). Contrition is the sorrow for the sins committed; confession is verbal self-accusation regarding sins committed; satisfaction refers to the willingness of the penitent to accept whatever penance the priest may impose, whether it be recitation of specified prayers, reading from Sacred Scripture, or performing some corporal or spiritual works of mercy. The subject of the sacrament of Penance may be any Catholic or, under certain circumstances (cf. Canon 844.3, 844.4), other validly baptized Christian who, having reached the age of reason, has committed an actual sin since Baptism. The age of reason is generally understood to be about the age of seven years, more or less. If a child younger than seven exhibits the intellectual capacity of reason and the ability to distinguish between right and wrong, he or she should be admitted to the sacrament. The minister of the sacrament of Penance is a validly ordained priest who acts in collaboration with the bishop. Besides all that canon law requires of him as a judge, he is also meant by the Church to be a healer. He must act with both his head and his heart, encouraging the faithful to approach the sacrament frequently and making himself available for this purpose. He can never compromise the teaching of the Church, no matter how delicate the matter or how fragile the sinner. As “the sign and the instrument of God’s merciful love for the sinner” (CCC 1465), he must always remember that this merciful God would never deceive the penitent or lead him astray. The Catechism says: “The confessor is not the master of God’s forgiveness, but its servant. The minister of this sacrament should unite himself to the intention and charity of Christ. He should have a proven knowledge of Christian behavior, experience of human affairs, respect and sensitivity toward the one who has fallen; he must love the truth, be faithful to the Magisterium of the Church, and lead the penitent with patience toward healing and full maturity. He must pray and do penance for his penitent, entrusting him to the Lord’s mercy” (1466). See: Absolution; Confession; Contrition; Conversion of the Baptized; General Absolution; Indulgences; Metanoia; Penance in Christian Life; Sacramentals; Sacraments of the Dead.
Suggested Readings: CCC 1422-1498, 2838-2845. Vatican Council II, Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests, Presbyterorum Ordinis, 5. John Paul II, On Reconciliation and Penance in the Mission of the Church Today, Reconciliatio et Paenitentia. A. Von Speyr, Confession. N. Halligan, O.P., The Sacraments and Their Celebration. C. O’Neill, O.P., Meeting Christ in the Sacraments. J. Hardon, S.J., The Catholic Catechism, Ch. XIII. D. Wuerl, R. Lawler, O.F.M. Cap., T. Lawler, eds. The Teaching of Christ: A Catholic Catechism for Adults, pp. 421-434. G. Kelly, ed., The Sacrament of Penance in Our Time. Christopher M. Buckner |
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