Chapter 1

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CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION.

BY

RIGHT REV. MONSIGNOR CAPEL, D. D.

Domestic Prelate of His Holiness, Leo XIII, happily reigning, Member of the Congregation of the Segnatura, Priest of the Archdiocese of Westminster.

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"_He hath placed in us the Ministry of Reconciliation."--2 Cor. v, 18._

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PHILADELPHIA: CUNNINGHAM & SON, 817 ARCH STREET.

NEW YORK: D. & J. SADLIER & CO., 31 BARCLAY STREET.

1884.

Copyright,

PETER F. CUNNINGHAM & SON,

1884.

CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION.

In the series of twenty-four conferences delivered in the Cathedral at Philadelphia, during this Lent, was one on "God's Conditions for Pardoning Sin." At the request of many, it is now published, but under the title of "Confession and Absolution." There have been made such modifications and additions as are necessitated by publication, and such others as will cover aspects of the question treated by me elsewhere in the United States.

The extracts from the Fathers which appear in the following pages are taken from the accurate and judicious collection known as "Faith of Catholics," a work in three volumes, well worthy the attention and study of those who, not having a library of the Fathers, or not conversant with the classical languages, are nevertheless anxious to know the evidence of the early Christian writers concerning the doctrines and practices of the Catholic Church.

T. J. CAPEL.

PHILADELPHIA: Feast of Our Lady's Sorrows, 1884.

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To this SECOND EDITION there have been added certain statements and passages, to meet sundry questions addressed to the Author on the subject of Confession and Absolution.

Feast of the Patronage of St. Joseph, 1884.

CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION.

TEXT: "God hath reconciled us to Himself by Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation. For God indeed was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, and He hath placed in us the word of reconciliation; we are therefore ambassadors for Christ."--2 COR. v, 18.

No more important question can be submitted for consideration to those who believe in the existence of God, in man's responsibility to his Creator, and in divine revelation, than what are God's conditions for pardoning sin committed after baptism. For however much men may doubt, deny, or dispute about religion, they can never impugn the fact that they are individually sinners. "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us;"[1] "in many things we all offend;"[2] even "the just man shall offend seven times."[3]

Good sense, as well as faith, tells us that having willingly committed or consented to any thought, word, or deed prohibited by God, or having knowingly and wilfully omitted any duty imposed by the divine law, then have we revolted against our God. And should this be done with full knowledge and deliberation in a matter deemed grave by the Lawgiver, or grave in its own nature, or rendered so by circumstances, then has there been a grievous transgression of our duty to God.

The moment we so act, are we and our crime abominable in the sight of the All Holy. "Thou hatest all the workers of iniquity;"[4] and to the Lord "the wicked and his wickedness are hateful alike."[5] Our sin instantly merits eternal punishment: "If the just man turns himself away from his justice, and do iniquity according to all the abominations which the wicked man useth to work, shall he live? All his justices which he had done shall not be remembered."[6] "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, they shall have their portion in the pool burning with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."[7] Finally, by our grievous sin do we destroy habitual or justifying grace, the supernatural life of the soul, rendering it incapable of doing aught that will have everlasting reward. "When concupiscence hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin; but sin, when it is completed, begetteth death."[8] Well, therefore, are we told: "Flee from sins as from the face of a serpent; for if thou comest near them, they will take hold of thee; the teeth thereof are the teeth of a lion, killing the souls of men."[9]

Deadly sin accordingly puts us at enmity with God, and deprives us of all claim on His justice. These are days when men talk much of their own rights. Little do they think to assert and uphold the rights of the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords. And so it escapes them that having violated their obligations to their Creator, their Redeemer, their Sanctifier, by grievous sin, they have no claim for pardon on the ground of justice; they can only appeal suppliantly to the infinite mercy and goodness of God, that their iniquities may be blotted out, that they may be restored to the position whence they have fallen, and that they may regain the habitual grace necessary for keeping the solemn obligations of baptism. This being the case, the Almighty can and does impose His conditions for reconciling the sinner and for restoring the prodigal child to the lost sonship. It is not for sinful man to dictate what such terms shall be. It is for an outraged God to enact, for the transgressor to comply with the command.

Of these conditions, one flows from the infinite holiness of His own nature, namely: contrition or repentance. The other, which is judicial absolution from sin, implying previous confession of it, is imposed by the revealed law of God, and is therefore a divine command obliging all--popes and bishops, priests and people. Let us deal with these separately.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] John i, 8.

[2] James iii, 2.

[3] Prov. xxiv, 16.

[4] Ps. v, 6.

[5] Wisd. xiv, 9.

[6] Ezech. xviii, 24.

[7] Rev. xxi, 8.

[8] James i, 15.

[9] Ecclus. xxi, 2.

I.

The necessity of repentance as the essential condition for the sinner obtaining God's forgiveness is plainly taught both in the Jewish and Christian dispensations.

Prophets and penitents throughout the Old Testament bear evidence to this truth. The words of the Psalms of David, the exhortations of Jeremias and Isaias to the people of God to be converted, have become household words in our books of piety, exciting the soul in sin to arise and go to the God of mercy.

The New Dispensation was ushered in by the Forerunner of Christ preaching the Gospel of Repentance: "Do penance, for the kingdom of God is at hand." Our Lord announces His own mission to be to call sinners to repentance: "Unless you all do penance, you shall all likewise perish." He sent His Apostles that "penance and remission of sin should be preached in His name among all nations." And, while on earth, Jesus sent them, two and two, to preach that "men should do penance."

And, after the ascension of the "Saviour whom God hath exalted with His right hand to give penitence to Israel, and remission of sins,"[10] the Apostles proclaimed the same truth. Peter's very first sermon is: "Do penance and be baptized, every one of you."[11] He, on the occasion of the cure of the lame man, preaches: "Be penitent and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out."[12] The same Apostle writes: "The Lord beareth patiently for your sake, not willing that any should perish, but that all should return to penance."[13] St. Paul, in like manner. "God commandeth all men, everywhere, to do penance."[14] And again: "The benignity of God leadeth thee to penance."[15]

This contrition or repentance does not mean a mere cessation from wrong doing, and starting anew in the way of goodness, drowning in the past the evil done. On the contrary, as by sin we turned our backs on God to go into a far-off country, to spend there our substance, so by contrition must we turn main, retrace our steps, and journey to that Father and home whence we departed. Hence is the process named conversion to God, just as sin is defined to be an aversion from God. Moses, expressing this thought, says: "When thou shalt be touched with the repentance of thy heart, and return to Him, the Lord thy God will have mercy on thee."[16] And still more explicitly does the prophet Joel declare: "Be converted to Me with all your heart, in fasting, and in weeping, and in mourning; and rend your hearts, and not your garments, and turn to the Lord your God: for He is gracious and merciful, patient and rich in mercy."[17] Again, the inspired Word says: "Cast away from you all your transgressions, by which you have transgressed, and make to yourselves a new heart and a new spirit; and why will you die, O house of Israel?"[18]

The Lord God, whom we have outraged by sin, knows no past. "I am who am," is His name. In His holy sight, we who have sinned, and our transgressions, are ever abominable, unless we make to ourselves a new heart and a new spirit. "Be converted to Me, and I will be converted to thee," are the words of Him who exercises on us His great mercy.

Holy Church, in her General Council assembled at Trent, defined this contrition or repentance to be "a sorrow of mind, and a detestation of sin committed, together with a determination of not sinning for the future"--"_animi dolor, ac detestatio de peccato commisso, cum proposito non peccandi de catero_."[19] Or, as the same Council says: "Penitence was indeed at all times necessary for all men who had defiled themselves with any mortal sin, in order to the obtaining grace and justice, * * * that so, their perverseness being laid aside and amended, they might, with hatred of sin and a pious grief of mind, detest so great an offence of God."[20] And, as the Roman Catechism explains, this means no mere feeling, but a genuine act of the will. A mother may show more sensible signs of grief at the loss of her only child than when sorrowing for sin, yet this is not in the least inconsistent with the most perfect contrition or repentance.

There are times when the intense sorrow for sin arouses the whole being of man: exciting not only the higher, but also the lower and sensitive part of his nature. St. Mary Magdalen, David, and many other great penitents, wept bitter tears of sorrow for their past wrongs. This, though a heavenly favor, is no necessary part of repentance. Indeed, it is possible to weep and to have sensible sorrow without having a contrite heart. The three essential elements in contrition are: hatred of past sin, grief at having sinned, and a determined purpose at all costs to avoid, in the future, sin and the occasions of sin. These emanate from the will of man, not from the feelings; they must be strong or intense enough to make the sinner prefer to endure any evil, or sacrifice any good, rather than again offend God, so infinitely good in Himself, and so infinitely good to man.

Unhappily, it is within our power to hate, to grieve, and to purpose amendment very sincerely, and yet not have that sorrow which fulfills God's condition for the pardon of sin. Some human motive--such as loss of health or wealth, injury to reputation and influence, the ignominy and servitude of wrong-doing--may lead a man to detestation of the past and to a firm resolve to avoid wrong in the future. Excellent as may be such a change of mind, yet it is not sufficient to obtain forgiveness from on high. It is based entirely on the injury and loss accruing to self. God is excluded from the whole idea; and yet it is against Him, and against Him alone, that we have sinned.

The only sorrow acceptable to God is that which springs from a supernatural motive, the soul excited thereto by divine grace. In this is our utter helplessness shown; for while it is within our own power to do wrong, we cannot return to the path of duty and repent without the help of God. It is by the heavenly gift of grace operating within, and by the co-operation of the sinner, that the heart is made contrite. The remembrance of God's infinite love and perfections, accompanied by earnest prayer for mercy, may rouse the soul to hatred and grief for its sin, and thus is generated that contrition perfect through charity for having offended God so sovereignly good, who is to be loved above all things. For His own sake, and regardless of the penal consequences of sin, the soul is touched with sincere compunction. This sorrow, with the implicit or explicit desire to have recourse to the Sacrament of Penance, reconciles the soul at once with God, and restores the justifying or habitual grace lost by grievous sin. "There is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who walls not according to the flesh, but after the spirit. For the law of the spirit of life iii Christ Jesus hath delivered me from the law of sin and of death."[21] The soul about to go before God's judgment-seat, if it be in deadly sin, and have not at hand the means for obtaining absolution, is obliged to have this perfect contrition, or otherwise the sin remains unforgiven.

Again, the soul, contemplating in the sight of God the turpitude of sin, as made known to us by revelation, or the terror of God's judgment on those condemned to hell, or the irreparable loss of the sight of God consequent on sin, may be excited by fear of Him who hath power to cast into everlasting prison. The soul, awe-stricken by the painful sight of its own guilt, and by the sense of the judgment of God, yet hoping for pardon and resolved to sin no more, makes an initial act of the love of God, and appeals to His goodness for forgiveness. Though the motive is less perfect, yet "He who desireth not the death of the sinner, but that he be converted and live" does in His exceeding mercy accept this as sufficient for pardon, if there be added to it the actual reception of the Sacrament of Penance. In other words, in this case, unless the sinner shows himself to the authorized minister of reconciliation and receives his absolution, there is no pardon.

Whether this sorrow be of the perfect kind, arising purely from love of God, or whether it be less perfect, caused by fear of God: in either case, it is _internal_, seated in the mind and heart; it is _supernatural_ in its motive, and springs from grace; it is _universal_, extending to every deadly sin committed; it is _sovereign_, displeasing the will more than any ill which could happen. "The sorrow which is according to God worketh penance unto salvation which is lasting: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. For behold this selfsame thing that you were made sorrowful according to God, how great carefulness doth it work: in you; yea defence, yea indignation, yea fear, yea desire, yea zeal, yea revenge."[22] This, then, is contrition: the first and necessary condition for the pardon of sin. It is begun and perfected in the soul by the impulse and by the assistance of the Holy Ghost. The grace of God, obtained through the precious blood of Jesus Christ, commences and completes the work of repentance. God, who is rich in mercy, through His exceeding charity with which He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened as together in Christ, by whose grace you are saved.[23] "The blood of Jesus cleanseth us from all sin."[24] "We have redemption through His blood, the remission of sins, according to the riches of His grace."[25]

FOOTNOTES:

[10] Acts v, 31.

[11] Acts ii, 38.

[12] Acts iii, 19.

[13] Peter iii, 9.

[14] Acts xvii, 30.

[15] Rom. ii, 4.

[16] Deut. xxx, 1.

[17] Joel ii, 12.

[18] Ezech. xviii, 31.

[19] Con. Trid. Sess. xiv, cap. 4.

[20] Sess. xiv, c. 1.

[21] Rom. viii, 1, 2.

[22] 2 Cor. vi, 11.

[23] Eph. ii, 4.

[24] 1 John i, 7.

[25] Eph. i, 7.

II.

It has pleased God, as we learn by the Christian revelation, to institute a human and visible Ministry of Reconciliation for sinners. St. Paul expresses this in the clearest way, writing to the Corinthians: "If, then, any be in Christ, a new creature: old things are passed away: behold, all things are made new. But all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to Himself by Christ, and hath given to us _the ministry of reconciliation_. For God indeed was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing to them their sins; and He hath placed in us _the word of reconciliation_; we are therefore ambassadors for Christ." In this passage does the Apostle teach the truth declared elsewhere: "Christ died for our sins, the just for the unjust, that He might offer us to God, being put to death indeed in the flesh."[26] Herein is it taught very plainly that we are redeemed by Jesus, and that there is no other name under heaven given to men whereby they must be saved. He alone paid the price of our redemption; by His precious blood alone are we redeemed; and through Him alone is sin forgiven.

But, in the same passage, St. Paul is equally explicit in declaring: "He hath given to us"--namely, the Apostles--"the Ministry of Reconciliation"--"the word of reconciliation."[27] In this there is no pretension that the Apostles were the reconcilers by inherent right; theirs is an agency of reconciliation, and hence does St. Paul speak of their as ambassadors of Christ. And in virtue of this does the Apostle, when exercising the office on the incestuous Corinthian, unhesitatingly declare: "If I have forgiven anything, for your sakes have I done it _in the person of Christ_."[28] What is here so positively claimed and acted on by the Apostle was very definitely instituted by our Lord, as is recounted in the Gospels.

To the Apostles and their successors did Jesus Christ impart the power to baptize all nations. By baptism is man purified from original sin--from his own personal or actual sins, if there be any; there is infused into him habitual or justifying grace, accompanied by faith, hope, charity, as well as the gifts of the Holy Ghost; and he is made the adopted child of God. The efficient cause of such spiritual regeneration is Jesus Christ; and yet it is by a Minister of Reconciliation, pouring water and saying the words "I baptize thee in the name of the Father," etc., etc., that the cleansing is effected. It is passing strange that those who believe in baptism as the appointed means, whereby a minister reconciles a soul in original sin should hesitate to admit the ministerial power of forgiving actual sin. The principle is the same. Nearly fifteen hundred years ago, St. Ambrose, writing against the Novatians, said: "If it be not lawful for sins to be forgiven by man, why do you baptize? For, assuredly, in baptism there is remission of all sins. What matters it whether priests claim this right as having been given them by means of baptism or penitence? One is the mystery in both. But thou sayest: 'It is the grace of the mysteries that operates in baptism.' And what operates in penitence! Is it not the name of God? Where you choose, you claim for yourselves the grace of God: where you choose, you repudiate."[29]

For, in like manner, in the Sacrament of Penance, does the Minister of Reconciliation say: "I absolve thee from thy sins, in the name of the Father," etc., etc. Thereupon the words _produce_ what they signify, if the penitent is genuinely contrite. But the Reconciler is Jesus Christ, who uses priests as His delegated agents for effecting forgiveness. On the day of the resurrection, Jesus Christ appeared to the eleven, whom He had made priests at the Last Supper, and said: "Peace be to you. As the Father hath sent one, I also send you. When He had said this, He breathed on them, and He said to them: receive ye the Holy Ghost; whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained."[30]

The passage is exceptionally clear, and for fifteen centuries was accepted in its plain grammatical signification. Our Lord, who is possessed of all power in heaven and on earth, makes His Apostles "workers together with Him" in the forgiving of sin. They derive the power from Him, and receive it by the inbreathing of the Holy Spirit. It is no product of their learning, or experience, or piety, nor is it any right inborn in them; but it is a divine gift, given by the redeemer to His priests for the sanctification of souls. By it are His legitimate ministers made co-operators in the work of reconciliation. Already had the Scribes thought that Jesus blasphemed when He said to the man sick of the palsy: "Son, be of good heart: thy sin is forgiven thee." They realized not that the Almighty could impart the power of pardoning to His creatures. To convince them that the Son _of Man_ hath power to forgive sin, Jesus performed this special miracle, and healed the man of the palsy. The multitude, seeing this, feared and glorified God, who had given such power _to men_.[31] The power is of God, who alone can forgive sin, though He exercises it through men as channels of His grace. The power of working miracles in like manner belongs to God's omnipotence; yet did He condescend to allow His Apostles and others to share in it. In this they were but His delegates.

The passage, in the next place, expresses judicial power: for the commission draws the distinction between remitting sin and retaining sin. This exercise of discretionary power does not depend on the arbitrary will of the Apostles, but has to be decided according to the Gospel law of true repentance described previously. The Apostles are appointed ministerial judges of the dispositions of penitents, and of the sins on which they are to pronounce sentence of remission or of retention, and their sentence is as efficacious as if it were pronounced by Christ himself.

Now, it is a primary condition of just judgment that the judge should not only be cognizant of the law which is to be administered, but also of the cause submitted for judgment. Applying this to the exercise of the judicial power with which the Apostles are invested, two things are needed: the first, that they should know the law and the conditions on which sin is to be retained or remitted. This they can only learn of God. The second, that they should know the sin committed, its nature and its circumstances. This can only be learned from the sinner; for sin is a deliberate and voluntary transgression of God's law. And, therefore, as St. Thomas of Aquinas has it, "the principle of sin is the will." It is in the recesses of the knowledge and liberty which the soul has, that the guilt of sin is to be sought. Who then but the individual offender can know the sins for which forgiveness is asked? The disclosure can only come from the wrong-doer. Clearly then, confession, in the ordinary course of things, is the necessary and preliminary condition for seeking absolution from sin. Whether this confession be made in public or in private is a mere matter of convenience, to be decided by those who absolve. The honest humble accusation of all deadly sins constitutes the essential character of such confession or avowal of transgressions. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all iniquity."[32]

That interior and supernatural contrition is to be followed by the judicial sentence of a duly-appointed priest, to whom confession of all deadly sins has been previously made, is the unanimous teaching of the Christian writers from the earliest date. The existence of Penance as the Sacrament of Reconciliation, at all times in the Church, is permanent evidence to the belief and practice of early Christians.