Cathal Barry
Cathal Barry takes a look at the Church’s new pastoral guide to Confession
Dioceses across the island of Ireland reported large numbers participating in Pope Francis’ worldwide promotion of the Sacrament of Confession as part of the ‘24 Hours for the Lord’ initiative earlier this month.
Ahead of that initiative, the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelisation published a pastoral guide to the Sacrament of Reconciliation, which is an excellent recourse for penitents during the Year of Mercy.
This pastoral guide is meant to offer some suggestions for parishes and Christian communities that would like to prepare themselves for the Confession and to experience “the greatest possible fruitfulness” during this jubilee year.
Part One of this guide offers assistance to the individual penitent to prepare for his or her meeting with the priest in confession in a conscientious way and seeking to overcome any inner resistance.
Part Two offers three testimonies of people who recount their conversion stories. These particular moments in their lives can be helpful as penitents reflect on their own conversion and on God’s presence in their lives.
Part Three presents texts that offer thoughts for reflection that can be useful during individual preparation or during catechetical meetings so that people can grasp the meaning of Confession.
Part Four offers a programme of reading and prayer so that all who approach Confession can be assisted in their preparation by means of a spiritual itinerary based on the word of God that is heard, meditated upon and prayed.
Below are some extracts from the guide.
Why is there a Sacrament of Reconciliation after Baptism?
Since the new life of grace received in Baptism does not abolish the weakness of human nature nor the inclination to sin, Christ instituted this sacrament for the conversion of the baptised who have been separated from him by sin.
Do the baptised have need of conversion?
The call of Christ to conversion continues to resound in the lives of the baptised. Conversion is a continuing obligation for the whole Church. She is holy but includes sinners in her midst.
What are the essential elements of the Sacrament of Reconciliation?
The essential elements are two: the acts of the penitent who comes to repentance through the action of the Holy Spirit, and the absolution of the priest who in the name of Christ grants forgiveness and determines the ways of making satisfaction.
Which sins must be confessed?
All grave sins not yet confessed, which a careful examination of conscience brings to mind, must be brought to the Sacrament of Penance. The confession of serious sins is the only ordinary way to obtain forgiveness.
When is a person obliged to confess mortal sins?
Each of the faithful who has reached the age of discretion is bound to confess his or her mortal sins at least once a year and always before receiving Holy Communion.
Is a confessor bound to secrecy?
Given the delicacy and greatness of this ministry and the respect due to people every confessor, without any exception and under very severe penalties, is bound to maintain “the sacramental seal” which means absolute secrecy about the sins revealed to him in Confession.
What are the effects of this sacrament?
The effects of the Sacrament of Penance are: reconciliation with God and therefore the forgiveness of sins; reconciliation with the Church; recovery, if it has been lost, of the state of grace; remission of the eternal punishment merited by mortal sins, and remission, at least in part, of the temporal punishment which is the consequence of sin; peace, serenity of conscience and spiritual consolation; and an increase of spiritual strength for the struggle of Christian living.
Preparation for Confession
Penitents might ask themselves:
What can I excuse myself for and what do I need to ask pardon for?
Sin often occurs in response to a presumed injustice or when I think that God is asking too much of me. Eve and Adam are convinced that God has done them an injustice, and, believing the tempter, they disobey. Cain believes he has been unjustly discriminated against, so he commits murder.
It is usually sinners who consider themselves justified in what they do. Only if I realise that I have fallen into this kind of deception can I desire to be freed of it.
What good is God’s forgiveness if other people’s judgments remain?
Above all, criticisms or insults no longer frighten me. If I deserve them, I know that all I can do is ask for forgiveness, but not demand it. And I want to do that. I also want to ask the Church for the gift of reconciliation and to ask forgiveness of the people I have offended.
If they are ready to be reconciled with me, then I will experience genuine joy. If they are not yet ready to do so, I can understand that. Many times I, too, am slow to forgive. I hope that the time of peace will come for them as well.
Where do I go to ask the whole Church for forgiveness?
The priest makes the face and authority of God present, but also the face of the Christian community. Through him I turn back humbly to the whole Family of God. In the Eucharist [at Mass] I already express my faults together with my brothers and sisters… But no one prevents me from walking forward on the path of reconciliation, not even those I have directly or indirectly offended: a friend, a family member, or even an enemy who shows me where I have been wrong. I can listen to them; I can encourage them to speak truthfully to me — with gentleness and love if possible. I can invite them to accompany me in the experience of reconciliation, praying and celebrating with me, so that my joy and God’s joy would be full! (See the parable of the two sons in Luke 15:11-32.)
The Scandals
Penitents might ask themselves: I am not sure if I am interested in seeking peace and charity in the Church. There has been no lack of difficulties and scandals these past few years. The media, it seems, have even given preference to the Church as one of its targets, especially in demonstrating the disloyalty of so many of its members.
“How much filth there is in the Church,” said Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger during a memorable Way of the Cross at the Colosseum (Ninth station, Via Crucis, 2005)! Because of this, many have distanced themselves from the Church due to what they experienced or saw or due to what they thought was lacking in the Church. On the other hand, it is true that the shining testimony of so many saints, often in silence and in the midst of troubles and persecutions, continues to offer genuine hope.
What can I do in this situation?
How can one begin to change the Church? I can start with my life being illuminated by God’s grace.
My examination of conscience needs a new foundation: I am not satisfied to look at myself from the perspective of the law to see how well I have observed it, so at this time moralising sermons are not enough for me.
I can instead examine myself beginning with God, with how he has acted toward me. I doubt that I would be ready to die for him at every moment, but I believe he sent his Son to die for me, to save me.
I could make a tiresome list of all the good things I have not received and even of the wrongs that have been done to me. I could try to justify myself that way. However, that is a slippery slope that would plunge me hopelessly into sadness and loneliness. I want to have justice because there is no peace without justice. But the highest justice is the mercy that I have received. Only this can make me just.
Pope Francis summarises the questions to ask ourselves:
About God
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Do I turn to God only in my need?
- Do I attend Mass on Sunday and holy days of obligation?
- Do I begin and end the day with prayer?
- Have I taken the name of God, the Blessed Virgin, or the saints in vain?
- Have I been ashamed to say that I am a Christian?
- What am I doing to grow spiritually?
- How do I grow spiritually? When?
- Do I resist God’s will? Do I insist that he does things my way?
About my neighbour
- Do I know how to forgive, share with and help my neighbour?
- Have I slandered, stolen from or scorned the poor and defenceless?
- Am I envious, hot-tempered or prejudiced?
- Do I care for the poor and the sick?
- Am I embarrassed by my brother’s body or my sister’s flesh?
- Am I honest and fair with everyone, or do I foster a “throwaway culture”?
- Have I led others to do evil?
- Do I observe the spousal and family morality taught in the Gospel?
- How do I fulfil my responsibility for my children’s education?
- Do I honour and respect my parents?
- Have I rejected a newly conceived life?
- Have I extinguished the gift of life? Or helped others do that?
- Do I respect the environment?
About myself
- Am I a believer who is somewhat worldly and only somewhat believing?
- Do I overindulge in eating, drinking, smoking, or being entertained?
- Am I overly concerned about my physical well-being and my possessions?
- How I do use my time?
- Am I lazy?
- Do I desire to be served?
- Do I love and safeguard purity in my heart, thoughts and deeds?
- Do I plot vengeance or harbor resentments?
- Am I gentle and humble? A peacemaker?
(See Pope Francis’ booklet Safeguard Your Heart, distributed after the Angelus, February 22, 2015).
Now I can examine myself about the concrete actions that mercy requires and by which we will be judged:
- Have I given food to the hungry and drink to the thirsty?
- Have I welcomed the stranger and clothed the naked?
- Have I set aside time and had the courage to visit the sick and the imprisoned?
- Have I helped anyone be released from doubts that make him or her fearful and that are often the source of loneliness?
- Have I participated in overcoming ignorance by supporting education, especially for the young?
- Have I told those who live in sin about the need for conversion?
- Have I been a neighbour to someone who is lonely and afflicted?
- Have I forgiven those who offend me and resisted every kind of resentment and hate?
- Have I been patient with others based on the example of God who is so patient with us?
- Have I commended my brothers and sisters to prayer?
(See Misericordiae Vultus, 15)
Individual celebration of the sacrament
At the time you present yourself as a penitent, the priest cordially receives you, speaking words of encouragement to you. He makes the merciful Lord present.
Together with the priest you make the sign of the cross and say: “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.”
The priest helps you to prepare yourself to trust in God with these or similar words: “May God, who has enlightened every heart, help you to know your sins and trust in his mercy.”
The priest, according to the occasion, reads or recites from memory a text from sacred Scripture that speaks about the mercy of God and invites the person to convert.
At this point, you confess your sins. If necessary the priest will help you, asking you questions and giving suitable advice, proposing a penance. He will invite you, finally, to demonstrate your commitment to conversion by reciting an act of contrition or some other similar formula.
Then the priest will stand and lay his hands on your head, saying:
“God, the Father of mercies, through the death and the 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 give 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.”
You answer: “Amen.”
After absolution, the priest says: “Give thanks to the Lord for he is good.”
You answer: “His mercy endures forever.”
Then the priest will dismiss you, saying: “The Lord has freed you from your sins. Go in peace.” (See Rite of Penance.)
What Should I Do after Confession?
The Sacrament of Reconciliation is a privileged occasion in which God grants his mercy. If people think they can merit salvation in some way, any attempt to attain it will generate the frustration of never being able “to do enough” (satis facere) to merit that grace.
The relationship between God and human beings is not based on a dynamic of people expiating their own sins. The confession of sin, even when repeated many times, does not make a person “worthy” of God’s love. Instead, it brings awareness that the grace received through the sacrament is a gift that transforms the heart and is the path that leads to the forgiveness of sins.
God waits for and welcomes even small steps by any person who comes back to him, and he does not wait for perfection to grant his benevolence. This allows human beings to abandon themselves to the Father’s embrace and to start over again.
The celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation does not make people “sinless” but strengthens the desire to respond to God’s freely given love.
Renewed through the experience of the sacrament, life for believers now becomes an occasion for giving to others what they have received from God.
Just as in a human relationship in which the beloved desires to return the goodness received from the lover, so, too, people experience that the freely given love they have received from God becomes the model and example for their lives.
People who have received God’s forgiveness and mercy become aware that they will have peace only when they succeed in passing on to others what they themselves have been given.
After confession, then, it is necessary to express the impulse toward love that permeates the soul and respond to the Lord by rethinking the priorities of life and loving the brothers and sisters who live next to us in a new way.
Accepting the loving forgiveness of the Father stirs people to come out of themselves, out of their comfort zone of affections and relationships, in order to place themselves in service to brothers and sisters who are afflicted by poverty, misery, sickness and sorrow.
Since sin breaks the communion with brothers and sisters, this sacrament reconciles people to the ecclesial community.
The Church is not a place of perfect people but of those on the path to perfection; it is not a place of holy people but of those who are clothed in God’s holiness through grace.
Reconciliation, then, culminates in a rediscovery of one’s parish community, the dwelling place of God’s presence among his people.
To view the full pastoral guide see: http://www.im.va/content/dam/gdm/documenti/pdfvari/24HoursForTheLord.pdf
