Celebration Of The Sacrament Of Penance

By DON FIER

The doctrine of indulgences, as we have seen over the past two weeks, is an important part of the life of the Church. Although the Catholic understanding of indulgences has been clouded by abuses, most notably in the 16th century when Martin Luther posted his Ninety-Five Theses, its roots go back to the beginning of the Church and its principles are clearly present in Sacred Scripture.
St. John Paul II adeptly described indulgences as “the expression of the Church’s full confidence of being heard by the Father when — in view of Christ’s merits and, by his gift, those of Our Lady and the saints — she asks him to mitigate or cancel the painful aspect of punishment by fostering its medicinal aspect through other channels of grace. In the unfathomable mystery of divine wisdom, this gift of intercession can also benefit the faithful departed, who receive its fruits in a way appropriate to their condition” (general audience, September 29, 1999).
The Church, by virtue of the power of binding and loosing granted her by Christ (cf. Matt. 16:19), dispenses and applies this “treasury of the Church” to remit temporal punishment due to already forgiven sins. Her official compilation of indulgenced prayers and works can be found in the Manual of Indulgences.
It first defines four general grants for which, when “carried out in a special manner and spirit” (p. 23), a partial indulgence may be gained by the faithful. In principle, they comprise praying with faith, assisting those in need, practicing voluntary self-denial, and giving explicit witness of the faith to others. These general grants are followed by scores of other indulgenced exercises. Also, from time to time, the Roman Pontiff will publish “bulls” granting special indulgences (e.g., Pope Francis, Misericordiae Vultus, April 11, 2015).
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), to conclude its treatment of the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation, now walks us through its celebration, first reminding us that “like all the sacraments, Penance is a liturgical action” (CCC, n. 1480).
There are three ways in which the sacramental rite can be validly administered: individual auricular Confession; a communal celebration which includes individual auricular Confession and absolution; and in very special circumstances, an entirely communal celebration with general absolution.
The 1983 Code of Canon Law (CIC) specifies foundational norms that will serve well to preface this discussion. Most important, it states that “individual and integral confession and absolution constitute the only ordinary means by which a member of the faithful conscious of grave sin is reconciled with God and the Church” (canon 960).
It also indicates that “the proper place to hear sacramental confessions is a church or oratory” (canon 964 § 1) and that care should be taken “that there are always confessionals with a fixed grate between the penitent and the confessor in an open place so that the faithful who wish to can use them freely” (canon 964 § 2).
Moreover, the code specifies that “all to whom the care of souls has been entrusted…are obliged to make provision so that the confessions of the faithful entrusted to them are heard when they reasonably seek to be heard and that they have the opportunity to approach individual confession on days and at times established for their convenience” (canon 986 § 1).
With these norms in mind, let us first look at the most common means of receiving the sacrament, that of individual auricular Confession in a church. The Catechism lists five elements that ordinarily constitute this rite: “a greeting and blessing from the priest, reading the word of God to illuminate the conscience and elicit contrition, and an exhortation to repentance; the confession, which acknowledges sins and makes them known to the priest; the imposition and acceptance of a penance; the priest’s absolution; a prayer of thanksgiving and praise and dismissal with the blessing of the priest” (CCC, n. 1480).
Prior to approaching the confessional, of course, the penitent should prepare by carefully and thoroughly examining his conscience and awakening within himself a heartfelt sense of sorrow and purpose of amendment.
The New Rite of Penance (promulgated in 1973) instructs priests to “welcome penitents with fraternal charity and, if need be, address them with friendly words” (Ordo Paenitentiae [OP], n. 16).
Following the Sign of the Cross, the priest urges the penitent to have confidence in God’s mercy with words such as: “May the Lord, Who enlightens every heart, help you to know your sins and to trust in His mercy” (Fr. John A. Hardon, SJ, Basic Catholic Catechism Course [BCCC], p. 167). Confession of sins usually begins with words such as: “Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. It has been <# of weeks, months, years> since my last confession.”
The penitent then confesses his sins and expresses sorrow with a firm purpose of amendment. Fr. Hardon gives some exemplary guidelines on what constitutes a good Confession: it must be sincere (honestly expressed without lessening or magnifying what was done); it must be entire (all mortal sins confessed in kind, number, and circumstances that affect their seriousness); it should be simple (accusations made without excusing oneself or providing unnecessary details); and it should be prudent (stated without blaming or revealing the sins of others). To signal the completion of one’s Confession, the penitent should say something similar to: “I am sorry for these and all the sins of my past life.”
The priest might then offer encouragement and advice (or ask questions if clarification is needed) before imposing a penance (cf. BCCC, p. 167).
After the penitent makes an Act of Contrition, the confessor pronounces the marvelous words of absolution: “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 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” (OP, n. 46). And your sins are erased; they no longer exist!
The form of absolution has great meaning: “It indicates that the reconciliation of the penitent comes from the mercy of the Father; it shows the connection between the reconciliation of the sinner and the paschal mystery of Christ; it stresses the role of the Holy Spirit in the forgiveness of sins; and it underlines the ecclesial aspect of the sacrament, because reconciliation with God is asked for and given through the ministry of the Church” (OP, n. 19).
The sacramental rite ends with the penitent joining the priest in giving praise to God for His great mercy. The penitent is usually dismissed with the words: “The Lord has freed you from your sins. Go in peace.” He should then carry out his penance as promptly as possible, giving thanks to Almighty God.
The second form of the sacrament, which is often celebrated in parishes toward the end of the penitential seasons of Advent and Easter, expresses more clearly the ecclesial character of the Sacrament of Penance. “In the framework of a communal celebration .. . . the personal confession of sins and individual absolution are inserted into a liturgy of the word of God with readings and a homily, an examination of conscience conducted in common, a communal request for forgiveness, the Our Father, and a thanksgiving in common” (CCC, n. 1482).
This expression of the sacrament has been subject to abuses where attendees have been instructed to mention only one or two of their worst faults during individual Confession.
St. John Paul II warned firmly against this practice in his 2002 apostolic letter Misericordia Dei: “Any practice which restricts confession to generic accusation of sin or of only one or two sins judged to be more important is to be reproved” (n. 3). In the document’s introduction, the Holy Father affirmed, “Since the integral confession of serious sins is by divine decree a constitutive part of the Sacrament, it is in no way subject to the discretion of pastors.” Thus, it is essential that an adequate number of confessors are available at these liturgical celebrations.
The Catechism introduces the third way for valid celebration of sacramental Confession with the words: “In case of grave necessity recourse may be had to a communal celebration of reconciliation with general confession and general absolution” (CCC, n. 1483).

Sufficient Necessity

Canon 961 of the code outlines the exceptional conditions which must exist for general absolution to be valid. Examples might be on the morning of a great battle when a military chaplain is physically unable to hear each soldier’s individual Confession, or when a priest is present on an airplane that is about to crash.
The code clearly specifies that “sufficient necessity is not considered to exist when confessors cannot be present due only to the large number of penitents such as can occur on some great feast or pilgrimage” (canon 961 § 1 2).
For communal absolution to be efficaciously received, penitents must be sincerely sorry for their sins, have a firm purpose of amendment, and resolve to confess individually their mortal sins to a priest as soon as possible. Thus, even when extraordinary conditions exist, general absolution postpones but does not eliminate the need to confess mortal sins individually after the time of crisis passes (cf. BCCC, p. 168).

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(Don Fier serves on the board of directors for The Catholic Servant, a Minneapolis-based monthly publication. He and his wife are the parents of seven children. Fier is a 2009 graduate of Ave Maria University’s Institute for Pastoral Theology. He is a consecrated Marian Catechist.)