By DONAL ANTHONY FOLEY
Frequent Confession by Fr. Benedict Baur (Scepter Publishers, 266 pages, paperback). Available at amazon.com.
Frequent Confession by Fr. Benedict Baur is divided into two parts. The first deals with the subject of frequent Confession itself while the second longer part is entitled, “Considerations” and looks at topics such as the nature of sin, how to overcome deliberate venial sins, self-love, contrition, and compunction.
It has been maintained by some that the idea of frequent Confession is an outmoded practice, but this was definitely not the position of the author of this book. And in this he was echoing the views of Pope Pius XII who saw such a practice as vital for those wishing to make progress along the path of virtue, since it increased self-knowledge, promoted humility, corrected bad habits, purified the conscience, strengthened the will, and promoted self-control, while also combating spiritual neglect and tepidity.
The Successor of Pius XII, Pope John XXIII also advocated frequent Confession, and in the documents of the Second Vatican Council we find references to the frequent reception of the sacraments — which implies frequent Confession. Likewise, both Paul VI and John Paul II promoted this practice.
In writing the book, Fr. Baur, who was the archabbot of St. Martin’s monastery at Beuron in Germany, had in mind those who in general did not commit mortal sins, but were at least trying to live a life of union with God, despite, perhaps, many disloyalties, failings, weaknesses, and bad habits.
Such people benefit greatly from frequent Confession because it strengthens and deepens their supernatural life and increases their love of God. The further advantage of this practice is that it also undoes the evil consequences of their sins more fully than if they are forgiven outside Confession through good deeds, prayers, and so on. And the very act of going to Confession to a priest requires deliberation and the adoption of a firm purpose of amendment.
Another advantage of frequent Confession is that over time it strengthens and invigorates the will, and also develops a Christ-like disposition of aversion to anything sinful. And quite often the sacrament can be combined with useful spiritual direction, although this is not essential.
But, the author argues, it would be an abuse of frequent Confession for the penitent not to strive earnestly for purity of soul and virtue, and for union with God. So it is something that presupposes a serious attempt to live a meaningful interior life, even if we find ourselves falling into the same sins repeatedly, which is understandable given the frenetic nature of modern life.
Fr. Baur defined the interior life as consisting “especially in having the right spirit in all our actions and thoughts and in our whole attitude to life. It consists in a readiness to see everything with the eyes of faith and to act always from supernatural motives.”
And clearly, without supernatural help, including frequent Confession, such an ideal is as good as impossible.
Fr. Baur maintains, too, that if frequent Confession is to be of real benefit, the individual must be determined to overcome any faults he or she discloses in Confession, which implies having a very firm purpose of amendment and genuine contrition for our sins. So our Confessions should not be routine recitals of the same sins if we are not resolved to avoid them in future.
The purpose of amendment should be positive, that is directed to the practice of some particular virtue, with the overall aim of increasing our love of Christ and neighbor. With such a love, we are enabled to make those sacrifices which are required of us and to bear our daily crosses in imitation of Christ.
Also, our purpose of amendment should be practical and not too vague, such as, for example, saying to ourselves that as soon as we recognize that we are becoming irritated by a particular situation or person we will make an act of patience and acceptance of God’s will. The main thing is not to become indifferent or careless about our faults and failings.
Fr. Baur says that in our Confessions we should focus on our predominant fault, the sin we commit the most often, with the most deliberation, or to which we are inordinately inclined, and we should also discuss how to overcome this, and the other root causes of our venial sins, with our confessor.
It is also a great help to make a daily examination of conscience if we are to know our faults properly. Without this, our evil inclinations can only grow stronger, and stifle the work of grace in our souls.
And it is important, too, to have a properly formed conscience, which requires prayer, spiritual reading, study of the Scriptures, and reception of the sacraments.
The author insists that the quality of the act of contrition we make in sacramental Confession is very important: “In every Confession we must deliberately try to extend our contrition to each and every sin, mortal and venial, of our whole past life, and make every effort to excite ourselves to a really good act of contrition for them all.”
And regarding penance, he says that the “disposition to do penance and to feel intensely displeased at our past sins and to take pains to overcome sin is of fundamental importance for a truly Christian life.”
An Act Of Trust
In the second part of the book, “Considerations,” there is a more in-depth look at various topics. For example, in the chapter on “Overcoming Deliberate Venial Sin,” the author emphasizes the vital importance of doing this if we are to have any sort of meaningful spiritual life. And we do this by focusing on the positive, that is, we drive out the darkness of sin by letting in the light, by, through fervent prayer, discovering the roots of our sins, our inordinate attachments, passions, and bad habits.
We must also pray for the strength and grace to overcome our sinfulness, trusting in Christ’s promise that if we ask for such graces they will be given to us. The main arena of this struggle against sin is in our minds, in dealing with the numerous thoughts and impulses which affect us, our impatience, pride, lack of charity, and so on. And the best way to combat these is indirectly, that is by turning to God with a prayer for help or an act of trust in His assistance and grace.
In his chapter entitled, “The Perfect Life,” Fr. Baur laments sadly but accurately that the “fundamental evil that afflicts our times and from which we all suffer is that the interior life of men, even of Christians, has grown weak.”
The remedy for this, he insists, is that we should withdraw into ourselves and become aware of the supernatural powers with which God has endowed us, and seek to develop these more fully — then the negative aspects of our society will be confronted by truly Christian men and women, who will be actively seeking perfection.
The principles outlined by Benedict Baur in Frequent Confession indicate how those true Christians can be formed, and for anyone who wants to live a more fulfilling and spiritual life this book could be described as essential reading.
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(Donal Anthony Foley is the author of a number of books on Marian Apparitions, and maintains a related website at www.theotokos.org.uk. He has also written two time-travel/adventure books for young people, and the third in the series is due to be published next year — details can be seen at: http://glaston-chronicles.co.uk.)
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