By DON FIER
As we saw last week, so exacting is a priest’s obligation to maintain the “seal of confession” that it admits no exceptions, even to avert a war or to save the life of oneself or another. Absolute secrecy applies to everything that is disclosed during the celebration of the Sacrament of Penance.
Fr. John A. Hardon, SJ, stresses that confidentiality must be observed “whether the confession was finished or not, whether it was worthy or sacrilegious, and whether absolution was given or refused” (Basic Catholic Catechism Course [BCCC], p. 166).
The priest’s obligation to secrecy outside the confessional applies to all persons, including the penitent himself, unless he explicitly gives his permission without being coerced in any way.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) now addresses the manifold effects of worthy reception of the Sacrament of Penance. “First of all,” teaches the Roman Catechism (RC) of the Council of Trent, “the great efficacy of Penance consists in this, that it restores us to the grace of God and unites us to Him in the closest friendship” (II, 5, 18).
In other words, its primary purpose and effect is to reconcile us with God from whom we have become estranged through sin. If one is in the state of mortal sin, sanctifying grace is restored and eternal punishment is remitted. Temporal punishment due to sin, at least in part, is also remitted.
As mentioned earlier in our treatment of the Sacrament of Penance, the repentant sinner’s reconciliation with God “is usually followed by peace and serenity of conscience with strong spiritual consolation” (Denzinger, Enchiridion Symbolorum, n. 1674; as cited in CCC, n. 1468).
This feeling is perhaps most profoundly experienced by a person making his first Confession after converting to Catholicism or by one who returns to the sacrament after having been away for several years. It has been described as feeling as if a heavy burden has been lifted from your shoulders or like you can almost float as you walk out of the confessional.
It doesn’t matter, however, if you experience consolations or not. One can be certain that his sins are not only forgiven, but completely wiped away by our Lord after making a good Confession.
To better comprehend the truth of God’s merciful forgiveness in the Sacrament of Penance, it would be helpful to recount a story I once heard in a catechetical class regarding St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690), the French nun and mystic who received private revelations on devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Prior to the time that St. Claude de la Colombière became her spiritual director, Sr. Margaret Mary received a message from the Lord instructing her to seek out this holy Jesuit priest and inform him that he was to direct her soul. Not surprisingly, Fr. Claude was somewhat skeptical when a nun appeared at his doorstep, announced that Jesus had appeared to her, and that He had informed her that he was to become her spiritual director.
Sister was quite insistent and so, acting with prudence, Fr. Claude asked for evidence of the authenticity of her request. He instructed her to ask Jesus, when He next appeared to her, what the last mortal sin he committed was; if she could tell him, he would agree to become her spiritual director. Sure enough, our Lord appeared to her soon afterward and Sister posed to Him Fr. Claude’s question. In response, reported Sr. Margaret Mary, “Jesus looked at me and said, ‘I don’t remember’.”
When He gazed upon the soul of Fr. Claude, the sin was gone — no trace of it was left behind. After hearing her report, Father agreed to become her spiritual director.
This unfathomable sacramental effect really and truly takes place within the soul of each of us when we make a good Confession. The Old Testament prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah seem to point to this aspect of the Sacrament of Confession: “I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins” (Isaiah 43:25) and “I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more” (Jer. 31:34). Can one not see in these ancient verses a prefigurement of that very effect of the New Testament Sacrament of Penance?
A second effect of the Sacrament of Penance is that it reconciles us with the Church. “Sin damages or even breaks fraternal communion,” teaches the Catechism. “The sacrament of Penance repairs or restores it” (CCC, n. 1469). After all, the Church’s faithful are members of the Mystical Body of Christ and as St. Paul so poignantly says, “If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together” (1 Cor. 12:26).
Pope St. John Paul II speaks of the wondrous healing effect that the Sacrament of Penance causes amongst the whole Body of Christ in his 1984 apostolic exhortation Reconciliatio et Paenitentia (ReP):
“The forgiveness obtained in the sacrament of penance consists in reconciliation with God . . . [which] leads, as it were, to other reconciliations which repair the breaches caused by sin. The forgiven penitent is reconciled with himself in his inmost being, where he regains his own true identity. He is reconciled with his brethren whom he has in some way attacked and wounded. He is reconciled with the church. He is reconciled with all creation” (ReP, n. 31, 5).
Yet another spiritual effect of the Sacrament of Confession, teaches Fr. Hardon, is “the restoration of or increase in the indwelling of the Holy Spirit” (BCCC, p. 164). He goes on to explain that the Holy Spirit is linked to the sacrament in two ways: 1) before absolution is granted, He touches the penitent with the actual graces necessary to prepare him to worthily receive the sacrament; and 2) after forgiveness of mortal sins is obtained through absolution, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, first conferred at Baptism, is restored.
Similarly, as stated earlier, sanctifying grace is restored for one in the state of mortal sin, and for those who confess venial sins and/or voluntary imperfections, sanctifying grace is increased. This is crucially important because an increase in sanctifying grace enables an increase in the theological and cardinal virtues, an increase in the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, peace and serenity of conscience which surpasses all understanding, and an increase in the spiritual strength that is necessary for members of the Church Militant during their earthly sojourn.
All these effects are critically important for growth in holiness and perfection in the spiritual life (cf. BCCC, p. 164).
In addition to sanctifying grace, sacramental grace is conferred in the Sacrament of Penance and serves to strengthen us against temptation.
“It is a well-attested fact,” says Fr. Hardon, “that the regular commission of venial sins almost always precedes a fall into mortal sin. These graces . . . are crucial for overcoming future temptations to commit mortal sin, remaining in the state of grace, and being ever more firmly united to Jesus” (ibid.).
It is for this reason that Holy Mother Church encourages regular, even frequent Confession, which is extremely helpful and even essential for one who is seriously trying to make progress in the spiritual life.
In his 1943 encyclical on the Mystical Body of Christ, Pope Pius XII wholeheartedly endorsed frequent Confession and the confession of venial sins, and then proceeded to list several positive effects.
“It is true that venial sins may be expiated in many ways which are to be highly commended,” stated the Holy Father.
“But to ensure more rapid progress day by day in the path of virtue, we will that the pious practice of frequent confession, which was introduced into the Church by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, should be earnestly advocated. By it genuine self-knowledge is increased, Christian humility grows, bad habits are corrected, spiritual neglect and tepidity are resisted, the conscience is purified, the will strengthened, a salutary self-control is attained, and grace is increased in virtue of the sacrament itself.
“Let those . . . who make light of or lessen esteem for frequent confession realize that what they are doing is alien to the Spirit of Christ and disastrous for the Mystical Body of our Savior” (Mystici Corporis Christi, n. 88).
From Death To Life
The Catechism concludes its subsection on the effects of the Sacrament of Penance with a sobering reminder that we would all do well to heed: “It is now, in this life, that we are offered the choice between life and death, and it is only by the road of conversion that we can enter the Kingdom, from which one is excluded by grave sin” (CCC, n. 1470).
In other words, once we take our final breath during this life on Earth, our eternal destiny will be sealed.
The opportunity to place oneself before the merciful judgment of God in the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation will have passed us by when we reach the moment of our particular judgment — it is at that decisive instant when “each man receives his eternal retribution in his immortal soul” (CCC, n. 1022).
So let us take advantage of this great sacrament of mercy, for “in converting to Christ through penance and faith, the sinner passes from death to life and ‘does not come into judgment’ (John 5:24)” (CCC, n. 1470).
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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 doing research for writing a definitive biography of Fr. John A. Hardon, SJ.)
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