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Sacrament of Penance
Ioannes Paulus PP. II
Dives in misericordia, 1980
7… The events of Good Friday and, even before that, in
prayer in Gethsemane, introduce a fundamental change
into the whole course of the revelation of love and
mercy in the messianic mission of Christ. The one who
"went about doing good and healing"71
and "curing every sickness and disease"72
now Himself seems to merit the greatest mercy and to
appeal for mercy, when He is arrested, abused,
condemned, scourged, crowned with thorns, when He is
nailed to the cross and dies amidst agonizing torments.73
It is then that He particularly deserves mercy from the
people to whom He has done good, and He does not receive
it. Even those who are closest to Him cannot protect Him
and snatch Him from the hands of His oppressors. At this
final stage of His messianic activity the words which
the prophets, especially Isaiah, uttered concerning the
Servant of Yahweh are fulfilled in Christ: "Through his
stripes we are healed."74
Christ, as the man who suffers
really and in a terrible way in the Garden of Olives and
on Calvary, addresses Himself to the Father- that Father
whose love He has preached to people, to whose mercy He
has borne witness through all of His activity. But He is
not spared - not even He-the terrible suffering of death
on the cross: For our sake God made him to be sin who
knew no sin,"75
St. Paul will write, summing up in a few words the whole
depth of the cross and at the same time the divine
dimension of the reality of the Redemption. Indeed this
Redemption is the ultimate and definitive revelation of
the holiness of God, who is the absolute fullness of
perfection: fullness of justice and of love, since
justice is based on love, flows from it and tends
towards it. In the passion and death of Christ-in the
fact that the Father did not spare His own Son, but "for
our sake made him sin"76
- absolute justice is expressed, for Christ undergoes
the passion and cross because of the sins of humanity.
This constitutes even a "superabundance" of justice, for
the sins of man are "compensated for" by the sacrifice
of the Man-God. Nevertheless, this justice, which is
properly justice "to God's measure," springs completely
from love: from the love of the Father and of the Son,
and completely bears fruit in love. Precisely for this
reason the divine justice revealed in the cross of
Christ is "to God's measure," because it springs from
love and is accomplished in love, producing fruits of
salvation. The divine dimension of redemption is put
into effect not only by bringing justice to bear upon
sin, but also by restoring to love that creative power
in man thanks also which he once more has access to the
fullness of life and holiness that come from God. In
this way, redemption involves the revelation of mercy in
its fullness.
Catechism of the Catholic Church
PART TWO
THE CELEBRATION OF THE CHRISTIAN MYSTERY
ARTICLE 4
THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE AND RECONCILIATION
1422
"Those who approach the sacrament of Penance obtain
pardon from God's mercy for the offense committed
against him, and are, at the same time, reconciled with
the Church which they have wounded by their sins and
which by charity, by example, and by prayer labors for
their conversion."4
I. WHAT IS THIS SACRAMENT CALLED?
1423
It is called the sacrament of conversion because
it makes sacramentally present Jesus' call to
conversion, the first step in returning to the Father5
from whom one has strayed by sin.
It is called the sacrament of Penance, since it
consecrates the Christian sinner's personal and
ecclesial steps of conversion, penance, and
satisfaction.
1424
It is called the sacrament of confession, since
the disclosure or confession of sins to a priest is an
essential element of this sacrament. In a profound sense
it is also a "confession" - acknowledgment and praise -
of the holiness of God and of his mercy toward sinful
man.
It is called the sacrament of forgiveness, since
by the priest's sacramental absolution God grants the
penitent "pardon and peace."6
It is called the sacrament of Reconciliation,
because it imparts to the sinner the live of God who
reconciles: "Be reconciled to God."7 He who
lives by God's merciful love is ready to respond to the
Lord's call: "Go; first be reconciled to your brother."8
II. WHY A SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION AFTER BAPTISM?
1425
"You were washed, you were sanctified, you were
justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in
the Spirit of our God."9 One must appreciate
the magnitude of the gift God has given us in the
sacraments of Christian initiation in order to grasp the
degree to which sin is excluded for him who has "put on
Christ."10 But the apostle John also says:
"If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the
truth is not in us."11 And the Lord himself
taught us to pray: "Forgive us our trespasses,"12
linking our forgiveness of one another's offenses to the
forgiveness of our sins that God will grant us.
1426
Conversion to Christ, the new birth of Baptism,
the gift of the Holy Spirit and the Body and Blood of
Christ received as food have made us "holy and without
blemish," just as the Church herself, the Bride of
Christ, is "holy and without blemish."13
Nevertheless the new life received in Christian
initiation has not abolished the frailty and weakness of
human nature, nor the inclination to sin that tradition
calls concupiscence, which remains in the
baptized such that with the help of the grace of Christ
they may prove themselves in the struggle of Christian
life.14 This is the struggle of conversion
directed toward holiness and eternal life to which
the Lord never ceases to call us.15
IV. INTERIOR PENANCE
1430
Jesus' call to conversion and penance, like that of the
prophets before him, does not aim first at outward
works, "sackcloth and ashes," fasting and mortification,
but at the conversion of the heart, interior
conversion. Without this, such penances remain
sterile and false; however, interior conversion urges
expression in visible signs, gestures and works of
penance.23
1431
Interior repentance is a radical reorientation of our
whole life, a return, a conversion to God with all our
heart, an end of sin, a turning away from evil, with
repugnance toward the evil actions we have committed. At
the same time it entails the desire and resolution to
change one's life, with hope in God's mercy and trust in
the help of his grace. This conversion of heart is
accompanied by a salutary pain and sadness which the
Fathers called animi cruciatus (affliction of
spirit) and compunctio cordis (repentance of
heart).24
1432
The human heart is heavy and hardened. God must give man
a new heart.25 Conversion is first of all a
work of the grace of God who makes our hearts return to
him: "Restore us to thyself, O LORD, that we may be
restored!"26 God gives us the strength to
begin anew. It is in discovering the greatness of God's
love that our heart is shaken by the horror and weight
of sin and begins to fear offending God by sin and being
separated from him. The human heart is converted by
looking upon him whom our sins have pierced:27
Let us fix our eyes on Christ's blood and understand how
precious it is to his Father, for, poured out for our
salvation it has brought to the whole world the grace of
repentance.
1433
Since Easter, the Holy Spirit has proved "the world
wrong about sin,"29 i.e., proved that the
world has not believed in him whom the Father has sent.
But this same Spirit who brings sin to light is also the
Consoler who gives the human heart grace for repentance
and conversion.30
VII. THE ACTS OF THE PENITENT
1450
"Penance requires . . . the sinner to endure all things
willingly, be contrite of heart, confess with the lips,
and practice complete humility and fruitful
satisfaction."49
Contrition
1451
Among the penitent's acts contrition occupies first
place. Contrition is "sorrow of the soul and detestation
for the sin committed, together with the resolution not
to sin again."50
1452
When it arises from a love by which God is loved above
all else, contrition is called "perfect" (contrition of
charity). Such contrition remits venial sins; it also
obtains forgiveness of mortal sins if it includes the
firm resolution to have recourse to sacramental
confession as soon as possible.51
1453
The contrition called "imperfect" (or "attrition") is
also a gift of God, a prompting of the Holy Spirit. It
is born of the consideration of sin's ugliness or the
fear of eternal damnation and the other penalties
threatening the sinner (contrition of fear). Such a
stirring of conscience can initiate an interior process
which, under the prompting of grace, will be brought to
completion by sacramental absolution. By itself however,
imperfect contrition cannot obtain the forgiveness of
grave sins, but it disposes one to obtain forgiveness in
the sacrament of Penance.52
1454
The reception of this sacrament ought to be prepared for
by an examination of conscience made in the light
of the Word of God. The passages best suited to this can
be found in the Ten Commandments, the moral catechesis
of the Gospels and the apostolic Letters, such as the
Sermon on the Mount and the apostolic teachings.53
The confession of sins
1455
The confession (or disclosure) of sins, even from a
simply human point of view, frees us and facilitates our
reconciliation with others. Through such an admission
man looks squarely at the sins he is guilty of, takes
responsibility for them, and thereby opens himself again
to God and to the communion of the Church in order to
make a new future possible.
1456
Confession to a priest is an essential part of the
sacrament of Penance: "All mortal sins of which
penitents after a diligent self-examination are
conscious must be recounted by them in confession, even
if they are most secret and have been committed against
the last two precepts of the Decalogue; for these sins
sometimes wound the soul more grievously and are more
dangerous than those which are committed openly."54
When Christ's faithful strive to confess all the sins
that they can remember, they undoubtedly place all of
them before the divine mercy for pardon. But those who
fail to do so and knowingly withhold some, place nothing
before the divine goodness for remission through the
mediation of the priest, "for if the sick person is too
ashamed to show his wound to the doctor, the medicine
cannot heal what it does not know."55
1457
According to the Church's command, "after having
attained the age of discretion, each of the faithful is
bound by an obligation faithfully to confess serious
sins at least once a year."56 Anyone who is
aware of having committed a mortal sin must not receive
Holy Communion, even if he experiences deep contrition,
without having first received sacramental absolution,
unless he has a grave reason for receiving Communion and
there is no possibility of going to confession.57
Children must go to the sacrament of Penance before
receiving Holy Communion for the first time.58
1458
Without being strictly necessary, confession of everyday
faults (venial sins) is nevertheless strongly
recommended by the Church.59 Indeed the
regular confession of our venial sins helps us form our
conscience, fight against evil tendencies, let ourselves
be healed by Christ and progress in the life of the
Spirit. By receiving more frequently through this
sacrament the gift of the Father's mercy, we are spurred
to be merciful as he is merciful:60
Whoever confesses his sins . . . is already working with
God. God indicts your sins; if you also indict them, you
are joined with God. Man and sinner are, so to speak,
two realities: when you hear "man" - this is what God
has made; when you hear "sinner" - this is what man
himself has made. Destroy what you have made, so that
God may save what he has made. . . . When you begin to
abhor what you have made, it is then that your good
works are beginning, since you are accusing yourself of
your evil works. The beginning of good works is the
confession of evil works. You do the truth and come to
the light.61
Satisfaction
1459
Many sins wrong our neighbor. One must do what is
possible in order to repair the harm (e.g., return
stolen goods, restore the reputation of someone
slandered, pay compensation for injuries). Simple
justice requires as much. But sin also injures and
weakens the sinner himself, as well as his relationships
with God and neighbor. Absolution takes away sin, but it
does not remedy all the disorders sin has caused.62
Raised up from sin, the sinner must still recover his
full spiritual health by doing something more to make
amends for the sin: he must "make satisfaction for" or
"expiate" his sins. This satisfaction is also called
"penance."
1460
The penance the confessor imposes must take into
account the penitent's personal situation and must seek
his spiritual good. It must correspond as far as
possible with the gravity and nature of the sins
committed. It can consist of prayer, an offering, works
of mercy, service of neighbor, voluntary self-denial,
sacrifices, and above all the patient acceptance of the
cross we must bear. Such penances help configure us to
Christ, who alone expiated our sins once for all. They
allow us to become co-heirs with the risen Christ,
"provided we suffer with him."63
The satisfaction that we make for our sins, however, is
not so much ours as though it were not done through
Jesus Christ. We who can do nothing ourselves, as if
just by ourselves, can do all things with the
cooperation of "him who strengthens" us. Thus man has
nothing of which to boast, but all our boasting is in
Christ . . . in whom we make satisfaction by bringing
forth "fruits that befit repentance." These fruits have
their efficacy from him, by him they are offered to the
Father, and through him they are accepted by the Father.64
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