Confession
What goes on inside the `black box' that is the confessional? How does confession `work'? And why do Catholics feel the need to go to confession? These are some of the questions I hope to begin to attempt to answer.
Let us begin with the first question. Some non-Catholic readers of this article may have seen confession supposedly taking place in films or T.V. programmes, and wondered how accurate it is. Clearly I am unable to refer to every single T.V. programme and film, so I shall outline a general `order of service', based on my own experience.
Usually once the `penitent', that is, the person going to confession, closes the confessional door, he or she kneels down on a kneeler, or in the case of someone who is elderly or has another reason for doing so, he or she sits down. In most confessionals there is some sort of a `screen' to prevent the priest from seeing who the particular penitent is, although in some there is direct face-to-face contact. The priest begins: "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen" whilst the penitent makes the sign of the cross. The penitent will then say "bless me Father/forgive me Father for I have sinned. It was X weeks/months/years since my last confession. Here are my sins
" The `sin list' may go along the lines of "I have been proud, I have been lazy, I decided not to go to Mass on Sunday or a holy day of obligation" or the penitent may feel the need to go into greater detail, which whilst not necessary may help the priest better understand what someone has done. If someone has difficulty confessing his sins, he can ask the priest for help. The priest will then perhaps ask a series of questions based on the Ten Commandments, or perhaps the teachings of Christ, such as the Sermon on the Mount.
Following the confession of sins by the penitent, the priest may then give some advice on avoiding certain faults or words of general encouragement. The priest will then assign a "penance", which usually consists of a few prayers to say in the church after leaving the confessional. For me this has ranged from two Hail Mary prayers right up to five decades of the rosary (which takes me about fifteen to twenty minutes). And to think you thought I was always a good boy! The reason given for the penance in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (1459) is as follows:
"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.'"
But at this point, after having being assigned a penance, the penitent still hasn't been granted forgiveness. So next the penitent is asked to say a prayer expressing sorrow for sins committed together with the resolution not to commit them again. This prayer is known as an `act of contrition.' Then the priest gives the `absolution.' The priest then extends either his right hand or both hands over the penitent and says the following:
"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."
Then the priest will dismiss the penitent by saying the following or similar words: "The Lord has freed you from your sins. Go in peace." The penitent then leaves the confessional and goes and prays his penance in the church. Following the pronouncement of the words of absolution, many people feel "peace and serenity of conscience with strong spiritual consolation" (Council of Trent (1551): DS1674), and this has certainly been my experience together with that of other people I have spoken to.
Having dealt with `what goes on', let us move on to the `spiritual mechanics.'
How do we know whether something is a sin or not? Do I need to confess everything? What if I forget something? To answer the first two, let us examine the nature of sin.
To sin is to do something knowing it is wrong; therefore it is possible to do something wrong without sinning, as at the time you didn't realise it was a sin. time you didn't realise it was a sin. However we must also remember that the Ten Commandments are written on the human heart. As St. Paul said, pagans "can point to the substance of the Law engraved on their hearts" (Romans 2:15). So even if we haven't been officially `told' something is wrong, we can still `know' it is wrong, and it would therefore still be a sin.
But do I need to confess everything? The Catechism of the Catholic Church 1456 says:
"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'"
Council of Trent (1551); DS1680 (ND1626); cf. St. Jerome, In Ecclesiastes 10,11: PL 23:1096
But what about the sins I forget? To answer this I must explain the two `types' of sin: mortal and venial. 1 John 5:16 talks about "a sin that is death", and this is what a mortal sin is. Anyone who dies unrepentant in a state of mortal sin doesn't go to heaven, as such sins `cut you off' from God. Note that we reject God, not vice versa. On the other hand, venial sins do not have this effect, as not even a million venial sins make up a mortal sin. In order for a sin to be mortal, it has to fulfil these criteria: the offence must be serious, we must know and realise that we are committing a mortal sin, and we must have full consent of the will. Serious matter includes a deliberate and grave breaking of one of the Ten Commandments. All mortal sins must be confessed in order to be forgiven (and how could your conscience let you forget them?), whilst if venial sins are forgotten they will be forgiven together with those that are confessed.
Finally, the question everybody wants to know the answer to: why go to confession?
The Catholic Church, together with (most if not all; I am uncertain) of the Orthodox Church, believes there are seven Sacraments instituted by Christ. The institution of the sacrament of Penance (or `confession') is found in John 20:19-23. After His resurrection, Jesus breathed on the Apostles, the first Pope and bishops (now you know where the idea of `apostolic succession' comes from), and said to them (verse 23):
"For those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven; for those whose sins you retain, they are retained."
Therefore because of this belief, Catholic and Orthodox Christians have `passed on what they have received' and have gone to confession down the ages. However, even the Catholic Church realises that for venial sins confession is not the only way of receiving forgiveness. But we believe it is the best way, given by Christ Himself. It must also be remembered that confession is not only forgiveness of sins, but also healing and strengthening against further sin. Perhaps the words of Pope John XXIII are a good explanation to finish with:
"It is here in the sacrament of Penance that God's mercy will at last win the victory over human wickedness. It is here that men will be cleansed of their sins and reconciled with God. We condemn the theory that the frequent confession of venial sins is `not a practice to be greatly valued.' On the contrary, for a constant and rapid advancement in virtue, we highly recommend the pious practice of frequent Confession, introduced by the Church under the guidance of the Holy Spirit."
(1958-1963) (Sacerdotii Nostri Primordia)
(Quote from http://www.christis.org.uk/archive/issue84/confession.php)
