Lesson 19
ON CONFESSION

208 Q. What is Confession?
A. Confession is the telling of our sins to a duly authorized priest,
for the purpose of obtaining forgiveness.

"Duly authorized"--one sent by the bishop of the diocese in which you
are.

"Forgiveness." You might tell a priest all your sins while in ordinary
conversation with him, but that would not be confession, because you
would not be telling them to have them pardoned. If a person has lost
the use of his speech, he can make his confession by writing his sins on
a paper and giving it to the priest in the confessional. If the priest
returns the paper the penitent must be careful to destroy it afterwards.
Also, if you have a poor memory you may write down the sins you wish to
confess, and read them from the paper in the confessional; then you also
must be careful to destroy the paper after confession. If a person whose
language the priest does not understand is dying, or is obliged to make
his yearly confession, he must tell what he can by signs, show that he
is sorry for his sins, and thus receive absolution. In a word, the
priest would act with him as he would with one who had lost the use of
his speech and power to write.

209 Q. What sins are we bound to confess?
A. We are bound to confess all our mortal sins, but it is well also to
confess our venial sins.

"Bound"--obliged in such a way that our confession would be bad if we
did not tell them.

"Well," because we should tell all the sins we can remember; but if we
did not tell a venial sin after we had told a mortal sin, our confession
would not be bad. Or if we committed a little venial sin after
confession, that should not keep us from Holy Communion; because the
Holy Communion itself would blot out that and any other venial sin we
might have upon our souls: so that you should never let anything keep
you away, unless you are certain you have committed a mortal sin after
the confession, or have broken your fast.

*210 Q. What are the chief qualities of a good confession?
A. The chief qualities of a good confession are three: it must be
humble, sincere, and entire.

*211 Q. When is our confession humble?
A. Our confession is humble when we accuse ourselves of our sins, with a
deep sense of shame and sorrow for having offended God.

*212 Q. When is our confession sincere?
A. Our confession is sincere when we tell our sins honestly and
truthfully, neither exaggerating nor excusing them.

"Exaggerating." You must never tell in confession a sin you did not
commit, any more than conceal one you did commit. You must tell just the
sins committed, and no more or less; and if you are in doubt whether you
have committed the sin, or whether the thing done was a sin, then you
must tell your doubts to the priest: but do not say you committed such
and such sins when you do not know whether you did or not, or only
because you think it likely that you did.

*213 Q. When is our confession entire?
A. Our confession is entire when we tell the number and kinds of our
sins and the circumstances which change their nature.

"Number"--the exact number, if you know it; as, for example, when we
miss Mass we can generally tell exactly the number of times. But when we
tell lies, for instance, we may not know the exact number: then we say
how often in the day, or that it is a habit with us, etc.

"Kinds"--whether they are cursing, or stealing, or lying, etc.

"Circumstances which change their nature." In the case of stealing, for
example, you need not tell whether it was from a grocery, a bakery, or
dry-goods store you stole, for that circumstance does not change the
nature of the sin: you have simply to tell the amount you took. But if
you stole from a church you would have to tell that, because that is a
circumstance that gives the sin of stealing a new character, and makes
it sacrilegious stealing. Or if you stole from a poor beggar all he
possessed in the world, so that you left him starving, that would be a
circumstance making your sin worse, and so you would have to tell it.
Therefore you have to tell any circumstance that really makes your sin
much worse or less than it seems; all other circumstances you need not
tell: they will only confuse you, and make you forget your sins and
waste the priest's time.

214 Q. What should we do if we cannot remember the number of our sins?
A. If we cannot remember the number of our sins, we should tell the
number as nearly as possible, and say how often we have sinned in a day,
a week, or a month and how long the habit or practice has lasted.

*215 Q. Is our confession worthy if, without our fault, we forget to
confess a mortal sin?
A. If without our fault we forget to confess a mortal sin, our
confession is worthy, and the sin is forgiven; but it must be told in
confession if it again comes to our mind.

216 Q. Is it a grievous offense willfully to conceal a mortal sin in
confession?
A. It is a grievous offense willfully to conceal a mortal sin in
confession, because we thereby tell a lie to the Holy Ghost, and make
our confession worthless.

"A lie to the Holy Ghost." God sees every sin we commit, and in His
presence we present ourselves to the priest in the confessional, and
declare that we are confessing all. If, then, we willfully conceal a sin
that we are bound to confess, God is a witness to our sacrilegious lie.
If I see you in some place to which you were forbidden to go, and you,
knowing that I saw you, positively deny that you were there, your guilt
would be doubly great, for, besides the sin of disobedience committed by
going to the forbidden place, you also resist the known truth, and
endeavor to prove that I, when I declare I saw you, am telling what is
untrue. In a similar manner, concealing a sin in confession is
equivalent to denying before God that we are guilty of it. Besides, it
is a great folly to conceal a sin, because it must be confessed sooner
or later, and the longer we conceal it the deeper will be our sense of
shame for the sacrileges committed. Again, why should one be ashamed to
confess to the priest what he has not been ashamed to do before God,
unless he has greater respect for the priest than he has for the
Almighty God--an absurdity we cannot believe. Moreover, the shame you
experience in telling your sins is a kind of penance for them. Do you
not suppose Our Lord knew, when He instituted the Sacrament of Penance,
that people would be ashamed to confess? Certainly He did; and that act
of humility is pleasing to God, and is a kind of punishment for your
sins, and probably takes away some of the punishment you would have to
suffer for them. Often, too, the thought of having to confess will keep
you from committing the sin. There is another thought that should
encourage us to gladly make a full confession of all our sins, and it is
this: it is easier to tell them to the priest alone than to have them
exposed, unforgiven, before the whole world on the Day of Judgment. Do
not imagine that your confessor will think less of you on account of
your sins. The confessor does not think of your sins after he leaves the
confessional. How could he remember all the confessions he hears--often
hundreds in a single month? And what is more--he does not even wish to
recall the sinful things heard in the confessional, because he wishes to
keep his own mind pure, and his soul free from every stain. The priest
is always better pleased to hear the confession of a great sinner or of
one who has been a long time from the Sacraments, than of one who goes
frequently or who has little to tell. He is not glad, of course, that
the sinner has committed great sins, but he is glad that since he has
had the misfortune to sin so much, he has now the grace and courage to
seek forgiveness. Our Lord once said (Luke 15:7) while preaching, that
the angels and saints in Heaven rejoice more at seeing one sinner doing
penance than they do over ninety-nine good persons who did not need to
do penance. The greater the danger to which a person has been exposed,
the more thankful he and his friends are for escape or recovery from it.
If your brother fell into the ocean and was rescued just as he was going
down for the last time, you would feel more grateful than if he was
rescued from some little pond into which he had slipped, and in which
there was scarcely any danger of his being drowned. So, also, the nearer
we are to losing our, souls and going to Hell, the more delighted the
angels and saints are when we are saved. One who has escaped great
danger will more carefully avoid similar accidents in the future: in
like manner, the sinner, after having escaped the danger of eternal
death by the pardon of his sins, should never again risk his salvation.

217 Q. What must he do who has willfully concealed a mortal sin in
confession?
A. He who has willfully concealed a mortal sin in confession must not
only confess it, but must also repeat all the sins he has committed
since his last worthy confession.

"Willfully." Remember, forgetting is not the same as concealing; but if
you should willfully neglect to examine your conscience or make any
effort to know your sins before going to confession, then forgetting
would be equivalent to concealing. Without any preparation your
confession could hardly be a good one. When you are in doubt whether an
action is sinful or not, or whether you have confessed it before, you
should not leave the confessional with the doubt upon your mind.

It is a foolish practice, however, to be always disturbing your
conscience by thinking of past sins, especially of those that occurred
very early in your life. Sometimes it is dangerous; because if, while
thinking of your past sins, you should take pleasure in them, you would
commit a new sin similar to the past sins in which you take delight.

It is best, therefore, not to dwell in thought upon any particular past
sin with the time, place, and circumstances of its commission; but
simply to remember in general that you have in the past sinned against
this or that Commandment or virtue.

The past is no longer under our control, while the future is, and
becomes for us, therefore, the all-important portion of our lives. Not
unfrequently it may be an artifice of the devil to keep us so occupied
with past deeds that we may not attend to the dangers of the future. Do
not, then, after your confession spend your time in thinking of the sins
you confessed, but of how you will avoid them in the future. When a
wound is healed up, nobody thinks of opening it again to see if it has
healed properly; so when the wounds made in our souls by sin are healed
up by the absolution, we should not open them again.

This is the rule with regard to our ordinary confessions; but we should
sometimes make a general confession. What is a general confession? It is
the confession of the sins of our whole life or of a portion--say one,
two or five, etc., years--of our life. A general confession may be
necessary, useful, or hurtful. It is necessary, as you know, when our
past confessions were bad. It is useful, though not necessary, on
special occasions in our lives; for example, in the time of a retreat or
mission; in the time of preparation for First Communion, Confirmation,
Matrimony, etc., or in preparing for death. It is very useful also for
persons about to change their state of life; for such as are about to
become priests or religious, etc. It is useful because it gives us a
better knowledge of the state of our souls, as we see their condition
not merely for a month or two, but for our whole lifetime. We are
looking at them as God will look at them in the Last Judgment,
considering all the good and evil we have ever done, and comparing the
amount of the one with the amount of the other. We resolve to increase
the good and diminish the evil in our future lives. We promise to do
penance for the past and to avoid sin for the future; and thus we are
benefited in general confession by this judgment of ourselves, as we may
call it.

General confession is hurtful to scrupulous persons. Scrupulous persons
are those who think almost everything they do is a sin. They are always
dissatisfied with their confessions, and fear to approach the
Sacraments. Their conscience is never at ease, and they are forever
unhappy. It is very wrong for them to think and act in this manner, and
they must use every means in their power to overcome their scruples.

Our Lord in His goodness never intended to make us unhappy by
instituting the Sacraments, but on the contrary to make us happy, and
set our minds and consciences at ease in the reception of His grace.
Scrupulous persons must do exactly whatever their confessor advises, no
matter what they themselves may think. Such persons, as you can plainly
see, should not make general confessions, because their consciences
would be more disturbed than pacified by them.

You prepare for general confession as you would for any other, except
that you take a longer time for it, and do not pay so much attention to
your more trifling sins.

218 Q. Why does the priest give us a penance after confession?
A. The priest gives us a penance after confession, that we may satisfy
God for the temporal punishment due to our sins.

"Penance." The little penance the priest gives may not fully satisfy
God, but shows by our accepting it that we are willing to do penance.
What, for example, is a penance of five "Our Fathers" compared with the
guilt of one mortal sin, for which we would have to suffer in Hell for
all eternity? Then think of the penances performed by the Christians
many centuries ago, in the early ages of the Church. There were four
stages of penance. The churches were divided into four parts by railings
and gates. The first railing across the church was at some distance from
the altar, the second was a little below the middle of the church, and
the third was near the door. Those who committed great sins had to stand
clad in coarse garments near the entrance of the church, and beg the
prayers of those who entered. After they had done this kind of penance
for a certain time, they were allowed to come into the church as far as
the second railing. They were allowed to hear the sermon, but were not
permitted to be present at the Mass. After doing sufficient penance,
they were allowed to remain for Mass, but could not receive Holy
Communion. When they had performed all the penance imposed upon them,
they were allowed to receive the Sacraments and enjoy all the rights and
privileges of faithful children of the Church. These penances lasted for
many days and sometimes for years, according to the gravity of the sins
committed. The sins for which these severe penances were performed were
generally sins that had been committed publicly, and hence the penance,
amendment, and reparation had also to be public.

"Temporal Punishment." Every sin has two punishments attached to it, one
called the eternal and the other the temporal. Let me explain by an
example. If I, turning highway robber, waylay a man, beat him and steal
his watch, I do him, as you see, a double injury, and deserve a double
punishment for the twofold crime of beating and robbing him. He might
pardon me for the injuries caused by the beating, but that would not
free me from the obligation of restoring to him his watch or its value,
for the fact that he forgives me for the act of stealing does not give
me the right to keep what justly belongs to him. Now, when we sin
against God we in the first place insult Him, and secondly rob Him of
what is deservedly His due; namely, the worship, respect, obedience,
love, etc., that we owe Him as our Creator, Preserver, and Redeemer.

In the Sacrament of Penance God forgives the insult offered by sinning,
but requires us to make restitution for that of which the sin has
deprived Him. In every sin there is an act of turning away from God and
an act of turning to some creature in His stead. If a soldier pledged to
defend his country deserts his army in time of war, he is guilty of a
dishonorable, contemptible act; but if, besides deserting his own army,
he goes over to aid the enemy, he becomes guilty of another and still
greater crime--he becomes a traitor for whom the laws of nations reserve
their severest penalties. By sin we, who in Baptism and Confirmation
have promised to serve God and war against His enemies, desert Him and
go over to them; for Our Blessed Lord has said: He that is not with Me
is against Me.

We pay the temporal debt due to our sins, that is, make the restitution,
by our penances upon earth, or by our suffering in Purgatory, or by both
combined.

The penances performed upon earth are very acceptable and pleasing to
God; and hence we should be most anxious to do penance here that we may
have less to suffer in Purgatory. St. Augustine, who had been a great
sinner, often prayed that God might send him many tribulations while on
earth, that he might have less to endure in Purgatory. Therefore, after
performing the penance the priest gives you in the confessional, it is
wise to impose upon yourself other light penances in keeping with your
age and condition, but never undertake severe penances or make religious
vows and promises without consulting your confessor. In every case be
careful first of all to perform the penance imposed upon you in the
reception of the Sacrament. The penance given in confession has a
special value, which none of the penances selected by yourself could
have.

If you forget to say your penance, your confession is not on that
account worthless; but as the penance is one of the parts of the
Sacrament, namely, the satisfaction, you should say it as soon as
possible, and in the manner your confessor directs. If you cannot
perform the penance imposed by your confessor, you should inform him of
that fact, and ask him to give you another in its stead.

Indulgences also are a means of satisfying for this temporal punishment.
Sometimes God inflicts the temporal punishment in this world by sending
us misfortunes or sufferings, especially such as are brought on by the
sins committed.

*219 Q. Does not the Sacrament of Penance remit all punishment due to
sin?
A. The Sacrament of Penance remits the eternal punishment due to sin,
but it does not always remit the temporal punishment which God requires
as satisfaction for our sins.

Remember that Baptism differs from Penance in this respect, that
although they both remit sin, Penance does not take away all the
temporal punishment, while Baptism takes away all the punishment, both
eternal and temporal; so that if we died immediately after Baptism we
would go directly to Heaven, while if we died immediately after Penance
we would generally go to Purgatory to make satisfaction for the temporal
debt.

*220 Q. Why does God require a temporal punishment as a satisfaction for
sin?
A. God requires a temporal punishment as a satisfaction for sin to teach
us the great evil of sin, and to prevent us from failing again.

*221 Q. Which are the chief means by which we satisfy God for the
temporal punishment due to sin?
A. The chief means by which we satisfy God for the temporal punishment
due to sin are: prayer, fasting, almsgiving, all spiritual and corporal
works of mercy, and the patient suffering of the ills of life.

"Chief," but not the only means. "Fasting," especially the fasts imposed
by the Church--in Lent for instance. Lent is the forty days before
Easter Sunday during which we fast and pray to prepare ourselves for the
resurrection of Our Lord, and also to remind us of His own fast of forty
days before His Passion. "Almsgiving"--that is, money or goods given to
the poor. "Spiritual" works of mercy are those good works we do for
persons' souls. "Corporal" works of mercy are those we do for their
bodies. "Ills of life"--sickness or poverty or misfortune, especially
when we have not brought them upon ourselves by sin.

*222 Q. Which are the chief spiritual works of mercy?
A. The chief spiritual works of mercy are seven: to admonish the sinner,
to instruct the ignorant, to counsel the doubtful, to comfort the
sorrowful, to bear wrongs patiently, to forgive all injuries, and to
pray for the living and the dead.

"To admonish the sinner." If we love our neighbor we should help him in
his distress, even when it is an inconvenience to us. We should help him
also to correct his faults, we should point them out and warn him of
them. We are obliged to do so in the following circumstances: First.
When his fault is a mortal sin. Second. When we have some authority or
influence over him. Third. When there is reason to believe that our
warning will make him better instead of worse. If our advice only makes
him worse, then we should not say anything to him about his fault, but
keep out of his company ourselves. "Ignorant" especially in their
religion. "Doubtful" about something in religion which you can explain
and make clear to them. "Comfort," saying kind words of encouragement to
them. "Wrongs," things not deserved; for example, persons talking ill
about us, accusing us falsely, etc.; but if the false accusations, etc.,
are going to give scandal, then we must defend ourselves against them.
If, for instance, lies were told about the father of a family, and it
were likely all his children would believe them and lose their respect
for his authority, then he must let them know the truth. But when we
patiently suffer wrongs that injure only ourselves, and that are known
only to God and ourselves, God sees our sufferings and rewards us. What
matters it what people think we are if God knows all our doings and is
pleased with them? "Living"--especially for the conversion of sinners,
or for those who are on their deathbed. "The dead"--those suffering in
Purgatory, especially if we have ever caused them to sin.

*223 Q. Which are the chief corporal works of mercy?
A. The chief corporal works of mercy are seven: to feed the hungry, to
give drink to the thirsty, to clothe the naked, to ransom the captive,
to harbor the harborless, to visit the sick, and to bury the dead.

"Ransom the captive"--that is, chiefly those who while teaching or
defending the true religion in pagan lands are taken prisoners by the
enemies of our faith. You have perhaps heard of the Crusades or read
about them in your history. Now let me briefly tell you what they were
and why they were commenced. About the year 570, that is, about thirteen
hundred years ago, when the Christian religion was spread over nearly
the whole world, a man named Mahomet was born in Arabia. He pretended to
be a great prophet sent from God, and gathered many followers about him.
He told them his religion must be spread by the sword. He plundered
cities and towns, and divided the spoils with his followers. He told
them that all who died fighting for him would certainly go to Heaven. In
a short time his followers became very numerous; for his religion was an
easy and profitable one, allowing them to commit sin without fear of
punishment, and giving them share of his plunder. Many others not
influenced by these motives joined his religion for fear of being put to
death. His followers were afterwards called by the general name of
Saracens. They took possession of the Holy Land, of the City of
Jerusalem, of the tomb of Our Lord, and of every spot rendered dear to
Christians by Our Saviour's life and labors there. They persecuted the
Christians who went to visit the Holy Land, and put many of them to
death. When the news of these dreadful crimes reached Europe, the
Christian kings and princes, at the request of the Pope, raised large
armies and set out for the East to war against the Saracens and recover
the Holy Land. Eight of these expeditions, or Crusades, as they are
called, went out during two hundred years, that is, from 1095 to 1272.
Those who took part in them are called Crusaders, from the word cross,
because every soldier wore a red cross upon his shoulder.

Some of these expeditions were successful, and some were not; but, on
the whole, they prevented the Saracens from coming to Europe and taking
possession of it. Many of the Christian soldiers and many of the
pilgrims who visited the Holy Land were taken prisoners by the Saracens
and held, threatened with death, till the Christians in Europe paid
large sums of money as a ransom for their liberty. To free these
captives was a great act of charity, and is one of the corporal works of
mercy. Ransom means to pay money for another's freedom. Even now there
are sometimes captives in pagan lands.

A pilgrim is one who goes on a journey to visit some holy place for the
purpose of thus honoring God. He would not be a pilgrim if he went
merely through curiosity. He must go with the holy intention of making
his visit an act of worship. In our time pilgrimages to the Holy Land,
to Rome, and other places are quite frequent. "To harbor"--that is, to
give one who has no home a place of rest. A harbor is an inlet of the
ocean where ships can rest and be out of danger; so we can also call the
home or place of rest given to the homeless a harbor. "Sick," especially
the sick poor and those who have no friends. "To bury" those who are
strangers and have no friends. All Christians are bound to perform these
works of mercy in one way or another. We have been relieved to some
extent of doing the work ourselves by the establishment of institutions
where these things are attended to by communities of holy men or women
called religious. They take charge of asylums for the orphans, homes for
the aged and poor, hospitals for the sick, etc., while many devote
themselves to teaching in colleges, academies, and schools. But if these
good religious do the work for us, we are obliged on our part to give
them the means to carry it on. Therefore we should contribute according
to our means to charitable institutions, and indeed to all institutions
that promote the glory of God and the good of our religion. To explain
more fully, religious are self-sacrificing men and women who, wishing to
follow the evangelical counsels, dedicate their lives to the service of
God. They live together in communities approved by the Church, under the
rule and guidance of their superiors. Their day is divided between
prayer, labor, and good works, more time being given to one or other of
these according to the special end or aim of the community. The houses
in which they live are called convents or monasteries, and the societies
of which they are members are called religious orders, communities, or
congregations. In some of these religious communities of men all the
members are priests, in others some are priests and some are brothers,
and in others still all are brothers. Priests belonging to the religious
orders are called the regular clergy, to distinguish them from the
secular clergy or priests who live and labor in the parishes to which
they are assigned by their bishops. Sisters and nuns mean almost the
same thing, but we generally call those nuns who live under a more
severe rule and never leave the boundaries of their convent. In like
manner friars, monks, and brothers lead almost the same kind of life,
except that the monks practice greater penances and live under stricter
rules. A hermit is a holy man who lives alone in some desert or lonely
place, and spends his life in prayer and mortification. In the early
ages of the Church there were many of these hermits, or Fathers of the
desert, but now religious live together in communities.

The members of religious orders of men or women take three vows, namely,
of poverty, chastity, and obedience. These orders were founded by holy
persons for some special work approved of by the Church. Thus the
Dominicans were founded by St. Dominic, and their special work was to
preach the Gospel and convert heretics or persons who had fallen away
from the Faith. The Jesuit Fathers were organized by St. Ignatius
Loyola, and their work is chiefly teaching in colleges, and giving
retreats and missions. So also have the Redemptorists, Franciscans,
Passionists, etc., their special works, chiefly the giving of missions.
In a word, every community, of either men or women, must perform the
particular work for which it was instituted.

But why, you will ask, are there different religious orders? In the
first place, all persons are not fitted for the same kind of work: some
can teach, others cannot; some can bear the fatigue of nursing the sick,
and others cannot. Secondly, when Our Lord was on earth He performed
every good work and practiced every virtue perfectly. He fasted, prayed,
helped the needy, comforted the sorrowful, healed the sick, taught the
ignorant, defended the oppressed, admonished sinners, etc. It would be
impossible for any one community to imitate Our Lord in all His works,
so each community takes one or more particular works of Our Lord, and
tries to imitate Him as perfectly as possible in these at least. Some
communities devote their time to prayer; others attend the sick; others
teach, etc.; and thus when all unite their different works the combined
result is a more perfect imitation of Our Lord's life upon earth.