And miles to go

by Bishop John C. Nienstedt

The auspicious date of February 13 (no, not a Friday!) marks this year’s Ash Wednesday and the beginning of our Lenten Season. While I already shared some thoughts with you last November on the Sacrament of Penance/Reconciliation, my experience with celebrations of Form II during Advent suggest I answer a few questions that have come up:

1) Why do we confess to a priest?

The issue of auricular (spoken) confession of sin is a matter of faith. Only God can forgive sin and Jesus, as the Son of God, applies that power to himself: "The Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins." (Lk 7:48 and Mark 2:10) After his Resurrection, Jesus bestowed the power to forgive sins on the apostles, the first bishops in the church (Jn 20:21-23). Specifically he gave them the power to forgive and retain sins. This latter aspect implies that the apostle would know a person’s sins, for how else would he be able to decide what would be forgiven and what would be retained? Hence, oral confession is by necessity required. It has been argued that Jesus could have chosen another method to pass on the power to forgive sins, but the fact is he did not. From the earliest centuries of the church, auricular confession for serious sin has been verified; see Didache (around 70 A.D.), Tertullian (around 203 A.D.), Hippolytus (around 215 A.D.) and St. John Chrysostom (around 387 A.D.).

2. Is there confusion today about the meaning of sin?

I answer, "Absolutely!" When I was a boy, everything seemed to be sinful. In the 1970s, nothing was sinful! An excellent study appeared at that time with the focused title: Whatever Happened to Sin?

St. John describes sin as "lawlessness" (1Jn 3:4). The Catechism defines sin as "an offense against reason, truth, and right conscience; it is a failure in genuine love for God and neighbor caused by a perverse attachment to certain goods" (#1849).

The Pope reminds us that "sins do not exist in the abstract, but are the consequences of personal acts." (Ecclesia in America) Serious sin involves grave matter (Ten Commandments, Beatitudes, Precepts of the Church) as well as full knowledge (I know this is wrong and I will do it anyhow) and complete consent (I deliberately will to do it). Venial sin, as St. Thomas Aquinas tells us, is sin by analogy. It is a disordering of the moral law, but not of a serious nature. Yet, venial sin impedes spiritual growth and the exercise of virtue. Venial sin may also involve grave matter, but is committed without full knowledge or consent.

I find it helpful to see sin as the opposite of virtue. Virtue builds on good works. It develops an integral, healthy relationship with oneself, God and neighbor. Sin is the opposite in that it unravels or weakens those relationships. Sin and virtue always involve relationships, not mere rules or laws. Because of this, sin is always personal.

3) Why do we celebrate Communal Penance while including Individual Confession and Absolution?

While the same components are present for the Rite of Reconciliation of Individual Penitent (Form I) and the Rite of Several Penitents with Individual Confession and Absolution (Form II), there is a basic difference. Form II emphasizes the ecclesial nature of the sacrament, which is to say that in one way or another the whole church shares in the work of reconciliation given it by Jesus. The whole church and each of its members are instruments of conversion.

Therefore, in Form II the church gathers to pray together, to hear God’s Word from Sacred Scripture, to join in an examination of conscience and in a collective expression of sorrow. This is very similar to what we do at the Eucharist and, just as at the Eucharist, the penitent comes forward personally to confess his/her own particular sins and to receive a personal penance and then individual absolution. Obviously, the latter encounter takes longer than the reception of Holy Communion, but the same dynamic of "communal" vis a vis "individual" is there.

In this context, as he/she comes to confess all serious sins, the penitent does not ask for a blessing, offer an Act of Contrition (that has already been done) or expect substantial counsel (the homily should serve as inspiration). (If the penitent wishes to engage a confessor in dialogue, he/she should use Form I for the celebration). The emphasis here is on the communal participation of the individual in the social dimension of sin. This Rite attempts to balance the individual emphasis of Form I while maintaining the integrity of personal responsibility for specific sins and the individual absolving of those sins in the name of Jesus Christ. There is a delicate balance here that needs to be reflected upon thoughtfully.

4) Why is General Absolution not permitted?

The new Rite of Penance upholds the age-old teaching of the church that an individual, complete auricular confession is the ordinary, hence normal, means of forgiving serious sin and, therefore, being reconciled with the church.

General Absolution is an exception, reserved for "impossible" situations. The first of these involves the danger of death and the second involves one being forced to go without the benefit of the sacrament "for a long time". Fifteen years ago, the bishops of this country ruled "a long time" to be the period of one month. Therefore, if at a particular Communal Penance Service all the penitents are not heard in a given evening, they still have the opportunity for confession later that week or within that month. Thus, the exception of General Absolution cannot and may not be legitimately invoked.

5) Do we need further catechesis on this Sacrament?

I believe we do. As human beings, we can often rationalize what we do and why we do it. We do not like to admit we have been wrong or ask to be forgiven. Yet, doing so can be extremely therapeutic and life giving. Doing so within the Sacrament of Jesus’ love and forgiveness not only provides spiritual healing, but also places us in direct contact with Christ’s Divine Mercy, which recreates sinful humanity through the power of the Holy Spirit. That contact is the heart of our faith in Jesus Christ and the reason we have been reborn to eternal life.