A Sunday Thought to Start the Week Off Right
We're continuing our Sunday "mini-series" about the Sacrament of Confession. Again, we'll reference Pardon and Peace by Fr. Alfred Wilson. Today we begin with a quick survey of the history of how Confession has been traditionally practiced.
“For the first four centuries of the Christian era (according to some, until the seventh century), it was the universal practice to employ Confession only for mortal sins. Many of the faithful never received the Sacrament of Penance at all, and it seems fairly certain that we must include in this number some of the saints, e.g. St. Ambrose, St. Cyprian, St. Augustine and St. Jerome. … For the deleting of venial sin, the early writers recommend ‘prayer, almsgiving, a forgiving spirit, daily acts of mortification, the word of God, the Holy Eucharist’ – but never Confession. In all the early Christian literature there is not a single sentence which clearly states that the Christians of those days went to Confession solely for the purpose of obtaining forgiveness for venial sins. From about the fifth century onwards, and largely as an outgrowth of monasticism, the confession of venial sins became common. In the thirteenth century, devotional Confession was recommended two or three times a year. In the fourteenth century, St. Catherine of Siena recommend it once a month, more often if possible, never less often. After the council of Trent, frequent Confession was encouraged by all spiritual writers, and it became the practice of many of the saints to go to Confession daily. In modern times, and especially since the reintroduction of frequent Communion, there has been a tendency to exaggerate the necessity of frequent Confession. If present day (traditional) Catholics were asked if it would be wrong deliberately to omit to confess venial sins, some would reply with an emphatic ‘Yes,’ whilst others would be uncertain how to answer.’ … The official teaching of the Church about the means of deleting venial sins is perfectly clear, and may be summarized thus: 1. Venial sin “may be expiated by a variety of means.’ 2. Of all the means of expiating venial sin, sacramental Confession is eminently the most effective; and, therefore, 3. The confession of venial sins is highly advantageous and much to be encouraged, but must not be considered rigorously necessary.”
I found the history fascinating, of course. The way we approach the Sacrament of Confession has changed over time, most notably beginning in the Middle Ages. But as Father transitions to our current age, we learn practical lessons in how we today should approach the Sacrament. Let's continue:
“There is another very important practical aspect of this question. If a person decides that God ‘keeps things up’ and that once a venial sin has been committed nothing effective can be done about it until the next confession, it is morally impossible for that person to preserve a joyous, unclouded peace of mind. If God ‘keeps things up’ our plight is indeed pitiable. None but the greatest saints can persevere for long without committing some semi-deliberate venial sins. Must those sins, once committed, overshadow and darken the soul until the next confession? Is there no other way of removing the blight? If there is not, the conclusion is inescapable that it is morally impossible for the devout, unless they become callous to venial sin, to maintain a joyous peace of mind and an intimate sense of close union with God. The very first sin after Confession starts the subtle process of gradual estrangement from Christ. As the sins multiply – and alas they do! – the sense of estrangement grows; the clouds darken and deepen and produce a spiritual black-out; the soul is oppressed with a depressing sense of sinfulness, and becomes nervous of our Divine Savior and almost afraid to think of Him. Whilst the soul lives in such a spiritual atmosphere, it can have no sense of the indwelling of the Blessed Trinity, and must tend to become servile and lose the liberty of the children of God. The divine Friend of Friends is relegated to the position of a task-master or slave-driver. Instead of enjoying the friendship of Christ and delighting in the Lord, the soul lives in an almost unbroken state of spiritual uneasiness. When people think that Our Lord is ‘difficult to get on with,’ it is not surprising that they give up trying to cultivate His friendship and content themselves by doing only what they consider rigorously necessary. Confession must be an ordeal for anyone who approaches it without confidence in the mercy of Christ, based on personal experience.
“The Jansenistic attitude towards the forgiveness of venial sins has done enormous harm to souls. It has such a speciously pious and safe look about it that it deceives many, even the elect. The devil is always most successful when he appears as an angel of light. False rigorism prevents Our Lord from ‘being friends with us,’ and deprives us of the greatest of all blessings – the intimate, secure, experimental knowledge of the personal friendship of Christ.”
(Perhaps you're not familiar with Father's reference to Jansenism. This movement began in the 17th century. It was quickly condemned as heresy, but persisted in various iterations for hundreds of years. You can read more about it HERE, but for our purposes, know that it's influence persisted in some quarters until our own time. In America, that influence was conveyed somewhat in certain Irish-American Catholic circles, less so in Italian-American circles - two dominant Catholic ethnic groups in the 19th and 20th centuries. Father Wilson notes that its rigorism and resulting feelings of unworthiness and guilt damaged the relationship of some Catholics with Our Lord - usually unknowingly and unconsciously. I can attest to its persisting influence - albeit it a bit watered down - when I was growing up.)
So far we've seen how seeking forgiveness for our venial sins immediately prevents this creeping estrangement from Christ. But there's a more "positive" flip side of this habit
"If venial sins are repaired quickly, they may ultimately become occasions of gain. Consider attentively what Our Lord said to St. Gertrude: ‘When anyone perceives a dirty spot on his hand, he wash it away at once; after washing, however, not only has the spot disappeared, but the whole hand is clean. Thus it happens that if a person commits a slight offence, but makes an act of contrition, he thus, by humility, becomes more pleasing to Me. Greater humility, more interior attachment to God: this is the only conclusion you should draw from your failings.’"
The ultimate lesson in all this? In Father Wilson's words:
" Let us repair venial sins at once, and aim at keeping our souls spotless, so that there may be nothing in us to impede the operation of grace or make Our Lord look upon us with less pleasure. The habit of deleting venial sins, as soon as we become conscious of them, will conduce to peace of mind and sensitiveness to sin.”
If you take away nothing else from today's selected passages from Pardon and Peace, remember "the habit of deleting venial sins, as soon as we become conscious of them." Not only will this practice lighten and therefore enliven your soul, but you'll consequently develop a much healthier and therefore beneficial attitude towards the Sacrament of Confession.
Signing off on this last Sunday of August, we'll continue our discussion next week. There's just so much more that Father Wilson has to teach us!
“For the first four centuries of the Christian era (according to some, until the seventh century), it was the universal practice to employ Confession only for mortal sins. Many of the faithful never received the Sacrament of Penance at all, and it seems fairly certain that we must include in this number some of the saints, e.g. St. Ambrose, St. Cyprian, St. Augustine and St. Jerome. … For the deleting of venial sin, the early writers recommend ‘prayer, almsgiving, a forgiving spirit, daily acts of mortification, the word of God, the Holy Eucharist’ – but never Confession. In all the early Christian literature there is not a single sentence which clearly states that the Christians of those days went to Confession solely for the purpose of obtaining forgiveness for venial sins. From about the fifth century onwards, and largely as an outgrowth of monasticism, the confession of venial sins became common. In the thirteenth century, devotional Confession was recommended two or three times a year. In the fourteenth century, St. Catherine of Siena recommend it once a month, more often if possible, never less often. After the council of Trent, frequent Confession was encouraged by all spiritual writers, and it became the practice of many of the saints to go to Confession daily. In modern times, and especially since the reintroduction of frequent Communion, there has been a tendency to exaggerate the necessity of frequent Confession. If present day (traditional) Catholics were asked if it would be wrong deliberately to omit to confess venial sins, some would reply with an emphatic ‘Yes,’ whilst others would be uncertain how to answer.’ … The official teaching of the Church about the means of deleting venial sins is perfectly clear, and may be summarized thus: 1. Venial sin “may be expiated by a variety of means.’ 2. Of all the means of expiating venial sin, sacramental Confession is eminently the most effective; and, therefore, 3. The confession of venial sins is highly advantageous and much to be encouraged, but must not be considered rigorously necessary.”
I found the history fascinating, of course. The way we approach the Sacrament of Confession has changed over time, most notably beginning in the Middle Ages. But as Father transitions to our current age, we learn practical lessons in how we today should approach the Sacrament. Let's continue:
“There is another very important practical aspect of this question. If a person decides that God ‘keeps things up’ and that once a venial sin has been committed nothing effective can be done about it until the next confession, it is morally impossible for that person to preserve a joyous, unclouded peace of mind. If God ‘keeps things up’ our plight is indeed pitiable. None but the greatest saints can persevere for long without committing some semi-deliberate venial sins. Must those sins, once committed, overshadow and darken the soul until the next confession? Is there no other way of removing the blight? If there is not, the conclusion is inescapable that it is morally impossible for the devout, unless they become callous to venial sin, to maintain a joyous peace of mind and an intimate sense of close union with God. The very first sin after Confession starts the subtle process of gradual estrangement from Christ. As the sins multiply – and alas they do! – the sense of estrangement grows; the clouds darken and deepen and produce a spiritual black-out; the soul is oppressed with a depressing sense of sinfulness, and becomes nervous of our Divine Savior and almost afraid to think of Him. Whilst the soul lives in such a spiritual atmosphere, it can have no sense of the indwelling of the Blessed Trinity, and must tend to become servile and lose the liberty of the children of God. The divine Friend of Friends is relegated to the position of a task-master or slave-driver. Instead of enjoying the friendship of Christ and delighting in the Lord, the soul lives in an almost unbroken state of spiritual uneasiness. When people think that Our Lord is ‘difficult to get on with,’ it is not surprising that they give up trying to cultivate His friendship and content themselves by doing only what they consider rigorously necessary. Confession must be an ordeal for anyone who approaches it without confidence in the mercy of Christ, based on personal experience.
“The Jansenistic attitude towards the forgiveness of venial sins has done enormous harm to souls. It has such a speciously pious and safe look about it that it deceives many, even the elect. The devil is always most successful when he appears as an angel of light. False rigorism prevents Our Lord from ‘being friends with us,’ and deprives us of the greatest of all blessings – the intimate, secure, experimental knowledge of the personal friendship of Christ.”
(Perhaps you're not familiar with Father's reference to Jansenism. This movement began in the 17th century. It was quickly condemned as heresy, but persisted in various iterations for hundreds of years. You can read more about it HERE, but for our purposes, know that it's influence persisted in some quarters until our own time. In America, that influence was conveyed somewhat in certain Irish-American Catholic circles, less so in Italian-American circles - two dominant Catholic ethnic groups in the 19th and 20th centuries. Father Wilson notes that its rigorism and resulting feelings of unworthiness and guilt damaged the relationship of some Catholics with Our Lord - usually unknowingly and unconsciously. I can attest to its persisting influence - albeit it a bit watered down - when I was growing up.)
So far we've seen how seeking forgiveness for our venial sins immediately prevents this creeping estrangement from Christ. But there's a more "positive" flip side of this habit
"If venial sins are repaired quickly, they may ultimately become occasions of gain. Consider attentively what Our Lord said to St. Gertrude: ‘When anyone perceives a dirty spot on his hand, he wash it away at once; after washing, however, not only has the spot disappeared, but the whole hand is clean. Thus it happens that if a person commits a slight offence, but makes an act of contrition, he thus, by humility, becomes more pleasing to Me. Greater humility, more interior attachment to God: this is the only conclusion you should draw from your failings.’"
The ultimate lesson in all this? In Father Wilson's words:
" Let us repair venial sins at once, and aim at keeping our souls spotless, so that there may be nothing in us to impede the operation of grace or make Our Lord look upon us with less pleasure. The habit of deleting venial sins, as soon as we become conscious of them, will conduce to peace of mind and sensitiveness to sin.”
If you take away nothing else from today's selected passages from Pardon and Peace, remember "the habit of deleting venial sins, as soon as we become conscious of them." Not only will this practice lighten and therefore enliven your soul, but you'll consequently develop a much healthier and therefore beneficial attitude towards the Sacrament of Confession.
Signing off on this last Sunday of August, we'll continue our discussion next week. There's just so much more that Father Wilson has to teach us!
Happy Sunday!
Comments