Published in the bulletin of Holy Ghost Catholic Church in Knoxville, TN, on the 21st Sunday of Ordinary Time.
My dear Parishioners,
Peace! There are twenty-three (23) In Brief passages in the Catechism of the Catholic Church and five (5) canons in the Code of Canon Law which can help us to appreciate the Sacrament of Penance. The following is a reflection on CCC, 1494.
When considering the Sacrament of Penance, after considering God who is offended by our sins and whose mercy is given to us so as to begin anew, we should consider both the confessor and the penitent. The priest who hears our confession (and gives the absolution) is called “the confessor” while the person confessing is called “the penitent.” When priests go to confession, the priest who is confessing is a penitent as well. The penitents are those who are sorry for their sins and are seeking to receive God’s steadfast mercy in the Sacrament of Penance. Penitents are penitents because of the penances they do and the penitential spirit with which they do them.
Upon hearing the confession of the penitent, the confessor proposes certain acts of ‘satisfaction’ or of ‘penance’ to the penitent. This is like ‘spiritual homework.’ Sometimes the penances proposed are prayers (e.g. Our Father, Hail Mary, Memorare, Rosary…). Sometimes the penances proposed are mortifications (e.g. fast, abstain from certain food(s) or drink(s) or sweets…). Works of mercy might be proposed as a penance (e.g. feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick or imprisoned…). The history of the Church demonstrates how the various penances which should be proposed is a very serious manner, as evidenced by the various Penitentials drawn up over the years to help confessors propose appropriate penances. Four major Penitentials have are attributed variously to: Saint Finnian (470–550), Saint Columban (543–615), Cummean (circa 650), and Theodore (602–690). The repeated recitation of Psalm 119:1–176 while kneeling, holding the arms outstretched is one of the more impressive penances. Saint Raymond of Penafort (1175–1275) wrote the Summa Casuum, one of the most famous Penitentials to ever have been written (though it still has not (yet) been translated into English).
The reason why the various penances are proposed is so as to repair the damage caused by our sin(s). There is, in fact, nothing we can do to earn or deserve the mercy, love, or forgiveness of God. “Ask and you shall receive” (cf. John 16:24; Matthew 21:22; Mark 11:24). The Sacrament of Penance is a privileged way of both asking and receiving God’s love, mercy, and forgiveness.
By completing the proposed penance we show both the depths of our sorrow for our sins as well as our gratefulness for the new beginning. Completion of the proposed penance also helps to reestablish the proper habits of a disciple of Christ. We are supposed to be a people of prayer, a people of virtue. The more we pray and practice the virtues the less room there is for sin and Satan in our lives. May God’s grace abound in us always.
God bless you!
Father John Arthur Orr