In proclaiming that man’s life on earth is a struggle (cf. Jb 7:1), Job is only recalling the fierce clash that takes place within each person, in the choice between good and evil. Tainted by sin, human nature is weakened to such an extent that it cannot practise virtue steadily without the help of grace and constant effort.
How many times, however, do we allow ourselves to be overcome by our weaknesses, by treacherous illusions or by our own whims… How often do we end up falling into the abysses of sin… Nevertheless, even worse than committing a fault is taking an attitude of indifference and lassitude after the fall.
Our offences may involve these or those Commandments, but neglect directly attacks the first: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might” (Dt 6:5).
Divine forgiveness in the Old Testament
For this reason, from the very first fault – original sin – the Most High never ceases to invite man to conversion. This is what we see when we turn to the pages of Genesis. Adam ate the forbidden fruit and then hid himself, but God took the initiative to call him and draw him back to Himself, “eager” for him to turn his face and his ways back once again to the path of goodness (cf. Gn 3:8-10).
This attitude of the Creator is repeated throughout the Old Testament. He continually manifests Himself, desiring to lead man to conversion: sometimes He shows Himself as a good Father, sometimes as a loving Bridegroom, a faithful Lord, always ready to renew His Covenant and forgive those who repent.1 In Isaiah’s words, He even compares His love to that of a mother: He asks, through the lips of the prophet, if a woman can forget the child she is nursing and feel no tenderness for the fruit of her womb; and He affirms that, even if this were to happen, He would never abandon His own (cf. Is 49:15).
In various ways, the God of mercy aroused feelings of compunction in the heart of every human being, whether through the penitential rituals of the Mosaic Law, prophetic preaching or the excommunication practices of that society.
Our Lord Jesus Christ and the forgiveness of sinners
With the advent of the Redeemer, forgiveness and conversion take on a much deeper meaning. Firstly, He introduces us to an intimate relationship with God by giving us the grace to become His children and to address Him accordingly: “Our Father, who art in Heaven…” (Mt 6:9).
At the same time, it is remarkable how His parables are pervaded with merciful love for the weak. These include the prayer of the publican (cf. Lk 18:9-14), the indulgent king and the ungrateful subject (cf. Mt 18:23-35), the good shepherd (cf. Lk 15:3-7) and – perhaps the most expressive of all – the prodigal son (cf. Lk 15:11-32). In fact, God is the loving Father who does not even wait for the remorseful son to approach from afar, but goes out to meet him, forgetting everything that happened in the past. He even prepares a feast to celebrate the conversion of the one who was lost.
The forgiveness of sins is the centrepiece of the redemptive mission of the Incarnate Word – so much so that He wanted it to be included in the formula for the consecration of the Eucharist: “And He took a cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink of it, all of you; for this is my Blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins’” (Mt 26:27-28).
Now the question remains: did Christ grant this power to His Church?
Our Lord appears to the Apostles in the Cenacle, by Duccio di Buoninsegna – Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena (Italy)
The moment of institution
The Gospel makes it very clear that Jesus did not want only to absolve while He was physically present on earth. He bequeathed us a means by which we can continually have recourse to His forgiveness, and be morally certain of receiving it. This remarkable gift is the Sacrament of Confession.
The moment chosen to institute it was the afternoon of Easter Sunday itself, when He appeared resurrected to the Apostles: “Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, even so I send you.’ And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained’” (Jn 20:21-23).
The mandate
In this way, the Divine Redeemer grants the Twelve the power to absolve in His name.
Firstly, the expression “as the Father has sent Me, even so I send you” demonstrates that there is an analogy between Christ’s mission and that of the Church, represented there by the Apostolic College. In the same way that Our Lord came to save the whole human race (cf. Jn 3:17), above all through victory over sin, He sends the Apostles – and through them His successors – to continue this mission that He has received from the Father.
Then “He breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’” This passage should not be confused with the descent of the Paraclete at Pentecost, which took place fifty days later. According to an authoritative interpretation, Jesus infuses the Holy Spirit here in order to give the Church the supernatural means it needs to continue and prolong His presence and activity in time and space.2
Furthermore, the very gesture of the Saviour holds a profound symbolism related to the forgiveness of sins: just as the divine breath generated human life (cf. Gn 2:7), it is the Paraclete Spirit who infuses the life of grace into us.
Finally, Jesus tells them: “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
Who is able to erase faults if not God (cf. Mk 2:7)? By qualifying them to give absolution, Our Lord entrusts them with a power that is properly divine: the Creator wishes to make use of a minister or intermediary to distribute His mercy abundantly.
Jesus is always willing to forgive
An interesting detail is that at no point does Jesus refuse to forgive the sinner. He does not say “whom you deny,” but “if you retain the sins of any.” Some authors3 clarify that this expression does not mean refusing absolution, but requiring conditions to obtain it. In this way, the remission of fault involves two stages: on the one hand, the imposition of certain obligations and, on the other, the declaration that the sins have been erased. God desires to grant the absolution, but the penitent must first remove the obstacles that prevent him from receiving it.
We must not forget that in forgiving, Jesus Christ always demands a change of life, as when He exhorts the adulteress to offend God no more (cf. Jn 8:11). But to those who convert with their whole heart, He promises the Kingdom of God: “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise” (Lk 23:43).
Why go to Confession?
However, a doubt may arise in our minds. In no passage of the Gospels does Our Lord seem to impose the need to confess our sins to another man. He only says that the Apostles can forgive or retain them. Why, then, does the Church require that the accusation of faults be made to a priest? Actually, one thing follows from the other.
In the Sacrament of Confession, the minister plays the role of judge and doctor. Judge, because the Divine Master has entrusted him with the duty of deciding whether to forgive or retain sins. This choice requires judgement on his part and, as the Council of Trent4 states, priests will not be good judges if the case is not known to them in such a way as to pass the appropriate sentence.
Furthermore, when we declare our faults to the minister with sincere repentance and receive absolution from him, we leave with full confidence that we have been forgiven by God. How else could we have such certainty? That is why it is essential for the penitent to confess his faults.
Absolution after Confession, – Cathedral of Saint Sauveur, Aix-en-Provence (France)
And since the confessor is also a doctor, it follows that we must tell him about our faults in order to receive the proper help. It is not humiliating for a sick person to submit to the scrutiny of a good specialist, because “if the patient is ashamed to show the doctor the wound, the doctor’s expertise will not be able to cure that of which he is unaware.”5 In the same way, anyone who has been wounded by Satan by committing a sin should not be ashamed to acknowledge their guilt and turn away from it by having recourse to the medicine of Penance.6
Confession and the Paschal Mystery
Finally, it is worth remembering one last detail, which corroborates the high esteem in which we should hold Confession: the relationship between its institution and that of the Holy Eucharist. During the Last Supper, moments before beginning the Passion, the Divine Redeemer left us the Sacrament of His Body and Blood; and on the evening of Easter Sunday, in His first meeting with the Apostles, He gave them the power to forgive sins. Thus, Our Lord inaugurated the Easter Triduum by celebrating the Eucharistic Sacrifice and closed it by establishing the Sacrament of Penance.
Also, the fact that Tradition has always considered that both these events and Pentecost occurred in the same place – the Upper Room – shows the close relationship among the Eucharist, the Sacrament of forgiveness and the double outpouring of the Holy Spirit, within the salvific mystery: with them Christ’s complete and definitive victory over sin and death is perpetuated.
An outstanding gift bestowed on mankind
Confession is an enormous proof of love, through which the Creator so easily offers His forgiveness to contrite sinners. He, who would have the right to punish us immediately after the fault committed, never ceases to pour out graces of conversion upon us, so that we are prompted to fervently seek out this sublime Sacrament.
By the will of the Redeemer, the minister acts in His name as judge and doctor of souls. What is required of us as penitents is to entrust ourselves to Divine Mercy, and confess our sins, certain of obtaining God’s incomparable forgiveness.
In this way, the Sacrament of Penance reveals itself as a real treasure, one which Providence has placed within everyone’s reach. It is our duty to have frequent recourse to it, with humility and gratitude. ◊
The Effects of Sacramental Confession
There is no doubt that Confession, carried out under these conditions, is a means of the highest sanctifying efficacy. Because through it:
a) The Blood of Christ falls upon our soul, purifying and sanctifying it. This is why the saints who received the most vivid enlightenment on the infinite value of Jesus’ redeeming Blood truly hungered and thirsted to receive sacramental absolution.
b) Grace increases in us, ex opere operato, although to very different degrees according to the penitent’s dispositions. Of a hundred people who have received absolution for the same faults, no two will have received grace to the same degree. This depends on the intensity of the repentance and the degree of humility with which each person has approached the Sacrament.
Confessional in the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary, Caieiras (Brazil)
c) The soul feels filled with peace and consolation. And this psychological disposition is indispensable to be able to hasten on the paths of perfection.
d) We receive greater enlightenment in the ways of God. Thus, for example, after going to Confession we better understand the need to forgive the wrongs committed against us, seeing how mercifully the Lord has forgiven us; and we are warned more clearly of the evil of venial sin, a stain that disfigures and defiles the soul, depriving it of much of its brilliance and beauty.
e) The strength of the soul is considerably increased, giving it energy to overcome temptations and fortitude for the perfect fulfilment of duty. Of course, these strengths gradually weaken, which is why it is necessary to augment them again with frequent Confession.
Taken from: ROYO MARÍN, OP, Antonio.
Teología de la perfección cristiana.
Madrid: BAC, 2008, p.450
Notes
1 By way of example, we have selected some passages that deal with God’s forgiveness or correction as a faithful Husband: Ez 16:60-63; Is 54:4-8; 62:3-5; Jer 3:1-13; and as a good Father: Dt 8:5; Prv 3:12; Ps 26:10; 102:13.
2 As can be read in the Catechism: “they receive the Spirit of Jesus to act in His name and in His Person” (CCC 1120). See also: ADNÈS, SJ, Pierre. La Penitencia. Madrid: BAC, 1981, p.41.
3 For example: ROUILLARD, Philippe. História da Penitência, das origens aos nossos dias. São Paulo: Paulus, 1999, p.17-18.
4 Cf. COUNCIL OF TRENT. Doutrina sobre o Sacramento da Penitência, c.5: DH 1679-1680.
5 ST. JEROME. Commentarius in Ecclesiasten, c.X: PL 23, 1096.
6 Cf. AFRAATES. Exposição 7. In: CORDEIRO, José de Leão (Ed.). Antologia litúrgica. Textos litúrgicos, patrísticos e canônicos do primeiro milênio. 2.ed. Fátima: Secretariado Nacional de Liturgia, 2015, p.391.
