Lesson 30: The Sacrament of Confession
1. What is the Sacrament of Confession?
Confession is the Sacrament that forgives sins committed after baptism, when the person who humbly confesses his sins to a priest is truly sorry for his sins and does not want to commit them again.
2. Is Confession important?
Yes, Confession is exceedingly important.
The Council of Trent stated: “For those who fall into sin after Baptism the Sacrament of Confession is as necessary to salvation as Baptism for those who have not been baptized already.”
“As he who suffers shipwreck has no hope of safety, unless, he seizes on some plank from the wreck; so he that suffers the shipwreck of baptismal innocence (by mortal sin), unless he cling to the saving plank of Confession, has doubtless lost all hope of salvation.” (The Catechism of the Council of Trent)
3. When did Jesus institute the Sacrament of Confession?
Jesus instituted the Sacrament of Confession on the evening of Easter Sunday, after He had risen from the dead.
He appeared to his apostles, and said to them, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you” And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained. “ (John 20: 21-23)
The apostles were the first bishops. All bishop and priests have been given the power by Jesus to forgive sins through the Sacrament of Holy Orders.
4. When I go to confession who is really forgiving us through the priest?
When I go to confession Jesus is really forgiving me through the priest.
5. What are some of the effects of the effects of the Sacrament of Confession?
In the Sacrament of Confession Jesus forgives the mortal and venial sins that we have committed after baptism.
- If a person lost Sanctifying Grace by mortal sin, he will receive Grace again and the merits that he had previously acquired through Confession. The Holy Trinity will come again to live in his soul.
- If the person just has venial sins, his sins will be forgiven and he will receive an increase of Sanctifying Grace through Confession.
- Confession also gives us the Sacramental Grace to be stronger against sin in the future. It helps us to be better.
- Through Confession we receive peace and serenity of conscience.
- The whole Church that was wounded by our sins receives a revitalizing effect every time we make a good Confession.
6. What must I do to receive Confession well?
To receive Confession well I must:
- Find out my sins.
- Have Contrition for my sins. TO have Contrition for my sins I must
- Be sorry for my sins
- Make up my mind not to sin again
- Tell my sins to the priest.
- Do the penance the priest gives me.
7. Which of these is the most important?
Contrition is the most important. If a person has “Perfect” Contrition his sins are already forgiven, even before he has gone to Confession. Without Contrition, even if one confesses his sins to a priest, and does his penance, his sins are not forgiven.
FIND OUT MY SINS
8. What can I do to help me find out my sins?
To help me find out my sins:
- I can pray to the Holy Spirit and Mary for help. It is the Holy Spirit who “convicts the world of sin,” (John 16:8) and at the same time gives us confidence in God’s mercy.
- I can look at an examination of conscience. I can think about my relationships with God, my parents, my brothers and sisters, my teaches, and my friends. I can think about the things that I have to do at home, at school, and at Church. Have I done them? Have I done them well?
- I can write out my sins on a piece of paper.
CONTRITION
9. What is included in contrition?
Included in Contrition is:
- Sorrow for sin committed; and
- The firm proposal not to sin again.
10. What are the qualities of the sorrow of Contrition?
This sorrow must be interior, supernatural, supreme, universal and intense.
- Contrition is interior when it comes from our heart, and not merely our lips. This sorrow does not have to be on the level of feelings. It must be in the will.
- Contrition is supernatural when the motive for sorrow comes from the faith and not just natural motives.
- Contrition is supreme when we hate sin above every other evil. If we are to love God above all things, then we are also to hate sin, which offends God above all other evils. We must hate sin more than we hate losing our friends, our money, or even our life in this world.
- Contrition is universal when we are sorry for every mortal sin. If we are not truly sorry for all of our mortal sins, none of our mortal sins can be forgiven.
- For instance, a woman who is living with a man that she is not married to comes to confession. She confesses that she is not married to comes to confession. She confesses that she missed Mass on Sunday and is sorry for this mortal sin, but has the intention of continuing to live with her boyfriend and sin with him. She is forgiven of none of her mortal sins – neither the mortal sin of missing Mass on Sunday that she is sorry for nor the mortal sin of having sex with her boyfriend. Why? Because to be forgiven of any of our mortal sins, we must be sorry for all of our mortal sins.
While this is true for mortal sin, it is not true for venial sin. Someone could be sorry for just one venial sin and not the other, and still be forgiven of the one he is sorry for, without being forgiven of the other. Although this is the case, refusing to be sorry for a venial sin hardens a person’s heart, and could very easily lead him to commit mortal sins.
Contrition is intense when it excludes indifference, and a “who cares” attitude.
11. What are the TWO KINDS of contrition for sin?
The two kinds of contrition for sin are perfect contrition (or contrition of love) and imperfect contrition (or contrition of fear)
These two kinds of contrition will be discussed in the following lessons.
12. What can I do to have contrition?
To help me have contrition, that is, sorrow for my sins, and the firm proposal not to sin again I can look at Our Lord’s sufferings. We call these sufferings his Passion.
Our sins made Jesus suffer.
He suffered in our place.
We should have been on the Cross.
He did not commit the sins; we did.
But He loves us.
He wanted to suffer for our sins.
TELL MY SINS TO A PRIEST
13. What sins must I confess?
I have a serious obligation to confess all of my mortal sins committed after baptism that I have never confessed.
I have a serious obligation to confess – doing the best I can – the number of times that these mortal sins have been committed.
It is a very good think to frequently confess our venial sins.
14. What is a bad confession?
A bad confession is made when we intentionally do not say a mortal sin in confession. This is another mortal sin called a sacrilege.
15. What if we want to make a good Confession, but forget a mortal sin?
If we want to make a good confession, but unintentionally forget to say a mortal sin, we are forgiven. We can go to Holy Communion. The next time we go to Confession, however we must confess the forgotten sin.
ST JOHN BOSCO (1815-1888)
The saints knew very well that there are such things as bad confessions. In 1849 a 15-year-old boy named Charles who had attended the school of St. John Bosco was dying. He called for Don Bosco, but the priest was away. So the parents called another priest, who heard the boy’s confession. Even after that confession however, the boy called for Don Bosco before he died. When the saint returned to Turin and became aware of he boy’s sickness he hurried to the boy’s home, only to find that Charles had been dead for about 10 or 11 hours, and that the doctor had already signed the death certificate. When the saint entered the room he saw the boy covered with a sheet next to his mourning mother and aunt. He called out, “Charles! Rise!” The boy began to move, and when he saw John Bosco he was filled with joy. In the presence of his mother and aunt the boy told John Bosco that he had needed him because he had made a bad confession. He had not told a mortal sin to the priest out of shame, and as a result he should have gone to hell. Charles noted how he had been surrounded by a mob of demons who were about to throw him into the flames of a huge furnace when a beautiful Lady appeared and stopped them. The beautiful Lady told Charles, “There is still hope for you, Charles. You have not yet been judged.” At that moment he had heard Don Bosco ordering him to rise. The mother and aunt left the room, and the boy went to confession. After his confession the boy cried aloud for all to hear, “Don Bosco has saved me!” All his family and friends rushed into the room to see and hear the story. The saint remarked on the goodness of God. He also asked Charles whether or not he wished to remain on earth or return to heaven. The boy responded, “Don Bosco, I’d rather go to heaven.” Then Charles leaned back, closed his eyes, and once again was quiet in death.
16. Why should fear or a sense of shame never lead us to conceal a mortal sin in confession?
- Because Jesus is present. HE is telling us, “It is I. Do not be afraid.” (John 6:20) At every good confession all the angels and saints in heaven rejoice. (Luke 15:10)
- It is a mortal sin not to say a mortal sin on purpose.
- A good confession gives us peace and joy.
- A good confession can be the beginning of a new and wonderful life.
- The priest can never reveal anything that has been confessed to him. The duty of a priest to keep sins heard in the confessional secret is very serious. IT is called the seal of confession. Priests have died rather than tell sins that they heard in the confessional.
St John Nepomucene (1345-1393)
St John Nepomucene was a great preacher in the city of Prague. Thousands of those who listened to him changed their way of life. King Wenceslaus IV invited him to the court and he became the confessor for the King’s wife, Jane of Bohemia. One day the King asked him to tell him what the Queen had said in confession. When Father John refused, he was imprisoned. A second time he was asked to reveal the Queen’s confession. “If you do not tell me,” said the King, “you shall die. But if you obey my command, riches and honors will be yours.” Again, Father John refused. As a result, the King had him thrown into prison and tortured. Finally, during the night, John was bound hand and foot and drowned in the river Moldau. The people discovered his body and buried it with honors. Three hundred years after his death, John’s tomb was opened and those present were startled to see that, although the saint’s body had turned to dust, his tongue remained as it had been in life. At the base of a statute erected in his honor at the spot of his death there is this inscription: “Here died a martyr for the Seal of Confession.”
