Series on the Sacraments Part 4 – Penance

 Confession is one of the greatest proofs of God’s love for us. Even though we crucified Him, denied Him, and didn’t follow His laws, He still waits for us every day in the confessional box, waiting for us to repent in order to show us His mercy. He takes into great penanceconsideration the fact that we are so weak, and is always willing to bestow mercy upon us. How truly kind Our Lord is to forgive us so many times, even when we willingly fall into sin. I heard one story that will make a good comparison of this: There was a young man who had committed many many crimes, and was put on trial. His father was the judge, and he was proven guilty. The father said to the son, “Out of justice you have been sentenced to death, but because I love you so much, I will take your place and die for your crimes.” So also has Our Blessed Lord taken upon Himself the sins of the world in order that we may be saved and one day enter into the Eternal Kingdom. Let’s see what the saints have to say about this wonderful sacrament:


“The confession of evil works is the first beginning of good works.”
–St. Augustine

“Go to your confessor; open your heart to him; display to him all the recesses of your soul; take the advice that he will give you with the utmost humility and simplicity. For God, Who has an infinite love for obedience, frequently renders profitable the counsels we take from others, but especially from those who are the guides of our souls.”
–St. Francis de Sales

“In failing to confess, Lord, I would only hide You from myself, not myself from You.”
–Saint Augustine

“Confession is like a bridle that keeps the soul which reflects on it from committing sin, but anything left unconfessed we continue to do without fear as if in the dark.”
–Saint John Climacus

“To do penance is to bewail the evil we have done, and to do no evil to bewail.”
–Pope St. Gregory the Great

“In the life of the body a man is sometimes sick, and unless he takes medicine, he will die. Even so in the spiritual life a man is sick on account of sin. For that reason he needs medicine so that he may be restored to health; and this grace is bestowed in the Sacrament of Penance.”
–St. Thomas Aquinas

“Three conditions are necessary for Penance: contrition, which is sorrow for sin, together with a purpose of amendment; confession of sins without any omission; and satisfaction by means of good works.”
–St. Thomas Aquinas

“Confession heals, confession justifies, confession grants pardon of sin, all hope consists in confession; in confession there is a chance for mercy.”
–St. Isidore of Seville

“Our Lord Himself I saw in this venerable Sacrament  . . . I felt as if my chains fell, as those of St. Peter at the touch of the Divine messenger. My God, what new scenes for my soul!”
–St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

“A humble confession displeases Satan and, if he could, he would make you omit Holy Communion.”
–Imitation of Christ

 

There are also five effects to this sacrament:

 

a. The restoration or increase of sanctifying grace;

b. The forgiveness of sins;

c. The remission of the eternal punishment, if necessary, and also of part, at least, of the temporal punishment, due to our sins;

d. The help to avoid sin in the future;

e. The restoration of the merits of our good works if they have been lost by mortal sin.

 

 Not only do we receive sanctifying grace back, have our sins forgiven, and receive remission of hell, but God is so kind as to give us the strength not to sin again and give us back all the merits of our good works before our sin! How truly good God is to us! Let us then frequently go to confession, stay away from all sin, grow in virtue, and become great saints! God bless!

Alexandra Reis

Alexandra Reis

Alexandra Reis is a 16-year-old cradle Catholic. Her passions consist of learning and writing about the Faith and trying to spread it. She is drawn to the traditional Latin Mass. She is also interested in poetry, art, playing the piano, and acquiring wisdom at a young age. She hopes to become a writer and professional public speaker in the future in order to save souls for the greater glory of God.

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10 thoughts on “Series on the Sacraments Part 4 – Penance”

  1. Of the 10 quotations from the saints, only one belongs to a woman . The other 9 belong to men.
    Does this anything to do with the fact that in the catholic calendar there are approx. 66% men and only 33% women saints ?
    And how do priests learn about the gender specific sins? Are men at advantage by going to confession to a priest, as they both share the same understanding of male sins?
    What about a woman…is she comfortable to talk to a priest about female related sins?
    What about a young girl ? What about a married woman?
    Being uncomfortable at confession impacts the degree of openness …
    Or would a priest go to pre-confession to a nun, I mean, would the priest present his list of problems to a nun, prior to going to confession to a priest?
    That would give the priest a clue about how a nun understands male specific sins.
    Just a thought….

      1. Yes, I talk to jesus in confession; maybe this is why the priest told me that in the Seminary, they, the men have been given a clear advise regarding a specific sin, but he does not know what advise to give to women in a similar situation.

      2. I also asked the priest if he feels embarrassed to confess his sins to a nun…. he said that God does not want priests to feel embarrassed ….but is ok for a woman to feel embarrassed….
        What can we say ? …..will of God…..

  2. Alexandra,
    I clearly understand the Catholic understanding of confession/penance as an acknowledgement of wrongs against the Source. The first step in our change to living a worthy life is acknowledgement of the evil in which we participate. Confession repairs the relationship with Source.

    The troubling aspect is that in most cases an offense against Source is reflected in an offense against or fellow primates. Lying, Cheating, Stealing, Infidelity, etc. I think confession to a God and His forgiveness needs to require an acknowledgement, request for forgiveness and a “making good” to the person offended. For example, lying: True penance requires that we acknowledge untruth to the person to whom we lied, a telling of the truth, and an asking for forgiveness, and a making of things right. So to for any offense which affected anyone. That part complete the circle of forgiveness.

    The other aspect of confession which often lacks is our failure to act to help the elderly, widowed, disabled, poor, the abused etc. To me a failure to confront a domestic abuser and bring his/her wrongs to civil authority is a greater sin than coveting someone’s Mercedes. Again, an acknowledgement to do good when we should have is a failure to be in union with Source and separates us. Confession should acknowledge omission and require a plan to “make good.” Reconciliation with God, in my mind, is wholly insufficient if it does not pair with reconciliation with God’s creation?

  3. Confession is hard. Deacon Alex Jones said it was the toughest part of his conversion to the Catholic Faith. As he put it…..’I have to tell this man what!?’…..lol. Of course we can go straight to God but Jesus gave us this sacrament for a reason. I have heard priest talk of being the recipient of the overflow of graces in the confessional.

    1. I think men have some advantage here, going to confession to a priest…can we imagine to go to confession to the opposite gender? Did any men try to go to a pre-confession to a nun? I mean , to present his list of problems to a nun, prior to going to confession to a priest ? …just to see how appropriate it is to get advise from a women, who may have learned about male specific sins only from listening to others..

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