The confession of sin


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The

Confession of Sin

By

Very Rev. John B. Harney^ CS.P.

THE PAULIST PRESS
401 West 59th Street

New York 19, N. Y.





THE CONFESSION OF SIN

By

VERY REV. JOHN B’. HARNEY, C.S.P.

New Yore
THE PAULIST PRE^S

401 West S^h Street



Copyright, 1915
,
by

The Missionary Society of St. Paul the Apostie

IN THE State of New York

punted and published in the u. s. a.
BY THE PAULKT PRESS, NEW YORK 19, N. Y.

DS2C!d!f3£f



THE CONFESSION OF SIN,
iHE teaching and practice of the Catholic

Church in regard to the pardon of sin, has

long been the favorite target of her enemies.

They have denounced it as an arrogant
usurpation of God’s exclusive power

;
they have stormed

against it as a tyrannical invasion of human rights
;
they

have abused it as the foe of virtue and the friend of

rice, a corrupter of innocent youth, a hardener of the

guilty, a feeder for base passions.

How many there are that make, and that listen with
approval to these and kindred charges, there is no way
of finding out. It is to be hoped, however, that they are

few, for otherwise a just judge will have to give either

human intelligence, or human honesty a low rating.
Of late years it would seem that the non-Catholic

world has got well away from the bitter prejudice of

other days. There are still some, indeed, who hate, and
revile, and lie about all things Catholic with noisy zest.

However numerous these may be, it is certain that there
is a steady growth in the number of those who hold
kindlier opinions about the Catholic Church. Thought-

ful people have always been able to see that the world

owes a tremendous moral debt to Catholicism, and many
have asserted that this very practice of confession has

been a most efficient agency in the elevation and preser-

vation of moral standards.

Luther himself declared confession useful and neces-

sary. He did not wish the practice abolished, as he



The Confession of Sin,

considered it the remedy of afflicted consciences. Vol-

taire wrote : “The enemies of the Roman Church who
have assailed the salutary institution of confession, ap-

pear to have removed the strongest restraint which can

be put on secret crimes. The sages of antiquity them-
selves felt the importance of it.’’ Froude, who was by
no means friendly to the Irish people or to the Catholic

religion, acknowledged the singular purity of the Irish

character, and ascribed it to the influence of the Catholic

clergy—an influence exerted largely through the confes-

sional. Not many years ago the Reichsbotef me. leading
Lutheran paper of Germany, strongly advocated in its

editorial page the restoration of the ancient practice of

confession. “What our church has need of,” it said, “as
of its daily bread, is the restoration of confession. Who-
ever has behind him. a long pastoral career knows that

our church is full of people who desire, yes, sigh to
make their confessions. There are thousands of people

whom the past pursues like a dark phantom. They
would like to blot out with their tears and their blood,

the stain which sullies the book of their lives. To heal
their suffering souls they require the Divine pardon im-

parted personally to the sinner through human lips.”
Still clearer and more solidly-grounded is the testirnony

of Leibnitz. “The institution of sacramental confession

is assuredly worthy of the Divine wisdom, and of all

the doctrines of religion, it is the most admirable, and

the most beautiful ... The necessity of confessing
sin is sufficient to preserve from it those who still pre-
serve their modesty; and yet, if any fail, confession con-

soles and restores them. T look on a grave and prudent
confessor as a great instrument of God for the salva-

tion of souls. His counsels regulate the sentiments : re-



The Confession of Sin.

prove vices; remove occasions of sin; cause the restitu-

tion of ill-acquired property, and the reparation of

wrongs
;

clear up doubts
; console under afflictions ; in

fine, cure or relieve all the evils of the soul
;
and as noth-

ing in the world is more precious than a faithful friend,

what is the value of that friend when he is bound by
his functions, and fitted by his knowledge, to devote fq

you all his care, under the seal of the most inviolable

secrecy/’

That those who think well of confession have
grounds for their judgment becomes clear the

one pays attention to the conditions laid down' By tM
Church as required for a worthy reception of the Sadra-

ment of Penance.

It is frequently said, and widely believed, thSP'to

fession is the one only obligation laid on Catholics in this

connection. How grave a calumny that assertion is any
one may learn by even a casual study of the catechisms
put into the hands of our smallest children. There

it is specifically stated that to receive the Sacrament of

Penance worthily—and only a worthy reception of the

sacrament counts for the soul—one must do five things :
1 . Examine one’s conscience.

2. Be sorry for one’s sins. \
3. Have a firm purpose of amendment.

4. Confess one’s sins to a priest.

5. Accept the penance (the works of reparation),' the

priest imposes.
'

There is nothing empty, or meaningless in these cdh-

ditions. Our examination of conscience is to be an hon-
est, diligent effort to know and to remember our sihS:
Our sorrow must be from the heart; must have to dS
with all our serious transgressions of God’s laws ; must



The Confession of Sin,

spring from the fact that sin is an offence against a good

and loving God, or at least from the fact that it is a

barrier between our souls apd Him. Our purpose of
amendment must be firm and practical, not wavering

and vague. Our confession must be full and truthful,
setting forth as we see them ourselves, our every sinful
thought, word, deed and omission. Our acceptance of
the penance imposed must be sincere.

All of these conditions must be fulfilled when there is
time and opportunity for their fulfillment. On rare oc-
casion, in exigencies, some of them may be omitted with-
out harm. The wish and the will to comply with them

is always necessary, but their actual fulfillment is some-

times impossible. Of them there is one that can never
be dispensed with under any circumstances

; one without

which there is no pardon possible. That one is not, as

some might imagine, the confession of one’s sins, but

contrition for them, a deep, true, supernatural sorrow

for having offended God, together with a firm purpose

of sinning no more.

From this brief study of what the Catholic Church
requires as conditions of pardon, it may easily
be seen, I think, that there is no truth in the oft-

repeated charge that we make the way out of sin so easy,
as to be really guilty of teaching men to look lightly
upon serious offences against God; and consequently of

encouraging them to continue in their wrong-doing.

There is no Protestant church in all the world that does

not offer an easier way to pardon. Few, if any, teach so
clearly the necessity of sorrow for sin, or insist so

strongly on the necessity of purposing amendment. Not

one obliures the sinner to lay the lash upon self-love, or

to cftastise his pn'tfe as does the Catholic Church when



The Confession of Sin.

she requires men to humble themselves and acknowledge
in detail their disobedience towards God.

The main question which we are to answer, is this:
Did God give to men the power of pardoning sin in
His name ? The final and incontrovertible answer to that
question will be given only when we point out the words
which prove that Our Lord did bestow that power on
men. Before we come to that, however, I would have
you consider for a few moments, how great are the
blessings which come to men through the practice of
confession.

Conscious of sin, dreading punishment, I seek forgive-

ness. My first duty I am told is to examine my con-
science, to try earnestly to discover every sin which

stands between me and the friendship of God, I must,
therefore, study God’s laws, for they are the standards

of right and wrong by which He will judge pie. I must
take them up one by one; m^ke sure that I know what
I am therein commanded to do, and what likewise is
forbidden. My thought is to be on them alone. The
whisperings and excuses of self-love I am to hush; the
world’s way of looking at things I am to cast aside;
God’s unerring judgments and sacred will I am to study
and to learn. The first blessing, therefore, which comes

to me through obedience to the teaching of the
Church, is the great, inestimable blessing of knowing

thoroughly the holy law of God.

Next to this intimate knowledge of God’s command-

ments, comes the knowledge of my own soul. The work
of examining my conscience is only as yet half done. I
must now look well into my life; try to bring up in
memory all the thoughts, words, and deeds of the past;
and, as they rise, I must measure them by God’s stand-



The Confession of Sin,

ards, finding out wherein I have failed to obey Him.
My sinfulness, of which I was before but vaguely con-
scious, now is unveiled before me; not in its general out-
lines, but in all its details. The seriousness of my con-
dition is brought home to me. I begin to see myself as
God sees me.
The knowledge is indeed bitter and painful

;
it cuts my

self-love and deals my pride a heavy blow; but oh, how
"good and blessed a knowledge it is to me. How fruitful

!

Now that my wickedness stands out clearly defined, my
soul begins to swell with grief. I send up to God a
mofe" heartfelt cry of sorrow, a more earnest resolve to

avoid sin than would otherwise be possible. Not

only am I more firmly bent on turning all my energies
to the correction of my faults and the rooting up of my
vices; the work is made easier for me. I have caught a
sight of the snares by which the old enemy has trapped

me, and through this knowledge I will be enabled to

fight more cautiously and wisely the good fight of faith.

Such are a few of the blessings that come to my soul
through obedience to the Catholic teaching concerning

the pardon of sin.

To human society at large confession is likewise a
most fruitful source of good. By it sin is lessened.
There comes to the confessional one wfio is angry with

his neighbor. He is asked if he intends to heal the
quarrei. Should his reply be in the negative, absolution

is refused. Then begins a struggle in his soul. Pride

battles with the grace of God. Holy motives are thrown

out to help him decide aright. Jesus Christ, praying on

the cross for His murderers, is pictured before him, that

he may follow His sweet example. He is reminded that
God% rhercy is given only to the merciful ; that if he



The Confession of Sin,

will not forgive the trespasses which his neighbor has

committed against him,* then neither will God forgive
his sins. Not long does the battle last, nor does it often

go against the cause of God. The promise to forgive,
to treat the unkind neighbor with patience and love, is

soon made, and so peace reigns where hate held sway.

Again there comes to confession one who has wronged
his neighbor by unjustly depriving him of something that
really belonged to him. The theft is confessed. Straight-
way the sinner is told to restore the ill-gotten goods, or
their value, and with sincerity he makes the promise,

knowing well that otherwise he must go away unab-
solved.

Then, perhaps, comes one who has maligned a neigh-
bor, maliciously spread broadcast untrue stories. Of
liim also reparation is required; he must do all he can

to restore the good name that he has tried to destroy.
If necessary, he must openly acknowledge that he has

lied. No refusal is accepted; no pleas, springing from
liurt self-love are listened to. His neighbor’s reputation

must be restored; else pardon is refused. In such ways

as these does the confession of sin tend to protect the

n'ghts of men and to preserve peace.
That it is powerful in repressing sinful inclinations

you can easily see from the lives of Catholics around you.

Some perhaps there are, who lead unchristian lives. Of
them you can safely say that they are rarely to be seen

entering a confessional. An exception may meet you
here and there. That person is making a mockery of the

sacrament, deceiving some priest by insincere promises

and lying words. On the part of such a one there is no
real confession, no worthy or true reception of pardon.

Honest confession of sin and a wicked life do not go



The Confession of Sin.

hand in hand. Either one or the other must and does
give way.

The fact that benefits are conferred on men individu-
ally and on society, by the practice of confession, does

not, of course, prove it to be of divine origin, but that

fact does show that it is fit to be chosen by God as His
instrument for the pardoning of sin.

That He should pardon sin through men seems prob-
able when we consider the fact that in all things, which
come under our observation, we find Him using men as
His agents and instruments. Go into your lives; count
up as well as you can the manifold favors of God.

Hardly will you be able to find even one among them
all that has come to you immediately from God Him-
self. God, indeed, is the primal source of every good

gift; but He bestows His blessings bodily and spiritual,
through human, and other created channels. I^et us

look a little to see if it is not so. Foremost among the
favors you have received is the gift of life. It came

from God through men. Your father and mother were
the human channels of divine goodness. Perhaps in
early years some disease threatened you. For days and

nights there was anxiety in the hearts of those who loved
you. At last the crisis was passed ; the glow of health

came back slowly. To God you sent up your sighs and
hymns of thanksgiving. Rightly so, for in truth it was

He Who prolonged your life. But how? By coming
Himself to apply the needed remedy? No! It was not

in this way that He healed your infirmity, but by the
things that He has created, by the herbs of the fields
from which men had drawn the fitting medicine, by the
skill of the physician who discovered your ailment and
applied the proper remedy, by the loving, tender, self-



The Confession of Sin,

sacrificing care of mother or nurse, who with sleepless
eyes watched you through the long night. All these
were God's instruments and agents in the preservation

of your life. By just such means has He made your
body grow and wax strong; by such agencies has He
unfolded, trained, developed, nourished and enriched

your mind. Spiritual gifts also He has given to you in
like fashion. You know that there is a God, great, won-
derful, full of love. That knowledge comforts, strength-

ens, guides you, is an inestimable boon. God did not
come down to plant that truth in your mind and heart
by His own Divine lips. No ! He taught you through
the green fields, through the starry heavens, through

your fellow-men. You know much, it may be, of Him
and of His holy will; this knowledge you count an un-

speakable blessing. These things you have learned,

partly from books, written, translated, printed by men;

partly froiii men, who have taught you the word of God.
Sorrow for sin, a determination to serve God, a warm,

generous love of your Creator and Redeemer—all these
holy emotions have thrilled you. God has roused them
within your soul by the living lips of men.

He has used men to open the gates of heaven for you
through the Sacrament of Baptism by which you were

made His children, and given a right to eternal joys.

You have lost that spiritual birthright by sin, but you
believe that God, our loving Father, will give it to you

again. How? Surely by the agency through which He
first bestowed it upon you. Would it not be very strange

for Him to act otherwise? Your reason, working on
what you know of God's ways, bids you look for pardon

through some human channel. What reason tells you
to expect, the word of God tells you has been done.



The Confession of Tfn.

It is the evening of Resurrection day. The Apostles,
fearful of the Jews, hoping to see and hear the Lord

Who has fisen, are gathered together in the upper room.
Jesus enters. “Peace be to you,” are the sweet, soothing

words that fall from His lips. Again He speaks the
same words. Then He went on : “As the Father sent
Me I also send you.” He had been sent to redeem man-
kind to tear down the barriers which man in pride and
folly had built between himself and God; to reconcile

us to our Heavenly Father. As the Father had sent
Him, so He would send His Apostles, that penance and
remission of sin in His name might be preached unto all
nations. Then He breathed upon them, saying, “Receive
ye the Holy Ghost. Whose sins you shall forgive, they
are forgiven them, and whose sins you shall retain, they

are retained.” A solemn act and solemn words are
these.

We all. Catholic and Protestant alike, see and hear
them.

.
The Catholic, bending in love and adoration, glor-

ifies God Who has given this power of pardoning sin
to men. He remembers Who it was that spoke, and he
believes. But the Protestant, the average Protestant, does

not believe. He practically turns to Jesus Christ and
says : “Though I have heard your words to these men,

yet I do not believe that they possess any real power

to pardon.” Is it not so? Has not Protestantism re-

peatedly denied that Christ gave the power of forgiving

sin to men? Has it not asserted again and again that

men should go directly to God Himself for pardon?

Yes, you answer, so it has. And it has done this in the
very face of Christ’s own words.

But you may say, I have never harbored that thought.
I know that God can use men if He will to pardon sin.



The Confession of Sin.

I know that He did use the Apostles for that sweet work
of mercy. What I want to know now, is whether that
power died with them, or was transmitted to other men.

Many men have argued that the power was not transfer-
able; was not transferred. Those words, ‘‘Whose sins,

etc,,” were spoken to the Apostles alone. It is arrogant

usurpation on the part of other men to claim any share
of participation in the power they conferred. Let us

see. The words:" “Going, therefore, teach ye all na-

tions,’’ were spoken to the Apostles alone; yet other men
claim the right to teach—Methodists, Baptists, Presby-
terians, Lutherans, Episcopalians alike—and somehow or
other not one of them ever thinks of arguing that he has

no such right, because, forsooth, the commission to teach

was spoken to the Apostles alone. They all administer

baptism; but we do not read in Scripture that this power
was given byGhrist to any save the Apostles, nor is there

any express statement that this power should be trans-

mitted. The same thing may be said with perfect truth
about all the apostolic powers which are claimed by the

ministers of the various churches. There is, indeed,

proof in Holy Writ that the apostolic powers were to be,

and were transmitted. The' proof, however, be it re-

membered, applies quite as much to this power of for-
giving, as to any other possessed by the Apostles.

Our Lord Jesus Christ came on earth for the salva-
tion of men. He died for our sins as well as for the sins
of those who lived before Him or with Him. . He
preached a gospel which was to be accepted not only

by those to whom He and His Apostles preached in per-
son, but also by us and by yet unborn generations. He
came to give us all peace; to provide channels through

which His mercies might flow into every soul. We were



The Confession of Sin.

as much in his mind and heart as the men that stood
around Him. To help^ bless and redeem us, He labored.
For the blotting out of our sins, He provided a means.
His gospel. His institutions, were not to be transitory,

fleeting, but were to remain till the end of time as the

fully rounded out covenant of God with His people.
This truth shines out in all the story of Christ’s life, and

in every commission given to the Apostles. And, there-

fore, we hold that His remedy for sin, of which sinful
humajiity is ever in sore need, is an abiding, perpetual

gift to His children.

Some, however, might still be inclined to hold by the

assertion, that this particular power of pardoning sin,

was not, at any rate to be handed on. It is not easy

to rid one’s self of deeply rooted beliefs. Holy Writ

happily, however, tells us that this very power in ques-

tion was transmitted. I pass over the case of Matthias

who undoubtedly received it when he was chosen into
the apostolic band. We come to Paul. He surely did
not receive the power on Resurrection night. Yet he

possessed it. After proclaiming the truth that God had

reconciled lis to himself by Christ, he asserted that God

had given to him the ministry of reconciliation, had

placed in him the word of reconciliation, had made him

an ambassador for Christ (2 Cor. v. et seq.).

The power of pardoning sin, of uttering the word of

reconciliation, was therefore, handed on. From this
fact, as well as from the fact of Christ’s coming to es-

tablish the new and perfect dispensation of God’s mer-

cies, we know with certainty that the power was to be

transmitted to chosen men until the end of the world.
Another objection to the Catholic teaching is that,

though Christ gave men the power of pardoning sin, and



The Confession of Sin.

wished that power to be transmitted in His Church, vet

He did not command men to confess their sins.
Let us look at the power He gave His Apostles and

their successors, and see if the duty of confession be

not bound up in it. The power was judicial; that of
pardoning, and of refusing to pardon. It was to be

used not arbitrarily, not in accordance with whims or
prejudices, but according to right reason. Pardon was

to be granted to those who deserved it; and refused to
those who were unworthy of it. Now, it is clear, that
to act reasonably and prudently in such a matter, one

would need to know all the important facts in the case

;

the charges against the sinner, the nature and extent of

his guilt, the dispositions of his soul. The only way in
which such a knowledge can be obtained is by a thorough

and honest confession on the part of the sinner himself.

I alone, among men, know my own sins. Some wrong-
doing of mine may indeed come under the observation
of men. The external word or act they may know ; the
internal knowledge and motive, which determine the

amount of guilt, is hidden from them. Since the priest

from whom I seek pardon must know these things be-
fore he can use aright the sacred power intrusted to

him, it remains for me to reveal the condition of my soul,
thoroughly, clearly, truthfully.

We have seen God’s plan and means for the remission
of sins. The knowledge is of great value to us, it has a

practical bearing on our lives, for we are all of us sin-
ners. In many things we all offend (James iii. 2), even
the just man shall offend seven times (Prov. xxiv. 16).
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the
truth is not in us (i John i. 8). We have sinned most
grievously, rebelling against God. Knowing His holy



The Confession of Sin.

will Clearly
;
we have listened to the world, the flesh, o'*

the devil; we have turned a deaf ear to God's pleadings,
promises and threats

;
we have believed the tempter in

preference to God and deliberately disobeyed Him, our
Maker and our King. We have dethroned and exiled
Him from our hearts which were made to be an earthly
home and kingdom for Himself

;
we have let sin in to

reign in His stead. We have despised His goodness, pa-
tience and love, sinning the more against Him because of
His tenderness and mercy. All this our conscience tells

us we have done to God. For these deeds we deserve
chastisement. These things are abominable to God. He
hates them and us. “Thou hatest all the workers of in-
iquity" (Ps. V. 6). To God “the wicked and his wicked-
rxess are hateful alike" (Wisdom xiv. 9). These things
He has very sternly punished and now threatens unre-
servedly. “The wicked and unbelieving and the abom-

inable, and murderers, and whoremongers and sorcerers

and idolaters and all liars, they shall have their portion

in the pool burning with fire and brimstone, which is

the second death" (Rev. xxi. 8). From the wrath to
come I seek escape. Jesus Christ I know has died to save
me. I know He has prepared a way by which I may flee.
Fie has sent into this world men who have the power of
pardoning me. Shall I despise these ambassadors of

Christ, these ministers of reconciliation, these dispensers

of the mysteries of God? Shall I turn my back on God’s
way to safety, and seek it in a way of rny own choosing?
That would be folly, a new and deadly insult to God. He
Whom I have disobeyed, has laid down the conditions
of reconciliation. It is for my outraged God to dictate
the terms of peace; it is my dutv to accept and fulfill,
them.

, .





**BleBMed he those who leslise that great
work for a new and just order is not poS’>
athie unless their eyes are lifted to GOD,
keeper and ordainer of all human events,
initial source, guardian and avenger oi
all justice and right.**—Pope Pius XII.

A SET OF G PAMPHLETS ON

TiJonleC

"GOD—MAN'S FIRST NEiD"
Rev. Francis J. Connell. C.SS.R.

''GOD IN THE HOME"
Rev. John A. O'Bf ien. Ph.D.. LLD.

"GOD IN EDUCATION"
Rev. Robert I. Gannon, S.J.

"GOD IN SOCIETY"
Rev, Gerald C. Treacy, S.J.

"GOD IN ECONOMIC LIFE"
Rev. Wilfrid Parsons, S.J.

"GOD IN GOVERNMENT"
Rev. James M. Gillis, C.S.P.

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