Advice to a New Penitent: Sacramental Confession

It is always one of the greatest privileges and blessings of the Sacred Priesthood to assist a faithful Anglican who is new to the Sacrament of Penance in the preparation for one's first reception of the grace of that most wonderful Sacrament. The act itself is very simple, direct and easy.

The process of receiving the Sacrament of Penance is very straightforward. To quite Saint John Chrysostom:

1. 'Contrition in the heart'. We should, in quiet and without distraction, pray over our sins and recall what are our particular sins, using the Commandments as the standard against which we must judge ourselves. We should allot as much time as we need to do this in the 'prayer closet' of our souls. Having formed an understanding of our sins using such a method, we should then from the heart repent of our sins and ask for the merciful and loving forgiveness of Our Saviour. We should sorrow from our hearts for having offended God's love. This is contrition, genuine sorrow for and hatred of our sins and genuine repentance with a desire to amend our lives according to God's will and commandments. From a desire of love for God we should seek His forgiveness and mercy, for He is our loving and merciful Father, who through Jesus Christ frees us from the power and destructiveness of our own personal sins. Contrition is the state of soul we should bring to Confession and only takes places in our hearts and souls after making a good self-examination. No fasting or other devotional practices are required before coming to Sacramental Confession, although certainly a one-hour fast beforehand with special prayers is always beneficial to the soul! Pray to the Holy Ghost to illuminate your heart, mind, soul and conscience to show you your true self and the true nature and horror of your sins. Ask the Holy Ghost to penetrate deep inside the soul to show you even those sins that you are not aware of committing, and to show you those areas of your life, of which you may not even be consciously aware, that need restoration and healing. Penance is not about judgement or condemnation, as some mistakenly think, but is all about forgiveness, healing, freedom and a new life in the mercy of God.

2. 'Confession with the lips'. We then move to the actual Sacrament of Penance. The Confession is not made to the priest, but to God Himself in the presence of the one ordained and commissioned by Christ to forgive sins in His Name, the sacramental representative of Christ, the priest. The rite itself is very simple. I shall have a booklet for you with the entire rite laid out in its entirety and I shall be happy to give you as much time as you need to look over the rite before we begin. The penitent comes to the Altar, the great symbol of Christ, and kneels at the Altar rail. The priest is seated within the sanctuary at the rail to greet the penitent. In the Anglican Rite, Confessions are usually heard at the sanctuary before the Altar of Christ, which perfectly symbolises the One to Whom the confession is made and from Whom the grace of Absolution is received. The penitent begins the service with a request for a blessing, and the priest blesses the penitent. The penitent then confesses his sins verbally using a brief prayer found in the rite of Confession: he articulates in the hearing of the priest (auricular - 'in the ear') all those particular sins he wishes to confess and then concludes by asking the priest for advice, counsel and Absolution. The priest then offers words of advice and counsel as he thinks necessary, and asks the penitent to perform a penance, which is usually a prayer or other devotional act meant to signify the penitent's contrition and desire for forgiveness, a token of love for God and a gesture and demonstration of one's willingness to life a new better amended life. After the penitent accepts the penance, the priest gives Absolution, the sacramental forgiveness of sins in which Christ Himself loosens the penitent from sin and infuses him with the grace of the Holy Spirit. After the Absolution a final prayer and blessing are said by the priest and the penitent is free to leave or remain in church to offer his penance. Absolution is the sacramental guarantee that our sins are forgiven - sacramental grace washes the soul in the Precious Blood of Christ and ensures by a covenantal promise of Christ that all the sins one has ever committed are forgiven once and for all. The penitent leaves the Confession free from all sin, mortal and venial, and is empowered with new profound supernatural grace to live a life of holiness pleasing to God. The grace of Absolution exposes and heals the deepest recesses of the soul, pouring the balm of divine love on all the wounds of human nature, and not only forgives sins but actually increases grace and sanctity for a more intimate union with God. For this reason, the Church Fathers call Penance a 'second baptism', 'the second plank after shipwreck' that restores all baptismal grace and gives the penitent a new life and communion with God. It is Christ Who is the only priest and celebrant of the Sacrament, and He absolves the penitent with own Absolution of divine reconciliation and love, won the Cross of Calvary. It is He Who forgives and restores to the life of grace.

3. 'Amendment in the life'. After receiving the supernal unparalleled gift of Absolution, we should seek to live lives of more intense holiness and love for God. We should resolve never to commit sin again, especially those besetting sins which we so easily lapse into. We should seek to live a better and holier life. We should develop a consistent and regular rule of life, of regular daily prayer and discipline, and we should have frequent recourse both to Sacramental Confession and spiritual direction. We should more eagerly frequent all of the Sacraments, particularly the Holy Eucharist, with greater devotion, preparation and zeal. If Absolution is the healing medicine that cures the disease of sin in the soul, spiritual direction and frequent Confession are the preventative medicines which keep our souls healthy and in a state of grace.

The aforementioned are considerations of the personal and particular nature of sins and their forgiveness: additionally, we should also consider the corporate and ecclesial nature of sins and their impact upon ourselves and upon the whole Body of Christ, the Church. The Sacrament of Penance restores us to fellowship with God after serious sin, and also restores us to full communion with the Mystical Body of Christ, of which we are once again living members through repentance and Absolution. Sin has not only personal consequences, but also a communal and relational significance as well. When we separate ourselves from God through sin we concomitantly sever our communion with the Church as well. In Penance, we account, not only for our sins committed against God, but our sins, which by their very character violate our communion with the Church, committed against the Body of which we are each a integral and living part. 'And whether one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it. Now ye are the Body of Christ, and members in particular' (I Corinthians 12.26-27).

The priest is the instrument of our reconciliation with the Church, or restoration of fellowship, because he is not only in persona Christi capitis, in the person of Christ the Head of the Church, he is also in persona ecclesiae, in the person of the Church, the Man of the Church, the Church's ordained and official representative - his sacramental acts are not done in his own name and person, but in the name of the Catholic Church with the Church's authority and commission. Thus the Sacrament of Confession serves to reconcile us with the visible and sacramental communion which is Jesus Christ's Body, the prolongation and extension in time and space of His own Life. Holy Mother Church draws us back to her bosom and restores us to all her graces and Sacraments through the ecclesiastical musterion of Penance. Confession is the double cure for sin, sin against our Redeemer and sin against His Bride and Body...