relapses

The habitual sinner may be absolved as often as he seriously undertakes to employ the means necessary to overcome his habit, but he cannot be absolved if he refuses this undertaking.
The recidivist is one who frequently falls into the same sin after repeated Confession, without making any effort to avoid the sin. He differs from the habitual sinner who often falls into the same sin but has not yet confessed his sinful habit. The absolution of these recidivists presents difficulties, since they cannot all be treated in the same way. There are those who repeatedly commit sins due to a malicious will [recidivi formaliter], and those who repeatedly commit sins due to frailty [recidivi materialiter]. These latter should be given advice and encouragement, and then absolved. As regards the former, St. Alphonsus, who steers a middle course between severity and excessive leniency, states that as a general rule they are not to be absolved unless they give special signs of their sorrow.

Then there are those penitents who are in occasions of sin-----either in a free proximate occasion, if it is one that could easily be avoided, or in a necessary occasion, if it cannot be avoided. A penitent unwilling to avoid a free proximate occasion of sin cannot be absolved; but one who is in a necessary occasion of grave sin may be absolved if he seriously intends to take the necessary measures to make the occasion a remote one. The priest's charity will here be invaluable in pointing out the correct path to follow, which will avoid laxity on the one hand and rigorism on the other.

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Quo Primum

Mar 19, 2017

The Priest's Ministry in the Confessional

Taken From
The Priest in Union with Christ
By
Fr. Reginald Garrigou-LaGrange, O.P.

TAN BOOKS AND PUBLISHERS, INC.
Published on the web with permission.

ONE will sometimes hear a distinction made between preachers and confessors, as if those who preach need not give much attention to the priest's ministry in the confessional, a work which is often less satisfying, more difficult and sometimes irksome. However, a priest who does reserve all his energy for the pulpit and very little for the confessional is bound to find his preaching abstract and theoretical; his sermons will lack variety and he himself will not display that sincere and profound zeal for the glory of God and the salvation of souls which comes from practical labors for the conversion of souls.

To hear Confessions well requires patience, self-denial and great love for souls. At the same time, two extremes have to be avoided: excessive kindness and undue severity.

Some of the faithful no longer go to Confession because they have found a confessor so tolerant of their failings that they have gradually ceased to realize the gravity of mortal sin. They look on Confession as a mere formality with little value for their moral life. They have lost their supernatural appreciation of the value of Confession; is that surprising, when the confessor himself is without that same supernatural outlook? Others-----and these are in the majority-----no longer go to Confession because they have found their confessor too severe. And yet the faithful who confessed their sins to St. John Vianney were not deterred by his firmness, since his charity was even greater. He would sometimes readily inflict a severe penance on himself in place of the penitent in order to help him.

It is generally true to say that a priest who is careful about his own Confession makes a good confessor for other people. But just as a person who has never learned how to obey never makes a good ruler, so also a priest who is careless about his own Confession does not know how to hear the Confessions of others.

St. Alphonsus explains that a good confessor is a father, a doctor, a teacher and a judge. These are universally accepted as the four aspects of a priest's work in the confessional.
As a father, the confessor must be blameless in his priestly life, wise and mature in his judgment; he must possess abundant charity, showing himself equally kind to all-----to the poor, to the uneducated, to the greatest sinners. He must receive them all with patience, gentleness and fatherly love, saying to them: "Trust me completely and tell me of the state of your soul. Do not fear. God is only too willing to forgive you all your sins if you are sincerely sorry. That is why He has waited for you, in order that he might spare you." If that is the attitude adopted by the priest, the penitent will realize that he is kneeling before a genuine father.

As a doctor, the confessor needs that priestly prudence which will guide him correctly in asking questions about the source of the penitent's spiritual ills, so that he may suggest suitable remedies, protect the "sick" person against future dangers, warn him to avoid the occasions of sin and to make necessary restitution, and so on.

As a teacher, the confessor must have sufficient knowledge of theology so that he never loses sight of the great mysteries of salvation-----the redemptive Incarnation, eternal happiness, eternal punishment-----nor of the two supreme precepts of love of God and one's neighbor, which provide the supernatural approach to the Decalogue and its applications. Therefore the priest must never cease from his study of moral theology, especially of the more frequent cases and censures.

As a judge, the confessor will sometimes have to ask questions, so far as is necessary for the integrity of the Confession; he must also decide whether to give or to refuse absolution. For this purpose he must judge correctly the gravity of sins, their nature, and the state of the penitent-----whether he is sufficiently attrite or not. He must also impose a penance proportionate to the offense committed, but which is not beyond the power of the penitent to fulfill.

These various duties of a confessor demand numerous virtues-----a spirit of faith, confidence in God, great charity, priestly prudence, justice, courage and also steadfast chastity in order to help those who fall into frequent sins of impurity. Fruitful perseverance in this ministry requires a fervent zeal for the glory of God and the saving of souls; otherwise the priest is overcome by weariness and may even reach a stage where he acquires an aversion for souls. For this reason, unlimited charity and sincere apostolic zeal are indispensable virtues-----as St. Alphonsus repeats so often in his excellent work, Homo apostolicus, tr. 16 and 21.