Salesian Literature

Chapter 19:  Regular Confession

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Our Saviour has entrusted to his Church the Sacrament of Penance and Confession[1].  It was his intention that by this Sacrament we cleanse ourselves from all our sins, every time and as many times as we may be defiled by them.  Therefore, Philothea, never let your heart remain poisoned by sin for a long time, since such an easy remedy is available to you.

 

A lioness that has been in the company of a leopard goes at once to wash herself and remove the unpleasant smell resulting from this contact so that when the lion meets her he will not be displeased and provoked[2].  Thus whoever yields, to sin must have a disgust of himself and cleanse himself as soon as possible, out of respect due to the divine Majesty who sees him.  But why do we choose a spiritual death, when we have such an excellent remedy?

 

Go to confession every week with humility and devotion.  Do so always, if possible, whenever you intend receiving Communion[3] even though you are conscious that you are not guilty of any mortal sin.  In fact by Confession you receive more than absolution for the venial sins you confess.  You are also given a great strength to avoid them in the future, much light to discern them well and abundant grace to repair whatever loss they have caused you.  You will practise the virtues of humility, obedience, simplicity and charity.  In no other act will you exercise more virtue than in this single act of Confession.

 

Always have a sincere sorrow for the sins you confess, no matter how small they may be, with a firm determination to correct yourself in the future.  Many confess their venial sins from force of habit and as it were to do what is expected, without thinking at all of correcting themselves.  They continue to be weighed down by such sins all their life and in this way lose many spiritual benefits and advantages.  Hence, if you confess that you have told a lie even though without harm to anyone, or that you have spoken in an uncontrolled manner, or spent too much time in amusements, be sincerely sorry and be firmly determined to change your behaviour.  Indeed, it is an abuse to confess any kind of sin, mortal or venial, without wanting to be freed from it, since such is the very purpose for which confession has been instituted.

 

Do not make accusations that are simply irrelevant.  This is what many do as a matter of routine: “I have not loved God as much as I ought”; “I have not prayed with as much devotion as I ought”; “I have not shown as much concern for my neighbour as I ought”; “I have not received the Sacraments with as much reverence as I ought”, and similar things.  The reason for avoiding such accusations is that, in saying such things, you mention nothing specific to help your confessor to understand your inner dispositions as regards sin.  As a matter of fact, all the Saints in Paradise and every person on earth could say the same things if they went to confession.

 

Therefore, find out the particular reason you have for making such accusations, having discovered it, accuse yourself of the fault you have committed quite simply and plainly.  For example, you accuse yourself of not showing as much concern for your neighbour as you ought.  It was perhaps because you saw a poor man in great need, whom you could easily have helped and comforted, but you did not care to do so.  Well, accuse yourself of precisely this.  You could say: “I saw a poor man in great need.  I did not help him as I could have done.  It was because of carelessness or hardness of heart, or contempt for the person” mentioning what you know to have been the reason for this fault.  In this same way, do not accuse yourself of not having prayed to God with as much devotion as you ought.  Do not make such a general statement which discloses nothing specific in Confession.  Accuse yourself quite simply of what you find to be your fault: that you were distracted in prayer willingly; or that you were careless in choosing the place, or the time, or posture suitable for attention in prayer.

 

Do not be satisfied with confessing just the occurrence of your venial sins.  Accuse yourself also of the motive which led you to commit them.  For example, do not be satisfied with confessing that you have told a lie without hurting anyone.  Mention whether it was from pride:  in order to praise yourself or to make an excuse for yourself; or whether it was from idle fun; or form obstinacy.  If you have sinned while playing, make it clear whether it was from a desire to win, or because of the pleasure of the company and so on about other things.

 

Confess whether you have remained in your sin for long.  All the more so, since length of time ordinarily increases the sin greatly.  There is a great difference between a fleeting vanity lingering in our heart for a quarter of an hour, and one which our heart has been immersed for one, or two, or three days.

 

So, with regard to our sins, it is necessary to confess the sinful act, its motive and its duration.  Of course, ordinarily we are not bound to show such strictness in confessing venial sins.  In fact, there is absolutely no obligation to confess venial sins.  However, those who want to purify themselves thoroughly, in order to better acquire holy devotion, must take care to give the spiritual doctor a clear knowledge of the evil, no matter how small it may be, from which they want to be healed.

 

Do not hesitate to disclose everything that is needed for a proper understanding of the nature of your sin, such as the reason you had for giving way to anger, or for tolerating someone’s sin.  For example, a person whom I dislike makes a small remark to me as  joke and so I take offence and become angry.  But if another person whom I like had said something more unpleasant, I would have taken it well.  I will therefore say clearly in my confession: “I lost control of myself and spoke angry words against a certain person.  I took offence at something he said to me.  This was not because of the kind of words he used, but because I did not like him.”  If there is need to repeat the actual words, to make your meaning very clear, I think that it would be a good thing to do so.

 

By accusing yourself with such frankness, you make known not only the sins you have fallen into but also you evil inclinations, customs, habits and other roots of sin.  In this way, the spiritual father acquires a more complete knowledge of the heart he is treating and so of the suitable remedies for it.  However, you must never make known, as far as possible, the identity of anyone who may have shared in your sin.

 

Be aware of a number of sins which live and grow strong, very often unnoticed, in the heart.  You must do this in order to confess them and rid yourself of them.  With this in mind read diligently chapters 6, 27, 28, 29, 35 and 36 of the Third Part, as well as chapter 8 of the Fourth Part.

 

Do not change your confessor without reason.  Having chosen one, go to him on the appointed days to give him an account of your conscience, confessing your sins openly and sincerely.  At fixed times, once a month perhaps or once in two months, also reveal to him the state of your inclinations, even though you may not have sinned by them: for instance, whether you were troubled by sadness or by grief; whether you were carried away by joy or by desires to acquire possessions and such other inclinations.

 

 

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[1]  Now referred to as the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation.

[2]  Pliny.

[3]  In St. Francis time, daily Communion was not the practice among lay people.  Even Communion every Sunday was not common and he recommends at least this in the chapter that follows.

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