CONTRITION, CONFESSION, AND SATISFACTION

A SERMON FOR THE 10th SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

The picture in today’s Gospel is a familiar one to many of us.  It is the story of two men, one of them a proud and pompous Pharisee, who struts his way to the front of the temple where his prayer to God is nothing more than one big pat on his own back.  “God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.  I fast twice a week, I give away a tenth of all that I possess.”  And then a second man – we barely see him at first, as he creeps into the church unobserved and remains hidden in the dark shadows at the back.  No boasting comes from the mouth of this one, only words, prayers of abject humility and penitence: “O God, be merciful unto me, a sinner.”

Our Lord offers these two men to us for our evaluation.  We are asked who we believe to be the better man of the two. Is it the “good man” at the front of the church boasting about all the good deeds he has done during the last week? Or is it the “sinner” at the back, beating his breast in tears at the memory of the sins he has committed during the week?

And indeed, for which of the two do we feel more empathy?  Shouldn’t we be attracted more by the man who has been so dedicated to his good deeds?  Shouldn’t we be drawn to admire him?  And yet our inner nature revolts against doing so.  There he stands at the front of the church in front of everyone, bragging about his good deeds.  And we find that nauseating.  Meanwhile, our true sympathies lie with that poor fellow at the back who doesn’t dare show his face.  He knows what he’s done.  But he still dragged his sorry behind to church to kneel before his God and beg pardon. To tell God how much he is truly sorry for all those bad things he’s done.

Don’t feel guilty that you prefer the sinner over the self-righteous.  “I tell you,” says Our Lord, “this man (at the back of the church—the sinner) went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”

And here’s our lesson for the day:  abase yourself, don’t exalt yourself.  Don’t congratulate yourself for anything good you do!  Certainly, don’t seek the praise of other men for your good works!  Nor should you ever look upon the good works of others as less worthy than your own! Notice that the boasting Pharisee sees the sinner at the back of the church, and that, instead of seeing there a reminder to be more humble, he merely sees another opportunity to congratulate himself, that he is “not as other men, or even as this publican”.  Never compare youself with others.  We spoke a couple of weeks ago about the different talents each of us has been given.  Perhaps these other people we’re looking down on  have been given different gifts than us.  Perhaps they are striving harder to accomplish less, while we find it oh so easy to do so much more!  God looks at the efforts, not the results.  

Instead, look to the publican at the back of the church.  He doesn’t even notice the Pharisee, so engrossed is he in begging mercy from his God.  When we come to seek pardon and absolution here in this church, remember that we are kneeling before the immeasurable majesty of God.  We should compare ourselves withhisinfinite holiness!  Remember man, that thou art dust!  Look not on your merits but on your sins, and confess them humbly to God.  “O God, be merciful unto me, a sinner.”  This is the man who will go down to his house justified. This is the man who will save his soul. 

I’ll be you have never been in a Catholic church where the confessional was at the front of the church.  It’s never up here in the sanctuary, is it?  The sinner in today’s Gospel stays at the back of the church to confess his sins to God, and leaves the front pews to the Pharisee to boast from.  When it’s time for confession, you head for the back of the sacristy, and it is there, in the obscurity and the darkness, that you mutter your offences to God.

Confession today is not like it was in the Gospel story.  Our Lord has elevated it into a Sacrament, so that by the outward signs we may receive, infallibly, the forgiveness of our sins. We call these outward signs of a sacrament the matter and the form.  Remember that if either the matter or the form is absent, the sacrament is invalid. That doesn’t bother us so much in other sacraments:  we leave all that theological stuff up to the priest, right?—he’s responsible for saying the right words, and making sure the water is poured over the baby’s head, or that the wine and communion wafers are properly prepared, or whatever.  But in Confession it’s different.  The form of the sacrament is the absolution spoken by the priest, so certainly we can leave that bit up to the priest.  But what is the matterof the sacrament?  In the Sacrament of Penance it is the penitentwho is responsible for the matter of the sacrament.  And if youdon’t prepare the matter of the Sacrament of Penance properly, then your Confession is invalid.  Think about that rather momentous thought for a second!  

You can see, can’t you, how important it is you understand what I’m about to explain.  In order for you to make a valid confession, in order for your sins to be properly absolved by the priest and forgiven by God, you must understand the following and put it into practice.  There are three things necessary for the sacramental matter of Confession.  Make sure you know them.  Make sure you prepare for Confession by reminding yourself that all three must be fulfilled.  By you, the penitent!

The first of the three is Contrition for your sins.  The second is Confession of your sins.  And the third is the Desire to Make Satisfaction for your sins.  Contrition, confession, satisfaction.  Omit any of these, and your confession is invalid.

Of these three things, the most important is Contrition.  Look at the publican in today’s Gospel again.  I don’t know if he listed all his sins to God, and I don’t know if he made reparation for them.  But I do know he was contrite, because the Gospel says so. 

The desire to make satisfaction flows directly from the contrition – if you are conscious of having done something wrong, you will want to make up for that wrong if you’re truly sorry for it. You can’t steal money from someone, and then later be truly sorry for having stolen it, but then just keep the money anyway.  Obviously! Usually, to make satisfaction for your sins, the priest will simply give you a penance to say, generally a few prayers. But other times, especially when your sins go against justice, he will ask you to make reparation—give back the money you stole, or whatever.  You must have the genuine desire and intention to make reparation, whatever the priest gives you to do or say.

The actual listing of your sins, and your repetition of them to the priest is also necessary.  Of course, you’re not likely to forget to confess your sins when you’re kneeling there in the confessional.  Just remember though, it means all your sins!  Or to be more specific, at least all your mortalsins.  Not just the ones that are easy to ask forgiveness for.  Don’t leave out the embarrassing ones!  You know from your catechism that that would make the Confession invalid if you leave out one mortal sin deliberately.  

But the confession of the sins and the penance the priest gives you, that’s the easy part to remember.  But the contrition?  That’s a different story, isn’t it?  That’s something the priest can’t see or hear, something you can’t see or hear either, so I want to impress upon you today how very important it is.  Indeed it is essential in order that your confession be valid.  It is as essential to the Sacrament of Penance as water is essential to the Sacrament of Baptism.  Without contrition our sins will not be forgiven.

Now you understand, I hope, the necessity of having contrition.  To better understand what contrition is and the type of contrition you must have for your confession to be valid, you should read the front page of today’s bulletin.

In the movie The Passionwe see that after he denies Christ, St. Peter realizes his sin.  Not only does he weep bitter tears for his sins, he goes to the Blessed Mother, he confesses to her what he has done, how he has sinned against her Son and offended him deeply.  Sometimes when you’re finding it difficult to have the right motives for your contrition, before you go to Confession, go first to Our Lady.  Tell her what you’ve done, think of how you have hurt your blessed Mother by offending her Son, by making him sweat another drop of blood in Gethsemane. She won’t be angry.  She won’t turn you away.  She will comfort you.  After all, she is the Refuge of Sinners, the Comfort of the Afflicted.  Always go to Our Lady, and she will help inspire in you that sense of true perfect contrition for your sins, so that you can make a good Confession, and so that you can save your soul.