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TOPIC 20.6
THE 4 C’s OF A GOOD CONFESSION
 THE 4 C’s OF A GOOD CONFESSION

Review: When is confession The priest hears Confession as a

Essential Parts of Confession complete and clear? Judge

Do we confess How about mortal sins If we conceal a mortal sin

doubtful sins? we forget to confess? or lie about its real gravity?

The sacramental seal

The confessional box
of Confession
 Review:
The Essential Parts of Confession
On the part of the penitent:
4 C’s
of a Good Confession

Complete

On the part Confession of

of the priest:
Contrition Satisfaction Clear
sins
the absolution
given in persona et
nomine Christi. Today’s Lesson
actual confession
Concise
“Ego te absolvo a or disclosure
peccatis tuis…” of one’s sins
to the priest
Contrite
If any of these 3 acts are defective, the Confession is not only unworthily, but
also invalidly made (i.e., no sacrament is received)
 When is confession
complete and clear?
The penitent must confess all mortal sins after baptism
not yet confessed…
◦ Reason:
confession was instituted by Jesus as the ordinary way
to obtain forgiveness for mortal sins committed after baptism.

…mentioning them according to their specific kind and number, together with any
circumstances that may have affected their gravity.
◦ Reason:
the absolution of the priest is a judicial act
by the very nature of the institution of the sacrament by Jesus.

“Whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall
be loosed in heaven” (Mt. 16:19). “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they
are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained” (Jn 20:22-23).
 The priest hears
Confession as a judge
The priest has to make a judgment
whether or not to give absolution.

◦ the only way he can do this is if the penitent himself discloses

his sins according to their specific kind
(e.g., by mentioning the virtue against which the sin was
committed –justice, truthfulness, purity, humility, mercy,
charity…)

◦ …along with their number or frequency,

together with any circumstances
which may have affected their gravity
(e.g., if we injured the reputation of others in a serious way)

◦ in this way, the priest can assess how reparation

would have to be made, and whether contrition
and purpose of amendment is genuine,
and give the penitent proper guidance.
Do we confess
doubtful sins?
Unless the person’s conscience is very lax,
or there are good reasons behind the doubt, strictly speaking,
there is no obligation to do so.

◦ For example:
a person is doubtful whether or not
he has confessed a certain mortal sin,
or whether he gave full consent
to some temptations.

◦ Nevertheless,
it is advisable to mention doubtful sins,
if only for peace of conscience, or to receive
whatever advice the priest may deem suitable to give us, or to form
our consciences
better in discerning right from wrong.
 How about mortal sins
we forget to confess?
If, having sufficiently examined
our conscience, we still forget a mortal sin,
the sin already forgiven
along with the others we confessed.

◦ we may receive Holy Communion

after Confession.

◦ However, the next time we confess,

we ought to mention the sin we forgot.

◦ Reason:
Confession has been instituted by Christ
as the ordinary way to obtain forgiveness
for all mortal sins committed after baptism.
 If we conceal
a mortal sin
or lie about its real gravity?
The confession would be invalid
for lack of the necessary integrity of the confession of sins, and
we would have committed a sacrilege for having made a bad
Confession

◦ none of the sins we confessed would be forgiven

◦ in our next Confession, we would have to confess

all our sins since our last good Confession,
along with the bad Confession(s) we made,
and the number of sacrilegious Communions
we may have received

Note:
should there be any mortal sin we find hard to confess,
or do not know how to confess, the best is to start with this
and ask the priest for help.
 The sacramental
seal of Confession
Priests will never disclose or make use
of any information known through Confession.

◦ CCC 1467:
Given the delicacy and greatness of (the ministry of Confession) and the respect due
to persons, the Church declares
that every priest who hears confessions is bound
under severe penalties to keep absolute secrecy
regarding the sins that his penitents have confessed to him.
He can make no use of knowledge that confession gives him about the penitents’
lives.

This secret, which admits of no exceptions,

is called the ‘sacramental seal,’ because what the penitent
has made known to the priest remains ‘sealed’ by the sacrament.”
 The confessional box
◦ The value of the confessional box
Besides the need for discretion and prudence that priests
should exercise in the administration of Confession,
penitent have the right to confess their sins
without necessarily revealing their identity.

◦ Code of Canon Law 964

◦ Sect. 1:
“The proper place for hearing sacramental confessions
is a church or oratory.
(Reason: administering Penance is a sacred and liturgical action;
hence, it claims a sacred place as most proper.)

◦ Sect. 2:
“(C)onfessionals fitted with a fixed grille between the penitent
and the confessor (must) always be available in an open place,
so that the faithful who so wish may freely use them.

◦ Sect. 3:
“Except for a just reason, confessions are not be heard elsewhere
than in a confessional.”
TOPIC 20.6
THE 4 C’s OF A GOOD CONFESSION