Vatican II and the Sacraments: Penance

This is the third in a series of posts on Vatican II and the Sacraments. What did the Council say regarding the sacrament of Penance (i.e. Reconciliation, Confession)?  It certainly did not do away with it, although the Council did call for its form to be revised to better express the sacrament's reality.  The Council did not recommend renaming the sacrament (which it consistently referred to as Penance) in any way; that is not to say that "Reconciliation" or "Confession" are bad or opposed to Vatican II, but that we should not eschew the name "Penance".


Sacrosanctum Concilium (1963), Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy

72. The rite and formulas for the sacrament of penance are to be revised so that they more clearly express both the nature and effect of the sacrament.


Lumen Gentium (1964), Dogmatic Constitution on the Church

11. Those who approach the sacrament of Penance obtain pardon from the mercy of God for the offence committed against Him and are at the same time reconciled with the Church, which they have wounded by their sins, and which by charity, example, and prayer seeks their conversion.

26. [Bishops] regulate the discipline of Penance...


Orientalium Ecclesiarum (1964), Decree on the Eastern Catholic Churches

27. Without prejudice to the principles noted earlier, Eastern Christians who are in fact separated in good faith from the Catholic Church, if they ask of their own accord and have the right dispositions, may be admitted to the sacraments of Penance, the Eucharist and the Anointing of the Sick.


Christus Dominus (1965), Decree on the Pastoral Office of Bishops

29. Pastors should also be mindful of how much the sacrament of Penance contributes to developing the Christian life and, therefore, should always make themselves available to hear the confessions of the faithful.


Presbyterorum Ordinis (1965), Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests

5. By Baptism men are truly brought into the People of God; by the sacrament of Penance sinners are reconciled to God and his Church; by the Anointing of the Sick, the ill are given solace; and especially by the celebration of Mass they offer sacramentally the Sacrifice of Christ. ... In the spirit of Christ the Shepherd, they must prompt their people to confess their sins with a contrite heart in the sacrament of Penance, so that, mindful of his words "Repent for the kingdom of God is at hand" (Mt 4:17), they are drawn closer to the Lord more and more each day.

13. This is true in a special way when in the performance of their duty in the sacrament of Penance they show themselves altogether and always ready whenever the sacrament is reasonably sought by the faithful.

18. The ministers of sacramental grace are intimately united to Christ our Savior and Pastor through the fruitful reception of the sacraments, especially sacramental Penance, in which, prepared by the daily examination of conscience, the necessary conversion of heart and love for the Father of Mercy is greatly deepened.

Household chemical waste disposal day

On my way to work this morning, I saw a sign on US Route 1 for "Mercer County Household Chemical and Electronics Waste Disposal Day". Three Saturdays a year, Mercer County offers a 6-hour window when people can drop off various household chemicals (aerosol cans, propane tanks, etc.).

HOUSEHOLD CHEMICAL

AND ELECTRONICS

WASTE DISPOSAL DAY

Sponsored by the

MERCER COUNTY IMPROVEMENT AUTHORITY

SATURDAY, MARCH 20, 2010

SATURDAY, JUNE 26, 2010

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2010

8 a.m. – 2 p.m. • Rain or Shine

John T. Dempster Fire School

Bakers Basin/Lawrence Station Road • Lawrence Township

“Household Chemical and Electronics Waste

Disposal Days are a great opportunity to remove

dangerous chemicals or materials from your

home and dispose of them in an environmentally

friendly and safe manner without making a lot of

effort. Just gather up your chemical containers

and old electronics, bring them to the Dempster

Center, and let Mercer County do the rest.”

– Brian M. Hughes, County Executive

What's stopping the county -- and homeowners -- from disposing of these chemicals and materials on a regular basis?  What homeowner wants to stockpile old aerosol cans in their house until one of these three Saturdays comes along?  I'm sure there are facilities around the county where such things can be disposed of at leisure, but I don't know where they are or what their hours are.

I think this is a decent analogy for the general attitude (at least in some dioceses in the United States) towards the sacrament of Reconciliation.  While some parishes have the sacrament celebrated weekly, it isn't given great publicity.  There are communal penance services (with individual reception of the sacrament, of course!) during Advent and Lent, but does this promote the proper theology of this sacrament, the proper theology of sin?  It's unhealthy and improper to hold onto mortal sins for months at a time (keeping them "under the kitchen sink", if you will) all the while going about like nothing's amiss.

Mortal sins, like volatile chemicals, deserve (even demand) immediate attention.  If priests can make the sacrament of Reconciliation more available to those souls under their care (and any other souls who happen to be passing by), and speak up about the necessity, importance, and beauty of this sacrament, then maybe we'll regain a sense of sin and a sense of personal responsibility for our conduct as Catholics, and (God-willing) we'll become more faithful, charitable, and moral people.

Sacrament of Penance: Prayer of Absolution

This is a bit out of order — I plan on doing a post (or series of posts) comparing the Extraordinary Form of the Sacrament of Penance with the Ordinary Form — but I thought I'd share this little tidbit with you ahead of time.

This is the prayer of absolution from the Sacrament of Penance (also called Confession and Reconciliation) in English and Latin (and my own attempt at a Latin translation), with Scriptural annotations.

(2 Cor. 1:3)God, the Father of mercies,
through the death and resurrection of His Son
(2 Cor. 5:19; cf. Rom. 11:15; Col.1:20)has reconciled the world to Himself
(John 20:21-23)and sent the Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sins;
(2 Cor. 5:18-20)through the ministry of the Church
(Luke 7:50; Col. 1:14)may God give you pardon and peace,
and I absolve you from your sins
in the name of the Father, and of the Son, +
and of the Holy Spirit.

Deus, Pater misericordiárum,
qui per mortem et resurrectiónem Filii sui
mundum sibi reconciliávit
et Spiritum Sanctum effúdit in remissiónem peccatórum,
per ministérium Ecclésiæ
indulgéntiam tibi tribuat et pacem.
Et ego te absólvo a peccátis tuis
in nómine Patris, et Filii, +
et Spíritus Sancti.

Here's my translation of the Latin, not so much to be compared and contrasted with the present English translation, but simply as an exercise in translation.

May God, the Father of mercies,
Who through the death and resurrection of His Son
has reconciled the world to Himself
and sent the Holy Spirit for the remission of sins,
through the ministry of Church
grant you pardon and peace.
And I absolve you from your sins
in the name of the Father, and of the Son, +
and of the Holy Spirit.

News: "Relentlessly confessional and rarely contrite"

There's a decent article in the New York Times about a parish in Stamford, CT, that has restored the traditional approach to the Sacrament of Confession: plenty of scheduled time for confession and refurnished confessionals (as opposed to "reconciliation rooms").

The article interviewed a woman at the parish who appreciates the renewal of Confession; the article says that "she recognizes how the practice sets her apart from a national popular culture of celebrity magazines, talk shows, Facebook pages and Twitters that is relentlessly confessional and rarely contrite". Awesome turn of phrase!

At the end of the article, Fr. Richard McBrien (true to form...) says that "Confession as we once knew it is pretty much a dead letter" and calls the parish "an anomaly and not a sign of anything else".

Popes' Quotes

I got an email about a web site called KeysOfPeter.org with a feature called Popes' Quotes. Here's a rather poignant one: "The Christ who calls us to the Eucharist banquet is always the same Christ who exhorts us to penance." (Redemptor Hominis 20, Pope John Paul II, March 4, 1979)

Carnival: Liturgy and Reconciliation

Welcome to The Cross Reference for the October 2008 installment of the Christian Reconciliation Carnival. Tonight is "wristband night": one low price for a wristband and you may read all the blog posts you want.

Our theme this time was the role that liturgy plays (whether by assisting or hindering) in reconciliation between Christian confessions.

• Posts along the theme of liturgy:

Mark, the Pseudo-Polymath, spends some time "Considering Liturgical Chaos" and asks how "non-liturgical churches hold precious and fast to the important events in Church history in the absence of liturgical remembrance?"

The Weekend Fisher has caught our attention with two posts on the liturgy. First, Anne explains "Why I am pro-liturgy", confronting that old canard about liturgical worship being un-Scriptural (or even anti-Scriptural) with a multitude of examples of Scriptural texts directly used and Scriptural concepts coming alive in Lutheran liturgy. Next, she gives us a rundown of the "Common Service" as an aid to "Comparing Liturgies".

Your host gladly takes her up on her offer, describing "The Once and Future (and Present) Liturgy" of the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church. (For a bare-bones look at the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, also see "The parts of the Mass and their purpose".) I also address a question raised by Anne in her second contribution: "Are differences in the service used to highlight differences in theology?"

Halden, at Inhabitatio Dei, shares a quote from Sergius Bulgakov on the seriousness of liturgy in the aptly titled "On Taking Liturgy Seriously".

• In the realm of ecumenism in general:

Fred, safely nestled in Deep Burrows, gives us his perspective, as a Catholic, on participation in "Protestant VBS" (Vacation Bible School).

We find clinging to Henry's Web a post about the high level of suspicion with which some Christians regard anything coming from a denomination other than their own in "Denominationalism - The Disease".

Anne completes her contribution trifecta with an exhortation to beware of "The spiritual hazards of debate", reminding us to stay on guard against the adversarial spirit with which it infects us, and the adverse effects on reason, doctrine, and fellowship.

Bill of The Thinklings comments on the refreshing anti-hate message he read from a Christian of another denomination, as "A Progressive Christian Injects Some Wisdom Into a Conversation".

Here are two posts of mine from July in which I engaged in a dialogue with two other Christians (one from the Church of Christ, and the other an Independent Baptist) and two separate occasions. In the first, we discuss the Catholic practice of praying to saints; in the second, I try to answer a series of allegations against the Catholic faith in general.

• Lest you fear we've exhausted the Internet's resources, we also have a post from elsewhere in the blogosphere:

The Singing Owl channels Susan Powter (and don't pretend you don't remember her...) as she asks her denomination to "Stop the (Charismatic) Insanity!".

Christian Reconciliation Carnival #13 - De Liturgia

I will be hosting the 13th Christian Reconciliation Carnival here at The Cross Reference. Here is the Christian Reconciliation Carnival described by its originator, the Weekend Fisher:

I have noticed something interesting in certain parts of the Christian blogosphere. I have seen debates that degenerated into people trying to understand each others' positions. I have seen Christians praising members of other groups, a growing body of recognized common ground, and people with crossover appeal beyond their own group. Of course, I've seen nastiness and divisiveness too, but the opponents of nastiness and divisiveness are becoming bolder, more outspoken.

To that end, I'm proposing a Christian Reconciliation Carnival. It's intended as a "Road to Reconciliation" Carnival, a place where we do not expect too much of ourselves except humility, and a Carnival that is a cease-fire zone.

Broadly stated, then, the purpose of the Carnival is to look at what separates one Christian confession from another, and approach the issue or division with an attitude of charity, peace, and sincerity.

The theme for the next Carnival is the liturgy. Here's how I presented it to the Weekend Fisher: "I guess I'd be interested in hearing perspectives on what obstacles are presented by the varying liturgies (high/low, sacramental/non-sacramental, rubrical/freeform) and how they might be possible to overcome. I don't necessarily want to get too doctrinal (although the law of prayer and the law of belief go hand-in-hand, as far as Catholics are concerned). And the issue of liturgical reform would be open for discussion as well."

It's a broad topic, so hopefully we will get plenty of submissions! My reason for choosing it -- apart from my deep love for it -- is because, as a Catholic, I accept the maxim that legem credendi lex statuat supplicandi, more simply stated as lex orandi, lex credendi: the law of prayer is the law of belief: the relationship between worship/prayer and belief is two-way.

Thus, since different groups of Christians believe different things, it is no small wonder that they also have different conceptions of liturgy, ranging from intensely liturgical (e.g. Orthodox, Catholic (esp. among those who adhere to the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite), and "high-church" Anglican) to the absolutely non-liturgical (e.g. the "organic" church described by Frank Viola and George Barna). I am also interested in the similarities found between certain elements of liturgies of certain Christian groups despite their theological differences surrounding those very elements.

Anyway, that's the topic. The liturgy, and how it relates to reconciliation between Christian confessions. Submissions should follow the guidelines and be sent either to this address or this address. Submissions will be accepted through September 30.

CRC #5: June's Articles

I'd like to thank all those who wrote posts for the fifth installment of the Christian Reconciliation Carnival. In an effort to increase our readership and authorship, I ask each person reading or writing to invite at least one friend to write for or read future installments of the Carnival. (I could get ambitious and request two friends each. The population of the Earth is around 6 billion, so if one person tells two people, and those two people tell four people, and those four people tell eight people, then somewhere between the 31st and 32nd set of people, the whole world would know about this Carnival!)

If math is not your preference, then perhaps Pseudo-Polymath is more up your alley. Mark, an Eastern Orthodox (OCA), writes on this Carnival's topic in sharing with us his Ecumenical Reading Lists. The topic, if you remember, was on how your understanding of the divisions in Christianity has changed after you read books or articles by Christians of another denomination and found yourself agreeing with much of the author's content. Mark asks "how could one restrict one's reading to just that produced inside one's denomination?" and goes on to share his own experiences with literature that answered some questions (and asked more).

Mark also tells us What He'd Pay To See. He describes an intelligent, calm, and Socratic approach to debating. Hat-tip to Anne who asks, "Anybody interested in picking a topic and giving it a try?"

Tim, the God-Fearin' Fiddler, addresses the topic as well, in his post Jesus and the Victory of God. Tim, a Roman Catholic, talks about the book of the same name by the Anglican scholar N. T. Wright (also the Bishop of Durham). A friend of Tim's, an elder at a nearby Presbyterian Church of America, had recommended Wright for Tim's reading list. In writing about Wright's quest to find both a historical and Scriptural Jesus, Tim says "it is refreshing to see such a well studied and respected scholar put all of these secular fantasies firmly to rest".

Bonnie, from the group-effort blog Intellectuelle, shares a post she wrote on an early May event that attracted a great deal of attention in the Christian blogging circuit. In Francis Beckwith has returned..., she writes (from a Protestant perspective) on the reaction to Dr. Francis Beckwith's return to the Catholic Church after several decades away from it; his return ended his presidency of the Evangelical Theological Society, and sparked some hot debates. Bonnie asks, among other things, "why must someone be Protestant to be considered an Evangelical?"

At her blog, Proto-Catholic where she chronicles her ongoing journey to Catholicism, Gretchen writes on this month's topic about her experiences with Catholic literature from her Protestant perspective. In The Lost Presence, she muses on her own prodigality in relationship to the Lord's Supper. She also copied one of C. S. Lewis's poems from Spirits in Bondage entitled In Praise of Solid People. I've abducted it for the Carnival.

Darrel (Dr. Platypus) also writes on this month's topic in his post on Morton Kelsey's Ecumenical Appeal. Darrel, who describes himself as "mostly Baptist", explains how Kelsey's book Healing and Christianity "expanded my horizons by allowing me to find common ground with whole swaths of Christian tradition", "helped me to articulate my own beliefs about divine healing", and "challenged my assumptions about what a 'Christian worldview' might look like".

Anne, the Weekend Fisher, also addresses this month's topic, in which she introduces us to The Wider Church on My Bookshelf. Having read her blog, Heart, Mind, Soul, and Strength, for some time now (probably a year at least), I can attest to her love of J. R. R. Tolkien, especially his masterpiece The Lord of the Rings. In her post for the Carnival, she talks about how her first Lutheran pastor introduced her to the works of Thomas Merton and encouraged her to read C. S. Lewis. This pastor "had a vision of the Church that transcended divisions". She also relates to how her own transition within the Lutheran church -- from a more liberal church to a more conversative one -- affected her perception of the differences that exist between us: "I discovered that each side misunderstood the other badly, misrepresented the other badly, and resisted the idea that it was behaving unjustly and uncharitably toward the other."

Guess on which topic I, Jeff, your host for this month, wrote? Yes, the topic of the month. Here on The Cross Reference, you'll find a post about C. S. Lewis and Ecumenism. I lay bare (some of) the ignorance I had in my youthful Catholicism of the entirety of the Christian body: "I knew that Lewis was not a Catholic [...] that meant he was 'a Protestant', which in turn meant he was 'a Baptist or something'." My post is primarily about the effect mere christianity had on me; I praise it as "an ecumenical work [...] with which so many Christians can identify [and] a foundation on which to build more serious, more intelligent, and more charitable dialogue" for Christian reconciliation.

In addition to the proferred posts above, there are also some "drifters", posts that our readership (ok... Anne) has come across this past month that may pique our interest. In no particular order, here they are:

My Flesh Is True Food, in which an "Augsburg evangelical" presents his view of Christ's real presence in the Eucharist.

Encounters with Tradition, a new series by Ben Myers, at Faith and Theology.

In How to Begin to Live as a Saint, Mark Roberts discusses the God-centered holiness, faithfulness, and love to which all Christians are called.

Two articles related to Scot McKnight. At his blog, Jesus Creed, he reviews Pope Benedict XVI's book Jesus of Nazareth. Meanwhile, the Internet Monk interviews Scot on Evangelical Christians and Mary.

Proclaiming Softly has an article, Falwell and Fire, which comments on Jerry Falwell's passing and the strong reactions it drew.

Joe Carter at Evangelical Outpost discusses the strict teetotalism of the Southern Baptist Convention in his article What Would Jesus Drink?: Alcohol, Ethics, and Christian Liberty.

Lastly, with a hat-tip to Hyperekperissou's Patristics Roundup, we find an article from The Way of the Fathers titled Hindu Traditions of St. Thomas, which comments on lesser-known evidence of St. Thomas the Apostle's missionary journey to India.

If you leave a comment on the "guest articles", please let them know you found their blogs through the Christian Reconciliation Carnival, and offer them an invitation to become regular (or at least witting!) contributors.

Finally, if you are interested in hosting next month's Carnival (and I know you are), please contact Anne from Heart, Mind, Soul, and Strength (or me, but I'll probably just forward it to Anne). That email address is: christianreconciliationcarnival@yahoo.com. That's also the article-submission email address.

CRC #5: C. S. Lewis and Ecumenism

(This is an entry for the Christian Reconciliation Carnival, #5.)

Have you ever read literature by a Christian of a denomination other than yours... and found yourself agreeing with much of what he or she has written? I have, and it's one of the reasons I hold a hope that there can be a clearer understanding between Christians and even, eventually, a reconciliation. I hope it is God's will that this reconciliation happens this side of Heaven, but I will let His will be done.

In college, in the library of my fraternity house, one finds lots of old -- even ancient -- books. There are old RPI yearbooks, old textbooks, old encyclopedias, and old novels. I found one book titled The Apostle (9780881841671), by Sholem Asch, held my interest last time I visited the house. But the first book I found there that I actually took back to my room to start reading was a book by the famed author of the Narnia series (of which I'd only read the first). The book was mere christianity (9780805420463), the author was C. S. Lewis.

I'm pretty sure I knew that Lewis was not a Catholic before I started reading mere christianity. However, to my 19- or 20-year-old brain, that meant he was "a Protestant", which in turn meant he was "a Baptist or something". (I apologize for the tone of ignorance that will be displayed on occasion in this post, but it is simply indicative of what I knew about other denominations of Christianity at the time.) I was somewhat surprised, then, after reading mere christianity, that his view of core Christianity made so much sense to me.

That was five years ago. Two years ago, after leaving college (not graduating, mind you, just leaving) and moving to the Princeton, NJ area for a job, I had my first apartment, complete with boxes of stuff I didn't want to unpack (and still haven't unpacked!) and a mostly-empty bookcase. I went to Barnes & Noble and bought the "Signature Series", a set of six books by Lewis; I was determined to read as many of his books as I could to understand this Catholic-sounding Christian's point of view. I've since gotten the complete Narnia series as a gift from my fiancée, and purchased two anthologies (comprising seven other works), the space trilogy (I still haven't started the third book), and a few other odds and ends (The Abolition of Man, The Weight of Glory, and Till We Have Faces). I also received a book about Lewis and the Narnia series, as well as a book about Lewis's relationship with J. R. R. Tolkien, author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

But back to Lewis and his appealing take on Christianity.

It was not until I was reading his anonymous work, A Grief Observed, written after the death of his wife, Joy, that I found out what his particular church was. On page 65 (very near the end of the book), he writes (emphasis mine): "Tomorrow morning a priest will give me a little round, thin, cold, tasteless wafer. Is it a disadvantage -- is it not in some ways an advantage -- that it can't pretend the least resemblance to that with which it unites me?" I knew he was not talking about a Catholic priest, so I realized that he meant either an Orthodox priest or an Anglican priest, and since Orthodox Communion is not with wafers, that meant Lewis was an Anglican.

My future studying, which included the book C. S. Lewis and the Catholic Church (0898709792), helped me understand Lewis's faith, what he thought of Rome, and what he thought of Christianity in general. Lewis was a liturgically-oriented orthodox Anglican. This put his writings in a fuller context. I finally understood where he was coming from. At that moment, it really did not matter to me that he wasn't Catholic; what mattered to me was that he had been able to explain the core tenets of the Christian faith to a Catholic, and that he had bolstered my belief in God and my faith in Jesus Christ. Perhaps this is why so many Catholics mark Lewis as a signpost on their "road to Rome", or as a buoy as they "cross the Tiber". I have no doubt he has helped Christians of other denominations feel "at home" in their churches either.

Lewis has succeeded in writing an ecumenical work -- several, really -- with which so many Christians can identify, and I believe it is a foundation on which to build more serious, more intelligent, and more charitable dialogue in reconciling the Christians of the world to one another, and ultimately, to God Himself.

CRC #5: Topic Announcement

The topic for Christian Reconciliation Carnival #5 is as follows:

Have you read articles, essays, or books by a Christian of a denomination other than yours -- and found yourself agreeing with much of what he or she wrote? How has this changed your understanding of the divisions in Christianity?

I know, for example, many Catholics have read books by C. S. Lewis; some even recognize his literature as being integral in their conversion to the Catholic Church... despite Lewis being an Anglican.

Weekend Fisher has the instructions for post submission on her blog.

CRC #1: Do Catholics worship Mary?

(This is an entry for Weekend Fisher's Christian Reconciliation Carnival.)

A common misconception about Catholics is that we worship Mary, saints, statues, pictures, crucifixes, etc., and that in doing so, we're neglecting worship of God. (I dare say people think this is the "Roman" part of Roman Catholicism -- believing in some supernatural pantheon of gods and goddesses to whom we pray.) I'd like to briefly set the record straight on this topic.

The Catholic practice of veneration is showing devotion and respect to Mary, the Apostles, martyrs, and other saints who are clear examples of faithful witness to Jesus Christ. This respect extends to icons and other representations. Veneration is not the same as adoration and worship, which is given to God and God alone.

Veneration is not praising the person, it is praising what God made of that person, for we know that God is the source of all goodness, all virtue, all love. Veneration, then, points to God as the source of grace. The love Mary had for Jesus was not hers because Mary was "lucky", but because God chose her to be the mother of our Savior, and endowed her with the necessary grace to love him and stay by his side even to his crucifixion (John 19:25). Mary, then, is a model of the love God desires of us, just as Paul writes of himself as a model in his letter to the Philippians (Phil. 3:17). Catholics recognize as models for Christian living those who persevered in faith to the end (Matt. 10:22).

Similarly, Catholics don't pray to Mary or the saints, but ask them to intercede for us, just as we ask one another to intercede for us. We pray to God only, whether it be to Him as our Father, as our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, or as the Holy Spirit. (Some explain it thus: we pray with Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, to the Father.) We don't ask saints to intercede for us instead of praying to God ourselves, just as we don't ask other people to pray for us without taking the time to pray ourselves. Let us not forget Mary's words to the servants at the wedding feast in Cana: "Do whatever he tells you." (John 2:5) This command reminds us of the source of our spiritual guidance and the recipient of our petitions and praise.