Point I. On the Office of Father

599. • The Confessor is a spiritual father who gives spiritual life to the penitent, or restores and fosters it; for in the tribunal of Penance he acts in the place of the best of all parents, namely, Christ Himself, and therefore is called by penitents by the sweetest name of Father. But that which stands out above all in the name of a true father is distinguished and inexhaustible charity. For what love is stronger than the love of a father? What is truer, purer, more chaste, more constant, fuller of solicitude, and more alien to personal advantage, indeed more ready and prompt for every kind of privation and inconvenience? Such, therefore, must be the charity of the Confessor, so that, clothed with the bowels of the mercy of Christ Jesus, Who came not to call the just but sinners, he may know how to deal attentively, patiently, and meekly with sinners (Leo XII, in the Bull for the Great Jubilee of the year 1825). Thus a good father will sustain all things for his spiritual children: For charity is patient.... bears all things.... endures all things. 2 Cor. 15:4.

The Confessor must be full of charity toward penitents at the beginning, during the course, and at the end of confession. Concerning these things it is profitable to hear St. Ligorius himself speaking in the Practice of the Confessor, at the end of the larger theological work, and also in Apostolic Homilies, treatise 21.

600. I. At the Beginning of Confession. - "First, the Confessor must employ charity in receiving everyone kindly, whether they are poor, uneducated, or sinners. Some take time only for hearing the confessions of long-standing devout persons or distinguished persons, because they do not have enough courage to repel these from themselves; yet if some wretched sinner approaches them, he is heard grudgingly and, loaded with reproaches, is driven away. Hence it happens that the wretched man, after exerting the greatest force upon himself to come to confess his sins, feeling himself received so harshly, conceives a hatred for the Sacrament of Penance; and, despairing of being able to find anyone who will aid him and absolve him from sins, he plunges headlong with loosened reins into the slippery course of a ruined life and falls into despair of salvation. Good Confessors act otherwise when sinners of this kind flock to them: they receive them kindly and, as a victor over captured prey, exult, considering that it has fallen to them to snatch a soul from the hands of the devil. They know that this Sacrament was properly instituted not for the just but for sinners; for venial faults do not need sacramental absolution in order to be remitted, since they can be effaced in many other ways. They also know that Christ declared in these words: For I came not to call the just, but sinners. Mark 2:17. Therefore, the Confessor, clothing himself with the bowels of mercy, the more he finds souls stained by the multitude and enormity of sins, the more he should embrace them with greater charity, in order to gain them for God, and furnish them his aid in these or similar words: 'Come, brother, be of good courage; do not fear; confess your sins without trepidation. Open everything confidently; be ashamed of nothing. It does not matter if you have not looked into every recess of your conscience; it is enough if you answer what is asked. Give thanks to God, Who has awaited you until now for penance. Now your life must be changed. Rejoice, because God certainly forgives you all sins, however enormous, if you have a good will; and for this reason He has awaited you, that He might spare you. Therefore say everything with a cheerful heart; conceal nothing under wrappings....'"

601. II. During the Course of Confession. - "He must show far greater charity while receiving the confession. Let him take care not to show himself impatient or affected by weariness; nor let him show that he is struck with amazement by the sins which are related, provided the penitent is not so hardened or insolent that he would disclose numerous and atrocious sins without any shame and without any displeasure or feeling of soul; for then he must strive according to his strength to make the penitent perceive how great their deformity and enormity are. Therefore, a sharper correction is then required, so that he may awaken from a lethal lethargy. It is indeed true that during the act of confession Confessors ought to abstain from making a correction, lest perhaps penitents, terrified, keep back sins; nevertheless, this is understood as a general rule. Moreover, it is often expedient not to proceed to further things, but immediately to correct the penitent, especially when he confesses a very enormous sin, or if he has been habituated in some vice, so that he may comprehend the gravity of the sin. Yet let him take care not to exasperate or terrify him. Therefore, after he has corrected him as much as necessary, let him immediately encourage him to confess the remaining sins, saying: 'Come, brother, do you wish to recover from this vice? Is it so? And because you are ready to do this, be of good courage. Therefore relate the remaining sins, withholding nothing. Thus say everything with a strong heart; confess everything sincerely, for God is ready to spare you....'" (no. 4.)

602. III. At the End of Confession. - "At the end of confession it is also necessary that the Confessor apply himself with more vehement ardor and zeal, so that he may cause the penitent to perceive the gravity and multitude of his sins and the wretched state of damnation in which he is found; but let him always do this with the greatest charity. Nevertheless, it is more fitting then to use graver words, so that he may thus be able better to return to good fruit of mind; yet he must bring it about that the penitent understands that what is said to him proceeds not from an angry disposition, but from singular love and compassion for his soul. This can be expressed in this manner: 'My son, do you perceive the evil which you have wrought? What evil has your God ever done to you, Whom you have so ruinously despised? If no one had ever been so hostile to you as Jesus Christ, could you have behaved worse toward Him? But, I ask you, consider who this Jesus is. He is the One Who, although He was God and needed nothing, became man for your sake and willed to die upon the cross in order to redeem you from hell. Ah, my son, if you had died meanwhile, if you had died this night, where would you have gone? Where would you now be? You would be in the eternal fire of hell. What will become of you if in the future you continue to live the life you have led until now? Will you be able to be saved thus? Awaken, and see that, unless you change your ways for the better, you are already damned. What good have you gathered for yourself from so many sins? Come, my son, withdraw from evil, cease to sin, and commit yourself entirely into the arms of God, which are extended to receive you: it is enough how much you have sinned against Him. I wish to help you with my whole heart and all my strength; come to me always as it pleases you, for you will find a father who will receive you kindly. Behold, now resolve firmly that you wish to become holy. It depends upon you. For God is always ready, and for this reason He has granted you this time, so that you may turn away from evil and do good. O how good it is to have God as a friend!....'" etc.