ARTICLE II: ON PURPOSE

1353. - Definition. Purpose is the will of not sinning further.

Division. It is twofold: 1° explicit, or formal, by which someone, thinking of the future, determines not to sin anymore; 2° implicit, or virtual, which is included in contrition itself, without the future time being held before the eyes.

1354. Principles. - I. Purpose, at least implicit, is altogether necessary for the remission of sin; because purpose is a necessary consequent of contrition, and at least virtually included in it, as is clear from its nature and definition.

II. True purpose must possess a threefold condition; namely, it is required that it be firm, efficacious, and universal.

1° Firm, i.e. not wavering, nor conceived with a light mind, so that it would be a certain velleity, or a certain volatile sensation by which even impenitent sinners themselves are not rarely affected, or rather are deceived by the devil, lest they awaken from the lethal cauterized sleep of their conscience; but a serious decree of the deliberate will, by which the penitent simply and absolutely determines to guard against sin in the future, notwithstanding any inconvenience whatever or human fear: otherwise he would not wish to be converted to God totally and sincerely. Yet the confessor must not test the soul of the penitent by using comparisons suited to disturb his imagination.

2° Efficacious, i.e. the penitent must not only firmly determine that he does not wish to sin anymore, but also to apply the means necessary for avoiding sin and for fleeing proximate occasions, etc. - But it suffices that the purpose be efficacious affectively, i.e. it suffices that the sinner be prepared in soul to apply the necessary means; because future amendment in fact is not of the essence of purpose.

3° Universal, or it must extend to all and individual mortal sins, not only those committed, but also those which could be committed. The reason is that full and true conversion to God cannot be given without aversion from any lethal sin whatever.

But as regards venial sins, for the validity of the Sacrament it is required and suffices that a firm and efficacious purpose be present of avoiding either one of the venial sins, or all those fully deliberate, or of avoiding or diminishing with all diligence, insofar as it can be done in a human manner, those which creep in without full deliberation.

1355. Questions. - Query 1° In order that purpose be firm, must it also be found constant?

Resp. Negatively; at least this is not absolutely necessary. The reason is that purpose affects the present will, which by its nature is otherwise variable. Hence from relapse after Confession the weakness of purpose cannot be gathered per se.¹

I said: at least this is not absolutely necessary. For if the penitent relapses immediately and with almost no resistance, it furnishes an argument, or at least a vehement presumption, that he lacked a truly firm purpose; for he who firmly proposes usually does not so easily forget his purpose, but is wont to persevere constant at least for some time, and to employ efforts for resisting temptations or occasions of sin, and therefore ordinarily falls with more difficulty and more rarely.²

Query 2° Can the purpose of him be firm who indeed has the intention of not sinning, yet fears that he will relapse?

Resp. Affirmatively; for fear, which is introduced from past frailty and the inconstancy of the human will, does not impede a sincere will. Hence that penitent can have true purpose who, when the confessor asks him concerning the will of not sinning, responds: I am frail, I fear a fall, yet I do not now wish it, nor do I choose the fall: which are the words of Gerson according to Croix.¹

But in practice you will look at the character and disposition of the penitent; for not rarely you will find sinners asserting that they will relapse, who for that reason fear lest they do not have a sufficiently firm purpose, and yet show nothing besides fear of relapsing and distrust of themselves. To penitents of this kind it must be inculcated that there is question not of those things which perhaps are going to happen, but of the actual will, and of confidence to be placed in divine help.

These things are said concerning him who only fears that he will relapse; for if he certainly believed it, he would furnish a certain suspicion that his purpose is not sufficiently firm. Thus St. Alphonsus resolves practically, although speculatively he admits that firmness of purpose can stand together with knowledge of relapse. The reason is that it cannot happen that he firmly proposes amendment who, knowing that God does not deny His grace to one who does what is in him, nevertheless certainly believes that he will relapse. Hence such a penitent, before he is absolved, is to be led to hope of amendment.² - Nor can the purpose therefore be judged weak because only the confessor, on account of the known frailty of the penitent, foresees, even rather certainly, that he will relapse; for Peter was not therefore judged indisposed for Communion because he was known by Christ to be going to fall. Besides, there are those who, when they say: I believe, I believe, that I will relapse, and therefore I will indeed avoid sins if I can, yet I am not able to promise anything, lest afterward I seem unfaithful, etc., - show nothing other than a well-founded fear and distrust of self, and they must be judged as those who only fear. - Finally, to relieve the soul of the penitent who, on account of an inveterate habit of sinning altogether deliberately, which perhaps he has contracted, thinks that avoidance of such sin is morally impossible for him, it will often be most useful to teach him that here and now there is strictly required of him only the purpose of not sinning anymore deliberately, i.e. with full advertence and full consent, etc.

Query 3° For receiving the Sacrament of Penance rightly, is explicit purpose required?

Resp. According to St. Alphonsus,¹ there is a threefold opinion. The first affirms absolutely: because, although sorrow necessarily includes purpose, nevertheless explicit purpose seems to be required from Trent saying: With the purpose of not sinning further.²

The second denies, in the case in which sorrow is elicited from a universal motive. The reason is that sorrow of this kind includes a purpose plainly efficacious. Moreover, from the Tridentine Synod, when attrition excludes the will of sinning, it sufficiently disposes a man to obtaining grace in the Sacrament.

The third teaches that if the penitent thinks of future life, he ought formally to propose amendment. Otherwise, if the penitent, e.g. immediately about to be beheaded, thinks nothing about the future. For if he thinks about the future, he would not seem sufficiently to repent, if he did not expressly propose amendment.

But St. Alphonsus thus interposes his judgment concerning these things: "These two latter opinions are indeed the more probable; but ... since the first ... is sufficiently probable ... before the fact the safer opinion is to be followed," indeed also after the fact, i.e. a penitent who, although in good faith, confessed a certain mortal sin without explicit purpose is bound to repeat the confession. See the reason n. 67. 2°.

Yet in practice this obligation will rarely urge. 1° Because those who are troubled about this matter belong almost to the number of those who have confessed only venial sins;³ whose accusation is no more to be repeated than to be made. 2° Because ordinarily there is only doubt concerning the defect of explicit purpose; in which case one must stand for the validity of the act. See n. 67. 2°. 3° Because the faithful are wont to recite a formula of contrition which contains the act of explicit purpose. 4° Because those who grieve in the due manner concerning sins do not easily omit an explicit act of purpose.

Query 4° What purpose is required, or suffices, for venial sins?

Resp. See n. 1354. 3°; but for practice observe:

1° It is safer to elicit purpose concerning some determinate sins, especially concerning the graver ones, and concerning especially those which are committed from habit, and to add to them some sin of past life.

2° When the faithful, even those who are held as pious and confess frequently, are seen after innumerable Confessions to make no or almost no progress, it is lawful to conjecture that they conceive purposes too general and confused, and therefore sluggish and languid.

3° Not rarely penitents are found, especially women, who spend much time in examining conscience, search out the smallest faults with the greatest anxiety, and draw out their Confessions beyond measure, and yet are not very solicitous concerning sorrow and efficacious purpose. These must be seriously exhorted that, omitting anxious care to declare all venial sins in species and number, they subject to the keys with serious sorrow and purpose of amendment only those sins which burden the conscience more, and which especially are to be rooted out. Indeed it is expedient that from those venial sins they select some one principal sin, for detesting and amending which before the others they diligently labor.