Question Four: On the Effect of Confession

St. Thomas, Suppl., q. 10.

532. Several effects are attributed to confession. - According to St. Thomas:

1. It truly frees from the death of sin. This it does by the force of absolution together with the other parts of penance, as the matter of the sacrament by the force of the form; and yet it belongs more to confession than to contrition and satisfaction.

"Penance, insofar as it is a sacrament, is chiefly completed in confession, because through it man subjects himself to the ministers of the Church, who are the dispensers of the sacraments. For contrition has the vow of confession joined to it, and satisfaction is measured according to the judgment of the priest to whom confession is made. And because in the sacrament of Penance grace is infused, through which remission of sins is made, as in Baptism, therefore in that mode confession remits fault by the force of the absolution joined to it, as also Baptism does. But Baptism frees from the death of sin not only according as it is actually received, but also according as it is had in vow... And similarly it must be said of confession joined to absolution" (a. 1).

Hence a) contrition, if it has been perfect, does not free from fault except insofar as it contains the vow of confession joined to absolution;

b) and nevertheless afterward, in the act of confession and absolution, grace is increased;

c) but if sorrow has not been sufficient for perfect contrition, but there is only attrition, in the act of confession and absolution remission of sin will be given, provided an obstacle is not placed to grace.

2. Confession also frees from punishment, and indeed in two ways: a) by the very force of absolution, and thus, existing in vow in perfect contrition, it frees from eternal punishment as from fault; existing in reality through the power of the keys, it does the same with imperfect contrition; and besides it obtains a diminution of temporal punishment: "this punishment remains to be suffered in purgatory,... and is disproportionate to the powers of the penitent living in this world; but through the power of the keys it is diminished to such an extent that it remains proportionate to the powers of the penitent, so that by satisfying he can purge himself in this life"; - b) "from the very nature of the act of confessing, which, as being a work of satisfaction and penal, has the punishment of shame joined to it; and therefore the more often someone confesses the same sins, the more the punishment is diminished" (a. 2).

3. Therefore it opens paradise: for one is prohibited from the entrance of paradise by fault and by liability to punishment; but confession removes these impediments; and therefore it is said to open paradise (a. 3). It does this by the power of the keys, which are the keys of the kingdom of heaven.

4. And it gives hope of salvation: for hope of the remission of sins is not ours except through Christ. But through confession man subjects himself to the keys of the Church, which have force from the passion of Christ. Therefore it is rightly said that confession gives hope of salvation (a. 4). And although "from acts there cannot be hope of salvation principally, but from the grace of the Redeemer,... because confession rests upon the grace of the Redeemer, therefore it gives hope of salvation, not only as a meritorious act, but also as a part of the sacrament" (ad 1).

533. Remark. - Billot notes, o.c., de Poen., th. 18: "From the premises it follows... that there is not given a valid and unformed sacrament from a defect of confession itself. The reason is that either the man is conscious, while confessing, that he is committing a grave defect against the law of confession, or he is not. If he is conscious, then the confession is no longer formally integral, and that which is essentially required in the notion of a part is lacking; whence the validity of the sacrament is taken away. If he is not conscious, then by this very fact nothing is lacking on the part of confession to prevent the sacrament from existing, not only valid, but also fruitful. - Only one could doubt about the case in which the confession was not integral because of preceding culpable negligence, but then the defect would be reduced to a defect of attrition, concerning which above," n. 506.