Chapter II. On the Subject of the Sacrament of Penance

¶46.

Preliminary note. After in the preceding chapter we treated of the essence both of the virtue and of the sacrament of penance, now the duties which the penitent must perform in receiving the sacrament of penance are to be treated specially. These duties are the three acts to be performed by him, namely, contrition, confession, and satisfaction. St. Raymond of Peñafort⁹⁹ beautifully says: "In true and perfect penance three things are necessary: contrition of heart, confession of the mouth, and satisfaction of work," concerning which we shall speak separately. The subject capable of the sacrament of penance is every baptized man who can elicit these three acts, or at least contrition.

⁹⁹ Summa, De poenit. l. 3, § 7.

The Reception of the Sacrament of Penance

Within this chapter

Article I. On Contritionnn. 339–357
- § 1. On the Nature, Division, and Effect of Contrition in Generalnn. 339–341
- § 2. On Attritionnn. 342–345
- § 3. On the Qualities of Contrition, Whether Perfect or Imperfectnn. 346–353
- § 4. On Purposenn. 354–357
Article II. On Confessionnn. 358–390
- § 1. On the Essence and Necessity of Confessionnn. 358–362
- § 2. On the Qualities of Confessionnn. 363–385
  - 1. The Necessity and Extent of Integritynn. 366–377
  - 2. Causes Excusing from Material Integritynn. 378–382
  - 3. Means for Obtaining the Integrity of Confessionnn. 383–385
- § 3. On the Repetition of Confessions and on General Confessionnn. 386–390
Article III. On Satisfactionnn. 391–404
- § 1. On the Nature and Divisions of Satisfactionnn. 391–393
- § 2. On the Necessity of Imposing Satisfactionnn. 394–398
- § 3. On the Necessity of Accepting and Fulfilling Satisfactionnn. 399–403
- § 4. On the Commutation of an Imposed Satisfactionn. 404