§ 1. On the Nature and Divisions of Satisfaction

391. Notion. Satisfaction, according to the force of the name, is a certain compensation; if it is made in material things taken away by theft or damaged, it is called restitution, but if it is made to compensate for an offense or injury inflicted, it is properly called satisfaction. Therefore satisfaction is compensation for an injury inflicted upon another. But since through sin the greatest injury is inflicted upon God, satisfaction, as we speak of it here, is compensation for the injury inflicted upon God through sin. Now no creature can offer sufficient compensation to God offended. Therefore the human race, liable to sins, needed Christ the Savior, who through His redemption offered condign satisfaction to God offended. By virtue of this redemption, in the sacrament of penance satisfaction is made for the guilt and eternal punishment due for sin. But even after the guilt and eternal punishment have been remitted, temporal punishment still often remains, for the destruction of which satisfaction to be performed by the sinner is principally ordained. Therefore this satisfaction can be defined: compensation for the temporal punishment due to sin through good and penal works freely performed. It is said: freely performed; for if a man pays the temporal punishment under compulsion, as happens in purgatory or through other punishments inflicted by God in this life, it is not properly satisfaction but rather satispassion. From what has been said, it is evident that satisfaction is an act both of the virtue and of the sacrament of penance. Insofar as it is an act of the virtue of penance, the definition already given belongs to it, and it is customarily called extrasacramental satisfaction; but insofar as it is a part of the sacrament of penance, it can be defined: compensation for the temporal punishment due to sins through good and penal works assessed by the confessor and voluntarily accepted by the penitent.

Satisfaction for sins committed is greatly to be commended. Hence St. John the Baptist said to the Jews approaching him for the sake of penance: "Who hath showed you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of penance."²⁴⁷ St. Pius V condemned proposition 77 of Baius: "The laborious satisfactions of the justified are not able to expiate condignly the temporal punishment remaining after the guilt has been forgiven."²⁴⁸ St. Augustine²⁴⁹ teaches: "It does not suffice to change one's conduct for the better and to depart from evil deeds, unless satisfaction is also made to God for those things which have been done, through the sorrow of penance, through the groaning of humility, through the sacrifice of a contrite heart, with alms cooperating." Although extrasacramental satisfaction is excellent and necessary, nevertheless it does not produce its effect except ex opere operantis; but sacramental satisfaction, as a part of the sacrament, destroys the punishments due ex opere operato, and therefore is much more efficacious.

²⁴⁷ Luke 3:7 f.

²⁴⁸ Denz., n. 1077.

²⁴⁹ Sermon 351 (otherwise 50), in Migne, Patr. lat. 39, 1549.

392. Fruits. According to the Council of Trent,²⁵⁰ the fruit of satisfaction is fourfold, since satisfaction:

1. efficaciously impresses upon the sinner that sin is a great evil worthy of dire punishment, for it is, as it were, vengeance for sins;

2. renders the sinner more cautious and vigilant lest he fall again into the same sins;

3. heals the remnants of sins and uproots acquired evil habits, for it is not only a vindicative punishment but also a medicinal and preservative punishment;

4. makes the penitent man conformable to Christ, who made satisfaction for our sins.

²⁵⁰ Sess. 14, c. 8, On Penance (Denz., n. 904).

393. Divisions. 1. Satisfaction is sacramental or extrasacramental, according as it is imposed and accepted in the sacrament of penance itself, or is undertaken outside the sacrament.

2. Sacramental satisfaction is either public, such as was in use in ancient times, or private, such as prevails today.

3. Sacramental satisfaction is performed either in voto or in re. Satisfaction in voto is the sincere will to accept and fulfill the penance enjoined by the confessor. This is an essential part of the sacrament and pertains to the three acts of the penitent which are the proximate matter of the sacrament of penance. Therefore if this satisfaction in voto is lacking, the sacrament is null. Satisfaction in re is the actual fulfillment of the penance enjoined. This is not an essential but an integral part of the sacrament, which therefore is valid even if the penance enjoined is not actually fulfilled. Hence sins remitted through absolution do not revive, nor must they be accused again, even if the penance previously accepted is afterward voluntarily omitted; but in this case a new sin arises, as will be stated below.