Case 3. An Anxious Penitent

Catherine, troubled by anxieties, opens her conscience to her confessor. She says that she indeed wishes that she had not offended God, but that she is not sorry for her sins, or at least is much less sorry for them than for temporal evils. Furthermore, she affirms that she is certain that she will fall again into the same sins immediately or within a few days after confession; and finally, that unless fear of hell stood in the way, she fears that she would abandon the service of God and indulge in vices, since she does nothing for the love of God. Hence she thinks that she is in no way disposed to receive sacramental absolution. Hence it is asked:

1. What is required on the part of the penitent for the validity of the sacrament of Penance?

2. What is signified among theologians by the statement that sorrow ought to be supreme?

3. What is to be said of the case?

1. What is required for the validity of the sacrament of Penance on the part of the penitent?

For the validity of Penance the penitent must make a formally integral confession of all the mortal sins which he has committed after Baptism and which have not been directly absolved, and he must have true and supernatural sorrow for them.

2. What do theologians mean when they say that sorrow for sin must be supreme?

They mean that the sinner must regard sin as the greatest of all evils, and that he must be prepared to do and to suffer anything rather than commit sin again.¹

1 Manual of Moral Theology, vol. ii, p. 156.

3. The case. Catherine tells her confessor that she wishes that she had not offended God, but that she has no sorrow for her sins, or at least much less sorrow for them than for temporal evils. Catherine probably means that she does not feel sorrow for her sins, as she does for temporal evils. She should be told that the sorrow required in Penance is in the will, and she should be asked whether she proposes to avoid sin in future, with God’s grace, come what may. If she says Yes, she shows she has sorrow for her sins. Catherine further says that she is certain that she will fall into sin again immediately, or at least within a few days after confession. She should be asked whether here and now she proposes to avoid the proximate occasions of sin and to do her best not to fall into it again. If she again says Yes, she should be encouraged to trust in God’s help and be absolved.

She says she does nothing out of love for God, and that she fears that she would commit sin if it were not for the fear of hell. Catherine should be told not to torment herself by such idle suppositions; it is enough if through fear of God’s punishments she observes His commandments and avoids sin. She thus fulfils the precept of love substantially: “ He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me ” (John xiv. 21). Of course it will be well for Catherine to exercise herself in special acts of the love of God, in which we can always advance.