Duties of the Confessor as Physician

The Duties of the Confessor as Spiritual Physician.—(a) General Remedies.—The confessor should give much attention to the study of moral and ascetical works, so as to be able to suggest suitable means to his penitents for overcoming their spiritual infirmities and avoiding future relapses. Thus, if a penitent desires to know or ought to be told how to struggle against anger, drunkenness or impurity, the confessor should know how to advise him and what measures to recommend to him.

(b) Special Remedies.—Certain classes of penitents need special attention. Thus, the tempted and afflicted should be told the means of fighting temptation and sadness; the scrupulous should be forbidden to examine their consciences too carefully, or to accuse themselves minutely, or to spend too much time at devotions; the sick and the dying should be encouraged to dispose themselves well and to put aside thoughts of fear and discouragement; pious persons often need assistance when they suffer temptations to tepidity or spiritual desolation. The careless, lazy, malicious, and hardened should be reproved, but sternness should not be unmingled with kindness, lest the penitent be driven away from his duty altogether.

The Confessor is a true physician of souls, since he must deliver them from the various diseases of sin, free them from the depraved affections of the passions, and restore them to divine grace. Therefore, the Confessor, as a skillful physician, must: 1. know the cause of the evil; 2. heal it; 3. guard against relapse. Let us hear St. Ligorius again in the same place.

603. I. The Confessor Must Know the Cause of the Disease. - "In order that the Confessor may meet the infirmities of his penitent with suitable remedies, the origin and cause of all his spiritual diseases must be known. Some inquire nothing besides the species and number of sins: if they see the penitent disposed, they absolve him immediately; but if not, without expending one word, they dismiss him at once, saying with a sidelong glance: 'Depart from me, because I cannot absolve you.' Good Confessors proceed otherwise: for they first investigate the origin and gravity of the disease by inquiring about the habit of sin, the occasions, the time, the place, the persons with whom, and the concurrence of circumstances. For thus they will be better able to correct penitents, dispose them for absolution, and apply salutary remedies." (no. 6.)

604. II. He Must Heal the Disease. - "Once the origin and gravity of the disease are known, let the Confessor proceed to make the due admonitions. And although, as a father, he ought to listen to penitents with charity, nevertheless, as a physician, he is bound to admonish and correct them as much as necessary, especially those who, burdened with many mortal sins, rarely approach the Sacrament of Penance.... Nor ought the Confessor then to regard the other penitents who surround him.

For, as St. Francis Xavier used to say, it is better to hear the confessions of a few properly made than the disordered and fruitless confessions of many. Here it must be observed how wrongly those Confessors act who, if they encounter an indisposed penitent, immediately order him to depart from them lest they spend any time with him.... And it matters little that others wait or depart without confession; for the Confessor must render an account on the day of judgment only for this one who now confesses to him, not for the others...." (no. 7.)

"After the due corrections or admonitions, it is better that he labor to dispose the penitent for absolution through acts of true sorrow and purpose. Therefore I wish Confessors to be admonished that very few penitents, especially the uneducated, approach confession after first making an act of sorrow. Some Confessors think that they have sufficiently fulfilled their office if they merely question penitents of this kind in the following manner: 'Come, do you ask pardon from God for all these things?' (which in truth is not a true act of sorrow); 'Do you repent from your heart of all your sins?' And, without any other word intervening, they bestow absolution upon them. Entirely different from this is the practice of good Confessors. For these labor first of all that penitents (the discussion concerns those held by mortal sins) conceive true sorrow and detestation of sins. And first they prepare them through an act of attrition, for example: 'My son, where ought you now to be for eternity? In hell. Ah! You would be tormented in that fire! Nor would any hope remain for you to be delivered from there! You would remain there, abandoned by all and rejected by God for all eternity! Therefore, do you repent of having offended God on account of the hell which you have merited?' Afterward let him take care that an act of contrition be elicited in this manner: 'My son, what have you done? You have sinned against God, the supreme and infinite good; you took no account of Him; you turned your face away from Him; you cast Him behind your back; you despised His friendship and grace. Come, therefore, because you have offended God, infinite goodness, do you now repent with your whole heart? Detest and hold in hatred above all evils all the injuries with which you have undeservedly afflicted so good a God. Are you not now ready to die a thousand times ¹ rather than commit these things in the future?....'" (no. 10.)

¹ See what was noted above at no. 459.

605. III. He Must Guard Against Relapse. - The Confessor will guard against relapse by assigning to the penitent remedies suited to the disease. The remedies are either general or particular.

1. The general remedies are: 1. devout prayer and love toward God; 2. frequent invocation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the holy Guardian Angel, and one's patron Saint; 3. frequent reception of the Sacraments and confession immediately after any mortal sin has been committed; 4. consideration of the eternal truths, especially death and the last end, according to that saying: Remember thy last things, and thou shalt never sin. Ecclus. 7:40;

5. remembrance of the presence of God when temptation presses, saying: God sees me; 6. an evening examination of conscience with sorrow of soul and purpose; 7. mental prayer and pious reading, especially for Priests.

2. Particular remedies will be assigned according to the diversity of vices ². For example, to one who is held by some hatred, let it be suggested that he commend daily to God the person whom he hates ³, reciting the Lord's Prayer for him, etc. And when he is disturbed by the memory of an injury, let him remember the insults with which he himself has afflicted God. Let one who has fallen into shameful sins be enjoined to avoid idleness and flee evil companions and depraved occasions. Let one who has contracted a depraved habit in this vice over a long time be prescribed to avoid not only proximate occasions but also certain remote ones which, for one so weak, are as though proximate. Above all, however, let the Confessor take care that this person receive Communion frequently, because the Eucharist is called wine springing forth virgins. And so concerning the others.

² Most useful for this purpose is the little work of Philippus Maria Salvatori, published several times at Rome under the title Practical Instruction for New Confessors.

³ This must be prudently weighed, whether it will be profitable; furthermore, care must be taken lest the penitent believe himself bound to it, or think that, unless he also adds this, he has not sufficiently fulfilled the precept of loving enemies. See vol. I, no. 226.

The Confessor will assign other remedies ⁴ according to his prudence, after considering the circumstances of occasions, persons, etc. For prudence is the chief quality which ought to excel in a physician. - See St. Ligorius, Practice of the Confessor, no. 15; and Apostolic Homilies, treatise 2, nos. 5 and 6.

⁴ Those things must not be passed over in this place which Cardinal De Lugo wisely observes concerning the office of a physician (Moral Responses, book 1, doubt 28, no. 5): "The penitent," he says, "is bound only to fulfill the penance imposed upon him by the Confessor. But as regards other things, the Confessor can indeed declare to the penitent those things to which the penitent is otherwise bound under sin, for example, restitution, abandoning the proximate occasion of sin, abstaining from such a usurious contract, and other similar things; if the penitent does not have the intention of observing them, he is not disposed for absolution. Nevertheless, the Confessor cannot command him under sin to do anything else except that which he imposes as penance, in imposing which he acts as a judge. But as regards other things he acts as a Physician, whose part is not to command, but to counsel and declare to the sick person what means are necessary or useful for preserving or recovering health."

481. The confessor as physician must investigate the cause of spiritual diseases, and prescribe salutary remedies so that future falls may be guarded against.

(a) He must investigate the cause of the diseases: otherwise they cannot be rooted out radically; and unless they are rooted out, they will again produce evil effects, just as an evil tree brings forth evil fruits.

Therefore by prudent questioning let the confessor discreetly inquire concerning the circumstances of places and persons by which the penitent is induced to sin, and also concerning his depraved habits; so that thus he may detect whether the principal cause of sin is an external occasion, and what it is; or an internal cause, namely pride or vain glory, - disordered love of money, - or sensuality and pleasure. Indeed, once the disease has been detected, it will be easier to choose opportune remedies.

482. (b) He must prescribe remedies, whether general or particular.

Among the general remedies, these especially are to be inculcated: 1) frequent prayer, at once humble and trusting; for temptations are salutarily overcome and depraved habits are eradicated only through grace; now grace is obtained especially through prayer.

2. Frequent reception of the Sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist, by which grace is conferred ex opere operato and a right is acquired of receiving supernatural help at the opportune time; confession immediately after a fall should especially be advised, lest the sinner fall into depraved habits: for by this remedy many have been saved. - It is also expedient to assume, as a penalty for relapse, a voluntary penance determined beforehand.

3. Pious consideration of the last things, by which so many sins are guarded against, according to that saying: "In all thy works remember thy last things, and thou shalt not sin forever";² likewise the reading of pious books.

² Eccli., VII, 40.

4. Constant recollection of the divine presence, especially when temptation presses: "God sees me, he beholds my heart; how can I do this evil before God?"

5. Serious examination of conscience, by exploring not only the sins themselves, but their causes, and afterward eliciting acts of sorrow and firm purpose.

6. Flight from evil companions, who are often the cause of sin, and flight from other occasions of sinning; conversation with the pious and good; and also enrollment in some Sodality, where, besides companionship with pious brothers, there are helps for establishing life in a Christian manner.

7. The practice of certain chastisements of the flesh, and the mortification of passions even in licit things, by which illicit things may more easily and efficaciously be rejected: "But those who are Christ's have crucified their flesh with its vices and concupiscences."¹

¹ Galat., V, 24.

8. Acts of charity toward God repeated frequently through the day; special devotion toward the Most Holy Sacrament, the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the guardian Angel; and so that these may be exercised better, a few works are to be determined which are done faithfully and constantly: but many works or prayers should not be prescribed which overwhelm penitents and soon bring weariness to them.

But particular remedies are those which are opposed to each vice; for contraries are cured by contraries, and habit is conquered by habit. It would be too lengthy to report them here; we shall treat of these where we treat of Vices and Virtues.²

² Meanwhile there can be read, besides the authors of Ascetical Theology, Lacroix, n. 1825; Du Jardin, De officio sacerdotis, qua judicis et medici, in Migne, Theol. Curs., XXII, 1288-1350; Reuter, n. 56-98; Lehmk., n. 448-454.

219. - The parts of the confessor as spiritual physician and counselor seem capable of being described thus:

1. The confessor, insofar as he has the opportunity, will endeavor to discern the kind of vice, which we have shown to be varied.

2. He will then procure above all that these sick persons conceive a serious and uncommon will to conquer the habit. Therefore, he will receive them benignly; give them courage; indicate reasons for abhorring the evil; admonish them concerning the occasions to be fled; and impose nothing which is displeasing to them.

Yet let him not attenuate the guilt, but bring it about that they themselves willingly admit sufficient penance.

3. After they have returned two or three times, he will suggest that it will be useful for that contest to be ordered more deliberately. According as circumstances allow and the case requires, he will invite them to deliberate about the matter with him outside confession, yet secretly. But if they agree, he will investigate accurately the causes of the habit, which can arise from heredity, bad education, the skill of a corrupter, alcoholic excesses, or voluntary faults.

4. If any progress appears, he will congratulate them upon the matter, for care is especially to be taken that they never lose heart. Wherefore, since by the very necessity of accusation they observe their sins or moral defeats, let him command them also to attend to the victories gained and to indicate them to him.

5. Not rarely, whether for strengthening the soul or applying physical remedies, it will be very useful that a thoroughly approved physician be consulted at the same time; so that thus, by combined effort, the physician and the confessor may be able to provide a more efficacious remedy.

Both, by combined effort, will be able more efficaciously to command or apply the following things, in accordance with what was prudently said by the Reverend Father Gemelli ⁴:

⁴ Non moechaberis, 4, pp. 189-192.

a) That the sick propose with a willing and strong spirit that they will give no voluntary attention to the sexual ideas or images by which they are besieged too often; wherefore, let them neither relate nor discuss with the confessor or physician the things which they experience in this matter;

b) Next, that they be disposed to give no attention at all to sexual ideas or sensations; if any movements, even vehement ones, arise, let them not reflect upon these in their mind, not even so as to be saddened about a disturbance of this kind;

c) That definite counsels be given, not counsels that are too general and indeterminate. For example, let it not be said to someone, "You need diversion and rest," but let the physician or confessor himself declare how the mind is to be diverted, to what occupations effort is to be given, and what kind and amount of rest is to be taken. In a similar manner, let the physician prescribe the order of living to be imposed upon the sick person as accurately as medicines;

d) That in their conversations they treat of the noble duties to be fulfilled and of the opportunity offered to them of leading a life useful to religion and society, so that higher ideas may thus gradually succeed the impure.

6. The following are to be regarded as dangerous counsels which nevertheless can sometimes, but very cautiously, be applied:

a) Penal works imposed under grave guilt: since they are easily neglected by men of weak will, they are the cause of a new difficulty of conscience by which the soul is depressed;

b) Dispensation from confession before Holy Communion, on account of doubtful guilt, when an exterior, gravely evil act has been committed. By a dispensation of this kind, the horror of the vice is diminished of itself, and the Holy Eucharist is less honored;

c) Delay of absolution;

d) A vivid description of the bodily detriment to be feared from the vice, as though this were the principal reason why one ought not to sin.

7. On the contrary, we think that these are the best counsels:

a) A firm renewal of the resolution, especially when the hour is at hand at which temptation is accustomed to invade the soul; indeed, before a known occasion of sin, a vow made for an hour or for a day, with the quality and disposition of the penitent to be considered here;

b) Care for easy sleep, lest the tempted person be compelled to lie awake for a long time in bed;

c) A certain confidence by which this is avoided: that, immediately upon the occurrence of temptation, the weak person should think that he has inwardly consented and has fallen from the grace of God. This false opinion is often the cause why the evil exterior act is then completed;

d) A decisive but calmly undertaken will to refuse or repel suggestions of this kind, which are frequent: "Temptation is present; I shall sin again.... Since I am guilty, let us consummate the sin, or repeat the sin";

e) Higher aims - a positive ideal - concerning his future life. Let him not have an expectation that is too modest ⁵: hope leads to strong deeds;

⁵ In today's vernacular language this method is called the "sublimation of the sexual instinct." Cf. Gemelli, Non moechaberis, p. 12. Cf. the things said above, nos. 172, 178, and 206.

f) Constant and filial imploration of the Immaculate Blessed Virgin Mary, very frequent approaches to the holy table, with great confidence;

g) For many, although not for all ⁶, marriage can be advised.

⁶ Cf. no. 207.

1811. Principles. I. The confessor is bound, as much as he can, RIGHTLY TO DISPOSE the penitent who approaches indisposed. - Thus commonly.

To the point St. Alphonsus says thus: "I do not know," he says, "how those slothful confessors can be excused from fault, who, as soon as they know that the penitent is not sufficiently disposed, dismiss him, with no diligence or very slight diligence first used for healing him. For I say that the confessor is bound, from a rigorous obligation of charity, to dispose him as much as he can, by exposing to him the deformity of sin, the value of divine grace, the danger of damnation, and similar things, even if he ought to spend much time in this. Nor ought it to be a care to him that other penitents are waiting: for then the confessor is not bound to attend to the good of others, but only of his penitent, for whom alone he will then have to render an account to God, not for the others."

But if the penitent approaches conveniently disposed, it is sufficient that the confessor exhort him to renew the act of sorrow and firm purpose.

1812. II. The confessor, in exhorting the penitent, ought chiefly to attend to THREE things: namely, TO CORRECT him, to move him to CONTRITION, and to INDICATE TO HIM THE MEANS by which holy perseverance is obtained. On this matter St. Alphonsus says thus:³⁰

1. "The origin and gravity of the sickness being known," he says, "let the confessor proceed to making the due observations. - And although he, as father, ought to listen to penitents in charity, nevertheless as physician he is bound, as much as there is need, to admonish and correct them, especially those who, burdened with many mortal sins, rarely approach the Sacrament of Penance. And he ought also to fulfill this office if the penitent shines with some illustrious quality (namely if he were a magistrate, Prince, priest, pastor, or Prelate), if, without too much feeling of soul, he accused himself of some omission of his duty." Indeed, even the fervent themselves are to be rebuked when they fall into negligence, so that they may carry away more abundant fruit from the Sacrament. "Benedict XIV says³¹ that the admonitions of the confessor are more efficacious than sermons themselves; and deservedly by right, because the particular circumstances are hidden from the preacher, but openly become known to the confessor, and therefore he will be better able to use due observations and to apply remedies which are suited to the sicknesses."³²

2. "After due corrections, or admonitions, it is better that labor be applied to disposing the penitent for absolution by acts of true sorrow and purpose. - Wherefore I wish confessors to be warned that there are very few penitents, especially rude ones, who approach to confess with the act of sorrow placed beforehand. Some confessors think that they have done enough for their office if they only question penitents of this sort in the following manner: Come, do you ask pardon from God for all these things? (Which in reality is not a true act of sorrow.) Are you sorry from the heart for all your sins? And with no other word inserted, they bestow absolution upon them. The manner of good confessors is wholly other than this; for these first of all labor so that penitents (the speech is about those who are held by mortal sins) conceive true sorrow and detestation of sins."³³ - To this end, let the confessor first of all set forth the motives of attrition: such as the deformity of sin, the value of divine grace, the danger of damnation to be incurred through unexpected death, etc.; then the motives of contrition, namely the infinite goodness of God offended by sin, the Holy Spirit saddened, the lovable heart of Jesus afflicted with grief, and similar things.

But if the penitent is stained only by venial sins, recall what was said at n. 1648, qq. 2 and 3.

3. For consulting the perseverance of the penitent and guarding it, the confessor, as physician, ought to assign to him REMEDIES, both general and particular, which drive away the danger of relapse and confirm him in holy purposes.

A) "The GENERAL remedies to be insinuated to all are: 1. Love toward God, since He created us for this end alone. And let care likewise be taken that the penitent know the interior peace with which those who enjoy the friendship of God are endowed, and the hell which those who are alien from God experience before the time; with added temporal ruin, which sin frequently drags along with itself. - 2. Prayer, i.e. often commending oneself to the Blessed Virgin by reciting the rosary; commending oneself to the guardian Angel, and to some Saint as particular protector. - 3. Frequency of the Sacraments, and if ever he falls into some mortal sin, that he confess immediately. - 4. Consideration of the eternal truths, and before the rest consideration of death: and to fathers of families daily mental prayer (or pious reading) in common with the family is to be insinuated, or at least the rosary with the children. - 5. The presence of God, when temptation presses, by saying: God sees me. - 6. Every evening to examine conscience, with sorrow of soul and purpose. - 7. To seculars, that they enroll themselves in some Congregation; and to priests, mental prayer and thanksgiving after Mass, and that they read through at least some little spiritual book before and after Mass."³⁴

B) "But PARTICULAR remedies will be assigned according to the diversity of vices: e.g. to him who is held by some hatred, let it be insinuated that daily he commend to God the one whom he hates, reciting for him the Lord's Prayer and the Angelic Salutation; and when he feels himself disturbed by the memory of the injury inflicted upon him, let him remember the insults with which he himself has affected God. To him who has fallen into base sins, let it be enjoined that he avoid idleness, flee evil companions and wicked occasions. To him who for a long time has contracted a wicked habit in this vice, let it be prescribed that he avoid not only proximate occasions, but also certain remote ones, which for one so weak in resisting have become as proximate for him." But especially let the confessor take care that he frequently communicate; because the Eucharist is called "wine bringing forth virgins."³⁵ And so concerning the others (cf. n. 1831, q. 3).

The Confessor is a true physician of souls, since he must rescue them from the various diseases of sin, remove them from the depraved affections of the passions, and restore them to divine grace. Therefore the Confessor, as a skilled physician, must 1° know the cause of the evil; 2° heal it; 3° prevent relapse. Let us hear St. Alphonsus again.

1417. - I. The Confessor must know the cause of the disease. "For the Confessor, that he may meet the infirmities of his penitent with opportune remedies, the origin and cause of all his spiritual diseases must be known. Some... beyond the species and number of sins inquire nothing else: if they see the penitent disposed, they immediately absolve him; but if not, without spending one word, they dismiss him at once, saying with a turned eye: Depart from me, because I cannot absolve you. Good confessors proceed otherwise: for these first begin to investigate the origin and gravity of the disease, by questioning concerning the habit of sinning, concerning occasions, concerning the time, concerning the place, concerning the persons with whom, and with what concurrence of things. For thus they will be better able to correct the penitents, dispose them for absolution, and add salutary remedies."

1418. - II. He must heal the disease. "When the origin and gravity of the disease have been known, let the confessor proceed to make the due admonitions. And although he as Father must listen to penitents with charity, nevertheless as physician he is held, as much as is needed, to warn and correct them, especially those who, burdened with many mortal sins, rarely approach the Sacrament of Penance.... Nor then must the confessor attend to other penitents who surround him. For, as St. Francis Xavier used to say, it is better to hear the rightly made Confessions of a few than the disordered and fruitless Confessions of many. Here it is necessary to advert how wrongly those confessors act who, if they find a penitent indisposed, immediately order him to go away from them, lest they spend some time with him.... And it matters little that others wait or depart unconfessed; for the confessor must render an account on the day of judgment concerning this one only, who now confesses to him, not concerning others." - I think an exception from this rule conformable to the mind of the holy Doctor in the case in which, on the one side, there is a crowd of penitents who, unless they are heard now, cannot or are foreseen not to be about to return except after a long time, and on the other side, the penitent who needs a longer time, e.g. on account of a necessary general Confession, can easily return and is hoped with foundation to be about to return.

"After due corrections or warnings, it is better that labor be spent on disposing the penitent to absolution through acts of true sorrow and purpose; wherefore I wish confessors to be warned that those penitents are very few, especially the rude, who come to confess with an act of sorrow premised. Some confessors think that they have done enough for their office if they merely question penitents of this kind in the following way: Come, do you ask pardon from God for all these things (which in truth is not a true act of sorrow)? Are you sorry from the heart for all your sins? and, with no other word interposed, they bestow absolution on them. Altogether different from this is the method of good confessors. For these first of all labor so that penitents (the discourse is about those who are held by mortal sins) may conceive true sorrow and detestation of sins. And first they prepare them through an act of attrition, e.g.: My son, where now ought you to be in eternity? In hell. Ah! in that fire you would always be tortured! Nor would any hope remain to you any longer that you could be rescued thence! There you would be dwelling, abandoned by all, rejected by God for all eternity! Therefore, are you sorry that you have offended God on account of the hell which you have deserved?... Afterward let him take care that an act of contrition be elicited, in this way: My son, what have you done? You have sinned against God, the highest and infinite good; you have had no regard for Him; you have turned your face away from Him: you have cast Him behind your back; you have despised His friendship and grace. Come therefore, because you have offended God, infinite goodness, are you now sorry from your whole heart? Detest and hate, above all evils, all the injuries by which undeservedly you have affected so good a God. Are you not now ready to die a thousand times rather than commit these things in the future?"

1419. - III. He must prevent relapse. The confessor will prevent relapse by assigning to the penitent remedies suited to the disease. But remedies are either general or particular.

1° General remedies are 1) pious prayer and love toward God; 2) frequent invocation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, of the holy Guardian Angel, and of the holy Patron; 3) frequency of the Sacraments and Confession as soon as any mortal sin has been committed; 4) consideration of the eternal truths, especially of death and of the last end, according to that saying: Remember thy last things, and thou shalt not sin forever; 5) recollection of God present when temptation presses, by saying: God sees me; 6) evening examination of conscience with sorrow of soul and purpose; 7) mental prayer and pious readings, especially for priests.

2° Particular remedies will be assigned according to the diversity of vices: e.g. to him who is held by some hatred, let it be suggested that daily he commend to God him whom he hates, reciting for him the Lord's Prayer, etc. And when the memory of the injury disturbs him, let him recall the insults by which he himself has affected God. - To him who has fallen into shameful sins, let it be enjoined that he avoid idleness, flee evil companions and depraved occasions. - To him who has contracted a depraved habit through a long time in this vice, let it be prescribed that he avoid not only proximate occasions, but even certain remote ones, which to one so weak are as if proximate. But especially let the confessor take care that this one communicate frequently; because the Eucharist is called: wine bringing forth virgins. And thus concerning others.

The confessor will assign other remedies according to his prudence, the circumstances of occasions, persons, etc., having been inspected. For prudence is the chief quality which must stand out in a physician. - See St. Alphonsus in Praxis Confessarii; and in H. A. Cf. n. 1389.

IV. The confessor, especially as spiritual physician, is bound from office to indicate salutary remedies for obtaining the perseverance of the penitent and for guarding against his future fall.

It is proved: For the sacrament of penance was also instituted for the healing of souls and their preservation from future sins; and therefore the minister would frustrate it as to its partial end if he did not indicate remedies against future sins. "Although penance," says St. Thomas, q. 12, a. 3, ad 3, "from its first institution or intention regards the past, nevertheless consequently it regards the future, insofar as it is a preserving medicine." This is confirmed from the Roman Ritual, tit. 3, c. 1, n. 18.

But for this it is necessary to know (also by questioning concerning these things) the causes and occasions of sins, as a physician investigates the causes of diseases; which causes, besides, must rather often already be investigated for judging the dispositions of the penitent, among which it is required that he himself be willing to avoid or combat the said causes (as was said n. I). The causes, I say, and occasions of sins must be known a) because otherwise they cannot be extirpated by the root, and, unless they are extirpated, they will again produce evil effects; b) because according to diverse causes diverse opportune remedies are to be assigned: thus, for example, some remedies are to be indicated against lust, whether it comes from an external occasion, or from the internal complexion of the body, or from depraved thoughts or temptations.

In proposing such remedies the confessor, besides the satisfaction itself, cannot impose a strict obligation, unless nevertheless he declares those things to which the penitent is already bound from elsewhere, for example, avoiding proximate danger of sinning: for it belongs to a physician, as such, to counsel, not to command in a strict mode.

Therefore the confessor must 1) know by what things depraved habits are corrected, temptations overcome, and relapses guarded against;

2. question penitents concerning the habit of sinning, concerning proximate occasions, concerning the time, the place, the persons with whom, and by what concurrence of things, they are accustomed to slip into sins;

3. prescribe apt remedies which suit the penitent more according to his condition, age, temperament, etc.;

4. also remedies proportioned to the gravity and origin of the sins, whether:

a) general, such as frequent prayer, frequent reception of the sacraments of Penance and Eucharist, especially confession to be instituted immediately after a fall, the imposition of a previously determined penance after a relapse, devout consideration of the last things and recollection of the divine presence, serious daily examination of conscience with an exploration of the causes of sin and the formation of sincere contrition and purpose, the choice of a prudent confessor and frequent recourse to his counsels, flight from evil associates and other occasions of sinning, practice of mortification, custody of the senses and chastisement of the voice, acts of charity toward God frequently repeated, works of mercy, devotion toward the Holy Eucharist, the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, etc.; or

b) particular, which are better and more directly opposed to each vice, for example: Let it be insinuated to him who is held by hatred that daily he pray for him whom he hates, and at the memory of the injury let him recall the insults by which he himself has affected God. - Let it be enjoined upon him who has slipped into shameful sins that he avoid idleness, flee evil associates and occasions. - To him who for a long time has contracted a depraved habit in this vice, let it be prescribed that he avoid not only proximate occasions, but even certain remote ones, which to him, so weak for resisting, have become as proximate (cf. St. Alphonsus, Pr. Conf., n. 15-16); but

c) first of all it is better to impose medicinal satisfactions; then to insinuate spiritual remedies;

5. finally to correct, even strongly, and to furnish admonitions of salvation.

6. Moreover they are gravely lacking in the office of confessor who, content with the remission of past sins, wholly neglect the guarding of the new life and the medicine of infirmity. Cf. St. Alphonsus, Pr. Conf., n. 6-7.

612. Principle IV. The confessor, especially as spiritual physician, from office is bound to indicate salutary remedies for obtaining the perseverance of the penitent and for guarding against his future fall.

It is proved: The sacrament of Penance was also instituted for the healing of souls and their preservation from future sins; and therefore it would be frustrated of its partial end if the minister did not indicate remedies against future sins. "Although penance," says St. Thomas, q. 12, a. 3, ad 3, "from its first institution or intention regards the past, yet also consequently it regards the future, insofar as it is preserving medicine." This is confirmed from the Ritual, t. 3, c. 1, n. 18.

But for this it is necessary to know the causes and occasions of sins, and concerning them, if it is useful, to question, just as a physician investigates the causes of diseases; these causes otherwise must often already be investigated for judging the dispositions of the penitent, among which it is required that he himself be willing to avoid or combat the said causes. For it is necessary to know the causes and occasions of sins: 1) because otherwise they cannot be extirpated from the root, and, unless they are extirpated, they will again produce evil effects; 2) because according to diverse causes diverse opportune remedies must be assigned. Thus different remedies must be indicated against lust, whether it proceeds from an external occasion, or from internal complexion, or from depraved thoughts or temptations; different remedies also befit according to the diverse condition, age, or temperament of the penitent. But above all it is advantageous to impose medicinal satisfactions, as was said in n. 553, and sometimes also it is necessary to rebuke the penitent.

But those confessors gravely fail in their office who, content with the remission of past sins, wholly neglect the guarding of the new life and the medicine of infirmity.1

I say. The confessor is a true physician of souls; for just as sinners are often compared in the Scriptures to the sick or even to the dead, indeed are also properly called by these names, so the confessor can not only be compared to a physician, but also is one; for he must rescue the souls of penitents from the various diseases of sin and restore them to divine grace. Hence:

1°. The confessor must know the cause of the disease; for just as a bodily physician must first devote all his diligence and strength to this, that he may investigate the very root of the disease, so also the confessor; otherwise he will supply useless or insufficient, or even harmful, remedies. Therefore good confessors inquire not only about the number and species of sins and about dispositions, but also about habits, occasions, and other circumstances which are connected with the disease, if indeed the disease is present and not only some passing weakness.

2°. He must heal the disease; for it is not enough to know the origin of the disease, but it is necessary besides to place the finger on that part of the wound which flows with the greater corruption, and either by cutting away or by fostering to obtain the cure of it. Therefore the confessor must make due observations, suggest counsels, and declare what is to be done. To the point St. Alphonsus says: "The confessor must not attend to other penitents who surround him. For, as St. Francis Xavier used to say, it is better to hear the confessions of a few rightly made than the disordered confessions of many and without fruit. And it matters little that others wait or depart unconfessed; for the confessor must render an account on the day of judgment only concerning this one who now confesses to him, but not concerning the others." - Cf. St. Alphonsus, Prax. Confessarii, nn. 6, 7 and 10.

3°. He must guard against relapse; which certainly the confessor will perform by assigning to the penitent remedies suited to the disease. But remedies are either general or particular. General ones are reduced to pious prayers, to frequent invocation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, to consideration of the eternal truths, to the evening examination of conscience, and especially to frequency of the sacraments. But particular remedies must necessarily be diverse according to the diversity of penitents and of the circumstances in which they are found; nor will he rightly indicate them unless he uses great prudence. - Cf. St. Alphonsus, Prax. Confessarii, n. 15; and Hom. Ap., tract. 21, nn. 5 and 6.