Reconciliation
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Preliminary QuestionsBibliography |
Constitution on the Liturgy"Tip of the Pistol" Changes |
Gains and LossesReconciliation Paradigms GridTo Think About |
What did the sacrament look like at the time of the Council? What is the immediate history of the current Rite of Reconciliation? Read the Rite of Reconciliation. Are there ritual options in the rite which you have never seen used? Which ones? How does the theology presented in the Introduction compare with that which you learned at the time of your First Confession? Did you celebrate first Reconciliation before or after your first reception of the Eucharist?
NCCB-CL Newsletter, XXVIII (June/July 1992), pp 22-26. [Excellent commentary on article 72 of the Sacrosanctum Concilium.]
Richard M. Gula, S.S. To Walk Together Again, Chapter 6 "Reconciliation Through the Ages" pp 187-226.
James Dallen. The Reconciling Community: The Rite of Penance, "The Reform of Penance," pp 205-249, "Theological Foundations," pp 250-297, "Liturgies of Conversion and Reconciliation," pp 298-248, and "Shaping the Future," pp 349-407.
Kenan B. Osborne, O.F.M. Reconciliation and Justification, "The Sacrament of Reconciliation, Justification and Vatican II," 198-220, "Post-Vatican II Theology and Unresolved Issues on Justification and the Sacrament of Reconciliation," pp 221-254.
Annibale Bugnini. The Reform of the Liturgy 1948-1975, Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 1990, Chapter 39 "Reconciliation," pp 664-683.
1. 1963 Dec 04 Promulgation of Sacrosanctum Concilium, The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy. The Constitution contains one article on Penance, article 72: "The rite and formularies for the sacrament of penance are to be revised so that they more clearly express both the nature and effect of the sacrament."
2. This did not appear in the first draft. Note chapter title: "The Other Sacraments and Sacramentals." Penance was not mentioned. Devotional Practice / Liturgical Sacrament.
3. Jounel (the chef d'equip entrusted with the reform of the Rite) told us in class: "We were to write the new Ordo directed by article 72 but also (and more importantly) by the understanding of liturgical law and the general liturgical principles of Chapter One. [Class notes, Institut Superieur de Liturgie, Paris France, October 1972] This involves moving the popular understanding of "confession" from the category of "devotion" [Confessions of Devotion] and "ascetical practice" to the category of liturgy and, specifically, the category of sacrament.
4. The Second Vatican Council’s reform of the Sacrament of Reconciliation consists primarily in returning the rite to the categories of "liturgy" and "sacrament." To check yourself to see if you have made this paradigm shift in your own theological understanding of the Sacrament of Reconciliation take your "image" of confession, and see how well it fulfills the following standard definitions of sacrament.
Sometimes a very small change can have very large effects -- especially when the small change is close to the heart of the matter. (Recall the example of the German policemen).
At the time of the Council most people thought of the Sacrament of Reconciliation (then "Sacrament of Penance") as Confession. Confession was a devotional practice which was used by devout Catholics as a means of overcoming venial sins.
When the new Ordo Penitentiae (1979) was published many pastors changed the "form" or the "ritual" to look like Chapter Two of the rite, without realizing the "tip of the pistol" change that had taken place. In the table below I have summarized these "tip of the pistol" changes.
| Before Vatican II | After Vatican II | |
| Paradigm | Juridical Trial | Eucharist |
| Purpose | Devotion: Overcome (venial) sin | Liturgy: Worship God |
| Focus | Confession of my sins | Proclamation of God's Mercy |
| What I think about | What I do (confess) | What Jesus does (reconciliation) |
| Mentality | Individual / Personal | Communal / Ecclesial |
| God | Accountant / number & kind | Parent / parental love |
| Action | Cause God to forgive the sinner | Cause the sinner to feel forgiven |
If "private confession" disappears from church practice, what would be gained and what would be lost?
Msgr. Jounel (the chef d'equip entrusted by Pope Paul VI with the reform of the Rite of Penance) told us in class: "We were to write the new Ordo directed by article 72 of the Constitution on the Liturgy [72. The rite and formulas for the sacrament of penance are to be revised so that they more clearly express both the nature and effect of the sacrament] but also (and more importantly) by the understanding of liturgical law and the general liturgical principles of Chapter One. [Class notes, Institut Superieur de Liturgie, Paris France, October 1972] This involves moving the popular understanding of "confession" from the category of "devotion" [Confessions of Devotion] and "ascetical practice" to the category of liturgy and, specifically, the category of sacrament. For example articles 26 and 17 of the Constitution on the Liturgy state:
26. Liturgical services are not private functions, but are celebrations of the Church, which is the "sacrament of unity," namely, the holy people united and ordered under their bishops.
Therefore liturgical services pertain to the whole body of the Church; they manifest it and have effects upon it; but they concern the individual members of the Church in different ways, according to their differing rank, office, and actual participation.
27. It is to be stressed that whenever rites, according to their specific nature, make provision for communal celebration involving the presence and active participation of the faithful, this way of celebrating them is to be preferred, so far as possible, to a celebration that is individual and quasi-private.
This applies with especial force to the celebration of Mass and the administration of the sacraments, even though every Mass has of itself a public and social nature.
Many interpret paragraph 27 to indicate that "private" confession will go the way of "private" (side-altar) Masses. If this were to happen, would anything be lost?
There is positive psychological value in "confessing" -- Some pastors (Priests / Bishops / Popes) wish to preserve devotional confession for this reason. For example, Pope Pius XII wrote:
As you well know, Venerable Brethren, it is true that venial sins may be expiated in many ways which are to be highly commended. But to ensure more rapid progress day by day in the path of virtue, We will that the pious practice of frequent confession, which was introduced into the Church by the inspiration of the Holy spirit, should be earnestly advocated. By it genuine self-knowledge is increased, Christian humility grows, bad habits are corrected, spiritual neglect and tepidity are resisted, the conscience is purified, the will strengthened, a salutary self-control is attained, and grace is increased in virtue of the Sacrament itself. Let those, therefore, among the younger clergy who make light of or lessen esteem for frequent confession realize that what they are doing is alien to the Spirit of Christ and disastrous for the Mystical Body of our Savior. (Pope Pius XII, Mystici Corporis Christi, encyclical On the Mystical Body of Christ, 1943, #88) [TRR Comment: While this statement was made in 1943, many pastors are still of this mentality 70 years later.]
When one celebrates the Sacrament of Reconciliation in a communal setting where the procession to the priest/confessor is modeled on the procession to Communion at Eucharist, all these values can be preserved, but there is no time to "confess" as there was formerly in "Scholastic Confession." But note that:
The confessional was not the ideal time for "confession."
"Confession" works best when you have some personal rapport with the person to whom you are confessing.
Often other people were waiting in line to go to confession, and the priest did not feel that he had time needed to properly respond to the confession.
Today, there are many opportunities to "confess" -- to a friend, or soul mate; to a spiritual director; to a counselor; to a support group, AA, NA, etc.
The "Seal of the Confessional" often hindered spiritual direction because the priest cannot use information received "under the seal"
Dr. Cavanaugh taught: When you are most tempted to give advice is usually the time when no advice should be given.
The Church continues the healing ministry of Jesus. The risen Lord commissioned the disciples to continue his work of healing and forgiveness. "He breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.’" (John 20:22-23) "Over the centuries the concrete form in which the Church has exercised this power received from the Lord has varied considerably." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1447)
Reconciliation Paradigms Grid |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | (Jesus and Sub-apostolic Church) | Canonical Penance (Order of Penitents) | Celtic Penance (Tariff Penance) | Confession | Reconciliation |
| Dates | 30-300 | 300-600 | 600-900 | 900-1974 | 1974-present |
| Paradigm (Think...) | Jesus in the Gospels | Baptism | Doctor visit | Juridical trial | Eucharist |
| Process (Stages) | Former life conversion catechumen elect faithful |
Sin contrition penance eucharist (=absolution) reconciliation |
Sin telling penance |
Sin conscience confession absolution penance |
Sin Word sorrow reconciliation shalom |
| Liturgy | Baptism-confirmation-eucharist | Order of Penitents: weepers kneelers hearers |
None | [None] words of absolution |
Gathering Story Telling Reconciling Commissioning |
| Ministries | Community and its ministers and its overseer | Community and its ministers and its overseer | Holy person (who can read a tariff from the book) | An ordained priest with proper jurisdiction | The community and its ministers and its pastor |
| Positive Aspects | Part of the ongoing journey of the holy Church | A liturgical process involving the whole community | Healing; quicker; repeatable | Repeatable; eradicate sins, sin by sin | The celebration (and the sin) is ecclesial and public |
| Negative Aspects | No provision for exceptional tragic situations | Once only; long and very hard; punishment | Private; no liturgy; (danger of money abuses) | Sin is private; not liturgical but devotional; routine | ? |
Be able to reproduce by memory the above table on the history of the Paradigms for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. How has your knowledge of the history of the Sacrament of Reconciliation affected your understanding of this sacrament? How will you be able to convey this essential information to the members of your parish who did not study this history during their catechetical instruction?
© Copyright: Tom Richstatter, Franciscan Province of St. John the Baptist, Cincinnati Ohio, Order of Friars Minor. All Rights Reserved. This page was created by Fr. Thomas Richstatter, O.F.M. Every effort has been, and is being made, to acknowledge sources when the ideas are not my own. Any failure to comply with the United States Copyright Act (Title 17, United States Code) will be corrected immediately should I become aware of it. This site was updated on 07/07/08 . Your comments on this site are welcome at webmaster2@tomrichstatter.org.