Throughout history, the Prophets of the
Jews and, later, the bishops and priests of the Catholic Church, prayed for the
conversion of the people and for the forgiveness of their sins. Books called ‘Penitentiales’ were written by
theologians to assist parish priests in their work of hearing confessions and
absolving the repentant. Following we
have an excerpt from such a Penitentiale written by the Frankish Halitgar (d.
831), bishop of Cambrai and early missionary to the Danes. We see in it his deep love of souls, which
leads to very concrete counsel for the confessor:
“We give fasts to as many Christians as
come to confession, and we ought to share in their fasts on one or two days of
the week, lest it be said to us as was said to the priests of the Jews by our
Lord and Savior: ‘Woe to you lawyers who burden men, who impose heavy and
insupportable weights on their shoulders, but you yourselves do not touch their
loads with one of your fingers’ (Luke 11, 46).
No one can assist a man who is falling under a weight unless he bends
himself and reaches out his hand. No
doctor can treat the wounds of the infirm unless he shares in their
foulness. In like manner, no priest or
pope can treat the wounds of sinners, or remove the sins from their souls,
unless he tenders care and prays with tears.
My dearest brother, it is therefore necessary for us to be solicitous on
behalf of sinners: we are, after all, their fellow members, and if one member
suffers anything, all the members suffer.
If we, then, see someone lying in his sins, we should hasten to call him
to repentance through our teaching. And
as many times as you give counsel to a sinner, immediately give him a penance,
so that he may fast and redeem his sins, lest perhaps you forget, and, because
his fasting is necessary for his sins, it is again necessary for you to inquire
into them. Perhaps he would be ashamed
to confess his sins again, lest they be judged more fully. Not every cleric who finds this instruction
should usurp it or employ it, but only those for whom it is necessary – that
is, priests. For, just as the Sacrifice
ought not to be offered except by bishops and priests, to whom the keys of the
heavenly kingdom were handed over. Thus,
these judgments ought not to be usurped by any others. But if a priest should not be present, a deacon may undertake the penance of another to make satisfaction for him so that he might receive Holy Communion.
“As we said earlier, bishops and
priests ought to humble themselves with sighs of sadness and to pray with tears
not only for their own sins but for the sins of all Christians, so that they
may be able to say: ‘Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is scandalized, and I do not burn?’ (2
Corinthians 11, 29). Therefore, when
someone comes to a priest to confess his sins, the priest should command him to
wait a little while he enters his room to pray.
But if he does not have a room, he should still say this prayer in the
room of his heart:
“Let us pray. O Lord God Almighty, be gracious to me, a
sinner, that I may be able to give fitting thanks to you, for you have made me,
unworthy though I am, a minister of the priestly office for the sake of your
mercy. You have established me, a lowly
and poor sinner, to pray and to intercede with our Lord Jesus Christ, for
sinners and those returning to penance.
Therefore, mighty Lord, who wishes all men to be saved and to come to
the knowledge of the truth, who does not desire the death of the sinner, but
that he convert and live: hear my prayer that I pour out before your mercy for
your servants and handmaids who come to confession. Through our Lord.
“Seeing the priest sad and weeping for
his sins, the one who comes to confession, struck by the fear of God, may be
dismayed and troubled more grievously by his own sins.”
Note what Bishop Halitgar says about deacons doing penance for others when a priest was not available. It was held that absolution did not occur until a man had done his penance. Some theologians even taught that the completion of the penance resulted in absolution even if a priest did not grant it formally. If, then, a man confessed his sins but was physically unable to fulfill his penance, normally a fast of various kinds and durations, but was in danger of death, a priest might do the penance on his behalf, or, if lacking a priest, a deacon might do it.
Note what Bishop Halitgar says about deacons doing penance for others when a priest was not available. It was held that absolution did not occur until a man had done his penance. Some theologians even taught that the completion of the penance resulted in absolution even if a priest did not grant it formally. If, then, a man confessed his sins but was physically unable to fulfill his penance, normally a fast of various kinds and durations, but was in danger of death, a priest might do the penance on his behalf, or, if lacking a priest, a deacon might do it.
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