On Confession

Schola Christi, The Oratory Lecture Series and Homilies from The Pittsburgh Oratory

Last night we had our first meeting of the School of St. Philip Neri. The evening began with a brief introduction about St. Philip and the nature of the Oratory; especially in relation to the Secular Oratory, the fraternal association of the faithful for which the Congregation of the Oratory was established. As a layman, Philip was directed by his confessor to seek Holy Orders in order to serve the group of disciples that had gathered with him to discuss the faith, serve the pilgrims in Rome and care for the incurables in the hospitals.

After praying the Litany of St. Philip Neri and discussing a short excerpt from a biography of his life (edited by Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman to be read in the refectory of the Oratory before meals), the group considered in depth a Lesson on the relationship between Confessor and Penitent from The School of Saint Philip Neri by Giuseppe Crispino. This major work by F Giuseppe Crispino, a Neapolitan secular priest of the 17th century, covering all aspects of Oratorian spirituality and life, was originally translated by Fr Faber in 1850. As always St. Philip proves to be the wisest of guides in the spiritual life. Below is a podcast of the group along with the text that was considered.

The holy Master, St. Philip, exhorts the penitent to choose one particular director, and to think well and pray before choosing him, in order as the Saint himself observes, that he may find one who shall be “good, learned, discreet, and experienced.” The penitent, therefore, must ascertain whether the Confessor has these qualities required by St. Philip . . . It is also expedient never to change the Confessor, and the holy Master expressed this opinion: “Let any one who would persevere in the spiritual life, always confess to the same person.” Nor was he pleased when persons went to another Confessor. Such changes make the consciences of the penitent restless, as is particularly related of a penitent of the holy Father; who, the first time that he confessed to another, fell into profound melancholy and anxiety of conscience; so that, to free himself from this, and to recover his serenity, his only remedy was to return to his first Confessor, and to disclose his unfaithfulness in going to another.

The holy Master, then would never permit the Confessor to be changed on slight grounds, but said, “When once chosen, let him never be changed, but for most urgent reasons.”

The penitent must resolve to place himself as a dead body in the hands of his Confessor, according to the expression of that Servant of God, Giovanni Battista Foligno; who thus placed himself in the hands of St. Philip that he might do with him what he pleased; and who minutely observed the precepts of the Saint, with such unspeakable profit to his soul, that even during his lifetime he was called “The Blessed Giovanni Battista.”

The penitent must imagine that St. Philip addresses to him the same exhortation as to Cesare Tommasi, who says, “He exhorted me always to shun sin, and to endeavor to be without it, if I wished to be in the grace of God.”

Under occasions of sin, we should reflect on the abhorrence of sin expressed by our holy Master, who said, “Rather than commit one mortal sin, I would willingly be quartered, and die a most cruel death.” Should a person fall into some sin, let him reflect that his soul has become altogether deformed, and therefore run directly to the feet of his Confessor for the removal of that deformity; which was even externally visible to the eyes of St. Philip, who one day said to a person who had been to confession, “Son you have changed your face, and have a better countenance;” words which the Saint often used when sinners returned from the state of sin to the grace of God.

Should there be relapses, still let the penitent return to his Confessor with the same readiness; since this was the remedy prescribed by St. Philip, to deliver a penitent from a sin in which he was so deeply immersed, that he fell into it almost every day; but, as on every backsliding, he always returned to confession, he, as the Saint himself declares, in a short time became a very angel.

To cure a spiritual person, who had fallen into a marked fault, after having long walked in the ways of God, the holy Master said, that there was no better remedy than to exhort him to manifest the fall to some person of good life, in whom he had especial confidence; since, by that act of humility, God would restore him to his former state.

Our holy Father was so enamored of purity of conscience and of unreserved manifestation to the Confessor, that, in consequence of the great benefit which souls derive from frequent confession, he inculcated it by word and example, for he confessed every day with abundant tears.

Neither let any one regard occupation as an excuse; for in the time of St. Philip, many persons who were occupied went to confession before day break: and by the grace of God Confessors will never be wanting who will study their lessons in this school; and who, after the example of the holy Father, will conform themselves to the inclinations of penitents, and be at all times ready for their convenience.

The holy Master says and counsels, that, in confession, the penitent should first accuse himself of those grievous sins, of which he is most ashamed, since in this way he will most confound the devil, and make the most profitable confession.

He must never, through human respect, conceal any sin, however trivial it may appear.

He must never trust in himself, but always confer with his spiritual Father, and commend himself to the prayers of all.

He must have great faith in his spiritual Father, disclosing the slightest matter to him, since the Lord will never permit him to err, in anything which is of importance to his penitent’s salvation. When the devil cannot succeed in tempting a person to grievous sin, he endeavors with all his power to introduce distrust between the Confessor and the penitent; for by this means he gradually acquires no little gain, since, as our holy Father himself shows by the example of Carlo Mazzei, the devil is afraid of the Spiritual Father. In those cases where the penitent cannot have access to his Confessor, it is well that he should act on what he supposes would be his pleasure; but at the first opportunity he must confer with him, to secure himself from error.

Vows must never be made without consent of the Spiritual Father: and for the tranquillity of the penitent’s conscience, as well as to avoid the burden of many obligations, the holy Father thought it well that the person desiring to make the vow, would do so conditionally, as “If I should remember it;” or in some such manner.

Disciplines, and other austerities of the same kind, must never be used without the Confessor’s permission, “for,” adds the Saint, “whoever uses them on his own judgment, either injures his constitution, or becomes proud by fancying that he has done some great thing; and we must never so attach ourselves to the means, as to forget the end, which is charity and the love of God.”

Let the penitent obey his Confessor as God, discovering to him all his affections with freedom, sincerity, and simplicity, and take no resolution without his counsel; and the holy Master adds, “that whoever thus acts, may be assured that he will not be obliged to render an account of his actions to God.” This obedience was first practiced and afterwards taught by our holy Master, who, though he alleged his incapacity and insufficiency, yet, nevertheless, became a Priest in obedience, and took on himself the charge of confessions, instead of going to the Indies, to which mission he was especially attached by that love of God which caused him to burn with desire of shedding his blood for the Holy Faith; to say nothing of many other acts of prompt obedience which are recorded in his life. We should take example from all this, and always obey our Spiritual Father, even when he commands things contrary to the penitent’s own idea of his inability.

The penitent must never constrain the Confessor to give a reluctant permission, and, as regards this, F. Pietro Consolini greatly deplored the injury now done to obedience in the practice of confessions; since, instead of the profound humility and obedience required of the penitent in this Sacrament; it now is (to use his own words) “so monstrously managed, that whereas the Confessor once guided the Penitent, Penitents now direct Confessors, and try to bend them to their own pleasure.” Let the penitent be careful never to abuse the Sacrament of Penance through interested motives by going to confession to obtain alms from the Confessor. St. Philip detected this abuse, and once perceiving in his spirit that a certain woman only came for bread; he said to her, “My good woman, go, and God be with you, for there is no bread for you here.” Nor would he hear her confessions any more.