Confession — which the Church more precisely calls the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation — is the sacrament by which Christ, through the ministry of the priest, forgives sins committed after Baptism and restores to the sinner grace, peace, and friendship with God[1][2]. Together with the Anointing of the Sick, it belongs to the category of the "sacraments of healing": if Baptism gives new birth, Penance raises up the one who has fallen again[3].
The Catechism gives it five complementary names — sacrament of conversion, of penance, of confession, of forgiveness, of reconciliation — each of which reveals one aspect of the same gift[4][5]. The Fathers of the Church summarized it with a striking image later taken up by the Council of Trent: Penance is the "second plank of salvation after the shipwreck" that is the loss of baptismal grace[6].
Far from being a medieval invention, this sacrament goes back to a precise word of the risen Christ: "Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them" (John 20:22-23)[7]. The Catholic Church holds that this individual confession of grave sins, followed by absolution from a priest, remains the only ordinary way by which a member of the faithful is reconciled with God and with the Church after grave fault[8].
This article presents the sacrament itself: its scriptural institution, its history, its matter and form, the acts of the penitent, the minister, the seal of secrecy, its effects, and the major objections. For the practical side — how to make a good confession, grow through regular confession, and avoid common mistakes — see the dedicated articles linked at the end of the page.
What is the sacrament of Confession?
Five names for one mystery
One striking feature of this sacrament is that it has several names, each shedding light on one facet of the same gift. The Catechism explicitly lists them[9][10]:
| Name of the sacrament | What it highlights |
|---|---|
| Sacrament of conversion | It realizes Jesus' call to return to the Father (Luke 15:18), from whom one has strayed by sin |
| Sacrament of penance | It consecrates a personal and ecclesial process of repentance and reparation |
| Sacrament of confession | The avowal of sins to the priest is an essential element; it is also a "confession" of God's holiness |
| Sacrament of forgiveness | Through absolution, God grants the penitent "pardon and peace" |
| Sacrament of reconciliation | It gives the sinner the reconciling love of God: "Be reconciled to God" (2 Cor 5:20) |
In ordinary speech, people say "confession" or "the sacrament of reconciliation"; in precise theological language, one speaks of the "sacrament of penance". All of these names designate the same reality.
The "second plank of salvation after shipwreck"
Why a specific sacrament for forgiveness, when Baptism has already wiped everything away? Because the baptized person can, through freedom, fall again and lose the grace received. The Fathers of the Church expressed this with a maritime image that became classic. Tertullian, at the beginning of the third century, compared penance to a plank of rescue offered to the shipwrecked person[11]:
"Baptism is the first plank for one who has made shipwreck of innocence; penance is the second." — after Tertullian, De Paenitentia, 4, 2, taken up by the Council of Trent[12]
This image says the essential thing: confession is not an administrative formality, but an act of salvation. For the person who has made shipwreck through grave sin, it is the plank extended by divine mercy so that he does not drown.
Why confess after Baptism?
Christian initiation — Baptism, Confirmation, the Eucharist — has made us "holy and immaculate" before God (Eph 1:4)[13]. But this new life "has not abolished the frailty and weakness of human nature, nor the inclination to sin that tradition calls concupiscence"[14]. The Apostle John states it bluntly:
"If we say, 'We are without sin,' we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." — First Letter of Saint John 1:8[15]
The spiritual combat of the baptized person is therefore one of permanent conversion[16]. Jesus himself taught us to pray: "Forgive us our sins" (Luke 11:4)[17]. The sacrament of Penance is the instrument Christ instituted so that this request for forgiveness, after Baptism, may be certain, effective, and repeatable.
Did Christ really institute Confession?
The most common objection, especially in Protestant circles, is that confession "in the ear of a priest" would be a late human invention. Catholic doctrine answers that the sacrament rests on several precise words of Christ reported in the Gospels and the Epistles. This is what the Council of Trent solemnly defined[18].
"Whose sins you forgive..." (John 20:21-23)
The foundational text is the scene on Easter evening. The risen Christ appears to the apostles, communicates the Holy Spirit to them, and entrusts to them an astonishing power:
"Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you. [...] Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained." — Gospel according to Saint John 20:21-23[19]
The Church has always read this as the institution of the sacrament[20]. Two elements are decisive. First, Christ gives a power to forgive and to retain sins: this is the power of a judge who must be able to discern, and therefore to know what he absolves or does not absolve — which presupposes avowal[21]. Second, this power is not a metaphor: "by virtue of his divine authority he [Jesus] gives this power to men to exercise in his name"[22].
The power of the keys: binding and loosing
Even before Easter, Jesus had promised Peter, and then the college of the apostles, the power of the keys:
"I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." — Gospel according to Saint Matthew 16:19[23]
The same charge of "binding and loosing" is given to all the apostles united with Peter (Mt 18:18)[24]. The Catechism explains: "whomever you exclude from your communion, will be excluded from communion with God; whomever you receive anew into your communion, God will welcome back into his"[25]. Reconciliation with the Church is inseparable from reconciliation with God.
"Confess your sins to one another" and the ministry of reconciliation
The Epistles confirm this practice from the apostolic age. Saint James explicitly recommends the avowal of faults:
"Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed." — Letter of Saint James 5:16[26]
Saint Paul, for his part, describes the apostles as ambassadors entrusted by God with a "ministry of reconciliation":
"And all this is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and given us the ministry of reconciliation. [...] We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God." — Second Letter to the Corinthians 5:18-20[27]
This "ministry of reconciliation" is not merely a discourse of exhortation: it is the concrete exercise of the power received in John 20, transmitted to the successors of the apostles[28].
God alone forgives — and he willed to do it through men
The opposite objection — "only God can forgive sins" (Mk 2:7) — is actually a foundation of Catholic doctrine, not a refutation. Yes, God alone forgives sin. But Jesus, because he is the Son of God, exercises this divine power ("Your sins are forgiven", Mk 2:5) and, "further, by virtue of his divine authority he gives this power to men"[29]. The priest therefore never forgives by himself: he is the visible instrument through whom Christ forgives. This is exactly what the formula of absolution says — "through the ministry of the Church"[30].
A divine institution, not a medieval invention
If the power to forgive goes back to Christ, the concrete form of its exercise has varied greatly through the centuries[31]. Understanding this history disarms the objection that "the Church invented confession in the Middle Ages": it was not the sacrament that was invented, but its discipline that developed.
Public penance in the early centuries
During the first centuries, the reconciliation of Christians guilty of particularly grave sins after Baptism — apostasy, homicide, adultery — was linked to a very rigorous discipline[32]. Penitents entered an "order of penitents" and had to perform a public penance, sometimes lasting many years, before receiving reconciliation. In some regions one could be admitted to it only once in a lifetime[33]. The deep structure was already there — avowal, penance, reconciliation by the bishop — but under a demanding and non-repeatable form.
The Irish turning point: repeatable "private" confession
The major turning point came in the seventh century. Inspired by the monastic tradition of the East, Irish missionaries brought to the European continent the "private" practice of penance[34]. It no longer required public and prolonged works before reconciliation: the sacrament took place "in a more secret way between the penitent and the priest"[35]. Above all, this practice was repeatable: one could come regularly, and grave sins and venial sins could be forgiven together. Irish monks — Saint Columbanus (d. 615) and others — spread "penitentials", books that assigned penances corresponding to each fault[36]. "This is, in broad lines, the form of penance that the Church has practiced down to our day"[37].
Lateran IV (1215) and the annual obligation
In 1215, the Fourth Lateran Council promulgated, in its famous canon 21 "Omnis utriusque sexus", the obligation for every member of the faithful who had reached the age of discretion to confess his sins at least once a year to his own priest, and then to receive Communion at Easter[38]:
"All the faithful of both sexes, after they have reached the age of discretion, shall faithfully confess all their sins in private at least once a year to their own priest [...] and shall receive with reverence, at least at Easter, the sacrament of the Eucharist." — Fourth Lateran Council (1215), canon 21[39]
The same canon requires the priest to act like an "experienced physician" pouring wine and oil on wounds, and to keep an absolute secret, under penalty of deposition and lifelong confinement[40]. Historians underline that this canon "only confirmed earlier legislation and custom": it did not create sacramental confession, but fixed its minimum obligation[41].
The Council of Trent (1551): doctrine fixed against the Reformation
Against Reformers who denied the sacramental character of Penance, the Council of Trent, in its fourteenth session (14 November 1551), issued a Doctrine and fifteen canons that remain the dogmatic reference[42]. Trent defined that Penance is truly and properly a sacrament instituted by Christ, distinct from Baptism[43]; that the confession of mortal sins is necessary for salvation by divine law[44]; that the priest acts as a judge[45]; and that the matter of the sacrament lies in the three acts of the penitent[46]. The first canon states it solemnly:
"If anyone says that in the Catholic Church Penance is not truly and properly a sacrament instituted by Christ our Lord for reconciling the faithful with God as often as they fall into sin after Baptism: let him be anathema." — Council of Trent, session XIV, canon 1[47]
How does the sacrament "work"? Matter and form
Like every sacrament, confession is composed of matter and form — in the classic vocabulary of theology, inherited from Aristotle and adopted by Saint Thomas Aquinas[48]. For the general doctrine, see matter and form of the sacraments; here, we apply it to Penance.
The matter: the three acts of the penitent
Unlike Baptism (matter: water) or the Eucharist (matter: bread and wine), Penance has no external "sensible" matter. Its matter consists in the acts of the penitent himself: contrition, confession (the avowal), and satisfaction[49]. Theologians speak of "quasi-matter" (quasi materia), because these human acts take the place of matter without being a material reality in the strict sense[50]. The Roman Catechism summarized it in a formula that became classic:
"Penance requires the sinner to endure all things willingly: in his heart, contrition; on his lips, confession; and in his actions, complete humility or fruitful satisfaction." — Catechism of the Council of Trent, II, 5, 21[51]
The form: "I absolve you from your sins"
The form of the sacrament is the formula of absolution pronounced by the priest. In the Latin Church, it expresses that the Father of mercies forgives through the Passover of the Son and the gift of the Spirit, "through the prayer and ministry of the Church"[52]:
"God, the Father of mercies, through the death and resurrection of his Son has reconciled the world to himself and poured out the Holy Spirit for the forgiveness of sins; through the ministry of the Church may God grant you pardon and peace. And I absolve you from your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." — Rite of Penance (Ordo Paenitentiae, n. 46)[53]
The essential heart of the form is the final phrase — "And I... absolve you from your sins" — corresponding to the traditional Latin "Ego te absolvo a peccatis tuis", in use in indicative form since the thirteenth century[54]. This word, spoken by a validly ordained and authorized priest, brings about forgiveness.
The three acts of the penitent
Let us now detail the matter of the sacrament, because this is where the faithful person has his active part. These three acts — contrition, confession, satisfaction — are "equally essential", under the action of the Holy Spirit[55].
Contrition: the broken heart
Contrition comes first. The Council of Trent defines it as "sorrow of the soul and detestation for the sin committed, together with the resolution not to sin again"[56]:
"Contrition is sorrow of the soul and detestation for the sin committed, together with the resolution not to sin again." — Council of Trent, session XIV, ch. 4 (DS 1676)[57]
The Church distinguishes two degrees of contrition, on which the effect depends[58][59]:
| Type of contrition | Motive | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Perfect (contrition of charity) | Love of God loved above all things | Already remits venial sins and obtains forgiveness of mortal sins if it includes the firm resolution to confess as soon as possible |
| Imperfect ("attrition") | The ugliness of sin or fear of damnation | Does not by itself obtain forgiveness of grave sins, but disposes one to obtain it in the sacrament |
A capital point often misunderstood: even imperfect contrition — born of the mere fear of hell — "is also a gift of God, a prompting of the Holy Spirit", and suffices for validly receiving absolution[60]. No prior perfection is required: the sacrament is precisely the place where grace completes what fear has begun.
Confession: saying one's sins "in number and kind"
The second act is the avowal properly so called. "Confession to a priest is an essential part of the sacrament"[61]. The rule, fixed by Trent, is that the penitent must confess all mortal sins of which he is aware after serious examination, "even if they are most secret"[62]:
"Penitents must, in confession, enumerate all mortal sins of which they are conscious after a diligent self-examination, even if they are very secret [...], for sometimes these sins wound the soul more grievously and are more dangerous than those committed openly." — Council of Trent, session XIV, ch. 5 (DS 1680)[63]
Theology specifies that mortal sins must be confessed according to their kind (the nature of the fault) and their number (how many times), as far as memory allows, because the priest-judge can judge rightly only what is known to him. Saint Jerome illustrated this with a famous medical comparison:
"If the sick person is too ashamed to show his wound to the doctor, the medicine cannot heal what it does not know." — Saint Jerome, Commentary on Ecclesiastes, 10, 11, cited by the Council of Trent[64]
The avowal presupposes preparation: the examination of conscience, made "in the light of the Word of God", especially the Decalogue and the moral teaching of the Gospel[65]. This avowal, "even from a simply human point of view, frees us": by looking his faults in the face, a person assumes responsibility for them and opens himself to a new future[66]. Saint Augustine made it an act that joins God himself:
"He who confesses his sins is already working with God. God accuses your sins; if you also accuse them, you are joined to God. [...] The beginning of good works is the confession of evil works." — Saint Augustine, Tractates on the Gospel of John, 12, 13[67]
Satisfaction: repairing and "doing penance"
The third act is satisfaction, that is, the "penance" imposed by the confessor at the end. Absolution removes the fault, "but it does not remedy all the disorders sin has caused"[68]. The penitent must therefore "recover his full spiritual health" by doing "something more": repairing harm done to one's neighbor (returning stolen goods, restoring a reputation) and performing the act of penance requested[69]. This penance — prayer, offering, works of mercy, voluntary privations, patient acceptance of the cross — should correspond to the gravity of the sins and seek the spiritual good of the penitent[70]. It configures us to Christ, "who alone expiated our sins"[71]: our satisfaction has value only grafted onto his.
The minister: why a priest?
A sensitive objection remains: why is a priest necessary? Could one not confess directly to God? The Catholic answer fits in one sentence: Christ himself willed it this way, by entrusting to men the "ministry of reconciliation"[72].
Bishops and priests, judges and physicians
Because Christ entrusted this ministry to the apostles (John 20:23; 2 Cor 5:18), "bishops, their successors, and priests, the bishops' collaborators, continue to exercise this ministry"[73]. It is by virtue of the sacrament of Holy Orders that they have "the power to forgive all sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit"[74]. They must also have received the faculty (authorization) to absolve, from their bishop or from the law of the Church[75]. In this ministry the priest fulfills several figures: the Good Shepherd seeking the lost sheep, the Good Samaritan binding up wounds, the Father awaiting the prodigal son, and the just Judge[76].
Reserved sins and excommunication
Certain very grave sins incur excommunication, the Church's severest ecclesiastical penalty; their absolution is "reserved" and can be granted only by the Pope, the local bishop, or authorized priests[77]. But the Church has provided a decisive exception of mercy: "In danger of death any priest, even if deprived of faculties for hearing confessions, can absolve from every sin and excommunication"[78]. Before death, no reservation holds: mercy takes precedence over everything.
The priest as "servant", not master, of forgiveness
Finally, the confessor "is not the master of God's forgiveness, but its servant"[79]. He must unite himself "to the intention and charity of Christ", respect the one who has fallen, love the truth, lead the penitent "with patience toward healing", and pray and do penance for him[80]. This is not a cold tribunal: it is "the sign and instrument of God's merciful love for the sinner"[81].
The absolute secret: the sacramental seal
One of the most admirable features of the sacrament is the sacramental seal (sigillum confessionis): the obligation, for the priest, to keep an absolute and exceptionless secret about everything he has heard in confession.
A secret "which admits of no exceptions"
The Catechism is categorical[82]:
"Every priest who hears confessions is bound under very severe penalties to keep absolute secrecy regarding the sins that his penitents have confessed to him. [...] This secret, which admits of no exceptions, is called the 'sacramental seal,' because what the penitent has made known to the priest remains 'sealed' by the sacrament." — Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1467[83]
Canon law confirms it in the strongest terms: "The sacramental seal is inviolable; therefore it is absolutely forbidden for a confessor to betray in any way a penitent in words or in any manner and for any reason" (CIC, can. 983 §1)[84]. A confessor who directly violates the seal incurs automatic excommunication (latae sententiae) reserved to the Apostolic See[85]. No civil authority, no trial, no threat can release the priest from this secret: he prefers prison, even death, to betraying a penitent.
Saint John Nepomucene, martyr of the seal (1393)
The history of the Church offers a shining witness in Saint John Nepomucene. Vicar general of the archbishop of Prague, he is said to have been the confessor of Queen Joanna of Bavaria, wife of King Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia[86]. The jealous king demanded that he reveal what the queen had confessed. When John refused to break the seal, Wenceslaus had him tortured and then thrown from Charles Bridge into the Vltava, where he drowned on 20 March 1393[87]. Canonized by Benedict XIII in 1729, he is venerated as the patron of the secrecy of confession[88]. His martyrdom recalls that the seal is not an ordinary rule of discretion, but an absolute for which priests have given their lives.
The effects: what confession produces in the soul
What really happens when a penitent receives absolution? The Catechism lists precise and powerful effects[89].
Reconciliation with God and "spiritual resurrection"
The first effect is reconciliation with God, by which the penitent "recovers grace"[90]. For the one who was in a state of mortal sin, this is a true "spiritual resurrection", a "restoration of the dignity and blessings of the life of the children of God, of which the most precious is friendship with God"[91]. Trent adds that this sacrament is followed by "peace and serenity of conscience with strong spiritual consolation"[92].
Reconciliation with the Church and the communion of saints
Sin does not wound only the relationship with God: it "bruises or breaks fraternal communion"[93]. Confession also repairs this bond: it reconciles the sinner with the Church and has "a revitalizing effect on the life of the Church" as a whole[94]. Restored within the communion of saints, the sinner is strengthened by "the exchange of spiritual goods among all the living members of the Body of Christ"[95]. This is also where the doctrine of indulgences takes root, touching the temporal punishments that remain after the guilt has been forgiven[96].
Peace, joy, and anticipation of judgment
The Catechism gives a complete list of the spiritual effects: reconciliation with God and with the Church, "remission of the eternal punishment incurred by mortal sins", at least partial remission of temporal punishments, "peace and serenity of conscience", and "an increase of spiritual strength for the Christian battle"[97]. Finally, in this sacrament the sinner "anticipates in a certain way the judgment to which he will be subjected at the end of his earthly life"[98]: by willingly placing himself now under God's merciful judgment, he passes "from death to life" (Jn 5:24).
The forms of celebration
Individual confession, the ordinary mode
"Individual and integral confession followed by absolution remains the only ordinary way for the faithful to reconcile themselves with God and the Church", except when physical or moral impossibility excuses from it[99]. The reason is profound: Christ acts personally, addressing himself "to every sinner" as the physician bends over each sick person[100]. The celebration ordinarily includes: the priest's welcome, an optional reading of the Word of God, the avowal of sins, the imposition of penance, absolution, and thanksgiving[101].
Communal celebrations and general absolution
The sacrament can also be celebrated in a communal setting, where people prepare together, but where "personal confession of sins and individual absolution" remain in place[102]. General absolution without individual avowal is permitted only in cases of grave necessity — imminent danger of death, or an influx of penitents such that no confessors can hear them within a reasonable time[103]. Even then, the faithful must intend to confess their grave sins individually in due time, and "a large gathering of the faithful on the occasion of major feasts or pilgrimages does not constitute such a case of grave necessity"[104].
Confession, mortal sin, and venial sin
Obligation: at least once a year
According to the commandment of the Church, "after having attained the age of discretion, each of the faithful is bound by an obligation faithfully to confess serious sins at least once a year"[105]. More than this, someone conscious of mortal sin "must not receive Holy Communion, even if he experiences deep contrition, without having first received sacramental absolution"[106]. Confession is therefore, for grave sin, the normal door toward the Eucharist.
Devotional confession, strongly recommended
The confession of venial sins is not strictly necessary, "but it is nevertheless strongly recommended by the Church"[107]. This "regular confession of our venial sins" helps form the conscience, fight evil tendencies, let ourselves be healed by Christ, and progress in the life of the Spirit[108]. This is the whole meaning of frequent confession as practiced by the saints. For the spiritual fruits of this practice, see How to grow in regular confession.
| Venial sin | Mortal sin | |
|---|---|---|
| Effect on grace | Wounds charity without destroying it | Destroys charity, deprives the soul of sanctifying grace |
| Confession | Recommended, not strictly obligatory | Obligatory before Communion; at least once a year |
| Possible forgiveness | Through contrition, the Eucharist, sacramentals | Ordinarily through sacramental absolution |
Frequent objections
"I confess directly to God"
This is the most common objection. Answer: a Catholic can and must speak directly to God, and perfect contrition (from love) already obtains forgiveness of mortal sins — but on the condition that it include the resolution to have recourse to sacramental confession as soon as possible[109]. God is not bound by his sacraments, but we are: Christ instituted a certain, audible, objective means precisely so that we would not have to doubt our forgiveness. Absolution gives what the internal forum alone never gives — the certainty of forgiveness heard aloud.
"Confession to a priest is a medieval invention"
History answers: the discipline evolved, but the sacrament goes back to Christ (Jn 20:22-23) and was practiced from the apostolic age (Jas 5:16)[110]. Public penance in the early centuries and later Irish private confession are two forms of the same power received from Christ[111]. Lateran IV (1215) did not invent confession: it made obligatory a practice already universal[112].
"Why tell my sins to a sinful man?"
Precisely because Christ willed it to be incarnate. The priest does not absolve by his own holiness: "the confessor is not the master of God's forgiveness, but its servant"[113]. His own weakness, far from being an obstacle, makes him compassionate. And the sacrament answers a deep human need: avowal aloud "frees us and facilitates our reconciliation", whereas interior remorse often turns in circles[114]. For a systematic refutation of Protestant objections about the sacraments, see Answers to Protestantism.
The great saints of the confessional
No doctrine is complete without faces that embody it. The history of the Church has given heroic confessors, whose lives show what this sacrament can produce.
| Saint | Dates | In the confessional |
|---|---|---|
| Jean-Marie Vianney, Curé of Ars | 1786-1859 | Up to 16 hours a day; patron of parish priests and confessors |
| Padre Pio of Pietrelcina | 1887-1968 | Up to 12-15 hours a day; tens of thousands of confessions each year |
| Alphonsus Liguori | 1696-1787 | Doctor of the Church, patron of confessors and moral theologians |
| Leopold Mandić | 1866-1942 | Tireless confessor of Padua, apostle of gentleness |
Saint Jean-Marie Vianney, the Curé of Ars
Pastor of the small village of Ars from 1818 onward, Saint Jean-Marie Vianney (1786-1859) became so renowned as a confessor that crowds came from all over France. At the end of his life, he spent "up to sixteen hours a day" in the confessional, hearing tens of thousands of penitents each year[115]. Pius XI canonized him in 1925 and proclaimed him patron of all parish priests; he is also patron of confessors[116]. His life demonstrates that the confessional can become the center of a spiritual renewal for an entire nation. See Saint Jean-Marie Vianney, the Curé of Ars.
Saint Padre Pio and Saint Leopold Mandić
In the twentieth century, Saint Padre Pio (1887-1968) devoted the essential part of his ministry to the confessional, sometimes spending twelve to fifteen hours a day there and hearing a considerable number of confessions each year[117]. His contemporary Saint Leopold Mandić (1866-1942), in Padua, likewise made confession the center of his whole life. Both show that a priest's holiness is often measured by his patience in the confessional.
Saint Alphonsus Liguori, patron of confessors
Bishop, founder of the Redemptorists, and Doctor of the Church, Saint Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787) shaped modern confessional practice through his Moral Theology, which went through some sixty editions and guided generations of confessors along a path of balance between rigorism and laxism[118]. Pius XII proclaimed him in 1950 patron of confessors and moral theologians[119]. See Saint Alphonsus Liguori.
Confession, summit of mercy
In the end, confession appears for what it is: not a humiliating tribunal, but the visible summit of God's mercy. In it, Christ repeats to each person: "Child, your sins are forgiven" (Mk 2:5)[120]. The parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15) is its icon: the father who runs, the embrace, the finest robe, the ring, and the banquet are the "symbols of that new life — pure, worthy, and joyful — of anyone who returns to God"[121]. For one learning to live in the Divine Will, regular confession becomes the ordinary means of keeping the soul clear and available to God's action — "the water of Baptism and the tears of Penance", in Saint Ambrose's phrase[122].
Further reading
- To understand the biblical basis of the sacrament: Does the Bible teach confession? and Is confession biblical?.
- For the practice: How to make a good confession?, How to grow in regular confession and Common mistakes about regular confession.
- For the voice of the saints: What do the saints say about regular confession?.
- To situate the sacrament among the others: Baptism, the Eucharist, the Anointing of the Sick, Matter and form of the sacraments and Indulgences.
- The heart of the matter: confession is the sacrament instituted by Christ (John 20:22-23) by which the priest, in his name, forgives sins committed after Baptism. The penitent brings three acts — contrition, confession, satisfaction — and receives reconciliation with God and the Church, peace of conscience, and strength for the spiritual combat. According to the Fathers, it is "the second plank of salvation after shipwreck".
Notes and References
Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1422, citing Lumen Gentium 11: "Those who approach the sacrament of Penance obtain pardon from God's mercy for the offense committed against him, and are, at the same time, reconciled with the Church..."
1Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1486: "The forgiveness of sins committed after Baptism is conferred by a particular sacrament called the sacrament of conversion, confession, penance, or reconciliation."
2Catechism of the Catholic Church, nn. 1420-1421: Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist are the sacraments of initiation; Penance and the Anointing of the Sick are the "sacraments of healing". Reference text: Mame/Plon, 1992; typical Latin edition 1997.
3Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1423: names of "sacrament of conversion" and "sacrament of Penance".
4 9Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1424: names of "sacrament of confession", "sacrament of forgiveness", and "sacrament of Reconciliation" (cf. 2 Cor 5:20).
5 10Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1446, citing Tertullian, De Paenitentia 4, 2, and the Council of Trent (DS 1542): Penance as "the second plank [of salvation] after the shipwreck which is the loss of grace".
6 11Gospel according to Saint John 20:19-23, official liturgical French translation (AELF). Source: https://www.aelf.org/bible/Jn/20.
7 19Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1484, citing the Ordo Paenitentiae 31 and Mk 2:5.17: "Individual and integral confession followed by absolution remains the only ordinary means..."
8 99 100 120Council of Trent, session VI (1547), De iustificatione, ch. 14 (DS 1542): Penance called by the Fathers "the second plank after the shipwreck of lost grace", after Tertullian, De Paenitentia 4, 2.
12Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1426: the new life of initiation has not abolished concupiscence; the combat of conversion toward holiness (cf. DS 1515).
13 14 16First Letter of Saint John 1:8-9, liturgical translation (AELF): "If we say that we do not have sin..." and "If we acknowledge our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive." Source: https://www.aelf.org/bible/1Jn/1.
15Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1425, citing 1 Cor 6:11 and Lk 11:4.
17Council of Trent, session XIV, canon 1 (DS 1701): "If anyone says that in the Catholic Church Penance is not truly and properly a sacrament instituted by Christ our Lord... let him be anathema." Latin text: Si quis dixerit, in catholica Ecclesia Paenitentiam non esse vere et proprie sacramentum...
18 43 47Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1485: "On the evening of Easter, the Lord Jesus showed himself to his Apostles and said to them: 'Receive the Holy Spirit...'" (Jn 20:19.22-23).
20 110Council of Trent, session XIV, canon 9 (DS 1709): the priest's sacramental absolution is a judicial act, not merely a declaration that sins are forgiven.
21 45Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1441, citing Mk 2:5.7.10 and Jn 20:21-23: "God alone forgives sins"; Christ gives this power to men so that they may exercise it in his name.
22 29Gospel according to Saint Matthew 16:18-19, liturgical translation (AELF): the power of the keys given to Peter. Source: https://www.aelf.org/bible/Mt/16.
23Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1444, citing Mt 16:19; 18:18; Lumen Gentium 22.
24Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1445: meaning of "binding" and "loosing"; reconciliation with the Church is inseparable from reconciliation with God.
25Letter of Saint James 5:14-16, liturgical translation (AELF): "Confess your sins to one another... that you may be healed." Source: https://www.aelf.org/bible/Jc/5.
26Second Letter to the Corinthians 5:18-20, liturgical translation (AELF): the ministry of reconciliation; "Be reconciled to God." Source: https://www.aelf.org/bible/2Co/5.
27Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1442, citing 2 Cor 5:18-20: the apostolic ministry of reconciliation.
28Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1449, citing the Ordo Paenitentiae 46.55 (Vatican 1974): the formula of absolution in the Latin Church.
30 52 53Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1447: historical evolution of discipline — public penance in the first centuries, "order of penitents", private and repeatable practice brought by Irish missionaries in the seventh century.
31 32 33 34 35 37 111Edward Hanna, "The Sacrament of Penance", The Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 11, Robert Appleton Company, 1911, New Advent: form of absolution according to Trent (session XIV, ch. 3); matter/quasi-matter (contrition, confession, satisfaction); development of public and then private penance; Irish penitentials (Saint Columbanus, d. 615). Source: https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11618c.htm.
36 50Fourth Lateran Council (1215), canon 21 "Omnis utriusque sexus": obligation of annual confession of sins to one's own priest, penance and Easter Communion, under penalty of exclusion from the church during life and deprivation of Christian burial at death; duty of the priest to act as a prudent physician and keep absolute secrecy under penalty of deposition and confinement. English text: Medieval Sourcebook, Fordham University (https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/basis/lateran4.asp); cf. Denzinger DS 812-814.
38 39 40"Fourth Lateran Council (1215)", The Catholic Encyclopedia, New Advent: canon 21 "Omnis utriusque sexus" confirms earlier legislation and custom and has been "often, but erroneously, quoted as first enjoining the use of sacramental confession." Source: https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09018a.htm.
41 112Council of Trent, fourteenth session, 14 November 1551: Doctrina de sacramento paenitentiae (DS 1667-1693) and canons (DS 1701-1715). See Denzinger-Hünermann; English text on Papal Encyclicals Online (https://www.papalencyclicals.net/council-of-trent/fourteenth-session.htm).
42Council of Trent, session XIV, canon 6 (DS 1706): anathema against anyone who denies that sacramental confession was instituted or is necessary for salvation by divine law.
44Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1448: fundamental structure of the sacrament — acts of the penitent (contrition, confession, satisfaction) and action of God through the Church.
46 48 55Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1450, citing the Roman Catechism (Catech. R.) II, 5, 21 and the Council of Trent (DS 1673): "in his heart contrition; on his lips confession; in his actions... satisfaction".
49 51Formula of absolution: the essential heart is the Latin indicative "Ego te absolvo a peccatis tuis, in nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti" ("I absolve you from your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit"), a form taken up by the Roman Ritual of 1614 and used in indicative form since the thirteenth century. Cf. Ordo Paenitentiae (1973), nn. 46.55.
54Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1451, citing the Council of Trent (DS 1676): definition of contrition.
56 57Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1452, citing the Council of Trent (DS 1677): "perfect" contrition (of charity) obtains forgiveness of mortal sins if it includes the resolution to confess as soon as possible.
58 109Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1453, citing the Council of Trent (DS 1678; 1705): "imperfect" contrition (attrition) disposes one to receive forgiveness in the sacrament.
59 60Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1456, citing the Council of Trent (DS 1680) and Saint Jerome (In Ecclesiasten 10, 11; PL 23, 1096): obligation to confess all mortal sins; "if the sick person is too ashamed to show his wound to the doctor, the medicine cannot heal what it does not know".
61 62 63 64Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1454: examination of conscience in the light of the Word of God (Decalogue, Sermon on the Mount, apostolic teachings).
65Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1455: confession (avowal) frees the person and facilitates reconciliation.
66 114Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1458, citing the Council of Trent (DS 1680), CIC can. 988 §2 and Saint Augustine (In Iohannis evangelium 12, 13): confession of venial sins is strongly recommended; "He who confesses his sins is already working with God".
67 107 108Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1459, citing the Council of Trent (DS 1712): absolution removes sin but does not remedy all its disorders; necessity of satisfaction.
68 69Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1460, citing the Council of Trent (DS 1690-1691) and Rom 8:17: imposed penance, configured to Christ who alone expiated our sins.
70 71Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1461, citing Jn 20:23; 2 Cor 5:18: bishops and priests, ministers of the sacrament by virtue of Holy Orders.
72 73 74Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1462, citing Lumen Gentium 26 and CIC can. 844, 967-969, 972: the faculty (jurisdiction) to absolve.
75Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1465: the priest as image of the Good Shepherd, the Good Samaritan, the Father of the prodigal son, and the just Judge.
76 81Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1463, citing CIC can. 1331, 1354-1357, 976: reserved sins, excommunication, and absolution from every sin by any priest in danger of death.
77 78Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1466, citing Presbyterorum Ordinis 13: "The confessor is not the master of God's forgiveness, but its servant."
79 80 113Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1467, citing CIC can. 1388 §1 (now can. 1386 §1 in the 2021 revision of Book VI) and CCEO can. 1456: the absolute secrecy of the sacramental seal.
82 83Code of Canon Law (1983), can. 983 §1: "The sacramental seal is inviolable; therefore it is absolutely forbidden for a confessor to betray in any way a penitent in words or in any manner and for any reason." Source: Vatican.va.
84Code of Canon Law (1983), can. 1386 §1 (former can. 1388 §1, Book VI revision promulgated in 2021): a confessor who directly violates the sacramental seal incurs latae sententiae excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See. Source: Vatican.va.
85"St. John Nepomucene", The Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 8, New Advent: vicar general of Prague, confessor of the queen, martyred for refusing to reveal a confession to King Wenceslaus IV; canonized in 1729; patron of the secrecy of confession. Source: https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08467a.htm.
86 88"20 March: Saint John Nepomucene, martyr", Saint of the Day, Vaticanstate.va: the saint thrown from Charles Bridge into the Vltava and drowned on 20 March 1393 for refusing to betray the seal of confession; canonized by Benedict XIII in 1729. Source: https://www.vaticanstate.va/en/state-and-government/general-informations/saint-of-the-day.html.
87Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1496: enumeration of the spiritual effects of the sacrament of Penance.
89 97Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1468, citing the Roman Catechism II, 5, 18 and the Council of Trent (DS 1674): reconciliation with God, "spiritual resurrection", peace and consolation of conscience.
90 91 92Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1469, citing 1 Cor 12:26; Lumen Gentium 48-50; Reconciliatio et Paenitentia 31: reconciliation with the Church and the communion of saints.
93 94 95Catechism of the Catholic Church, nn. 1471-1479: doctrine and practice of indulgences, linked to the effects of the sacrament of Penance (Paul VI, apostolic constitution Indulgentiarum doctrina).
96Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1470, citing Jn 5:24: the sacrament anticipates the judgment at the end of life.
98Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1480: ordinary elements of the celebration of the sacrament.
101Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1482, citing Sacrosanctum Concilium 26-27: communal celebration with individual confession and absolution.
102Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1483, citing CIC can. 961-962: conditions for general absolution in grave necessity.
103 104Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1457, citing the Council of Trent (DS 1683; 1708) and CIC can. 989, 916: obligation of annual confession of grave sins; necessity of absolution before Communion in a state of mortal sin.
105 106"Saint Jean-Marie Vianney, Curé of Ars, patron of parish priests", Vaticannews.va: pastor of Ars from 1818, up to sixteen hours a day in the confessional, thousands of penitents coming from all over France; canonized in 1925 by Pius XI, patron of parish priests and confessors. Source: https://www.vaticannews.va/en/saints/08/04/st--john--m--vianney-the-cur-of-ars--patron-of--parish-priests.html.
115 116"Padre Pio the Confessor", EWTN: Saint Pio of Pietrelcina (1887-1968) devoting the essential part of his ministry to the confessional, up to twelve to fifteen hours a day, hearing a very great number of confessions each year. Source: https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/padre-pio-the-confessor-13831.
117"Saint Alphonsus Mary de Liguori, bishop and Doctor of the Church", Vaticanstate.va and Britannica: founder of the Redemptorists (1696-1787), author of a Moral Theology (some sixty editions), canonized in 1839 by Gregory XVI, declared Doctor of the Church in 1871 by Pius IX, proclaimed patron of confessors and moralists in 1950 by Pius XII. Sources: https://www.vaticanstate.va/en/state-and-government/general-informations/saint-of-the-day.html; https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Alfonso-Maria-de-Liguori.
118 119Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1439: the parable of the prodigal son (Lk 15:11-24) as a description of the movement of conversion and penance.
121Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1429, citing Saint Ambrose, Epistula 41, 12 (PL 16, 1116B): "there are water and tears: the water of Baptism and the tears of Penance".
122