The VIRTUE OF PENANCE vs the SACRAMENT OF PENANCE.

1. The virtue of Penance vs the sacrament of Penance.
    These two are parts of the same thing but there had been much confusion with regard to these two that we shall separate them for the purpose of explaining each better.
     The confusion was noticed during the 2012 Bishop’s Synod. That time Pope Benedict had ordered the Secretary of the Synod, Bishop Eterovic that the Synod should tackle the ‘new evangelization,’ initiated by Pope John Paul II. And to particularly discuss the ‘life of repentance,’ the first step of evangelization.
     In issuing the ‘Instrumentum Laboris’ the Secretary clearly stated that all bishops should know very well the topic since they all often go to confession. He omitted the topic and programmed other topics instead. The Synod discussed the ‘new evangelization’ but gave, only,  a token attention to the ‘life of repentance.’ The token gesture wherein they discussed the ‘life of repentance’ was so confused and unclear; that if this is what was meant ‘they know very well the topic since they all often go to confession’ then, they were all making very bad confessions. This was noticed by both Pope Benedict and the International theological commission (which by this time had been raised into a Pontifical Commission.)

     Since 2012, the concept of ‘life of repentance’ began to disappear as Bishop’s Synod were held. By the year 2015, the Bishop’s Synod were no longer mentioning ‘life of repentance’ or how to avoid sin or how to have past sins forgiven. Instead they were discussing how to sin freely; the exact opposite! 

2. Definition of terms.
    The virtue of Penance is a spiritual power that improves the soul of a person. The Sacrament of Penance  are human signs that essentially have no beneficial effect on the soul unless it goes hand in hand with the virtue of Penance. Another way of saying it is; the virtue of Penance is the ‘matter’ of Penance, while the Sacrament is the ‘form’ of the Sacrament. In Baptism, water is the ‘matter,’ while the words applied on the water (‘I baptize you….’) is the form that makes the water effective in forgiving original sin.
     If there is water (the matter) in Baptism but there are no words (the form) said…..there will be no forgiveness of original sin. In the same way, if there is no ‘matter’ (the virtue of Penance) even though there is a form (the absolution), there will be no forgiveness of past sins. Let us focus our attention on these two items; the ‘matter’ and the ‘form’ and explain what they are. 

3. The ‘matter’ – the virtue of Penance.
     The ‘matter’ is the answer to the question, ‘what is taken away,’ or what is forgiven? The answer is; past sins are forgiven. To have those past sins forgiven a person must perform the following mature, human acts. First, he must know his sins; all his mortal sins and partially his venial sins. This is commonly called examination of conscience.  Secondly, he must be sorry for his sins; this is called contrition. Thirdly, he must promise to avoid these sins in the future; this is called purpose of amendment. And fourthly, he must make reparations for the sins he had committed; this is called reparation  or restitution. Now, let us go for a moment to the ‘form.’

4. The ‘form’ is the Sacrament of Penance. 
     The ‘form’ is the answer to the question; ‘how will the priest apply the redeeming action of Christ to remove the past sins of the penitent. Well, he will absolve the penitent by the power of the keys given by Christ to Peter and passed on by Peter to the Bishops down to the priest-confessor. The ‘form’ is the penitent going to confess his sins to a validly ordained priests-confessor, the confessor absolving the penitent by the power invested on him by the Bishop called the power of the keys.

5. Often, the two go together but they should really be separated. If we read our catechism, the matter and the form are put together but they should really be separated because the matter is exclusively the part of the penitent while the form is exclusively the part of the confessor. Putting them together can cause some confusion as what is happening today with Pope Francis and the missionaries of mercy. 

6. ‘The matter.’
     The following makes up the ‘matter’ of penance; it is also what we call the virtue of Penance. It consists in the penitent knowing all his mortal sins, the penitent being sorry for all his sins, the penitent promising never to commit those sins again and the penitent making reparation for those sins. These are four steps which are impossible for most people to do. Why impossible?
     To know one’s mortal sin, one must know the list of mortal sins as found in Divine Revelation. Since most evangelizers had not obeyed Christ’s command ‘to teach all My commands and how to do them” most people do not know what are the commands of Christ, disobedience to which is what we call sin. If it is impossible to know the list of mortal sins, it will be difficult to know what are one’s sin. If it is difficult to know one’s sin, it will be difficult to be sorry for one’s sin…..etc…..etc. So for most people it is nearly impossible for them to have the ‘matter,’ the virtue of Penance without which the absolution of the priest-confessor becomes completely useless. 

7. The ‘form.’
     The ‘form’ which is the absolution of the priest perfects and completes the ‘matter,’ i.e. the ‘form’ is meant to work on the ‘matter.’  Just as the ‘form’ of baptism (the baptismal formula) works on the water by enabling the ‘matter’ to be able to remove original sin, which ordinarily water cannot do, the ‘form’ of Penance (the words of the absolution) enables the priest to remove the ‘matter’ (the sins) from the penitent; assuming that the penitent has the ‘matter.’

8. ‘Matter’ without ‘form.
     In the Sacrament of Penance, the important thing is the virtue of Penance. The virtue is what removes the sin; the sacrament is just a ministerial gesture from a priest, but it is God who really forgives the sins. And St. Augustine greatly emphasized this fact; that there is a danger for priest to give absolution when God had not first forgiven the sins. The priest should first know if God had forgiven before he announces as a minister that the penitent’s sins are forgiven. 
     Since it is really God who forgives, the ‘matter is of the utmost importance. It is good to receive the ‘form’ i.e. the absolution of the priests to perfect the ‘matter’ but the absolution is not absolutely necessary, again, because it is really God who forgives. If God had forgiven because the ‘matter’ is present then the past sins are forgiven even without the priest absolution. This is clear in the writings of St. Thomas of Aquinas.
     Proof of the above is the fact that all the heroes of the Old Testament, like King David, had their sins forgiven at a time the Sacrament of Penance had not yet been instituted. Even the Apostles, the sinful woman and Dimas did not receive any absolution and yet all their past sins were forgiven. 
     The theology of Monasticism is based on that fact that monastic life is a life developing the virtue of Penance, i.e. perfecting the four steps mentioned above. Monks seldom went to sacramental confession for obvious reasons. They usually had no priest and they were living in far away places inaccessible to priest. Sacramental confession once a year was the common rule. The principle is clear; concentration must be in the ‘matter’ because God can easily provide the ‘form’ without the need of a confessor. 
     Frankly, how many people die with the comforts of the Sacrament of Penance or Extreme Unction? Those who die of heart attack, children who are aborted, patients who are euthanized, soldiers in battle, vehicular and air plane accidents. In my monastery where there are many priest, all the monks who passed away died without the Sacrament of Penance. God knows that. So He made it so that the most important lesson in Lent is to learn the elements that make up the ‘matter,’ those four steps mentioned above. The priest-confessor and his absolution?  Well, if you are lucky enough to have one, fine, If not, do not worry. Just concentrate on the virtue of Penance and you have nothing to worry. 
     Pope Francis granted the missionaries of mercy super-power to forgive sins…….if you do not have the virtue of Penance, all those powers are useless. Even the priest-confessor is useless. Even the Jubilee Year is useless. 
     So Pope John Paul II and Benedict XVI exhorted the Catholic world that during this era of the ‘New Evangelization’ we should all concentrate on…….what??? Benedict wrote quoting St. Bonaventure, ‘in living the ‘new monasticism.’ What? We should all become monks. No!!! But to do what the first monks did; develop the virtue of Penance by first, mastering what are the sins which God considered as ‘mortal’. Secondly, be sorry for having committed those sins because those sins will surely send you to hell. Thirdly, pray that God gives you the grace never to do them again. And fourthly, make reparation; first to the person you have hurt and secondly, to God to whom you have, also, sinned. For almost every sin is a sin against God and against you neighbor. 
     Concentrate on the virtue of Penance and don’t worry about those missionaries of mercy. When you die they won’t probably be around.