Devotion of St Augustine to the Sacrament of Penance - Essay Example

Devotion of St Augustine to the Sacrament of Penance Order No. 258602 No. of pages: 6 Premium 6530 Thesis ment – “Nothing is impossible with God”! is not just a mere saying but one which holds a lot of meaning, which is especially portrayed in the life of Saint Augustine, whose pagan and hedonistic outlook on life was transformed to make him one of the greatest saints in the Christian religion. Short Outline - Saint Augustine was born on 3rd August, 354 AD, in present Algeria, North Africa and was the eldest son of Saint Monica. At the age of 11, Augustine went to school at Madaurus, which was famous for its pagan beliefs and policies. While his mother Monica was a devout Catholic, his father Patricius was a pagan. At a very impressionable age Augustine was quite impressed and influenced by Cicero’s dialogue “Hortensius” and therefore left to Carthage for further studies in rhetoric. He was very unfortunate as he gave up his Christian faith and practiced the Manichaean faith which really broke his mother’s heart when she heard about it. Augustine lived a hedonistic lifestyle in his youth and hence developed a close relationship with a young woman who remained his concubine for fifteen years and got a son by her named Adeodatus. By the age of thirty, Augustine had carved an enviable niche for himself in the Latin world. “Confessions” written by Saint Augustine, gives us a vivid account of the pagan life he had led as well as his spiritual transformation as a devout Christian. The word “Confessions”, take on two meanings – one is to confess ones sins before God and the other is to acknowledge the truth about God. Therefore “Confessions”, can be taken as praise and glory to God Our Father. (Warner, Rex 1963) Augustine is considered as one of the most steadfast and important figures in Christianity and is considered as a great saint and a patron of the St. Augustine religious order. In Book One, Augustine tells us of how he hated going to school and used to get beaten by his elders. He also claimed dishonest victories and pilfered things from his parents and traded them with other children. He was also gluttonous and had other disgusting habits. Finally, when realization comes to him he cries out to the lord in despair saying, “Oh, God! Woe to the sins of men! When a man cries thus, thou showest him mercy, for thou dids’t create the man and not the sin in him”. In his ‘Confessions’, St. Augustine tells us of how he lived a dangerous and precarious life and it was only because of Ambrose that he was brought back to the Christian faith. Referring to the topic of confession, it says that there are two remedies to get rid of our unhappiness. The first one is ‘The Sacrament of Penance’ and the second one is the ‘Sanctification of the moment, or the ‘now’. This rule laid down for us by our Lord Jesus Christ says, “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” (Mt. 6:34) (Excerpt from the Angel’s blackboard) Archbishop Sheen calls the Sacrament of Penance “a tribunal of mercy” on the road to healing of the spiritual self. The heart burdened with guilt needs to unburden itself “Or else my heart, concealing it, will break.” A person entering the confessional is ashamed of his deeds and the confessor who listens to him is a stand in for God. Many people argue that confession is akin to psychoanalysis but Archbishop Sheen brings the clause of divine law to examine the difference. A session on the couch is regulated by the individual outlook of the psychiatrist but the one who hears a confession is subject to divine law and “the moral standards of Christ”. A penitent examines his transgressions and acknowledges his guilt, much like the prodigal son. A confession is kept a secret zealously upon condition that under no circumstances it may be revealed. This is in accordance with the God’s law that the sins be revealed only on the Day of Judgment. A confession humbles a person since the admission of guilt happens in a position of humility, on the bent knees of the penitent. Archbishop Sheen compares man in this state to “wiggling worms” who hope to be elevated when the Lord re affirms his “glorious friendship”. The penitent’s desire to confess his sins, is guided by the Holy Spirit who guides him back to God, his Father, for “the initiative in this sacrament”, issues from God. The Sacrament of Penance can be fulfilled only when a penitent approaches a confessor. This calls for an abandonment of pride, since what the penitent is about to confess “makes you blush” and the confessor must be a man of high ideals for the reason that what he hears “be never revealed to men.” The Sacrament of Penance In spite of Baptism, the spiritual wrong doings throughout life constitute our sins, which are mortal if they shatter a person’s inner divinity, or else venial, if it only injures this divinity. A serious sin causes estrangement from one’s own self, from one’s fellow beings and most significantly from God, but it also contains the promise of restoration of our merits, which had been destroyed by sins. The Sacrament of Penance is an institution set up by Christ for all who feel contrition where the role of the person hearing the confession is doubly hard. It has been argued as to why a simple acknowledgement of ones sin to ones own self does not suffice. The reason for this is that sin is born of pride, and humiliation and confessing these sins in front of others is the greatest punishment for this sin. Confession to a Priest: This is a very important aspect of this Sacrament and much debated, since people sometimes question the moral fiber of the priest. But what makes the priest precise for this job is because his powers have been vested in him by Christ through the Church. He is the agent of God bound by the “seal of confession”, who under threat of death is also not given the option of revealing the confession. A very significant reason for it is that our sins are not individual. We are all a part of the Mystical Body of Christ and any sin against Him is a sin against “God and the Church” which can be expiated only through an instrument of the Church. The priest reinstates the sinner into the company of the Eternal Father whose authority the sinner had violated by going against the “Church Militant on earth and the Church Triumphant in Heaven”. Cardinal Newman, in his poem, "Absolution," says to the fallen: "Look not to me — no grace is mine; but I can lift the Mercy-sign.” The Examination of Conscience: The looking within one’s own soul in light of God’s exhortations makes a sinner judge himself and brings him to the realization that "God, be merciful to me, a sinner." Here the focus is not on ones own sins as much as it is on the infinite mercy of God. The penitent is sad because he has rejected the love of God. Therefore in examining ones conscience, we recall to mind any sinful act on our part and prepare or make up our minds to confess these sins to the priest in exchange for God’s mercy and love. The Act of Contrition The word contrition comes from the Latin word which means to ‘pulverize or grind’ and here it refers to the bruised heart of a penitent and forgiveness is established only when the penitent feels sorry for his actions along with a resolve “to do penance, and amend my life.” The contrition maybe perfect or imperfect wherein the former arises from the fear that one has hurt a loved one and the latter is a result of a fright of punishment. The confession is followed by "doing my penance" or "saying my penance" when the priest asks the sinner to give alms , fast, say the rosary, or a way of the Cross and this heals the wounded soul. The Sacrament of Penance is a doctrine which consoles the sinner and shows him the mercy of Christ. When the penitent with great difficulty makes his way to the Cross and admits his wrongs, he realizes how much more difficult it is to hang on the Cross. This makes his penance worthy. In the Catechism of the Catholic Church, it tells us of God’s creation and how God comes to meet man and all about the sacred scriptures. In section 2, it speaks of our creator, of Heaven and Earth and of man’s fall into sin. It also speaks of how God became man through the power of the Holy Spirit and was born of the Virgin Mary. In Article 10 in the “I believe in the forgiveness of sins”, it tells us that though Baptism cleanses us of our sins, yet it does not control man’s sinning again. As it is written, “Yet the grace of Baptism delivers no one from all the weakness of nature. On the contrary, we must still combat the movements of concupiscence that never cease leading us into evil.” (521) Therefore since man is human, he continues to fall into sin time and again and seeks God’s forgiveness through the sacrament of Penance. In speaking on the sacrament of Penance it states that "If the Church has the power to forgive sins, then Baptism cannot be her only means of using the keys of the Kingdom of heaven received from Jesus Christ. The Church must be able to forgive all penitents their offenses, even if they should sin until the last moment of their lives.” In asking for God’s forgiveness, man obtains salvation and is once again reconciled with God and with the Church. The holy Fathers have duly called Penance “a laborious kind of Baptism” saying that “This sacrament of Penance is necessary for salvation for those who have fallen after Baptism, just as Baptism is necessary for salvation for those who have not yet been reborn.” (523) Therefore to any good Christian, the Sacrament of Penance is one of the most vital sacraments to their lives. References Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Foundation. www.archbishopsheencause.org/meditations_june_week2.html Catechism of the Catholic Church www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM CCEL URls www.ccel.org/ThML/ccel-URI.htm These Are the Sacraments http://www.ewtn.com/library/DOCTRINE/SACRAMEN.TXT The Holy Spirit in the Sacraments http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/religion/re0458.html Warner, Rex – (1963). The Confessions of St. Augustine. New York: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-451-62474-2.  Read More