De Confessione
The Comfort of Absolution
Confession is retained in our churches not as a burden, but to offer terrified consciences the comforting assurance of divine absolution through faith in Christ.
Confession in the churches among us has not been abolished. For the body of the Lord is not usually offered unless those receiving it have first been examined and absolved. And the people are taught most diligently about the faith of absolution, concerning which there was great silence before these times. People are taught to value absolution highly, because it is the voice of God and is proclaimed by God's command. The power of the keys is adorned and recalled, how much consolation it brings to terrified consciences, and that God requires faith, so that we may believe that absolution as if it were his own voice sounding from heaven, and that this faith in Christ truly follows and receives the remission of sins. Before this, satisfactions were immoderately extolled; but of faith and of the merit of Christ, and of the justice of faith, no mention was made. Wherefore in this respect our churches are least to be blamed. For this even our adversaries are compelled to attribute to us, that the doctrine of penitence has been most diligently treated and revealed by our people.
Freedom from Endless Enumeration
Consciences are not bound to enumerate every sin, since Scripture and the ancient fathers teach us to confess directly to God who alone knows the hidden heart.
But concerning Confession, they teach that listing sins one by one isn't necessary, nor should consciences be burdened with the task of reciting every sin, because it's impossible to recite all sins — as the Psalm testifies, 'Who can discern their faults?'✦ Likewise Jeremiah: 'The human heart is depraved and inscrutable.'✦ Because if no sins were forgiven unless they were recited, a conscience could never find rest — since most sins can neither be seen nor remembered. The ancient writers also testify that listing sins one by one isn't necessary. For the Decrees cite Chrysostom, who says: 'I don't tell you to betray yourself in public, nor to accuse yourself before others — but I want you to obey the prophet when he says, "Make your way known before God."'✦ Therefore confess your sins before God, the true Judge, with prayer. Proclaim your sins not with your tongue, but in the memory of your conscience, etc. And the Gloss on Penitence, Distinction […].
Retained for Our Benefit
Although confession is a human institution, it is retained among us because of the immense comfort of absolution and its benefit to our consciences.
4. chapter Let this be considered: human law acknowledges that confession belongs to it. But confession is retained among us both because of the greatest benefit of absolution and because of other uses for our consciences.
Read the original Latin
Confessio in Ecclesiis apud nos non est abolita. Non enim solet porrigi corpus Domini, nisi antea exploratis et absolutis. Et docetur populus diligentissime de fide absolutionis, de qua ante haec tempora magnum erat silentium. Docentur homines ut absolutionem plurimi faciant, quia sit vox Dei, et mandato Dei pronuntietur. Ornatur potestas clavium et commemoratur, quantam consolationem afferat perterrefactis conscientiis, et quod requirat Deus fidem, ut illi absolutioni tanquam voci suae de coelo sonanti credamus, et quod illa fides in Christum vere consequatur, et accipiat remissionem peccatorum. Antea immodice extollebantur satisfactiones: Fidei vero et meriti Christi, ac iustitiae fidei nulla fiebat mentio, quare in hac parte minime sunt culpandae Ecclesiae nostrae. Nam hoc etiam adversarii tribuere nobis coguntur, quod doctrina de poenitentia diligentissime a nostris tractata ac patefacta sit.
Sed de Confessione docent, quod enumeratio delictorum non sit necessaria, nec sint onerandae conscientiae cura enumerandi omnia delicta, quia impossibile est omnia delicta recitare, Ut testatur Psalmus, Delicta quis intelligit? Item Ieremias, Pravum est cor hominis et inscrutabile. Quod si nulla peccata nisi recitata remitterentur, nunquam acquiescere conscientiae possent, quia plurima peccata neque vident neque meminisse possunt. Testantur et veteres scriptores enumerationem non esse necessariam. Nam in Decretis citatur Chrysostomus, qui sic ait, Non tibi dico, ut te prodas in publicum, neque apud alios te accuses, sed obedire te volo prophetae dicenti, Revela ante Deum viam tuam. Ergo tua confitere peccata apud Deum, verum iudicem cum oratione. Delicta tua pronuntia non lingua, sed conscientiae tuae memoria, etc. Et glossa de poenitentia, Dist.
4. cap. Consideret, fatetur humani iuris esse confessionem. Verum confessio, cum propter maximum absolutionis beneficium, tum propter alias conscientiarum utilitates apud nos retinetur.
Scripture echoes
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