De privatis confessionibus

De privatis confessionibus

Besides public penance, there are private confessions. First, when we privately reconcile those we have offended, About this kind of thing, it is said in Matthew. If you offer your gift at the altar and remember there that your brother has something against you, Go, be reconciled to your brother. And Jacob. Confess your sins to one another. That is, let each one pray to the other for forgiveness. Next, there are those ecclesiastical practices, which are mostly in use today. It is evident that there were once such people, that those whose consciences were troubled about something would consult the holy and knowledgeable experts in spiritual matters and be absolved by them. This mention was made by Basil, if the title is correct, in his work on the Institutes of Monks, which was translated into Latin by Rufinus. There are indeed many kinds of confessions that I have come to know, which, while some are handed down by divine law, others are inventions of men, and they must be discerned wisely. It is clear that a confession made to God is required by divine law, or at least it is evident from that. This is the point we mentioned earlier. For sin is not forgiven unless we confess to God, which means we must condemn ourselves and trust in God's mercy to forgive our wrongdoing. What’s the point of discussing public confession of public sins before the church, where the matter is handled in the presence of witnesses? The very act of confessing compels you, not just the divine law if you are accused; it also compels the divine right, so that you may place your brother in a position to be heard. The remaining confessions are the traditions of men. For if you offer yourself to the Church and wish to be absolved, whether you have sinned secretly or publicly, divine law does not require a review. Thus Christ absolved many, and so did the apostles in Acts II. They absolve many thousands, without asking to have their sins listed. These things are said for the sake of helping the weak in their consciences, so that if they overlook anything in their confession, they won't despair. Private absolution is as necessary as baptism. Even if you hear the Gospel being preached universally in the Church, still, it is important. You can be sure that this pertains to you personally when you are privately and truly absolved. Anyone who doesn't earnestly desire to hear God's judgment about themselves doesn't thirst for grace. For it is God's, not human, judgment that you are absolved by, as long as you believe in the absolution. How certain was the sinful woman in Luke 7! , she was certain that all her sins were forgiven when she heard Christ's voice: "Your sins are forgiven you." Be just as certain yourself when you are absolved by any brother, whoever he may be.^✦ They are not absolved, except those who choose to be absolved and believe. Therefore, those who are forced by the church's law to confess and pretend to repent each year are not absolved. Rather, they mock Christ, who, compelled by the pontifical law, seek absolution not out of a desire for the Spirit. There is no satisfaction except through the death of Christ, Isaiah. He himself bore our iniquities. However, the satisfactions imposed on those who repent are found to be the invention of men and have arisen from penitential canons, which were established for public penances in the past. This satisfaction of sins is extinguished by the commentary of Christ, and faith in the word of absolution is remarkably fulfilled. There are indeed penalties for sins mentioned somewhere in the Scriptures, but not for all of them. Therefore, no one can rightly say that satisfactions remove those penalties. From the indulgences, a Roman commodity arose that remitted those canonical penalties of public penances. Wicked people have set up to sell divine forgiveness, so that it would be trusted more in their own word than in God's. To conclude, there are two parts to repentance: mortification and vivification. Mortification happens when your conscience is troubled by the law; vivification occurs when you are lifted up and strengthened through absolution. For absolution is the gospel through which Christ forgives you your sins. The sign of repentance is nothing other than baptism.