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3. Ministers
of Reconciliation with God and the Church
In a
world in which the sense of sin has declined (67) it is most necessary
to insist that lack of love for God obscures our perception of the reality of
sin and evil. The initiation of conversion, not just as a momentary interior
act but as a stable disposition, begins with authentic knowledge of God's
merciful love. "Those who come to know and see God in this way cannot live
other than in continual conversion toward Him. Thus they live in a state of
conversion".(68) Penance is an essential constituent of the
patrimony in the ecclesial life of the baptized. It is, however, marked by the
hope of pardon: "you who were once excluded from mercy have now received
mercy" (1 Pt 2, 10).
New
evangelization calls for renewed efforts to bring the faithful to the Sacrament
of Penance.(69) This pastoral task is absolutely indispensable. The
Sacrament of Penance "opens the way for everyone, especially those borne
down by grave sin, individually to experience mercy, that love which is
stronger than sin".(70) We should never fail to encourage and
promote the sacrament while striving intelligently to renew and revitalize age
old beneficial Christian traditions. As a first step, with the help of the Holy
Spirit, this should bring the faithful to that conversion which leads to
sincere and contrite recognition of those moral flaws or deficiencies found in
everyone's daily life. It is essential to insist upon the importance of
frequent individual confession in arriving, where possible, at authentic
personal spiritual direction.
Without
confusing the sacramental moment with spiritual direction, priests should know
how to identify opportunities to initiate spiritual dialogue outside of the
celebration of the Sacrament. "Rediscovery and promotion of this practice,
also during the various moments of the Sacrament of Penance, is a major benefit
for the contemporary Church".(71) Such leads to an awakening of
the sense and effectiveness of the Sacrament and creates the conditions
necessary to overcome the present crisis. Personal spiritual direction forms
true apostles, capable of activating new evangelization in society. The success
of the mission to re-evangelize so many of the faithful who are estranged from
the Church requires a solid formation for those who have remained close to her.
New
evangelization depends on an adequate number of priests; experience teaches
that many respond positively to a vocation because of spiritual direction as
well as the example given by priests who are interiorly and exteriorly faithful
to their priestly identity. "In his pastoral work each priest will take
particular care concerning vocations, encouraging prayer for vocations, doing
his best in the work of catechetics and taking care of the formation of
ministers. He will promote appropriate initiatives through a personal rapport
with those in his care, allowing him to discover their talents and to single
out the will of God for them, permitting a courageous choice in following
Christ...It is desirable that every priest be concerned with inspiring at least
one priestly vocation which could thus continue the ministry"(72)
Giving
the faithful a real possibility of coming to confession implies much
dedication.(73) Fixed times during which the priest is available in the
confessional are warmly to be encouraged. They should be well published and availability
on the priest's part should not be just theoretical. Sometimes the mere fact of
having to search for a confessor is sufficient to delay or postpone confession.
The faithful, on the other hand, willingly approach the sacrament in places
where they know confessors are available.(74) Parish churches and those
open for public worship should have a good, well-lit confessional chapel,
suitable for hearing confessions. A regular organized schedule of confessions
should be provided and implemented by the priests. In order to facilitate the
faithful in their desire to approach the Sacrament care should be taken to
maintain the confessionals by frequent cleaning, ensuring that they are clearly
visible and by affording the possibility of using a grill to those who which to
remain anonymous.(75)
It is not
always easy to maintain these pastoral practices, but this is no excuse to
overlook their pastoral effectiveness or not to reinstitute them where they
have fallen into disuse. Cooperation between the diocesan clergy and religious
should be encouraged so as to ensure this pastoral priority. In the same
context, recognition must be given to the daily service provided in the
confessional by many older priests who are true masters of the spiritual life
in the various Christian communities.
This
service to the Church would, of course, be more easily accomplished when
priests themselves are the first to approach the Sacrament of Penance
regularly.(76) Personal recourse to the Sacrament by the priest, as
penitent, is an indispensable condition for a generous ministry of
Reconciliation.
"All
priestly existence undergoes an inexorable decline if the priest, through
negligence or whatever other reason, neglects frequent recourse, inspired by
genuine faith and devotion, to the Sacrament of Penance. If a priest no longer
goes to confession or makes a bad confession, very quickly this will affect his
priestly ministry and be noticed by the community of which he is Pastor".(77)
"The
ministry of priests is above all communion and a responsible and necessary
cooperation with the Bishop's ministry, in concern for the universal Church and
for the individual particular Churches, for whose service they form with the
Bishop a single presbyterate".(78) The brethren in the
presbyterate should always be the special object of the priest's pastoral
charity, by helping them materially and spiritually, by affording the
opportunity for confession and spiritual direction, by encouraging their
service, by helping them in their necessities, by offering fraternal support in
their difficulties, old-age or infirmity. This is truly an area for the
exercise of priestly virtue.
Pastoral
prudence is a fundamental virtue for fruitful exercise of the ministry of
Reconciliation. Thus when the minister imparts absolution he participates as an
effective instrument in the sacramental action. His task in the penitential
rites is to place the penitent before Christ, thereby facilitating an
encounter of mercy with the utmost discretion. Disagreements which do not take
into account the reality of sin should be avoided. Hence the confessor should
have opportune knowledge.(79) However, the penitential dialogue should
always be imbued with that understanding which gradually leads to conversion.
It should not, however, lapse into a so called "graduality of moral
norms".
When the
practice of confession diminishes, in some cases, to the detriment of the moral
life and the conscience of the faithful, the danger sometimes arises of a
decline in the theological and pastoral quality of the exercise of the ministry
of confession. Confessors should always pray to the Paraclete for the ability
to fill this salvific moment(80) with supernatural meaning and to
transform it into an authentic encounter with the all merciful and forgiving
Jesus for the penitent. He should also avail of confession to form the
conscience of the faithful correctly — an extremely important task — by asking,
where necessary, those questions which secure the integrity of confession and
the validity of the sacrament. He should help the penitent to thank God for His
mercy and assist him in making a firm purpose of amendment for his conduct of
the moral life. He should never fail to encourage the penitent appropriately,
offering him comfort and motivating him to do works of penance which are
satisfaction for his sins and which help him to grow in virtue.
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