With the upcoming holidays in mind and many people going to confession after a long time, let’s look at what this sacrament entails. Saint Thomas Aquinas compares confession to a court trial, stating that those who submit to confession are actually submitting to judgment, and the purpose of confessing sins is for the judge appointed by God (the priest) to become acquainted with the sins of the accused to judge them:
“But since the infliction of punishment for fault requires a trial, the penitent who has committed himself to Christ for his cure must await the judgement of Christ in the assessment of his punishment. This judgement Christ exercises through His ministers, as in the other Sacraments. No one can give judgement upon faults that he is ignorant of. Therefore a second part of this Sacrament is the practice of Confession, the object of which is to make the penitent’s fault known to Christ’s minister.”
Saint Thomas says that the priest has the authority from God to accuse or absolve:
“The minister then, to whom Confession is made, must have judicial power as viceregent of Christ, who is appointed judge of the living and of the dead (Acts 10:42).”
Thus, the Sacrament of Penance is essential for those baptized who have sinned, offering them a path back to grace:
“So for sinners after Baptism there can be no salvation unless they submit themselves to the keys of the Church either by actual Confession and undergoing of the judgement of the ministers of the Church, or at least by purposing so to do with a purpose to be fulfilled in seasonable time: because there is no other name under heaven given to men, whereby we are to be saved (Acts 4:12).”
In conclusion, this passage from Aquinas’s Summa contra Gentiles not only explains the mechanics of the Sacrament of Penance but also deeply connects it to the redemptive work of Christ, emphasizing the Church’s role in continuing His divine mission for the salvation of souls.
Something that particularly stands out is God’s mercy, which, during confession, actually brings a person to judgment for committed sins only to absolve him of guilt.
Accordingly, I recommend you read Pope Francis’s recent address to consecrated persons where he calls them, especially in confession, to “forgive everything and always.”
