PONIT. SATIS FAC- 374 Self-affliction turns away the wrath of God, NOTES be purified by conversion, and healed by the medicine of affliction. The ON DE sign of true confession [conversion?] is not in the confession of the mouth, but in the affliction of penitence. For then do we see that a sinner is well converted, when by a worthy austerity of affliction, he strives to efface what in speech he confesses. Whence John Baptist rebuking the ill-converted Jews, who flocked to him, says, 'O generation of vipers-Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance."" Isidore, (vi. ult.) after speaking of sin being "purged by satisfaction," adds as a formal explanation of "satisfaction," ," "Satisfaction is to shut out the causes and suggestions of sins, and not again to repeat sins." But although it is clear, on the one hand, that "satisfaction" is used by the Latin Fathers in no technical sense, and there is no corresponding term in the Greek, yet it is equally plain that self-affliction, in token of displeasure at one's sins, and as a means of keeping up that displeasure, was held by the Ancient Church to be acceptable to God, and turn away His wrath; and this truth they derived from S. Paul's mention of " revenge" as a part of penitence, (2 Cor. 7, 11.) or his exhortation, "Judge yourselves, brethren, that ye be not judged of the Lord,” or God's acceptance of the self-affliction of Ahab and the Ninevites. see above, c. 9. p. 365. and n. m. o. S. Cypr. de Laps. §. 21. 22. p. 175. Oxf. Tr. S. Ambrose de Pœnit. ii. 10. §. 96. de Laps. Virg. Consecr. c. 8. §. 35–38. where he speaks also of amends being thus made; "If the sinner spare not himself, he will be spared by God. And if in this short space of life he shall have balanced the pains of hell which shall be for ever, he shall free himself from eternal judgment. A great wound needeth a deep and lengthened process of healing; and great wickedness requireth great amends," [satisfactionem.] Thus S. Jerome describes the repentance of Paula, Ep. 108. ad Eustoch. §. 15. “On my frequently admonishing her to spare her eyes that she might keep them for the reading of the Gospel, she was wont to say, 'The face must be befouled, which against God's command I often painted; the body must be afflicted which was wholly given to manifold pleasures; long laughter must be balanced by continual weeping; soft linen and silks most costly must be exchanged for the roughness of hair-cloth. I who pleased my husband and the world, now desire to please Christ." And in a very aggravated case of exceeding sin, he relates, "I exhorted thee to do penance, to lie in haircloth and ashes, to betake thyself to solitude, to live in a monastery, to implore the mercy of God by continual weeping." Ep. 147. ad Sabinian. §. 8. and on Joel c. 1. "let him lie and sleep on sackcloth, and by the austerity of his life make amends for the past pleasures whereby he had offended God," add Ep. 77. ad Ocean. de morte Fabiolæ, §. 4. Origen. Hom. 2. in Levit. §. 4. S. Greg. Naz. Orat. 39. in S. Lumina, §. 17. S. Greg. Nyss. de to be proportioned to the greatness of the sin. 375 pœnit. circ. fin. S. Basil, in Ps. 32. §. 3. p. 310. Pacian. Ep. 3. ad Sympronian. "who came to life through the destruction of the flesh." Cassian, Coll. 23. 15. Epiphanius Expos. Fid. Cath. c. 22. speaks of the fasts of the Church as "a confession to our salvation of the Passion of the Lord which He underwent for us," and, "that our fasts may be acceptable to God for our sins." He says also, "He who after Baptism runneth into more grievous sin, hath a second cure, not of such eminence as the first, yet not cast off from life. The Divine word annulleth not then the reward of those who toil in penitence," Hær. 59. c. 2. And since this chastisement was a part of repentance, it followed (as an instinctive feeling implies) that it should be proportioned to the sin. Thus S. Augustine, Serm. 351. c. 4. “ The third sort of penitence is that to be undergone for the sins contained in the Decalogue, of which the Apostle says, 'They who do such things, shall not inherit the kingdom of God.' In this penitence then, every one ought to exercise on himself a greater severity, that judged by himself, he be not judged of the Lord, as the same Apostle says, 1 Cor. 11, 31." And Serm. 278. (al. de div. 34.) c. 12. "All past things are forgiven to the converted; but some things in this life are so grievous and deadly, that they are not remitted, except through the most vehement trouble of humiliation of heart, and contrition of spirit, and tribulation of penitence. These are remitted by the keys of the Church. For if thou beginnest to judge thyself, to be displeased with thyself," &c. ab. p. 365. n. o. see S. Cypr. de laps. v. fin. Cler. Rom. Ep. 30. ad Cypr. §. 4. "be not the medicine less than the wound, nor the remedies slighter than the disease." S. Ambrose de Virg. laps. c. 8. §. 36. "How great or what sort of penitence, thinkest thou, is necessary? Such as shall equal or exceed your sins. A mighty wound needeth a profound and lengthened cure. A mighty wickedness needeth mighty amends;" and de pœnit. i. 2. "Whoso hath heaped up the offence, heap he up also the penitence. For mightier sins are washed away by mightier tears." S. Greg. Naz. Orat. 39. §. 19. “If he (Novatus) received not those who repented not, he did well; for neither do I receive those not bowed down, or who do not proportion their correction to their sins." S. Basil, Hom. in verba Attende tibi ipsi, §. 4. T. 2. p. 19. “ Take heed to thyself, that in proportion to the fault thou admit also the restoration from the remedy. Great and grievous is the sin; thou hast need of much confession, ouλóynois, see Note L.] of bitter tears, of intense watching, of an unbroken fast. Is the offence light and bearable; be the penitence also proportioned. Only take heed to thyself, that thou know thy mind's health and disease." add Theodoret. Hær. Fab. v. 28. de pœnit. fin. (against the Novatians,)"The wounds therefore received after Baptism are also curable; but not so that remission should be given as before, through faith alone, but through many tears, lamentations, and weepings, and fasting, and prayer, and toil, proportioned to the greatness of the sin committed." Since this is so, there must be an inherent fitness in it, i. e. it must have some reference to the Divine attributes; and this S. Augustine states in respect of the Divine truth; that since God has said that sin shall not go unpunished, the sinner must punish himself if he would escape the punishment of the Lord. Thus on Ps. 50. (51.) v. 6. “‹ Thou hast loved truth,' 376 Sinner by self-affliction fulfils God's truth and will. NOTES i. e. Thou hast not left unpunished the sins even of those whom Thou hast ON DE pardoned. Thou hast so dispensed mercy, as to preserve truth. Thou PENIT. pardonest one confessing, but on his punishing himself. Thus mercy and SATIS- truth are preserved; mercy, because man is freed; truth, because sin is FAC TION punished." But S. Augustine more frequently rests this necessity of selfpunishment, in that thereby the sinner comes to regard his sin as God sees it, is displeased with it and with himself as God is, and so is brought into a harmony with God's will, with which, while in sin, he had been at variance. Thus in Serm. 29. fin. (on Ps. 117, 1.)" Every one who is penitent, and in penitence confesseth his sins, is angry with himself, and in a manner by penitence avengeth in himself what displeaseth himself. For God hateth sin. If thou also hatest in thyself what God also hateth, thou art in a degree united in will to God, in that thou hatest in thyself what God also hateth. Exercise severity on thyself, that God may intercede for thee, and not condemn thee. For sin is certainly to be punished. This is due to sin, punishment, condemnation. Sin is to be punished either by thee or by Him. If it is punished by thee, then it will be punished without thee, but if it is not punished by thee, it will be punished with thee." In this last sentence S. Augustine (as he on other occasions states more scientifically and in a system, what in the rest of Catholic antiquity is given as a simple truth,) speaks of this law as required by God's justice, i. e. as we should speak, a rule of His moral Government, an Attribute discovered in His dealings with us. This is, however, very different from speaking, with the Romanists, of making satisfaction to that Justice, as a definite debt, to be paid accurately, if not here, in Purgatory. S. Augustine speaks in the same way elsewhere, yet shewing that he has no technical theory of compensation to God, but rather is inculcating generally the strictness of God's law and the severity of His judgment. Thus in contrast with careless contempt, Ep. 653. ad Maced. c. 3. "Some whose crimes are open, freed from your [the civil power's] severity, we yet remove from the communion of the Altar, that repenting they may appease Whom in sinning they had despised, and also by punishing themselves. For he who truly repents doth nothing else, than not allow the evil he had done to be unpunished; for thus punishing himself He spareth him, Whose deep and just judgment no despiser escapeth." Note L. on the term exomologesis, p. 364. Tertulliau declares the term "exomologesis" to be more appropriate than the Latin "confession," and as such, to have been adopted by Latin writers. It is then, on this ground alone, not mere confession, and T. presently explains it to be the acts of public penance. Confession comes in chiefly as acknowledgment to God, (“ we acknowledge our sin to the Lord,") leading to acts of penitential discipline, and repentance, whereby God is appeased. It is then "a course of public penance, whereby 'Exomologesis' the whole course of penitence. 377 the penitent humbles himself before God;" confession is rather incidentally involved in it, (in that such a course could not be entered upon without it,) than an integral part of it, or required for its own sake. In the whole description of exomologesis which follows, confession is not even mentioned; it is wholly taken up with penitential actions; a public bewailing of sins, not a private confession of them. T. expressly terms it "the act,” “the discipline of humbling, &c. ;"" a misery," "wretchedness," c. 10; in the de Orat. c. 7. it is bewailing sins before God; in the de Pœnitentia itself (c. ult.) it is the seven-years' humiliation and suffering of the king of Babylon. (comp. de Pat. c. 13.) In like way, in the places quoted by Bellarmine (de Pœnit. iii. 6. §. 1.) S. Irenæus (1. 13. (9.) 5.) speaks of an adulteress, who "having been converted, continued the whole period (of her life) in a state of penitence (izousλoyovμívn in exhomologesi old Lat. trans.) weeping and lamenting what she had undergone through the corruption of the impostor" (Marcus): and of Cerdon, (3, 4. 3.) " coming into the Church, and performing penitence (iğuyoúparos exomologesin faciens) he thus continued to the end, at one while teaching privily, at another performing penitence, (iğousλ. exom. faciens,) at another convicted by some as to the things which he taught perversely, and put out of the society of the brethren." In six places in S. Cyprian, exomologesis is used for the last act of penitence and public humiliation previous to absolution, and reconciliation, and so altogether distinct from private confession. (Ep. 12. Pam. 17. Fell. ad pleb.) "For when in lesser offences, [than total denial of the faith,] which are not committed [directly] against God, penitence is performed for a due period, and the exomologesis takes place, after examination of the life of him who performs penitence, nor can any such come to the communion, before hands be laid upon him by the Bishop and Clergy, &c." (add Ep. 20. Fell. 15. Pam. ad Cler. Ep. 4. Fell. 62. Pam. ad Pompon.) As the fathers ever thought that Penitence is a pang and sting, whereby sinners are pierced through consciousness of their offences against God, so they always used this term exomologesis when they wished to express the outward gestures, as of weeping, groaning, accusing themselves, and the like, as practised by penitents." Albaspin. Obss. ii. 26. f "Having finished the penitence, they were led from the porch to the middle of the Church, when the Bishop placed them before the Presbyters, Deacons, widows, and people, where they again lay on the ground, bewailed their offences, wept largely, commending themselves to the prayers of all, solemnly vowing never to relapse into I find this last action frequently entitled Exomologesis by the fathers, as containing in itself many acts, expressive of grief for the fault committed, in the same way as every action, the same. and the whole mode of the penitents' life, while performing penitence, is sometimes called Exomologesis;' but because those acts, during the performing of penitence, were sometimes for a long period, the word Exomologesis' is often found used for the first acts in performing penitence." Albasp. gi. e. his present life, whether it accords with his profession. Bellarmin, (de pœnit. iii. 7. §. 2.) neglecting the context, infers from this, "such confession of sins as lays open the [previous] life of the penitent so that it may be thoroughly inspected," and this "of divine right." But the inspection of the life" is in S. Cyprian distinct from the "confession;" it relates to the present conduct of the penitent, not to the past sins for which he is doing penitence, much less to the whole outward, and least of all to the inward, life of the penitent. Of" divine right" nothing is said. PONIT. Exo- GESIS 378 Exomologesis acts implying detestation of sin; NOTES "Let her perform a full penitence-afterwards the exomologesis made, let her ON DE be restored to the Church." S. Cyprian has in two places the entire order in nearly the same words, 1) penitence, 2) exomologesis, 3) imposition of hands, 4) communion, Ep. 10, (Pam. 16. Fell.) ad Clerum. Ep. 11, (Pam. 15. Fell.) ad mart. " before penitence has been performed, before exomologesis of this most grievous and extreme sin, before hands have been laid upon them by the Bishop and Clergy to repentance, they dare to offer for them and give the Eucharist." The three last occur (the state of penitence being presupposed) Ep. 15. Pam. 20. Fell. ad Cler. Rom. fin. Ep. 13. Pam. 18. Fell. ad Cler. Carth. 14. Pam. 19. Fell. ad eosd. "if they should begin to sink under any weakness or danger, having made the exomologesis, and hands having by you been laid on them in penitence, let them be transmitted to the Lord with the peace promised them by the Martyrs." The Roman clergy, (Ep. 31. Pam. 30. Fell. fin.) as Albaspinæus observes, (Obss. ii. 26.) substitute for the term, the expression of detestation and grief for the sin, and so explain it ; "that they, the immediate approach of whose life's close admits of no delay, having performed penitence, and often professed their detestation of their deeds, if by tears, by groans, by weeping, they give signs of a grieved and truly penitent mind, then at length, when in human sight there is no hope of life, may with caution and anxiety be bestead," [i. e. absolved and admitted to Communion.] In two other places, S. Cyprian uses the term of the humble acknowledgment of sin; in the one case, of "The three children," a general confession only to God, (de Laps. c. 19. p. 173. Oxf. Tr.) in the other, a public bewailing of sins, and sharing in public penitence by those who had been less guilty than others h. (ib. c. 18. p. 171.) In another place (Ep. 55. Fell. 52. Pam. ad Antonian. fin.) he uses "confession," "exomologesis," and "penitence," apparently as equivalent. "And because there is no confession in hell, (Ps.6, 6.) nor can there be any exomologesis there, they who repent with their whole heart, and entreat, ought for the time to be received into the Church." Elsewhere he expresses the same by the word "penitence,” ad Demetrian. fin. Pacian follows Tert. in the use of the word, of Nebuchadnezzar (paræn. ad pœnit. p. 317.) in speaking of "the remedies of penitence and the very acts of exomologesis." (ib. p. 315.) Salvian (Ep. 9. ad Salon. p. 213. ed. Baluz.) joins together exomologesis and satisfactio as equivalent; and in speaking of a death-bed repentance, denies that either could be practised there, (whereas oral confession continually is,) and throughout, like T., speaks of acts: "When shall he mourn, who has lost the days for mourning? When shall be reconcile himself, (satisfaciet,) who has lost the time of reconciling? He will forsooth betake himself to long fasts? This is something, if it be united with almsgiving, according to that,‘Good is h Albasp. notes, the words "disburthen the load of their minds," mean, not that they deposited their sins in the hand of the priests, but that through repentance and exomologesis they freed the conscience from scruple, and the burthen of having offended God by their thoughts." The term confession here is taken from the ižoμsλoyńoswas in the Ps.; there is then no ground (with Albasp.) to distinguish "confessio" as the first, from "exomologesis" as the final confession in act. |