Confession, penance, and works of mercy

Question 208

What is Confession?

Confession is the telling of our sins to a duly authorized priest, for the purpose of obtaining forgiveness.

Question 209

What sins are we bound to confess?

We are bound to confess all our mortal sins, but it is well also to confess our venial sins.

Question 210

Which are the chief qualities of a good Confession?

The chief qualities of a good Confession are three: it must be humble, sincere, and entire.

Question 211

When is our Confession humble?

Our Confession is humble, when we accuse our selves of our sins, with a deep sense of shame and sorrow for having offended God.

Question 212

When is our Confession sincere?

Our Confession is sincere, when we tell our sins honestly and truthfully, neither exaggerating nor excusing them.

Question 213

When is our Confession entire?

Our Confession is entire, when we tell the number and kinds of our sins and the circumstances which change their nature.

Question 214

What should we do if we cannot remember the number of our sins?

If we cannot remember the number of our sins, we should tell the number as nearly as possible, and say how often we may have sinned in a day, a week, or a month, and how long the habit or practice has lasted.

Question 215

Is our Confession worthy if, without our fault, we forget to confess a mortal sin?

If without our fault we forget to confess a mortal sin, our Confession is worthy, and the sin is forgiven; but it must be told in Confession if it again comes to our mind.

Question 216

Is it a grievous offense wilfully to conceal a mortal sin in Confession?

It is a grievous offense wilfully to conceal a mortal sin in Confession, because we thereby tell a lie to the Holy Ghost, and make our Confession worthless.

Question 217

What must he do who has wilfully concealed a mortal sin in Confession?

He who has wilfully concealed a mortal sin in Confession must not only confess it, but must also repeat all the sins he has committed since his last worthy Confession.

Question 218

Why does the priest give us a penance after Confession?

The priest gives us a penance after Confession, that we may satisfy God for the temporal punishment due to our sins.

Question 219

Does not the Sacrament of Penance remit all punishment due to sin?

The Sacrament of Penance remits the eternal punishment due to sin, but it does not always remit the temporal punishment which God requires as satisfaction for our sins.

Question 220

Why does God require a temporal punishment as a satisfaction for sin?

God requires a temporal punishment as a satisfaction for sin, to teach us the great evil of sin and to prevent us from falling again.

Question 221

Which are the chief means by which we satisfy God for the temporal punishment due to sin?

The chief means by which we satisfy God for the temporal punishment due to sin are: Prayer, Fasting, Almsgiving, all spiritual and corporal works of mercy, and the patient suffering of the ills of life.

Question 222

Which are the chief spiritual works of mercy?

The chief spiritual works of mercy are seven: To admonish the sinner, to instruct the ignorant, to counsel the doubtful, to comfort the sorrowful, to bear wrongs patiently, to forgive all injuries, and to pray for the living and the dead.

Question 223

Which are the chief corporal works of mercy?

The chief corporal works of mercy are seven: To feed the hungry, to give drink to the thirsty, to clothe the naked, to ransom the captive, to harbor the harborless, to visit the sick, and to bury the dead.

Humility joined to accuracy

Questions 208, 209, 210, 211, 212, 213, 214

The source asks for a humble, sincere, and entire confession. Sincere explicitly rules out both excuses and exaggeration. Entire concerns the sins one is obliged to confess, including their kind and number as honestly remembered. Question 214 recognizes the limits of memory and allows a truthful estimate. Humility therefore does not require inventing certainty or describing oneself as worse than the facts support.

Forgetting and deliberate concealment

Questions 215, 216, 217

Question 215 distinguishes an honest lapse of memory from choosing to hide a mortal sin. The later questions address concealment, not every uncertain recollection. Keep that distinction when reading the strong language about repeating an unworthy confession. A person unsure how to explain a past concealment can say that plainly to the confessor and ask for guidance, rather than invent details or treat an innocent omission as a deliberate lie.

Forgiveness and repair

Questions 218, 219, 220, 221

Temporal punishment concerns the consequences and purification associated with sin; it is distinct from eternal separation from God. Catechism 1459–1460 explains that absolution does not automatically repair every disorder caused by wrongdoing. Returning what was stolen or correcting harm to someone's reputation can remain necessary. Prayer, self-denial, and service express a changed life. They do not purchase forgiveness or make harming oneself a religious duty.

Mercy for concrete needs

Questions 222, 223

Spiritual works address needs such as sorrow, doubt, and the need for counsel or forgiveness. Corporal works address bodily needs such as hunger, shelter, sickness, and burial. Some older expressions need translation: harbor the harborless means shelter people without a home. In Matthew 25, the needs are described through persons encountered, not abstract categories. Begin with an actual person and a form of help you can responsibly give.

1 John 1:5–10

The text connects truthful acknowledgment with God's faithfulness in forgiveness.

5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

Luke 19:1–10

Zacchaeus links his changed response with restitution for wrongdoing.

1 And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. 2 And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich. 3 And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature. 4 And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house. 6 And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully. 7 And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner. 8 And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord: Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. 9 And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

Matthew 25:31–46

The judgment scene names bodily needs and the significance of responding to them.

31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. 41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.