Confession, Penance, Reconciliation. What’s in a name?
Confession. Penance. Reconciliation. All of these are names used for the same sacrament. It is rare to have such a large number of different titles for the same sacrament. Each of these terms have their own origin and tradition of use. But, each of these terms also have their own theological signification. Each of these titles point to a different emphasis in the reality of the sacrament. We don’t always think about it, but the words we use have real effects. It psychologically influences our outlook at what’s being discussed, which also affects how we interact with it. Everyone already knows this is true for advertising, yet we sometimes have difficultly admitting it’s true for the words we ourselves use in our daily life.
We’re going to take a look at each of these three terms, where and when they’re used, and what they tell us about this sacrament of healing.
Confession
Confession is one of the more popular terms. It’s one of the more ancient and traditional titles. St. Augustine loved this term, for example. Its use is clear: Confession is what we actually do in the sacrament. From the call of James, we “confess [our] sins to one another.“ (James 5:16). Other places in Scripture likewise call us to confession, such as the promise in 1 John that “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.“ (1 John 1:9).
This term has endured not only because it describes what we are doing, but also because the term is countercultural at its essence. Admitting fault is not a popular thing to do. Shifting blame, excuses, and downplaying mistakes (or outright stating that a negative is actually a positive) is more our go-to. What is one of the most common interview tips? When asked one of your weaknesses, name something that’s actually a strength!
Confession requires us to actually confront our failings and misdeeds, and verbally recognize them as such. It’s easy to mentally think about a fault - it’s a passing thought, quickly gone. It is significantly harder for your brain to recognize the fault, send the signal to your mouth to state it, and then verbalize said fault. When we say things out loud, it actualizes it and makes it concrete for us. We can’t escape it. In verbalizing our sins, one “looks squarely at the sins he is guilty of, takes responsibility for them, and thereby opens himself again to God and to the communion of the Church.“ (CCC, 1455).
Thus, calling this sacrament “Confession“ focuses on the honesty and humility of what the sacrament is. St. Thomas Aquinas writes that confession draws out contrition and is intimately united to it. Contrition drives us to confess, and confession solidifies our contrition. (cf. Summa theologiae, supplement, Q. 6). This term emphasizes the personal responsibility and humility with which we approach the sacrament, but it does have a danger: an overemphasis on merely a legal reporting of sin rather than an encounter with Jesus.
Penance
This is the formal, theological name for the sacrament. It’s what St. Thomas Aquinas calls it in the Summa, (III, Qq. 84-90 and supplement, Qq. 1-28). It’s also the term used at the Council of Trent Session XIV, and many of the Church’s documents. Indeed, it is one of the names used in the Catechism.
Why is this the preferred theological name for the sacrament? The reason lies in the uniqueness of the sacrament’s name matching the virtue that comes forth from it. Penance is both a name for this sacrament and the virtue of penance. St. Thomas explains this in the Summa. The Objector argues that “penance is not a virtue“ because Penance is one of the sacraments, and “no other sacrament is a virtue.“ (Summa theologiae, III, Q. 85, A. 1). St. Thomas answers that the matter of the sacrament are the human acts (contrition, confession, and penance), which is unique to the sacrament of Penance (although sort of found in Marriage). The focus of these acts is virtue, and penance is said virtue.
Penance are acts done in contrition for our sins. Filled with the grace of the Holy Spirit and in virtue of the merits of Christ’s Passion, acts of penance help satisfy the wrong done in the sin (I emphasize that it is through the Passion of Christ that this is possible, not by our own merit). This sacrament makes our actions efficacious, “consecrat[ing] the Christian sinner’s personal and ecclesial steps of conversion, penance, and satisfaction.“ (CCC, 1423).
Using the name “Penance“ therefore emphasizes the interior conversion that occurs. It’s medicinal, repairing damage caused by sin. Penance remits guilt and restores grace, but penance helps heal the wounds of sin. In other words, “Penance“ is forward-looking (who God is shaping me to be) and not backward-looking (what did I do wrong). Unfortunately, penance is often misunderstood as merely punishment instead of healing. It’s not. While the Church and St. Thomas make clear that penance by necessity must be painful/some type of loss, this does not mean punishment. When I spend time with my wonderful wife, I have lost time that I could have spent on myself. But I wouldn’t call that punishment. So, too, when I do acts of penance, while it might be painful, it can be a joyful pain as I work on my relationship with God.
Reconciliation
In more modern times, “Reconciliation” has become a more preferred name for the sacrament. Like Confession and Penance, the Catechism uses this as one of the names of the sacrament as well.
Reconciliation’s emphasis is clear: it is the end result of the sacrament. It is a total reconciliation - reconciliation with God, with the Church, and with ourselves.
First, we are reconciled to God, and the Catechism specifically identifies this as the reason for the name: “because it imparts to the sinner the love of God who reconciles.“ (CCC, 1424). Thus, St. Paul tells us that “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.” (2 Corinthians 5:18-20). This is the quintessential Prodigal Son, who comes back to the Father and the Father reconciled perfectly with the son. The son is not returned as a servant, but is reconciled as a son.
Second, we are also reconciled to the Church. When we sin, we place ourselves separate from the Body of Christ. This is because in sin, we set ourselves in opposition to the orientation and goal of the Body. Thus, Reconciliation “reintegrate[s] forgiven sinners into the community of the People of God from which sin had alienated or even excluded them.“ (CCC, 1443).
Third, we are also reconciled internally with ourselves. Sin often manifests itself in battle - a struggle between a desire to remain in charity with Christ and a desire to turn away from God to enjoy the short-term pleasures of something else. We are not meant to live in sin. The end of man is not to be separated from Being itself. Thus, when we reorient ourselves and our priorities, clean our interior reality, we become realigned and focused.
This is why “reconciliation“ has become so popular in the last several years. This name moves the focus from the actions of man (confession, penance) to the love of God. It is evangelizing language, and invites people to enter into the sacrament in order to be reconciled. It’s a positive, healing, and relational name
The Last Ones
There are other titles given to this sacrament, which are much more rarely used than the above three.
First is Sacrament of Conversion. This term is sometimes employed to showcase that “it makes sacramentally present Jesus’ call to conversion.“ (CCC, 1423). We probably don’t use this term a lot because it can raise confusion, especially when we often think of conversion being something done from one religion to another.
There is also the term Sacrament of Forgiveness. The foundation of this term is clear: in this sacrament, man is forgiven of sins. (CCC, 1424). Forgiveness is what we seek in this sacrament and forgiveness is what we receive in this sacrament.
What Will You Choose?
The name you use affects how you, and others, understand the sacrament. This might not be explicit, but words have effects. Be mindful about which term you use and when. Maybe you focus on Reconciliation for communal settings (such as Advent and Lent), or perhaps you use the term Confession for the bulletin for private sacramental hours. Personally, I try to use “Reconciliation,“ even though I often default to the one I always heard when going through then-RCIA (“Confession“). I prefer the term because it describes what is happening in the sacrament, and the crux of all the other actions. The sacrament reconciles us with reality itself, and confessing our sins and performing acts of penance all assist in creating that reconciliation and making it permanent.
The different names help us see different facets of Christ’s mercy. Regardless of the name you choose to use, they speak of the same reality: a means given by Christ to seek and receive forgiveness, to be made reconciled, and to strengthen our loving relationship with God.
