Faith is the minister; which the Truth will disclose in the splendours of the Saints, when the wine shall be drunk new in the kingdom of GOD, and with lighted lamps virgin souls. be admitted to the eternal nuptials; and, when the unquenchable lamp hath been set on the candlestick, there shall shine to all who are in the house as well the verity of Sacraments as the reason of the TRINITY Itself." c • De Verbis Domini in Cruce, §. vi. pp. 13, 14, ad calcem S. Cypriani Opp. Ed. Fell Oxon. 1682. 442 Statement of the Doctrine of Penance. CHAPTER XXVIII. OF THE POWER OF THE KEYS. § 1. THE Eucharist is the great Sacrament, whereby "we obtain remission of sins and all other benefits of CHRIST'S Passion." But as it is clear that those who fall into grievous sin after Baptism ipso facto put themselves out of the covenanted terms of acceptance with GOD, for they "keep" not "His holy will and commandments," and therefore when known as open transgressors are fit subjects of exclusion from those benefits, the question meets us, Whether on their repentance they may be restored to the outward enjoyment of Church privileges, as they are presumed to be inwardly restored to God's gracious favour? The answer of the Catholic Church is universally in the affirmative. When CHRIST said to Peter, "Whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven," d it has been understood that His words extended to all those who hold Peter's place in binding and loosing, "who in faith and manners hold the place of holy regiment." And accordingly the sacred words have been constantly repeated in the form of delivering the Ministerial commission to the Priests of the Church. "We undoubtingly believe," says Gennadius, "that sins are abolished by penitence, even though a man repent of what he hath done. at the last breath of life and his sins be discovered by public lamenting; because the purpose of GOD, whereby He hath decreed to save that which had perished, stands immoveable: and therefore since His purpose is not changed either by 23. S. Matt. xvi. 19; S. John xx. ⚫ S. Greg. Magn. Dialogg. L. ii. c. 23, Opp. T. III. p. 269. amendment of life (if time is granted) or by suppliant confession (if the person forthwith departs this life,) pardon of sins may be faithfully presumed of Him, Who willeth not the death of a sinner, but that he may be converted from perdition by repenting, and being saved by the mercy of the LORD may live. If any one thinks otherwise of the most just pity of GOD, he is not a Christian but a Novatianist." But, as Thorndike warns us, this judgment of Gennadius is "a presumption of what may be, not a warrant of what is," which the power of the keys regularly used promises. (Of the Laws of the Church, c. X. §. 10. Vol. IV. Pt. I. p. 222.) Nor is Absolution from sin barely procured by the priest, but, as Firmilian saith, Penance is enjoined that the sinner may so be converted to understand his sins, and be constrained to make fuller satisfaction to GOD. (Epp. S. Cypriani, Ep. 75.) And though, when men cannot feel sure that of themselves they will betake them to the cure of sins by the proper means, they are bound in conscience to have recourse to the keys of the Church, yet it hath hapt that the more trust was reposed in the power of the Church, the less provision was made for that disposition of heart which the Gospel requires. (Thornd. Vol. IV. Pt. I. pp. 220, 225.) to it. §. 2. This merciful provision of the Gospel was a subject objections of derision with the Pagan opponents of the early Church. "You make men to sin, when you promise them pardon upon doing penance," was their taunt in Augustine's time. And the one Baptismal cleansing and the one open Penance allowed by the Church are alike coupled with dissoluteness by Julian in his satirical sketch of Constantine. A more serious objection is found in the prima facie bearing of S. Paul's text, which would seem to deny any renovation or recovery to those who fall into deadly sin after Baptism. "For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the HOLY GHOST, and have tasted the good word of GOD, and the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away, to renew them Julian. Imp. Aug. Cæsares, Opp. p. 336, Ed. Spanheim. De Dogmatib. Eccles. ap. S. Aug. Opp. T. VIII. p. 80. App. 1371. S. Aug. Serm. 352, Tom. V. p. Of the penitential discipline of the Primi again to repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the SON of GOD afresh, and put Him to an open shame." The argument seems to be, CHRIST was once for all crucified, once for all died for sin, and therefore there is one, not more baptisms. Why, but that he also above premised 'the doctrine of baptisms?' And because there were many baptisms in the Law, he teaches that there is One Baptism among the Sacraments of the Church. Seeing then that there can be no iteration of the solemn and complete Remission of sins' conveyed in that 'one Baptism' to such as sincerely undertake the Covenant of Grace, what remaineth but the second plank thrown out to the shipwrecked, even the discipline of Penance and the benefit of Absolution? And yet that Absolution must always savour of a presumption, seeing it depends on the sincerity of the penitent. The passage above cited is, truly, one of great difficulty. It points out that apostasy from CHRIST in a critical conjuncture is a sin that admits of no such clear solution as the One Baptism supplies. Yet the penitential discipline of the ancient Church proves it was not hopeless.. §. 3. In the Primitive Church three kinds of mortal sin only were punished by open public Penance, that is, Idolatry, tive Church. Murder, and Adultery. But it is clear from the Canonical Epistle of S. Basil to Amphilochius, that other mortal sins, such as inordinate lusts, were subjected, with adultery, to exclusion from Communion for fifteen years; while poisoning, together with murder and idolatry, was punished by twenty years' exclusion. Secret sins mentioned in confession were not to be divulged, but yet the penitent was quietly, that is, without the formality of open denunciation, ordered to abstain from Communion, until the time of penance had expired.TM This is the more important, as it comes nearest to the practice of the later Church. At the close of the fourth century, i Heb, vi. 4-6. S. Ambros. De Poenitentia, L. ii. c. 2. §§. 10, 11. T. II. p. 418. See Natalis Alexander (Hist. Eccles. T. III. p. 637;) and Petavius, (Dogm. Theol. T. IV. De Ponitentia, L. ii. c. 2, p. 237.) They rest chiefly on the authority of Tertullian (De Pudicitia, c. 5, p. 558,) and the Council of Illiberris (Canon 2.) S. Basilii ad Amphiloch. Canon 34, ap. Beveregii Pandectas, T. II. P. 93. o n the Third Council of Carthage (A.D. 397,) ordains, “that a Presbyter may not reconcile a penitent without consulting the Bishop, unless in the Bishop's absence and when necessity compels. But whatsoever penitent's crime is public and most notorious, which the whole Church is acquainted with, let the hand be imposed on him before the apse." And the First Council of Toledo (A.D. 400,) limits the performance of public penance to those who have been guilty of scandalous offences: "We call him a Penitent, who, doing public penance under hair-cloth either for homicide or for divers crimes and most grievous sins after baptism, shall have been reconciled to the Divine altar." This public 'godly discipline of penance' was to be performed once only. Thus S. Ambrose: "They are deservedly blamed, who think that penance may be frequently performed; because they wax wanton in CHRIST. For if they truly did penance, they would not think it may be repeated; because, as there is One Baptism, so is there one penance, which yet is publicly done; for we ought to repent of daily sin; but the latter is of lighter transgressions, the former of graver." P Nor is it to be wondered at, if the public penance was attended by such circumstances as are described by S. Pacian: "To weep in sight of the Church, to mourn in a sordid dress his lost life, to fast, to pray, to prostrate himself; if anyone calls him to the bath, to refuse pleasures; if any one invites him to an entertainment, to say, 'Those things are for the happy, I have sinned against the LORD and am in danger of perishing eternally; what are banquets to me, who have offended the LORD?' To grasp moreover the hands of the poor, to implore widows, to kneel before the Presbyters, to deprecate the Church as a successful pleader, to try everything sooner than perish." a So strict was the discipline of the early Church, that it was held wrong to enter military service or even contract marriage after public penance, to say nothing of positive sins. In the case "Ante absidem.' Conc. Carth. III. Canon 32, ap. Labbe. T. II. p. 1171. • Gratian. Decret. I. Dist. 50, c. 68. Conc. Toletan. I. Canon 2, ap. Labbe. T. II. p. 1223. PS. Amb. De Poenitentia, L. ii. c. 10. T. II. p. 436. 4 S. Pacianus Barcinonensis Episcopus, Parænesis ad Pœnitentiam, ap. Bibliothecam Max. P.P. Tom. IV. p. 317. |