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Dear Father Angelo,

I have read that, according to Thomas Aquinas, a person can confess sins already confessed in the past and for which he has already obtained absolution. This would be done not out of distrust in His Divine Mercy, but to obtain greater Grace and possibly hope to obtain a shortening of the sentence to be served in Purgatory. Do you agree with this thought?

I thank you and greet you cordially.

Catherine

Priest’s Answer

Dear Catherine, 

1. St. Thomas does not say this explicitly, partly because he stopped writing the Summa Theologica just when he was discussing the sacrament of penance.

He does, however, hint at it when he responds to an objection expressed in these terms, “Further, no one is bound to confess more than once a sin which he has committed but once. Therefore if a man does not commit a sin again, his penance need not be “frequent”” (Supplement to the Summa Theologica, III, 9, 4, ob. 2).

St. Thomas replies by saying that reporting it frequently “This is not necessary for confession, but is a condition of its well-being.” (Ib., ad 2). This means that it can benefit the atonement because of a renewed sense of repentance.

2. However, we must make some important distinctions.

Reiterating the sins of the past in every confession can become a source of confusion for the confessor who would struggle to distinguish whether they are new sins or old sins.

Without explicitly repeating them, the person can conclude briefly, as several penitents do, by saying, “I also intend to accuse all the sins of the past”

3. The specific accusation of sins already confessed can be made in the so-called general confession.

This type of confession is necessary for new converts.

But for those who habitually go to confession, it should be made if there is a proportionate reason such as a major event or anniversary recurring in his life.

In the past it was required for those re-entering religious life or on the eve of receiving Holy Orders for the priesthood.

It was recommended on the occasion of annual spiritual exercises. In this case it was intended to make the general confession not of the whole life but from the last spiritual exercises, to highlight progress, perseverance, progress or possible regression.

Pope John in the Journal of the Soul notes that he made this commitment at the annual spiritual exercises.

4. He made the general confession of his entire life on two particular occasions: his 25th anniversary of priesthood and his 80th birthday, when he was already Pope.

5. General confession should be discouraged or even forbidden to scrupulous people, who find cause for sin in everything.

It would be an additional source of anxiety for them.

6. Moreover, it should be remembered that the decrease in temporal punishment and the increase in grace are related more to contrition, and therefore to weeping for one’s sins, rather than to accusation. 

Weeping does not mean tears of the eyes, but tears of the heart.

Moreover, the decrease in temporal punishment and the increase in grace are related to works of charity and penance more than to the repetition of the accusation.

7. St. Thomas lists the various characteristics of confession that were taught by the medieval masters. After saying that confession must be simple, he writes: “It must not be prolix. To avoid that, it is said that confession must be simple: that is, so that nothing is said in confession except what pertains to the gravity of the sin.”

I bless you, I wish you well and remember you in prayer. 

Father Angelo