By Veronica A. Arntz
In Summa Theologiae III, q. 85, a. 5, St. Thomas Aquinas writes that
there are six principles of penance. These principles of penance, according to
Aquinas, are the “acts whereby in penance we co-operate with God operating”
(III, q. 85, a. 5, corpus). Reflecting
on these principles during the season of Lent can be helpful for us as we
prepare for the Holy Triduum.
How have we been using our time
during this Lent? Have we been truly sorry for our sins, or are we wasting our
time idly pursuing worldly ends and goals? How diligently have we been purging
ourselves of earthly attachments, bad habits, and sinful behaviors? Have we
been striving to become closer to God in prayer? These are the questions to ask
ourselves as we read and reflect upon the six principles offered by Aquinas.
First, a note on penance in
general: in I-II, q. 113, a. 5, Thomas writes that sadness is a sign of love.
Penance is sadness over our sins; we repent over the wrong that we have
committed, and we resolve not to commit the same sins again. Thus, when we are
sad over our sins, we should ultimately be sad because of offending God who is
Love, who loved us so much that He suffered and died for us on the Cross.
As will be seen below, sometimes
we have imperfect penance, in which we are only sorry for our sins because we
fear the punishment of Hell. The perfection of our penance, however, should be
in feeling sadness for offending the God of the Universe, Who created us out of
His infinite goodness and love, and Whom we love in return with our whole
hearts.
The first principle of penance
according to Aquinas is the operation of God turning our hearts to Him. Aquinas
cites Lamentations 5:21, “Convert us to yourself, O Lord, that we may be
converted!” This principle reminds us that God Himself always calls us to
penance and deeper conversion; this call is always a grace, bestowed on us from
God’s mercy.
We are converted back to God only
because He first extends an offer to us through His grace: as the Scripture
cited above explains, we ask for God’s invitation so that we might be
converted. In this way, the act of conversion always has a divine beginning,
because God is always the one who draws us to Himself.
The second principle is an act of
faith. Once we have turned back to God through His grace, we must make an act
of belief in His power to save us from our sins. We must express our faith that
Jesus truly did suffer, die, and rise for us on the third day. Indeed, our
falling into sin is precisely an act against
faith, because we did not trust ourselves to God’s redeeming love, and we
denied the power of the Paschal Mystery. In a word, our sin was one more slash
of the whip during Jesus’s scourging, one more pounding of the nail into the
wood of the cross.
Thus, once we make an act of
faith, we can no longer hold onto our idols of sin, because we have professed
that God Himself is the only One who deserves our worship and love. The act of
faith, therefore, is twofold: we must profess our belief that God will redeem
us from our sins, and we must deny the idols that we have made out of sin
because we have committed to returning to God.
The third principle of penance is
a movement of servile fear, through which man is withdrawn from sin for fear of
punishment. This is the way of beginners in the spiritual life, according to
the great spiritual authors. Those who are just beginning to repent of their
sins out of fear of the punishment of Hell; thus, there is a movement of the
soul toward God again, but only out of fear, not love. We must still rejoice in
such a movement, however, because even though it is out of fear, we are still
turning back to the Lord after living in sin. Those who are proficient will not
experience this principle of penance, because they have moved beyond repentance
out of fear.
The fourth principle of penance
is the movement of hope, whereby man makes a purpose of amendment with the hope
of attaining pardon for his sin. This movement is related to the movement of
faith. Part of being sorry for one’s sins is having the hope that God will
offer forgiveness; we must believe and trust what he says in the Scriptures.
Indeed, repeatedly, God says that he will have mercy on those who return to him
with a contrite heart.
This hope is beautifully
expressed in Psalm 51, in which David pleads that God might have mercy on him,
because he is truly sorry for his sins and possesses a contrite heart. David is
expressing hope in God’s mercy, that he will offer him forgiveness despite the
horrific nature of his sin. Indeed, this is why this principle is rooted in hope. God has no need of us, and He
certainly has no reason to forgive us of our sins—one sin against an infinite
Creator deserves an infinite punishment. Nevertheless, we hope in God’s eternal
love and mercy for mankind, that He will still bestow his forgiveness on us
even though we are entirely undeserving of it.
The fifth principle of penance is
the movement of charity, whereby sin has become displeasing to man, and he is
repentant for its own sake, not out of fear of punishment. At this level, man
is repulsed at the idea of sin, and because of that, he turns to God in
repentance. This is not the perfect way yet, because he does not yet fully love
God perfectly. Nevertheless, he has come a long way in the spiritual life,
because he confesses his sins, knowing that they are wrong, without fearing the
punishment that they might bring. He confesses his sins because he knows that
they offended his God, Who he loves deeply, and Who loves him infinitely in
return.
The sixth and final principle
enumerated by Aquinas is the movement of filial fear, through which man, of his
own accord, offers to make amends to God through fear of Him. Notice that this
principle is not like the third one. This man is moved out of “filial fear,”
meaning that he loves God and sorry for having offended Him.
He offers to make amends to God;
he is not the passive receiver of the required penance. This man has entered
into the way of the proficient and the perfect; everyone is called to this kind
of perfect contrition, but not all will reach this level. At this level, man
truly sees the infinite debt caused by his sin, and he is no longer sorry
because of fear, but because he loves the infinite God Who has offered him
redemption.
These principles can guide and
shape our penance during this Lent. Are we still afraid of the punishment of
sin, or do we offer ourselves in penance to God, Who loves us infinitely and
died for us while we were yet sinners? Let us ask for the grace to approach God
through filial fear, entirely out of love for Him.
Let us be like St. Paul, who said,
“For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died
for all” (2 Cor 5:14, RSV2CE). Paul is convinced that Christ died for his sake,
and for this reason, he endures many sorrows, sufferings, and pains on account
of Him (2 Cor 11:16-33).
Let the love of Christ compel us
forward to approach the Sacrament of Confession not with fear, but with true
sorrow for our sins, in preparation for the Holy Triduum.
