I have often preached to you about indulgences until I deserved to be called a heretic. But in order that you may hold the matter for yourselves and compare me with them, I will state the matter entirely in their opinion, except where there is occasion to add my opinion. According to their opinion, repentance is divided into three parts, which are: Repentance, confession and atonement.
2) First of all, repentance - for this is what they began to call true inward repentance - is obtained in a twofold way. First, by investigating, summing up, and detesting the sins, after which one, as they say, ponders his years in the bitterness of his soul; second, that he considers the gravity, the harm, the heinousness, the great multitude of the sins, then the loss of eternal blessedness and the acquisition of eternal damnation, as well as everything that can arouse sadness and pain. But such repentance makes penance hypocritical, even more sinful, because he does it only out of fear of the commandment and out of pain over the damage, and all such are unworthily absolved and admitted to the sacrament. For if they should confess freely, without fearing the commandment and the threats of punishment
they would certainly say that they do not dislike their past life, while they are thus forced to confess that they dislike it. Yes, the more they are thus contrite through the fear of punishment and the pain of harm, the more they sin and are seized by their sins, which they hate only out of compulsion but not out of a voluntary heart, if it is true what the apostle says, Rom. 5:20: "The law and the knowledge of sin makes sin much more powerful." And this is that repentance of which they themselves say, because apart from love, it is not meritorious. Others call it an approach of repentance,*) which first makes one capable of repentance. This is their opinion, but I consider this opinion to be a mistake.
3) Secondly, repentance is attained through the contemplation and contemplation of such glorious righteousness, in that one becomes inflamed and enraptured by the contemplation of the beauty and glory of righteousness, and now begins to become, with Solomon, a lover of the wisdom whose beauty he had beheld. This makes the man true-
He is repentant because he does it out of love for righteousness, and these are worthy of absolution. E.G.: If you wish to repent of pleasure, you must not begin to enumerate its vices, defilements, and harms, for this will not last you long, since it is a violent repentance made in virtue of the commandment. But look at the beauty of chastity and its lovely qualities, so that it may please you in the most glorious way. This is also true of all other virtues.
(4) But here you must remember this rule, that the consideration of virtues is twofold: First, in an abstract way, that is, in themselves; but in this way they move the carnal man but little. In this way it is presented to us through the word of the sermon. For in this way it is seen only in a contemplative, non-sensuous way. Secondly, in a concrete way, that is, in something else; as, for example, you look at people who shine in such virtue, among whom Christ is the original mirror, and after him the saints in heaven. But a raw and beginner is most moved by examples from the present and his time.
Therefore, behold the virginity of virgins and innocent children, until you sigh at the sight of such beauty; this also applies to chastity, love, patience and all other virtues. Thus St. Anselmus teaches to rise from the love of a pious person to the love of God. In the same way, St. Augustine drew his repentance from the sight of those of whom he had heard from Pontianus, and he himself confesses that the Church had shown him with full hands examples of virgins and of those who had kept chastity, and so he had been attracted by this glorious smell. So also the apostle says (2 Cor. 2, 16.) that it is a good smell, to some for life, but to some for death. For it is a sign of true repentance when you sigh from your heart at the sight of a chaste, humble, mild-mannered person that you are not also like him. Thus, the Church also prays that God will teach us through the examples of
St. Augustine, in the eighth book of his Confessions, when he interprets the saying of the 120th Psalm: "The sharp arrows of the mighty, together with the coals that devastate everything" (according to the Vulgate), explains "the arrows" for the words that preached the virtues according to their abstract knowledge, and "the devastating coals" for the examples of the saints that destroyed all false tongues, yes, all evil desires.
Thus it happens through the wonderful wisdom of God that no man lives well enough for himself; and it happens more often that pious people benefit others without their knowing it, indeed, they almost always do not know it, as those who walk along simple-mindedly, while others are wonderfully seized by their words and lives in their minds. So, finally, the lives of boys and children also serve to paint before our eyes the figure of innocence in the most immoral way and to call us to repentance, for they are living admonitions. Therefore, do not complain that you lack living examples of virtue; look at children as Christ taught when he presented a child to his disciples; this is a pleasant, true, constant repentance springing from the Spirit.
7 The reason for all the above is that it is impossible for you to hate something with true and perfect hatred, the opposite of which you have not loved before. Love is more than hatred, and hatred flows naturally and of its own accord from love, and thus arises zeal, which is enraged love, that is, the hatred of evil for the sake of good. Thus the hatred of sin and the loathing of the past life, without being sought by any care or effort, come of themselves; otherwise, to want to obtain the love of righteousness by the hatred of sin would be a perversion of all order and without any benefit from our effort, indeed, the very fabrication of despair and a contrite spirit would be such a perversion. For repentance must be sweet, and must pass from sweetness to anger, to the hatred of sin; for love is a constant bond, because it is done willingly, but hatred
is only a temporary one, because it happens by force. Therefore, first make a man love righteousness, and without your teaching, he will repent of his sin; he will love Christ, and then he will ruthlessly hate himself. Therefore it is said in Ps. 45:8: "Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated wickedness." He first says, "You have loved righteousness," and only then, "You have hated wickedness," and so on.
Addition. In confession you must inquire more whether you also rightly love righteousness than whether you rightly hold sin, and must think with far greater, nay with sole diligence, how you will make the future life good, than how you will leave or hate the past evil life, for the saying which we Germans have: "Nimmer thun die höchste Buße," that is, the best repentance is a new life, is quite true and right, better than all the explanations hitherto given of repentance; as also the apostle writes to the Galatians (6, 15.), "In Christ neither circumcision nor foreskin counts for anything, but a new creature."
8. further, if you want to confess, consider first and foremost what you would do if there were no commandment to confess, if there were no fasting, if no man confessed, if there was no shyness nor shame, but everyone had freedom to do what he wanted: whether you would also confess, repent, do penance in this way? If thou findest thyself not so minded, know that thou hast repented, repented, not out of love of righteousness, but out of habit and fear of the commandment; and thou wouldst rather run with the great multitude, if it were lawful for all to have no repentance and no contrition. But if, even if no man would repent, confess, and be contrite, and even if the whole world would act differently, and without regard to any commandment, you would have repentance only for the love of a new and better life, then you have true repentance. Behold, this is what those are wont to say, that repentance done in love makes sins forgiven. I don't know if this word is understood by all those who say it so often themselves.
but I know that it is very dark and I have never really understood it.
But here you will find, if you do not want to lie, that you are not such a one, but rather you want that your former life is still allowed to you, because you feel completely still inclined to your former life. Thus St. Augustine also confesses that in his repentance he still thought with sorrow of the past life. Yes, if you consider what has been said, you can well say that there is not a single person in the whole world, or only very few, who have this remorse. And of myself I confess quite the same. And if you wanted to confess it truly and sincerely without regard to God, to commandment, punishment, joy, I know you would say: if there were no God, no hell, I would certainly hardly repent; I know, I say, that such is your attitude, however much you may outwardly repent.
(10) What, then, shall we do here? We are to be so, and yet we cannot be so; are we then all to be damned? Let this be far off; but we will answer this: You must recognize yourself as who you are, and not deny that you are so, but go into a corner and, according to the counsel of Christ, pray in secret to your Father in heaven, saying, without pretense, "Behold, good God, you command me to repent, but I, wretched man, am such that I feel I have neither will nor ability to do so. Therefore, lying at your feet, I ask your mercy and grace, make me repentant, you who commanded me to repent. And so you may also pray with St. Augustine, "O Lord, give me what you command, and then command what you will"; and with the whole Church, "Give me a penitent heart." This prayer, I say, and this acknowledgment and confession of your impenitence - if it is not fictitious - will just make God regard you as a truly penitent. And even if you still feel very much inclined to evil, do not be afraid, this confession and prayer of yours will do it, so that Christ will replace what is lacking in yours.
1226 D-1> 336-338. l. Of the Christian faith in particular - third article. W. X, 1471-1473. "1227
(11) And do not let your unworthiness and uncleanness keep you from such prayer; go confidently. For if you will not pray to God, as many foolishly do, until you are completely clean, you will never come to pray. And believe firmly that he who has given you this knowledge of your sinfulness without your asking, will also certainly give you grace upon your asking; indeed, he has therefore given you the knowledge of sinfulness and righteousness, so that you should pray for grace. Thus St. Augustine also speaks with the apostle (Rom. 3, 20.): "By the law comes knowledge of sin, that grace may be bestowed and obtained." Take a likeness: The pagans of old prayed to their idols, and what they asked for came to pass; and the miser puts his trust in his riches, and as he desires, so it comes to pass: how much more will the true and gracious God not permit that one should pray to him and trust in him in vain?
First Amendment. True repentance is not of ourselves, but of the grace of God; therefore we must despair of ourselves and flee to His mercy.
Second addition. Repentance begins in the penitent man, but it does not stop throughout our life until death and does not last, as many think, only for an hour at confession. See, here you have how you must understand it when those speak: one must repent out of love and with good intention, as much as God gives grace. No one, then, may answer the priest: he has repentance; neither should the priest inquire about it, unless he may say: I do not know whether I have repentance, but I pray to the Lord and have firm confidence that with His grace I have repentance and increase in it daily. So much for the first part of repentance.
The second part is the sacramental confession. And here two things are to be noted. First, that you do not presume to confess forgivable sins*), indeed, not even all sins of death.
*) In contrast to the mortal sins, which are committed with will and knowledge out of wickedness, the Roman
sins, because it is impossible to recognize all mortal sins; but no one is obliged to do the impossible. Therefore, only the obvious mortal sins were confessed in the first church, as is evident from 1 Cor. 5:11: "If any man be a fornicator, or a covetous, or an idolater, or a blasphemer, or a drunkard, or a robber, with him ye shall not eat"; and Gal. 5:19: "The works of the flesh are manifest" etc. Many confess according to the five senses, the seven gifts, the seven sacraments, the eight blessednesses, and many other distinctions of sins, being anxious, as it were, not to omit any sin in confession, since there are sometimes sins among them that are not sins at all, or only pardonable ones, and thus tire the priest, waste time, and are burdensome to others.
(13) Therefore thou shalt be prepared to confess in two ways. Once, when you confess to the priest all manifest mortal sins, although it is very difficult to find the difference between mortal and venial sins, except where they are manifested in a manifest act or with apparent consent of the heart, as blasphemy, theft, murder, debauchery, slander, anger, enmity etc. The other time you confess everything else to God, yes, speak with Job (9, 28. according to the Vulg.): "I am in fear because of all my works, for I know that you do not spare the sinner"; and with the Psalmist (19, 13.): "Who can realize how often he fails? Forgive me the hidden faults"; for even our good works are not good, rather they are sins worthy of condemnation, if God wanted to enter into judgment with us. Therefore David says (Ps. 143, 7.): "Do not enter into judgment with your servant, for before you no living person is righteous"; and again (Ps. 116, 11.): "All men are liars. Only through this sincere humble confession in prayer are
they (i.e., the sinful defects in our good works) are forgiven us and become meritorious. Therefore, he also commands us to pray, "Forgive us our debts."
(14) Therefore, in wanting to confess everything purely, we do nothing but leave nothing for God's mercy to forgive, nor trust in Him, but defy our confession and thereby be sure, nor fear His judgment, since "the Lord is well pleased with those who fear Him and with those who trust in His mercy. (Ps. 147:11.)
(15) I have said this, that ye may be warned in the hour of death, when the devil shall not only lay upon us the secret deadly sins, and magnify them, but shall also make of venial, yea, even of good works, vile horrible sins, and shall shew our whole life to be lost and damnable; that thou mayest know what thou oughtest to do, that thou mayest not say, Ah, would that I had confessed, or had time to confess! lest thou despair of what he desires; but have confidence, and say, I know that all my life is damned, if it be judged; but the Lord hath commanded to put my confidence not in my life, but in his mercy, as he himself saith (Matt. 9:2), "Be of good cheer, my son, thy sins be forgiven thee"; and Ps. 63:4. it is said, "Thy mercy is better than life"; for so also did St. Bernard say, when he once thought he would die, "I have wasted my time, for I have led a lost life, and I have nothing but a troubled and bruised heart, which Thou, O God, wilt not spurn" (Ps. 51:19.). Thus, the fear of judgment will humble you, but trust in mercy will lift you humiliated again.
16) Secondly, see that you do not at all rely on being absolved for the sake of your repentance, for then you would be putting your trust in yourself and your works; but for the sake of Christ's word, which He spoke to Peter (Matt. 16:19): "All things whatsoever thou shalt solve on earth shall be solved in heaven.
Heaven be rid of." On this, I say, put your trust when you receive the priest's solution, and surely believe that you are absolved, and you will be truly absolved. For it does not lie to thee, be it for thy repentance what it may. Otherwise, you would not believe the judgment that God has pronounced upon you, who cannot lie, and would thus make yourself truthful, but him a liar; for this judgment must be firm and certain.
(17) Therefore, you must pay much more attention to the fact that nothing is lacking in this faith; otherwise, it may be lacking wherever it may be. Yes, if it were possible that the confessor had no remorse, or that the priest did not absolve in earnest but only in jest, nevertheless, if he only believes that he is absolved, he is truly absolved. So great is the faith, and so powerful is the word of Christ. Therefore those must be damned who will not trust that they are absolved until they are quite sure that they have sufficiently repented, and so build the edifice of their conscience on sand and not on a rock.
18 Thus, in the 14th chapter of the 10th book of Church History, we read that St. Athanasius, once playing with other children, baptized them as he had seen the priests do, and the bishop St. Alexander judged that they were baptized correctly. Item, a certain actor wanted to be baptized in mockery to please the emperor; but behold, under the play an angel appeared to him with a book, and he believed; and so he was baptized just by this mock baptism. Therefore, he who confesses must inquire far more whether he believes he is absolved than whether he has had true repentance; just as Christ asked the blind, "Do you believe that I can do these things to you?" And rightly so; for repentance can never be right enough; but even if it were right, it is not sure, and even if it were sure, it is not sure.
they are not sufficient; but faith and the word of Christ are quite right, quite sure, and quite sufficient.
(19) Thus the error of those who say that the sacraments of the new law are effective signs of grace in such a way that even if one has no true repentance, but only an approach of repentance, if he only does not put up an obstacle by a real sin or the intention to do evil, then he can obtain grace. But I say to you that if you go with a right repentance, but do not believe in absolution, the sacraments will bring you death and damnation. For faith is necessary; how much less, then, is an approach of repentance or the non-imposition of an obstacle sufficient; finally, however, there is no one in the whole world who does not oppose an obstacle, without one alone who believes, since faith alone justifies, and "he who wants to come to God must believe" (Heb. 11:6). For that common saying is quite true and correct: "Not the sacrament, but faith in the sacrament justifies"; or,
as St. Augustine says, "The Sacrament works not because it happens, but because it is believed." But if the Sacrament does not justify, but faith in the Sacrament, how much less does repentance or the non-imposition of an obstacle justify; but faith alone etc.
20 But here again arises the question: How do the sacraments of the old and new law differ, if these give no more grace than those; but that belongs to another time. It is enough to know that the sacraments of the new law are effective signs of grace, if you believe, and nothing more. So much for the second part of repentance.
(21) The third part is satisfaction, of which nothing is read in Scripture, but they say it is done in two ways. One is through the performance of good works, such as alms, fasting, and prayer; the other is through indulgences; but you have my sermon on this, which came out in print the other day, so I will leave it for now. Read it there.