136 



THE MEANS OF GRACE 



2. Duty of Receiving This Sacrament. — 

 From the fact that Penance is by divine right 

 necessary for all who have fallen into mortal sin, 

 it follows that a Catholic is bound to receive this 

 Sacrament — 



a) When he has had the misfortune of commit- 

 ting a mortal sin. Consciously and voluntarily to 

 remain in the state of mortal sin is incompatible 

 with the virtue of charity towards God, shows 

 contempt for grace, and runs counter to Chris- 

 tian self-love, because the sinner thereby in- 

 capacitates himself for the performance of any 

 and all meritorious works and endangers his soul. 4 

 Hence it is advisable to go to confession as soon 

 as possible after falling into mortal sin. 5 



All sins committed after Baptism are matter 

 (materia remota et removenda) for Penance. 

 Mortal sins alone are necessary matter (materia 



et consoJatio miseriarum, impieta- 

 tern suam abscondere." (Migne, 

 P. L., XXIV, 65).— Idem, Epist. 

 130 (a/. 8), n. 9: "Verum nos ig 

 noremus poenitentiam, ne facile pec 

 cetnus. Ilia quasi secunda post nau 

 fragium miseris tabula sit, in vir- 

 gine integra servetur navis. Aliud 

 est quaerere, quod perdideris, aliud 

 est possidere, quod nunquam ami- 

 seris." (P. L., XXII, 1115).— Cfr. 

 Cone. Trident., Sess. XIV, De 

 Poenit., can. 2 (Denzinger-Bann- 

 ■wart, n. 912). — Cat. Rom., P. II, c. 

 5, qu. 1. — Peter Lombard, Sent., IV, 

 disk 14, p. 1. — St. Thomas, Summa 

 Theol., 3a, qu. 84, art. 6. — St. Bona- 

 venture, Breviloquium, P. VI, c. 10 

 (ed. II, Vicetia, p. 531). — Pohle- 



Preuss, The Sacraments, Vol. Ill, 

 2nd ed., p. 73. 



4 Cone. Trident., Sess. XIV, De 

 Poenit., can. 1 (Denzinger-Bann- 

 wart, n. 911). — St. Thomas, Summa 

 Theol., 3a, Suppl., qu. 6, art. 5. 



5 Cfr. St. Bonaventure, Comment. 

 in Sent., IV, dist. 17, qu. 2, p. 2: 

 "Consilium tamen sanum credo, quod 

 omnes, qui cadunt per mortate, 

 quam citius possunt, confiteantur; 

 non enim videtur vere contritus, qui 

 tarn longo tempore vulnus peccati 

 portat occultum. . . . De talibus 

 generaliter asserere, quod possunt 

 usque ad Pascha differre, videtur 

 mihi periculosum." (Opera Omnia, 

 IV, 445 sqj. 



