CHAPTER XI

OF THE TENTH ARTICLE

“THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS”

QUESTION I

Why it is necessary to believe that there is a Remission of Sins in the Church

No one can fail to perceive that the fact of this being enumerated among the other articles of the Creed, proves that it conveys not only a divine mystery, but also [a mystery] very necessary unto salvation; for it has been already shown that, without a firm belief of all the articles of the Creed, the way to Christian piety is wholly unattainable. Should however a truth, which ought of itself to be known to all, seem to require also some testimony in its confirmation, it is enough that our Saviour, a short time previous to his ascension into heaven, when opening the understanding of his disciples, that they might understand the Scriptures, bore testimony to this article of the Creed, in these words: It behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise again from the dead the third day, and that penance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. Let pastors but observe well these words, and they will readily understand that, whilst the other matters that regard religion are to be made known to the faithful, a great obligation is particularly imposed on him by the Lord, of diligently explaining to them this article.

On this point, then, it is the duty of the pastor to teach, that not only is forgiveness of sins to be found in the Catholic Church, as Isaiah had foretold in these words: The people that dwell therein shall have their iniquity taken away from them; but also, that in her is contained the power of remitting sins; which power, if exercised by the priest duly, and according to the laws prescribed by our Lord, is, we must needs believe, such as truly to pardon and remit sins.

QUESTION II

In what manner Sins are remitted in the Church

But this pardon, when first we make a profession of faith, and are cleansed in holy baptism, is given to us entire and unqualified, in such wise that no sin, whether original or actual, of omission or commission, remains to be expiated, no penalty to be paid. But by the grace of baptism, nevertheless, no one is exempted from all the infirmities of nature; on the contrary, contending, as we all have to contend, against the motions of concupiscence, which ceaseth not to incite us to sin, we shall scarcely find one who opposes so vigorous a resistance, or who guards his salvation so vigilantly as to be able to escape from every blow. It being necessary, therefore, that a power of forgiving sins, distinct from that of baptism, should exist in the Church, to her were intrusted the keys of the kingdom of heaven, by which each one, if penitent, may obtain the remission of his sins, though he had sinned to the last day of his life. This truth is vouched by the clearest authority of sacred Scripture: in St. Matthew, the Lord saith thus to Peter: I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, shall be bound also in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, shall be loosed also in heaven; and again: Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth, shall be bound also in heaven; and whatsoever ye shall loose upon earth, shall be loosed also in heaven. Again, the testimony of St. John assures us that the Lord, having breathed on the apostles, said: Receive ye the Holy Ghost, whose sins ye shall remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose ye shall retain, they are retained.

QUESTION III

The Power of Remitting Sins is not restrained by any particular Sins, or by circumstances of time

Nor must we suppose that the exercise of this power is restricted to particular sorts of sins; for no crime, however heinous, can be committed or conceived, which the Church has not power to remit; as, also, there is no sinner, however abandoned, however depraved, who ought; not confidently to hope for pardon, provided he repent him truly of his transgressions. Neither is the exercise of this power restricted to any particular time; for at whatsoever hour the sinner shall wish to turn from his evil ways, ho is not to be rejected, as our Saviour taught the prince of the apostles, asking how often sinners are to be forgiven, whether seven times, answered, Not until seven times, but until seventy times seven.

QUESTION IV

The power of Remitting Sins is not granted to all Christians

If however we look to the ministers of this divine power, it will appear to be less extensive. For our Lord confided this power not to all, but to bishops and priests only; and as to the manner of its exercise, we must be of the same opinion, for sins can be forgiven only through the sacraments, if their form be duly administered; but the Church has received no power to remit sin otherwise. Hence it follows, that priests and the sacraments serve as instruments unto the forgiveness of sins, by which Christ the Lord, the author himself and bestower of salvation, accomplishes in us the remission of sins and justification.

QUESTION V

How great is the Boon granted to the Church of Remitting Sins

But that the faithful may look with greater veneration upon this heavenly gift, bestowed on the Church by the singular mercy of God towards us, and may approach its use and participation with more ardent zealousness of devotion, the pastor must endeavour to point out the dignity and amplitude of this grace. And this is best evinced by carefully explaining how great must be the efficacy of that which remits sins, and makes men just from unjust. For it is evident that this is effected by the infinite and immense power of God, which same power we believe to have been necessary in raising the dead to life, and in the creation of the world. If it be true, as is confirmed by the authority of St. Augustine, that to render a sinner from unrighteous, righteous, is a greater work than to create heaven and earth from nothing, it follows, since creation itself can result only from infinite power, that there is still stronger reason to attribute the remission of sins to [this same] infinite power.

QUESTION VI

No one, besides God, doth by his own Power remit Sins

We therefore confess that the ancient fathers have most truly declared that by God alone can sins be forgiven, and that to no other author than to his infinite goodness and power is so wonderful a work to be referred: I am he, says the Lord himself, by the mouth of his prophet, I am he that blotteth out thy iniquities. For the manner of the remission of sins seems to be analogous to the [cancelling of a] pecuniary debt. As, therefore, none but the creditor can forgive the pecuniary debt, so the debts [of sin] which we owe to God alone (for our daily prayer is, forgive us our debts), can it is evident, be forgiven by none else save him alone.

QUESTION VII

The Power of Remitting Sins was granted to no Mortal before the Birth of Christ

But this wonderful and divine gift was imparted to no created nature until God became man. Christ our Saviour, himself true God, was the first of all who, as man, received this prerogative from his heavenly Father: That ye may know, saith he, that the Son of Man hath power on earth to forgive sins (therefore saith he to the sick of the palsy), Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. As, therefore, he became man, in order to bestow on men this forgiveness of sins, be communicated this power to bishops and priests in the Church, before he ascended into heaven, there to sit for ever at the right hand of God. Nevertheless, Christ, as we have before taught, remits sin by virtue of his own authority; all others [by virtue of the authority received by them] as his ministers. Wherefore, if we ought especially to admire and reverence whatever is the effect of infinite power, we must sufficiently understand that this gift, which has been bestowed on the Church by the bounteous hand of Christ the Lord, is one of inestimable value.

QUESTION VIII

By what Power Men obtain Pardon of their Sins

The manner also in which God, our most merciful Father, resolved to wipe out the sins of the world, must powerfully excite the minds of the faithful to the contemplation of the magnitude of this blessing; for it was his will that our crimes should be expiated by the blood of his only begotten Son, that he should voluntarily pay the penalty which we had deserved by our sins, and suffer a most cruel death; the just for the unjust, the innocent for the guilty. When, therefore, we reflect within our hearts, that we were not redeemed with corruptible things, gold or silver, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot, we are easily led to conclude, that no gift more salutary could have befallen us than this power of forgiving sins, which showeth forth the ineffable providence of God, and the excess of his love towards us. And from this reflection the most abundant fruit must necessarily redound to us all.

QUESTION IX

In what manner we may chiefly perceive the Magnitude of the Benefit which is offered to us in the Power of the Keys

For whoever offends God, even by one mortal sin, instantly forfeits whatsoever merits he has previously acquired through the death of Christ on the cross, and is entirely shut out from the gate of Paradise, which, when previously closed, was thrown open to all by our Saviour’s passion. And, indeed, when this reflection enters into our mind, it is impossible for us not to feel impressed with the most earnest solicitude, on contemplating the picture of human misery. But if we turn our attention to this admirable power which has been divinely bestowed on the Church, and, in the firm belief of this article, be persuaded that to every one is offered the means of recovering, by the divine assistance, his former dignity; we are at once compelled to exult with exceeding joy and gladness, and to offer immortal thanks to God. And certainly, if, when we labour under some severe malady, the medicines prepared for us by the art and industry of the physician, are wont to seem grateful and agreeable to us, how much more agreeable should those remedies be, which by the wisdom of God have been devised to heal our spiritual maladies, and restore us unto life; remedies which, unlike the medicines used for the body, bring with them, not an uncertain hope of recovery, but certain health to such as desire to be cured.

QUESTION X

Why, and how, Christians should have frequent recourse to the exercise of the Power of the Keys in the Church

The faithful, therefore, when they have formed a conception of the dignity of so ample and glorious a blessing, should be exhorted to study religiously to turn it also to their own benefit. For he who makes no use of what is useful and necessary, must necessarily be supposed to despise it; particularly as the Lord communicated to the Church this power of remitting sins, to the end that all might have recourse to this salutary remedy. For as no man can be cleansed without baptism, so, whoever desires to recover the grace of baptism, forfeited by mortal sins, must have recourse to another means of expiation, namely the sacrament of penance. But here the faithful are to be admonished to be on their guard, lest,—so plenary a power of giving pardon being set forth, which, as we have already said, is unrestricted by time,—they become more readily given to sinning, or slower to repentance; for in the former case, since they are manifestly convicted of acting injuriously and contumeliously towards this divine power, they must therefore be unworthy of the divine mercy; in the latter, there is great reason to apprehend, lest, overtaken beforehand by death, they may in vain have confessed their belief in the remission of sins, which they have deservedly forfeited by their tardiness and procrastination.