The Irish standard., 1909-10-16

sent Me also send you Receive
We the Holy Ghost. Whose sins ye
shall forgive they are forgiven them,
and whose sins yc shall retain they
are retained
THAT peace which 1 confer on you
IS the earnest of My love you will i'm
part to repentant sinners as pledge
Of their reconciliation with God. The
ahsolving power ] have from My
Father delegate to you. Receive the
Holy Ghost that you may impart this
Holy Spirit to souls possessed by the
evil one. II their sins be as scarlet,
they shall be made as white as snow:
and If they be red as crimson, they
shall be white as wool. II they are as
numerous as the sands on the sea-
shore, they shall be blotted out. pro-
vided they come to you with contrite
hearts. The sentence of absolution
which you shall pronounce on earth
shall be ratified by Me in heaven
Let me draw from these words of st.
John three important considerations:
First. 1t is evident that the par
doning power given. to the apostles
was not restricted to them, but WAS
extended. : t. their successors in the
ministry unto all times and places.
The forslveness: Of sin wal" to ;oon-
tinue as long as sin lasted in the world
and as sin, alas! will always exist on
earth. SO will the remedy for sin ne
always found in the Church. The
,antidote will co-exist with the disease
The power which our Lord gave the
apostles to, preach. to baptize. to con-
firm, to ordain was certainly trans-
mitted by them to their SUCCESSORS
Why not also the power that they
had received to pardon sins, since
mans grentea+ nsed In his reconcilin-
tion with God by the forgiveness CT
his transgressions?
;second. 1t is equally evident that
absolution for sin was ordinarily to
be obtained through the ministry Of
the apostles and their successors, just
as it was from them that the faith
full were to receive the Word Of God
and the grace Of the sacramentx. The
pardoning power was an extraordin-
ary prerOgative conferred upon the
apostles. But it would have been an
insignificant and useless privilege IL
sinners could always obtain forgive-
ness by secretly confesslng to God IN
their chambers. Rarely would any
penitents have recourse to Gods min
listers If they could obtain pardon On
such easy terms. God says to HIS
priests, I give you the keys of NY
kingdom, that you may dispense the
treasures Of mercy to repenting sim
ners.' But the keys Of Gods treasures
would seldom be used IL sinner could
obtain a ransom without applying to
His ministers.
1T follows also that the power of
forgiving sins on the part of Christ 8
ministers involves the previous obliga-
tion on the part Of the penitent ~
confess them. The priest is not en-
powered to give absolution to every
one Unfortunately. His power is
judicial, and must be exercised with
prudence and discretion. He must re- :
ject the impenitent and absolve the
contrite. But he cannot judge of tho
state Of the sinner unless he knows
his sins, and his sins he cannot know
unless they are confessed.
1T is hardly necessary to add that
the absolution given to the penitent
does not exonerate him from making
restitution as far as he can for any
injustice he may have committed and
for repairing the injury. he has done to
his neighbor. The confessor instead
Of relaxing or condoning the, claims OF
justice, is Jealous in enforcing them
though the restitution need not involv:
the penitent's exposure and degrade
tion. I have been personally more
than. once the agent in making resti'
tuition to families and their heirs fo1
-'s ri 4!'t.F, q - re- -