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PASTORAL PSYCHOLOGY
only transgressions against the fellowship; God alone forgives
sins.
As we have pointed out, reparation, or restoration, can be
seen from a purely human point of view. Regardless of our
religious attitude, we all hold the opinion that when a person
is willing to accept the consequences of wrongdoing he should
attempt to repair the ill he has wrought. But sometimes this
can be a way of silencing an accusing conscience. There exists
also a kind of compensatory form of reparative act, in which
one meets a small obligation in order to excuse oneself for
refusing to acknowledge a bigger one; just as a person will
confess certain sins in order to avoid coming to terms with his
deeper motivations. On the other hand, behind a desire to make
reparation there may be a deep and pure need, as in confession
itself, to feel oneself an integral part of the human family.
The Groups of Penances
Some readers may be interested to know of the penances that
some confessors impose upon their penitents. Belton divides
penances into three groups: pious penances, training in
abstinence, and preventive penances. He considers that, as the
confessor is obliged to impose a penance, the penitent is
obliged to accept and perform it. If a difficult penance is
imposed, which the penitent considers impossible to carry out,
he should immediately inform the confessor of this, giving his
reasons. If the reasons seem acceptable, an easier penance
should be given.
It must be observed here that penance in not merely a
question of doing something one does not like. A penance is not
a form of spiritual punishment. The established penances seem
to have been built upon the rules of spiritual health: if they
were used, the spiritual health would as a result improve. Rules
of discipline and abstinence were directions for what might be
described as ‘courses of spiritual gymnastics’, carefully
devised schemes of training in self-knowledge, self-control and
spiritual insight.
Confession reveals faults in the Christian life and in the
personal character. It is to the interest of the penitent that the
counsellor should draw his attention to the necessity of attempting
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