The purpose for which contrition is required.
The purpose for which contrition is required.
§ 73. Furthermore, contrition is required in true conversion to God not as merit for reconciliation nor as a means of receiving grace but as part of the order which God observes in people who are going to be converted and as part of the obedience which He demands of those people, since He is unwilling to work in stubborn and secure hearts. For how could contrition be a means for earning and apprehending grace? (1) It comes from the Law, but from the Law comes the knowledge of sin, not its acquittal (Rom. 3:20). Justification does not come from the works of the Law (Gal. 2:16), and “the Law works wrath” (Rom. 4:15).
(2) It is imperfect, for of whatsoever quality it may be or howsoever great it may be, it does not equal the wickedness of sins and the magnitude of divine wrath either in intensity or in value [sive intensive sive appretiative], as they say. Thus if we had to think about the remission of sins on the basis of the quality or quantity of our contrition, penitents would have to battle with constant doubts truly and earnestly.
(3) It lacks the ability to grasp Christ the Mediator, who made satisfaction for our sins; and thus it cannot give the conscience peace and quiet.
(4) There is no relation between our contrition and God’s free promise concerning the forgiveness of sins, but there does exist a perpetual relation between the word of the Gospel and faith. Therefore when repentance receives the attribution of being a means of reconciliation and of life, it must be stated that this happens by synecdoche with respect to the most important and noble part, namely, faith in Christ, which alone apprehends Christ’s merit offered in the word of the Gospel and which finds the grace of God, righteousness, and eternal life in Christ. The forerunner of this faith is contrition, but its handmaiden is good works, so that faith alone remains the queen in our reconciliation with God.
§ 74. Up to this point we have been explaining our position—that is, the position of Holy Scripture itself—concerning contrition. It remains for us to examine the opinion of the Papists, which Bellarmine (De poenit., bk. 2, ch. 1) includes in the following questions: “(1) Is contrition a good and free act, and does it pertain to the Law or to the Gospel? (2) Is it an act of free choice alone? (3) Does it include a hatred and loathing of past sin? (4) Does it include the intent to live well? (5) Is it necessary for justification? (6) Does it demand great sorrow? (7) Does it have the power to reconcile the sinner to God? (8) Does it come before the absolution of the priest? (9) Can it erase all sins? (10) Is attrition a gift of God?”