Thomistic Note: The Imago Dei and the Sacrament of Penance

St. Thomas begins his examination of the sacrament of penance with a summary of its broad structures. He explains that the sacramentum tantum of penance is “the acts performed outwardly by the repentant sinner, and by the priest in giving absolution.” The res et sacramentum is “the sinner’s interior penance.” Contrition which flows from charity. This interior penance is what is signified by the sacramentum tantum. Finally, the res tantum—“the forgiveness of sin”—is the spiritual effect or result of the sacrament within its recipient.¹ In his outline of their causal unity, St. Thomas states that the sacramentum tantum is the cause of the res et sacramentum, and the sacramentum tantum together with the res et sacramentum cause the res tantum. Hence, the external actions of this sacrament are the cause of the sinner’s contrition, and the external actions together with the sinner’s contrition cause the forgiveness of sins.²

When speaking of the necessity of the sacrament of penance in the Summa theologiae, St. Thomas is clear: “the sacrament of Penance is ordained, not that man may receive some abundance of grace, but that his sins may be taken away.”³ He explains that the sacrament is not necessary absolutely (absolute) but it is necessary suppositionally (ex suppositione). “A thing is absolutely necessary for salvation, if no one can obtain salvation without it.”⁴ Here, St. Thomas cites the “grace of Christ” and baptism as examples of things absolutely necessary for salvation. The sacrament of penance is necessary “on a supposition, for it is necessary, not for all, but for those who are in sin.”⁵ Thus, “penance is ordained to man’s salvation accidentally as it were, and on something being supposed,” namely, sin.⁶ “Now the offense of mortal sin is due to man’s will being turned away from God, through being turned to some mutable good.”⁷ This is an action that revokes the theological actualization of the graced imago Dei within the human creature, and it requires divine aid to reestablish.

The rational nature of man as created ad imaginem Dei is highly significant for our consideration of the sacrament of penance, because the sacrament is properly proportioned to the imago. Only rational animals can receive the sacrament of penance. The human actions of the penitent serve as the material part within the sacrament. St. Thomas notes that while the “sensible human act itself takes the place of [sacramental] matter,”⁸ these human actions which constitute the sacramental matter are “not applied by the minister, but by God working inwardly” within the penitent.⁹ Thus, the material properly disposed for the sacrament of penance arises from divine and human principles. It is human insofar as the human penitent performs the actions, but it is divine insofar as these actions arise from a divine “internal inspiration” and “inward” movement arising from God himself.

The sacrament of penance is unique among the seven sacraments. The sacraments of baptism and confirmation are “perfected in the use of their [proper] matter” (i.e., water and chrism), and in the sacrament of the Eucharist the matter itself is consecrated (i.e., bread and wine).¹⁰ In the sacrament of penance, however, there is no consecration of matter nor is there any use of “hallowed matter.” Rather, there is “the removal of a certain matter,” namely, sin.¹¹ Thus, the sacramental form (“I absolve you”) is that which perfects the sacrament.¹² The form of absolution effects “the giving of absolution” (STh III, q. 84, a. 3, ad 1) “by expressing the power of the keys” (STh III, q. 84, a. 3, ad 3).¹³ Moreover, the words of absolution serve as instrumental forms: “the words of the priest in this sacrament work as instruments of the Divine power.”¹⁴ Within the sacrament, “the power of Christ’s Passion operates through the priest’s absolution and the acts of the penitent, who co-operates with grace unto the destruction of his sin.”¹⁵ Vitally important is the truth that “penance derives its power from Christ’s Passion, as a spiritual medicine.”¹⁶ Through the sacrament of penance, the penitent comes into true, saving contact with our saving Lord. This contact alone explains the power of the sacrament for the forgiveness of sins. Related to this, St. Thomas explicitly highlights the salvific power of the name of Jesus within this medicinal sacrament: “It is from the power of the name of Jesus Christ suffering and rising again that this sacrament is efficacious unto the remission of sins.”¹⁷

In a particularly moving section of his examination of the sacrament of penance, St. Thomas asks whether contrition, confession, and satisfaction are fittingly assigned as parts of penance. He answers that they are. In order to explain their integral fittingness, St. Thomas compares the recompense made in vindictive justice with that made in the sacrament of penance.

In vindictive justice the recompense [recompensatio] is made according to the judge’s decision, and not according to the discretion of the offender or of the person offended; whereas, in Penance, the recompense of the offense is made according to the will of the sinner, and the judgment of God against Whom the sin was committed, because… we seek not only the restoration of the equality of justice… but also and still more the reconciliation of friendship [reconciliatio amicitiae], which is accomplished by the offender making recompense according to the will of the person offended. Accordingly, the first requisite on the part of the penitent is the will to make recompense, and this is done by contrition; the second is that he submit to the judgment of the priest standing in God’s place, and this is done in confession; and the third is that he make recompense according to the decision of God’s minister, and this is done in satisfaction: and so contrition, confession, and satisfaction are assigned as parts of Penance.¹⁸

We observe in this outline of the parts of penance, Aquinas’s deep integration of the divine and the human in the sacrament of reconciliation. Within this sacrament there is a restoration of the graced imago Dei within the penitent. Unlike in the case of human pardon, St. Thomas says “it is impossible that God pardon a man for an offense, without his [man’s] will being changed.”¹⁹ He explains how this change of will occurs:

The difference between the grace of God and the grace of man [or “grace extended by man”], is that the latter does not cause, but presupposes true or apparent goodness in him who is graced, whereas the grace of God causes goodness in the man who is graced, because the good-will of God, which is denoted by the word grace, is the cause of all created good.²⁰

It is God who lovingly moves the will of the creature to contrition for sin. The role of grace with regard to the origination of the contrition is absolutely essential within the sacrament. “One integral part can include the whole, though not as to its essence: because the foundation, in a way, contains virtually the whole building. In this way contrition includes virtually the whole of Penance.”²¹

The sacrament of penance thus serves as a “second plank” for those who have compromised their graced image. Through this sacrament, sins are forgiven—taken away—and the penitent is once again restored to the divine friendship. This restoration occurs at the divine initiative and within the rational powers of the human soul. God graciously moves the sinner to penance. It is through God’s grace moving the sinner suaviter et fortiter, that a rational creature created ad imaginem Dei receives the restoration of the image of grace within his soul.²²

With regard to sins repeated after absolution, St. Thomas is adamant that the past sins remain forgiven.²³ Moreover, he argues that past receptions of the sacrament of penance do aid in the prevention of future sins: “true penance not only removes past sins, but also preserves man from future sins. Consequently, although a man receives forgiveness of past sins in the first instant of his true penance, nevertheless he must persevere in his penance, lest he fall again into sin.”²⁴ Perseverance in penance is the key to avoiding the repetition of sinful actions. St. Thomas explains that both internal and external penance pertain to beginners in the spiritual life because they “are making a fresh start from the state of sin.” As one grows in holiness, external penance may be less necessary. Nonetheless, “there is room for internal penance even in the proficient and the perfect.”²⁵ While it is impossible to maintain a state of continual actual repentance (because of things like sleep and other bodily needs), a man should maintain a state of continual habitual repentance, whereby “he should repent continually, both by never doing anything contrary to [the virtue of] penance, so as to destroy the habitual disposition of the penitent, and by being resolved that his past sins should always be displeasing to him.”²⁶

St. Thomas admits within his examination of the sacrament of penance that repeated sins do effect certain challenges to growth in holiness even after absolution. “Mortal sin, in so far as it turns inordinately to a mutable good, produces in the soul a certain disposition, or even a habit, if the acts be repeated frequently.”²⁷

The guilt of mortal sin [culpa mortalis peccati] is pardoned through grace removing the aversion of the mind from God [aversio mentis a Deo]. Nevertheless when that which is on the part of the aversion has been taken away by grace, that which is on the part of the inordinate turning to a mutable good can remain, since this may happen to be without the other… Consequently, there is no reason why, after the guilt [culpa] has been forgiven, the dispositions [dispositiones] caused by preceding acts should not remain, which are called the remnants of sin [peccati reliquiae]. Yet they remain weakened and diminished, so as not to domineer over man, and they are after the manner of dispositions rather than habits, like the fomes which remains after Baptism.²⁸

Although the grace of the sacrament of penance infallibly removes the aversion of the mind from God, the proper effect of the sacrament is not to remove the dispositional remnants of previously committed sins. “That which is on the part of the inordinate turning to a mutable good can remain.” The process of eradicating the remnants of sin is a different work, and it takes various forms:

God heals the whole man perfectly, but sometimes suddenly… and sometimes by degrees… And so too, He sometimes turns the heart of man with such power, that it receives at once perfect spiritual health, not only the guilt being pardoned, but all remnants of sin being removed, as was the case with Magdalen (Luke 6); whereas at other times He sometimes first pardons the guilt by operating grace, and afterwards, by co-operating grace, removes the remnants of sin by degrees.²⁹

More often than not, in his mysterious wisdom, God ordains that these remnants should be removed gradually through the saving dynamics of cooperative grace and human freedom. However, St. Thomas believes that penitents should take consolation in the fact that “when man is in a state of grace, he can avoid all mortal sins, and each single one.”³⁰

Pastoral Implications

The graced movement of conversion to God—which is also a movement of aversion from sin—pivots on the axis of contrition and penance. The sacrament of penance causes the re-conformation of the human creature to the divine imago Dei pattern. This is why contrition is key within St. Thomas’s account of the sacrament—it arises from within, as the result of a divine motion.

The truth of God’s love is the salvific key for those who succumb to grave sin even after confession. All sinners are trying to find a replacement for the good only present within the sanctifying actualization of the image of conformity. This unfortunate condition remains possible even after confession because of the nature of human freedom.

The sanctifying rhythms of the virtue of penance—in union with the dynamics of authentic contrition—afford penitents the true solution to moral recidivism. God moves the sinner first and from within. His grace draws us to himself because of his goodness, not because of our goodness.³¹ God’s merciful initiative, operative within the rational structures of human nature, is a consoling reality for those struggling with habitual sins. Through the Incarnation, Jesus overcame the gap between man and God, rendering the salvific degrees of “ad-ness” in the ad imaginem Dei possible. The image of conformity made possible by Christ is that of divine friendship—the knowing and loving of friends. Jesus—the Imago Incarnate—heals imperfect, broken, fractured images.³² As the Image, Jesus was wounded for our image-harming offenses. Our salvation comes about through conformity to the one Image who redeems.

Here, again, the power of the name of Jesus and recollection remerge as salvifically powerful and efficacious.³³ Jesus is near to us in our times of need. Speaking his name assures us of this saving fact. The name of Jesus—spoken on our lips and in our hearts, and thereby enacting the image of conformity—is a sign of God’s union with us.

We conclude with a deeply moving and consoling statement from St. Thomas: “God’s mercy is more powerful than man’s, in that it moves man’s will to repent, which man’s mercy cannot do” (STh III, q. 86, a. 2). Jesus came to earth to save sinners; he comes to us to save us. Jesus, the perfect Imago Dei is the “wisest and best friend” for those created ad imaginem Dei.³⁴ He who came down from Heaven—for us men and for our salvation in order that we might be fully conformed to our supernatural end—will not abandon those who hold fast to him in truth and love.

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1. STh III, q. 84, a. 1, ad 3.↩︎

2. For a concise examination the distinction between contrition and attrition, see Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P., Reality: A Synthesis of Thomistic Thought, trans. Rev. Patrick Cummins, O.S.B. (St. Louis, MO: B. Herder Book Co., 1950), 260–63.↩︎

3. STh III, q. 84, a. 4.↩︎

4. STh III, q. 84, a. 5.↩︎

5. Ibid.↩︎

6. STh III, q. 84, a. 6.↩︎

7. STh III, q. 86, a. 2↩︎

8. STh III, q. 84, a. 1, ad. 1.↩︎

9. STh III, q. 84, a. 1, ad. 2.↩︎

10. “In those sacraments which are perfected in the use of the matter, the minister has to perform some bodily action on the recipient of the sacrament, e.g. in Baptism, Confirmation, and Extreme Unction; whereas this sacrament does not consist in the use of matter employed outwardly, the matter being supplied by the part taken by the penitent: wherefore, just as in the Eucharist the priest perfects the sacrament by merely pronouncing the words over the matter, so the mere words which the priest while absolving pronounces over the penitent perfect the sacrament of absolution” (STh III, q. 84, a. 4, ad 3).↩︎

11. STh III, q. 84, a. 3.↩︎

12. “This sacrament [penance] is perfected by that which is done by the priest” (Ibid.).↩︎

13. “When he [the priest] says: I absolve thee, he declares the man to be absolved not only significatively but also effectively” (STh III, q. 84, a. 3, ad 5). “Not yet, however, [in the Old Law] was the power of the keys instituted, which is derived from Christ’s Passion, and consequently it was not yet ordained that a man should grieve for his sin, with the purpose of submitting himself by confession and satisfaction to the keys of the Church, in the hope of receiving forgiveness through the power of Christ’s Passion” (STh III, q. 84, a. 7, ad 2).↩︎

14. STh III, q. 84, a. 3, ad 3.↩︎

15. STh III, q. 84, a. 5. “In point of fact, penance has indeed a general matter, inasmuch as it regards all sin; but it does so under a special aspect, inasmuch as they can be remedied by an act of man in co-operating with God for his justification” (STh III, q. 85, a. 2, ad 2).↩︎

16. STh III, q. 84, a. 10, ad 5.↩︎

17. STh III, q. 84, a. 7.↩︎

18. STh III, q. 90, a. 2.↩︎

19. STh III, q. 86, a. 2.↩︎

20. Ibid.↩︎

21. STh III, q. 90, a. 3↩︎

22. Colman E. O’Neill, O.P., explains that St. Thomas “is relating the process of justification to the structure of the sacrament [of penance]. He wants us to see how the sacrament achieves justification by bringing the power of Christ to bear on the penitent’s capacity to make an act of contrition. Confession is a sacrament of forgiveness, yes; but it achieves its purpose by making a responsible adult genuinely repentant. The human person, with his freedom and moral responsibility, is the central figure in the sacrament. Certainly, it is God who, in His mercy, draws the sinner back to Himself; but He does draw him, respecting the nature which He has given him” (Meeting Christ in the Sacraments, rev. ed. Romanus Cessario, O.P. [New York: Alba House, 1991], 260)↩︎

23. “But if a man sin afterwards either by act or intention, this does not destroy the fact that his former penance was real, because the reality of a former act is never destroyed by a subsequent contrary act: for even as he truly ran who afterwards sits, so he truly repented who subsequently sins” (STh III, q. 84, a. 10, ad 4).↩︎

24. STh III, q. 84, a. 8, ad 1.↩︎

25. STh III, q. 84, a. 8, ad 2.↩︎

26. STh III, q. 84, a. 9.↩︎

27. STh III, q. 86, a. 5.↩︎

28. Ibid.↩︎

29. STh III, q. 86, a. 5, ad 1.↩︎

30. STh III, q. 87, a. 1.↩︎

31. See STh I, q. 20, a. 2.↩︎

32. See STh II-II, q. 23, a. 1.↩︎

33. “It is from the power of the name of Jesus Christ suffering and rising again that this sacrament [of Penance] is efficacious unto the remission of sins” (STh III, q. 84, a. 7).↩︎

34. STh I-II, q. 108, a. 4, sed contra.↩︎