In the last post, we spoke about ejaculatory prayer, and how this method of "praying without ceasing" helps to keep the lifeline to God open with short, frequent fiery darts of love shot into the heart of God. It is neither too hard to do, nor too burdensome, nor too time consuming. It is both a grace and a habit of the will to pray in this way, for it disposes us to a habit of gratitude, love, hope, and trust.
"I no longer fear God," said the great Abba Anthony, "but I love Him." For perfect love casts out fear. “If a man loves God with all his heart, all his thoughts, all his will, and all his strength, he will gain the fear of God; the fear will produce tears, tears will produce strength; by the perfection of this the soul will bear all kinds of fruits.”
So then, without love for God, we cannot know the fear of God. And without the fear of God, we cannot love Him and be made perfect. Remember, "fear of the Lord" is a gift of the Holy Spirit, which brings to perfection the virtue of hope.
During the month of November, I have been trying to stop by the cemetery every day to pray and gain indulgences for the souls in purgatory. Part of the conditions for this, of course, is to be "detached from all sin" which can be intimidating. I have to have confidence, however, that God would not place in us the desire to be made saints and not give us the means to attain this state, nor would he set the bar for gaining such graces (indulgences) so high that we would not be able to merit them. For we tend to fall back on scrupulosity when we do not trust. We tend to doubt when we lack in faith. We overcomplicate what should be simply in this faith. And we tend to fear when we do not love.
So it is with contrition of charity, or perfect contrition. It is a great grace we should ask for frequently, and if we ask in love and trust, He will grant it to us.
And what is perfect contrition? Quite simply, it is the sorrow for sins that arises from pure love of God, rather than fear of punishment or damnation. Like detachment from sin, it is not easy, but it is attainable and within our reach by grace. The Sacrament of Confession is a great grace, but when it is not available in times of distress, the Lord does not abandon us on technicalities. As He granted paradise to the good thief Dismas, so too He fills us with true and honest sorrow so that we are truly forgiven and absolved even before making it to Confession when it becomes available. Of course, we must avail ourselves of the Sacrament as soon as possible. See here
No doubt, it is more difficult to make an act of Perfect Contrition than an Imperfect one, which suffices when we go to Confession. But still, there is no one who, if he sincerely wishes it, cannot, with the grace of God, make an act of Perfect Contrition. Sorrow is in the will, not in the senses or feelings. All that is needed is that we repent because we love God above everything else; that is all. True it is that Perfect Contrition has its degrees, but it is none the less perfect because it does not reach the intensity and sublimity of the sorrow of St. Peter, of St. Mary Magdalene, or of St. Aloysius. Such a degree is very desirable, but is by no means necessary. A lesser degree, but, provided it proceeds from the love of God, and not through fear of His punishments, is quite sufficient. And it is very consoling to remember that for the 4000 years before the coming of Christ the only means sinners had of obtaining pardon was this same Perfect Contrition. There was no Sacrament of Penance in those days. Even today for thousands-aye, for millions-of pagans, of non-Catholics, and of Catholics, too, who have no time to call a priest to their bedside, the only means of pardon and salvation is an act of Perfect Contrition.
But during dangerous periods of near-death, the temptation for the man who does not know the Lord intimately yet who fears death and Judgement is to not trust in God's great mercy out of love, but to revert to trepidation and rationalization. He may know he will face the Lord soon, but be unable to bring himself to contrition out of love. For how can you love what you do not know? Of course, God can grant these great graces to anyone he chooses; naturally speaking, however, it is similar to deathbed conversions for great sinners: not as common as one may think without great grace. We tend to die as we have lived, as St. Robert Bellarmine wrote.
Now, if it is true that God does not wish the death of a sinner, it follows that He does not wish to impose on His creatures a contrition or sorrow beyond their powers, but one that is within the reach of everyone. And so, if millions of poor creatures who, through no fault of their own, live and die outside the True Fold, if these can obtain the grace of Perfect Contrition, do you imagine, dear reader, that it will be difficult for you-you who enjoy the happiness of being a Christian and a Catholic, and so are capable of receiving much greater graces than they-you who are far better instructed in things divine than the poor infidels are?
For one who has done his best to love God, to know Him, to trust Him, to serve Him, should he find himself in the occasion of death without a priest available, he should not fear or doubt. For this is how the Devil will work in these final moments to strip the penitent of his confidence with legalism: "With no priest present to absolve you, how do you expect to be saved? You are damned, you are mine."
But I dare to go even further. Often, very often, without even thinking of it, you have Perfect Contrition for your sins. For example, when you hear Mass devoutly or make the Stations of the Cross properly; when you reflect before your crucifix or an image of the Sacred Heart. What is more, every time you say the 'Our Father,' in the first three petitions you make three acts of perfect charity, each of which is sufficient to cancel every sin from your soul.
I wrote about the benefit of aspirations yesterday, but see how they prepare us for this great act of faith in perfect contrition, the contrition of charity:
Very often, a few words suffice to express the most ardent love and the most profound sorrow -for instance, the little ejaculations, 'My Jesus, mercy,' 'My God and my All,' 'My God, I love Thee above all things,' 'My God, have mercy on me, a poor sinner.' Aided by the grace of God (and God has promised to give to all who ask), it is by no means difficult to make an Act of Contrition. Take the case of David, who for one curious look fell into the sin of adultery, and then of murder. Having committed these sins, he lived on quite unconcerned about the state of his soul till the prophet Nathan came to reprove him. And this reproach induced David to make an act of Perfect Contrition in a few words, 'Pec- cavi Domino' ('I have sinned against the Lord'). So efficacious was his contrition that the prophet, inspired by God, exclaimed, 'The Lord has forgiven you.'
The reason I do the First Fridays and First Saturday devotions is because I, like all fervent Catholics, recognize my weakness. I need the grace of final perseverance, and to receive the Sacraments in my final hours would be a great grace. So, I liken it to a spiritual insurance policy and last testament of will. Regardless, though, love in this life for--for one's spouse, family, friends, and enemies--is never wasted. And love for the Lord is not either. In it we prepare to meet him, and that He will not cast us out as one of those whom He knows not, but as friends welcomed to the banquet. When we forget, when we sin, we fly back to Him in sorrow, because we love Him and want to make amends by way of contrition and penance. For we know that perfect love casts out fear (1 Jn 4:18)
If we have seen the fruits of fear, we have seen it in the past couple years. It has lead to chemical dependencies and overdoes; suicides; anxiety and depression; tribalism which seeks comfort in the absence of control. It is not of God. Even for Catholics, we must learn that even though we know "No priests, no Church," we cannot rely on them for everything. Like God's love, the gift of faith, fear of God, wisdom, and forgiveness, everything is a gift and a grace. So, let us learn to love God more and more in this life--through frequent ejaculations, adoration, and begging for the grace of true sorrow, so that we made perfect by the contrition of charity.
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