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| Peregrinus
Gasolinus: Wandering Notes on the Liturgy;
Chapter 9
Confessionals
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The
Antiquary is much in demand as preacher
and confessor during the Forty Hours
Devotion[1] in parishes not too
far from his place of residence, that is
to say, conveniently reached via flivver.
With him, more often than not, goes the
Liturgiologist who, tho no orator, is
useful for the direction of ceremonies,
and not unwelcome as “life of the
party” at the mild symposia[2]
of the clergy connected therewith. It was
after the close of such an occasion,
fortified by a repast which both the old
priests pronounced primus
inter pares,[3] that the two
friends were returning homeward in their
“Lincoln Pup”[4] and, with
all possible charity, discussing the
events of the day. The Liturgiologist,
who, as may be remembered, inclines to
corpulency, was singing the praises of the
Pastor, who, himself hardly emaciated, had
installed an armchair in “the box” in
place of the usual shelf which places a
penance upon the confessor and, one fears,
assists in the imposition of heavier
penances upon the penitents.
“One
would think,” said he, “that the
construction of tribunals was regulated by
Canon Law, and that the Code, usually so
merciful, expressly intended that the
priest should be made as uncomfortable as
possible during the performance of his
exercise of the ministry of
reconciliation.”
“The
old way strikes me as more picturesque,”
said the Antiquary, dimming his headlights
for a passing machine, which, as usual,
failed to reciprocate the courtesy. “A
chair in the aisle, or even in the
sacristy, and the penitent kneeling at the
priest’s side—so simple, so gracious,
with the imposition of hands during
absolution. One always sees it so in the
old pictures—indeed the box is an
innovation, and an unaesthetic innovation
at that.”
“But
don’t forget, my dear Pere, that the box
is one innovation which is fully approved,
indeed commanded, by the Church. Of
course, the box, qua
box,[5] is not ordered, but
the crates is, and the box is a useful and
on the whole convenient extension of the
crates. It isn’t comfortable, and
isn’t meant to be, tho both priest and
penitent may be thankful if a good
architect and a sensible carpenter have
had a hand in its construction.”
“About
the grating,” broke in the Antiquary.
“Is it always required? One often sees
priests, at Forty Hours and other times
when many are hearing, sitting at the
altar railing, or beside a prie dieu,[6]
and the people coming up quite simply,
after the fashion of the olden times which
I have mentioned.”
“Of
course there are exceptions to every rule, and I
suppose necessity knows no law,” was the
Liturgiologist’s reply. “Canon 909 section 2
makes the crates of strict obligation for the
‘sedes
confessionalis’[7] which, I take
it, is any structure regularly employed as a
confessional, be it box, prie dieu, corner of
sacristy or other room, or any fixed
confessional in any church or oratory either
public or semi-public. |
Don
Bosco hearing confessions
of his boys |
Contemporary
confessional |
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Open
field confession
at a prie dieu |
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The first section of that
Canon requires that the confessional where women
are heard must be located in an open and
conspicuous place, usually in the church itself,
tho we must not suppose that the Code rules out
confessionals in the vestibule, or a suitable
place in the sacristy for the convenience of the
deaf. It would seem that men may be heard in any
room, but the provision for the crates for the sedes confessionalis applies always and everywhere, Augustine says
‘The grate is of obligation everywhere, in all
parts of the world.’ Canon 910 expressly
permits that confessions of men may be heard
even in private houses, but that women may not
be heard extra
sedem confessionalem,[8] except for
the reason of infirmity, and then only under
precautions prescribed by the local ordinary.”
“You
think, then,” asked the Antiquary, “that
hearing women at the altar rail is an abuse?”
“Undoubtedly,”
was the instant response of the Liturgiologist.
“A prie dieu with a grate in an open and
conspicuous place, would fulfill the canonical
conditions. But I’ve noticed in my quest for
topsy-turvy customs, many strange usages. For
example, do you remember Fr. Torculus’[9]
Forty Hours last Spring? You heard in the box,
but I was sent up into the sanctuary, where a
prie dieu without a grate was placed behind a
screen which hid both myself and my penitents. I
had a scruple about it, but after all it
wasn’t my parish!”
“Yet,”
mused the Antiquary, “that same
Fr. Torculus is so careful about
even the most the remotely possible
scandal that he has a veil over the
gratings in the box. Tell me, have
you ever been able to find any rule
about that veil? One finds it in
some place, and not in others.”
“I
once had the occasion to consult the
‘Approved Authors’ on that very
point,” answered the
Liturgiologist, “and not a word
could I find about it! To be sure, I
didn’t search through the entire
range of the regulations of St.
Charles[10] for his model diocese, else I’d likely have
found it! It must have some
authority, else it wouldn’t be so
general. But it certainly isn’t required,
unless by the statutes of certain
dioceses. Some priests prefer not to
see their penitents, and some
penitents prefer not to be seen,
even in the dimness of the box and
by the vague outlines discernible
through the crates. Myself, I never
trouble to look in that direction,
unless when hearing children. I
remember once, when I was first out
on the Mission, giving very good
advice (I thought) to a little boy,
and saying ‘my son’ more than
once during the course of it, only
to have the mite pipe up ‘if you
please, Father, I’m a girl!’ But
even Lohner,[11] whose wise
counsel should certainly be a guide
for confessors when he says ‘Mutus
aspectus fugiatur: quid enim prosunt
crates ferreae si per oculorum
januam intromittatur hostis quern
illae arcere deberent?’[12]
does not mention a veil.”
“Did
you say ‘crates ferreae?’”[13] interjected the Antiquary.
“No,”
snapped the Liturgiologist, who just then was grave incommodo[14] on account of the thickening of the
traffic as they approached the city. “Lohner
said that, and so did a regulation of the S. C.
de Prop. Fide[15] in 1780, and all
‘Approved Authors’ say so as well. Of course
the grate should be of iron or other metal, and
St. Charles even prescribes that the
perforations should not be bigger than the ring
finger. But wooden gratings are not unlawful,
and the fly screens sometimes seen are well
within the law.”
“Almost
home,” soothed the Antiquary.
“I
don’t like riding at night,” growled the
Liturgiologist.
“Nor
at any other time,” laughed his friend. “But
I notice you keep on riding, day and night, for
all that!”
“One
needs fresh air,” was the rejoinder, as the
flivver rattled to a stop before its tin abode.
“Especially
in confessionals,” assented the Antiquary, as
he dismounted and opened the doors of
“Lizzie’s Kennel.”[16]
“And
there ought to be a regulation about that,
too,” said the Liturgiologist. |
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Footnotes
1
A three-day (or 40 hours) period of public
exposition of the Blessed Sacrament with three
special Masses (two coram
Sanctissimo) and two Eucharistic
processions.
2
Latin for or “symposium” or “gathering”.
3
Latin for “first among equals”.
4
A type of speedster, or open racing-style car of
the 1920s.
5
A pun on the English word “box” upon the
Latin phrase of “in so far as the fish”,
meaning, so long as the crate or box was not
previously used for delivering or storing fish.
6
The French term for a “kneeler”, meaning
literally “pray (beseech) God”.
7
Latin for “confessional seats”.
8
Latin for “outside the confessional seating
area”.
9
A witty name from the Latin word for a “wine
press” (or a “tourniquet”) referring back
to “topsy-turvy”.
10
St. Charles Borromeo, who while the archbishop
of Milan, compiled a much-cited treatise on
material requisites for the liturgy (i.e.,
the arrangement of the sanctuary, its furniture,
the altar) titled, Acta Ecclesiae Mediolanensis. His instructions are the basis for the
laws developed in these matters after the
Council of Trent.
11
Fr. Tobias Lohner (+1697), an Austrian Jesuit
theologian who wrote several works on moral
theology, ascetical and pastoral matters. The
Liturgiologist is most likely citing his Instructio
practica de confessionibus rite ac fructose
excipiendis published posthumously in 1726.
12
A rough translation: “Shun
the appearance of a mute:
for what benefit are iron
gratings, if through
the door of the eyes the enemy is admitted when
it should be warded off?”
13
Latin for “iron grates”.
14
Latin for “grave inconvenience.”
15
The Latin abbreviation for the Sacred
Congregation of the Propagation of the Faith,
also called the “Holy Office”.
16
The Antiquary’s nickname for the car’s
garage. |
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