The Confiteor Prayer in the Old Rite

A short essay by Martin Mosebach, who will be returning to the New York area at the end of next week.  For the schedule of events: “https://sthughofcluny.org/2011/01/visit-of-martin-mosebach.html”

The reform of the liturgy did away with four characteristics of the old Confiteor prayer:

The profound bow in which he prayer was spoken;

The structure of the prayer as a dialogue between the priest and the congregation;

The invocation of various saints by name; and, finally,

The sacramental of absolution.

The profound bow is the oldest part of the prayer. In the early days of Christianity every mass began with the prostration. A person threw himself on the ground in order to approach oriental kings. The early Christians for this reason chose this most reverent form of showing devotion and subjection when they had to enter the presence of the God-man and His sacrifice. At first nothing was said. In the 8^th century the custom arose of saying at this point during the prostration (which had gradually evolved into a deep bow) the confession of sins as it had been prescribed from the beginning for the start of the sacrificial rite of the New Testament.

The dialogue form of the Confiteor derives from the divine office of the monks. It was always exchanged between two neighbors in the choir stalls; one monk confessed his sins to the other – the other monk begged God’s mercy for him. In the pontifical solemn mass of the old rite this tradition is preserved; here the Confiteor is recited by two canons. This form sprang from the insight that most sins against God are at the same time sins against one’s neighbor too, that repentance must lead to reconciliation and that every man must rely on the prayer of others. In order to really acknowledge one’s guilt a listener is necessary. In order that, after the confession, the intercessory prayer of the listener may effectively develop the confessing party is obliged to keep silence. A further element of meaning was added as the relation between neighbors on a bench became a relationship between priest and congregation. The priest, who had been called to perform the sacrifice in the person of Christ, confessed now before the entire community his imperfection and, profoundly bowing, awaited their intercession.  One could say that only this gave him the courage to ascend the altar.

The formula “indulgentiam” which follows the confession of sins and the petitions for forgiveness is an early formula for absolution. The sign of the cross which the priest makes while speaking this prayer has taken the place of imposition of hands. The relationship of this absolution to absolution in the sacrament of penance will not be examined further here. In any case it is clear that the Church regarded the “indulgentiam” as a sacramental that absolves from venial sins. That the celebration of the sacrifice began with absolution was only logical for a cult that had as its object the representation of Christ’s sacrificial death – a death for the redemption of men from the burden of their sins.

These three elements of the Confiteor united the celebrating community with early Christianity and monasticism, made concrete the general confession of sin and revealed it as the first stage of the sacrifice. In contrast to their removal, the replacement of the individual saints’ names through the formula “and all the saints” is the easiest to accept. Heaven appears in these names as a hierarchically structured royal household. At the very top is the “Queen of angels, patriarchs and apostles”, then the “prince of the heavenly hosts”, thereafter the”first of those born of woman” and finally the “princes of the apostles.”  Innumerable works of art have adopted this figurative language in perpetually new forms. Its nucleus is the insight that order is inherent in God’s creation; yes, that God Himself is order. Medieval man could still imagine that even among the saved there are different degrees of closeness to God and different kinds of relation to Him. Did the “reformers” believe at the end that they had to accommodate democratic conventions especially by emphasizing the equality of all “saints” effected by the redemption? Or did they only want to eliminate an intricate gothic frill when they banished from the Confiteor the hierarchically structured procession of saints?

The beauty of liturgical texts often lies in the fact that they disclose meanings on different levels. They move one to meditation and reveal themselves to meditation. The hierarchy of saints appears here as a metaphor for the Divine order in a prayer concerning the confession of sin, thus disorder.  It is not surprising that all representatives of this order have something special to say to the disorder of sin that is revealed to them in the prayer.

The list begins with Mary. She represents the original form of man: God intended man to be what Mary is.  Untouched by original sin and with undefiled virginity, she resembles man on the sixth day of creation: whole, the image and likeness of God, transparent for the unceasing stream of grace.  As Mary is, so must the sinner be. The restoration of the sinner bears the features of Mary in iconic personalization.

The Archangel Michael is linked to the mystery of the genesis of evil. He fought Satan and therefore the source of sin and of every individual sin, which, like its diabolical model, consists in the rebellion against the divine order. But the Archangel Michel also reminds us that the devil has been defeated. He can tempt the individual sinner but never seize dominion over God’s creation. With a glance at the archangel the sinner recognizes the origin and the impotence of his deed.

John the Baptist shows the way of redemption: conversion. It is a spiritual act but must be expressed in activity in order to communicate to the sinner the reality of his decision. Water, which washes away bodily filth, also has to wash the soiled soul. Prayer has to distract from himself the spirit trapped in self-love. Corporal privation has to free the soul from the pressure of habit. John the Baptist embodies the practical steps that the sinner can take if he wishes to free himself from sin.

Peter holds the keys of the kingdom of heaven; he represents the power of absolution of the Church.  He communicates to the sinner who wishes to convert the certainty that true forgiveness will answer his desire – even that this desire often enough will be accepted in place of the act. Christ, the forgiver of sin, is present in Peter and in the Church. Peter himself above all others had experienced His forgiving power. Peter is the sacrament, the unworthy vessel through the power of God flows.

Finally, Paul teaches the condition under which the sacrament develops: the belief of the sinner that Christ can heal him of his infirmities. This faith is a gift of grace. With this gift begins the labor of the restoration of the sinner. The objective of this restoration is man born again in grace. With this the circle is closed. The contemplative proceeded from Mary and returns to her.

In preaching her doctrines the ancient Church chose again and again the path of making them visible in the form of man. The countenance of man gave them a life lacking in theoretical formulations. The figures of the saints as understood by the ancient church are not pious decoration or mass –produced “Roman Plastic cardboard” (as Andre Gide wrote). Whoever believes he can eliminate them without diminishing the teaching of Jesus Christ misunderstands the essence of the Church – which consists above all of these very saints. In the case of the Confiteor prayer, it is these very saints who teach the worshipper to understand his confession correctly. For he will speak it differently when he knows that their eyes gaze upon him.

Martin Mosebach