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u A plank of salvation

Benoîte took to heart the mission she had re-
ceived from the Most Blessed Virgin—to prepare sin-
ners to receive the sacrament of Penance. She often
encouraged the two priests who were assigned to
the sanctuary to receive the pilgrims with gentleness,
patience, and charity, treating the greatest sinners
with particular kindness so as to encourage them to
repent. “Christ instituted the sacrament of Penance
for all sinful members of His Church: above all for
those who, since Baptism, have fallen into grave sin...
It is to them that the sacrament of Penance offers a
new possibility to convert and to recover the grace of
justification. The Fathers of the Church present this
sacrament as ‘the second plank of salvation after the
shipwreck which is the loss of grace.’ Only God for-
gives sins. Since He is the Son of God, Jesus says of
Himself, the Son of man has authority on earth to for-
give sins and exercises this divine power: Your sins
are forgiven. Further, by virtue of His divine authority
He gives this power to man to exercise in His name”
(CCC 1446, 1441). In this sacrament, the priest, who
takes the place of Christ, Judge and Doctor, must be
informed of the state of the penitent. As a result, “it is
necessary that the faithful, as well as being aware of
the sins they have committed, of being sorry for them
and resolved not to fall into them again, should also
confess their sins. In this sense, the Council of Trent
declared that it is necessary ‘by divine decree to con- This white Carrara marble statue dominates the
fess each and every mortal sin’” (John Paul II, Motu main altar in the Basilica of our Lady of Laus. It is the
Proprio Misericordia Dei, April 7, 2002). work of sculptor Honoré Pela. Born in Gap, Pela moved
This obligation is not a weight imposed upon to Genoa in 1680. An ex-voto inserted in the wall of the
penitents in an arbitrary manner, but rather is a sanctuary near the sacristy explains the origin of his gift:
means of liberation to find peace of heart again. If, “To God’s greater glory, the first time I walked into this
through sin, we have turned away from our Heaven- church, I sensed such a sweet fragrance that I was com-
ly Father, the sacrament of Penance allows us to re- pelled to give this marble statue, under perpetual obliga-
turn to Him, to throw ourselves in His merciful arms. tion from the Abbott to have a Salve Regina recited each
Confession is thus the occasion of a loving reunion evening for my soul. Signed: Honoré Pela, de Gap”.
between the child and his Father. “It is not the sinner
who returns to the Father to beg His forgiveness, but
God who runs after the sinner and makes him return Benoîte’s job was not easy. The Virgin asked
to Him,” said Saint John Vianney, the Curé of Ars. her to admonish women and girls who were lead-
“To receive the sacrament of penance, three things ing a scandalous life which had sometimes gone to
are required,” he added: “Faith, which reveals to us the point of infanticide, unjust or perverse men, and
God present in the priest; Hope, which makes us be- priests and religious who were unfaithful to their
lieve that God will give us the grace of forgiveness; sacred vows. But the seer performed her duties well.
and Charity, which brings us to love God, and which She encouraged penitents, warned those who dared
places in the heart regret at having offended Him.” not confess their sins, and guided them to an appro-
Benoîte also encouraged confessors to warn priate confessor. “When he celebrates the sacrament
of Penance, the priest is fulfilling the ministry of the
penitents to come to Holy Communion only after Good Shepherd who seeks the lost sheep, of the
a good confession, prepared by an examination of Good Samaritan who binds up wounds, of the Father
conscience in the light of the Ten Commandments who awaits the prodigal son and welcomes him on
and the Sermon on the Mount. In fact, “anyone who his return, and of the just and impartial judge whose
is aware of having committed a mortal sin must not judgment is both just and merciful. The priest is the
receive Holy Communion, even if he experiences sign and the instrument of God’s merciful love for
deep contrition, without having first received sacra- the sinner” (CCC 1465). Benoîte especially sacrificed
mental absolution” (CCC 1457).

26 MICHAEL May/June/July 2019 www.michaeljournal.org