"...and for your penance drink two flat whites"

Gluttony is an ugly word and, worse, an ugly sin.

Quite rightly, in my view; it comes second only to Lust in the listing of the Seven Deadly Sins and above Greed.

I am not given to the sin of gluttony in a mortal sense; just an occasional extra slice (or two) of cake or an extra glass of Possum's Spleen, I hope that such transgressions register only on the venial scale.

The thing about gluttony is that it can kick in with relatively small (venial sin) amounts or with massive (mortal sin) quantities.
I can't imagine that with lust or sloth for that matter. You cannot surely only be a little lustful or a little idle.
You lust totally and laziness is not a sin of half measures, whereas gluttony can be.

A flat white, or rather two, can lead to black sin

What brings me to this topic is coffee, what is called in Australia (where, I believe it hails from) a flat white.

A flat white is a most delicious form of coffee comprising two shots of good quality espresso followed by hot milk that has been infused with steam so that its nature changes and it takes on a marvellous creamy appearance.
But, it doesn't end there. The steam enhanced milk must be married to the coffee taking the milk from the bottom and not the top of the jug.

The result is a coffee par excellence.
I became addicted to this style of coffee when visiting Australia and it became so bad that I had to have a caffeine fix every morning before 10am and thereafter at 2 hourly intervals.

So when my local branch of Marks & Spencers featured flat whites on their menu, I was there in a flash.

Suddenly, I was volunteering to do the shopping; I became, in a short space of time, a veritable shopaholic.
But the reality was much more sinister. I was hooked on flat whites once more.

It reached a peak last week when I decided that they were so good that I would order two cups at the same time.

Luckily, I have nerves of steel and so was able to withstand Mrs L's snorts of derision and open laughter when I arrived at the table bearing my two cups, in a rather jealous fashion I do admit.

I had reasoned with my conscience, (as a Catholic aspiring to goodness) and theorised that, as I had worked hard for 50 odd years, I could be allowed to drink two coffees one after the other; it was, I decided not a vice and it was even my actual duty to do so. The caffeine would liven me up and stop me nodding off at 30 minute intervals.

And so it was I duly quaffed the coffees with great speed and relish.

And then, and then, I felt something akin to a punch in my chest from the Klitschko brothers followed by severe palpitations.

How dreadful, I thought, to have a heart attack in M & S and shuffle off my mortal coil between ladies underwear and kitchen utensils. I had such high notions for a final exit, and they didn't include a department store.

Soon my forehead was bathed in sweat and a dull pain took over my frame and then, the realisation hit me.

It was the effect of drinking 4 shots of espresso ultra prestissimo.

Never again, I vowed while my wife rocked silently with cruel laughter, and, true to my words, I have not touched a flat white since.

This form of gluttony is, I reflected, self regulatory.

You commit the sin and then penance is dished out instantly - but I think I shall still have to add it to my ever increasing list ready for confession proper.

Confession can be an occasion of sin

Many years ago, our curate was Fr Edward Bushey, a shy but charming priest who had previously been at Westminster Cathedral.
Apparently, whilst hearing confessions at the Cathedral some thug opened the door and punched him in the eye, blackening it as a result.
 I don't know if the thug was actually reacting to a penance or whether it was a random attack.

He was duly prosecuted and Fr Bushey carried on smiling piously, in the best sense of the word, until he joined my home parish of St Michael and St Martin, Hounslow.

There he wasted no time in improving the level of altar serving, gently coaching us until, at the ripe old age of eleven years we were MC-ing Missa Cantatas and generally putting the noses out of the 'men' who always hogged the senior positions for themselves..

Fr Bushey was a pragmatist and Saturday mornings were spent with half a dozen of us servers, routinely going over our moves on the sanctuary until we were as perfect as a ballet company.

In fact, Mary O'Regan once told me that the River Dance (or, Irish dancing as I suppose we should call it) had its origins in the time of Catholic persecution in Ireland. The young men and women used to gather at the village crossroads of an evening and translate the actions at Mass of celebrant and server into a choreographic form.
 Arms had to be kept at the sides as Cromwell's Puritans thought it sinful to hold one's arms in the air.
So, secretly, yet publicly, the moves of the Mass were learnt and committed to folk memory.
And of course, Fr Ronald Knox used to describe the Mass to young people as a slow and elaborate dance.

But, back to Fr B. With Fortescue in hand he would direct us around the sanctuary, stopping every so often to say "Is that move sensible?" or, "We don't need to geneuflect there because you have not crossed in front of the tabernacle".
In this way a sensible pattern of devout yet practical serving emerged; something that the purists would choke over today  but then, every church is designed differently (more so today) and I was minded in later life of the qualifications for young men and women wishing to be waiters.
BTEC, the examining body, used to insist that silver service took place from the the left and clearing from the right. This rigid principle was applied even if a customer was jammed against a wall and the result would invariably be soup all over the place.
 Common sense should dictate in situations such as that and, indeed, upon the sanctuary.

Here is an extract of Fr Bushey's obituary from the Archives of The Catholic Herald - please remember him in your prayers, we need more of his pith today.

"Fr Edward  Bushey died peacefully on 20 March at Nazareth House, Isleworth, Middlesex. He retired in 1983, took up residence at St Vincent's Presbytery, Osterley and later at Nazareth House, from 1990 to 1996. He was content and appreciative of the care and attention he received from the Sisters.

Edward Bushey was born on 21 April 1911 at Enfield, Middlesex, one of three children. His brother and sister are both deceased. He attended Chingford Primary School and from 1925 to 1929 studied at St Egbert's College, Chingford, run by the Brothers of Mercy. He worked for an Insurance Company for four years then spent one year at the House of Studies, Edmonton, before entering the Diocesan Seminary at Allen Hall, St Edmund's College in 1935. He was ordained priest by Archbishop Myers on 7 June 1941 for the Diocese of Westminster.

His first appointment was at The Rosary Church, Marylebone, from 1941 to 1946, which plunged him into a city of incendiary bombs and all the hazards of air raids. He survived, and in 1946 decided to join the Benedictine Monks at Buckfast Abbey, but after 18 months as a novice he returned to the diocese. He was appointed a chaplain at Westminster Cathedral where he served from 1947 to 1956.

His last appointment as an assistant was at SS Michael and Martin, Hounslow (1956-1964). He was appointed parish priest at St Anthony of Padua, Radlett, where he served from 1964 to 1980".

When General Absolution is legitimate

There has been much in the blogosphere in recent days, largely about a certain Bishop of Toowoomba whose shortcomings apparently included a common and frequent bestowal of General Absolution. I know not what brought about the desire to confer the Sacrament of Penance so freely; it must be tempting to think that one may instantly clear the sins of many, almost apostolic in some respects. But it also brings in its wake a feeling that Penance is not so serious after all. Sins can't be that bad since we can all give them the heave ho together and start again.

This is the norm!

There is the story of GK Chesterton who knelt in a queue for Confession (they did that years ago) at Westminster Cathedral. Very soon a message was passed to the Father Confessor who came out of the confessional and announced:

"I have a sick call to attend; I will only hear the confessions of those in mortal sin".
The line of would be penitents froze for a few seconds until, very slowly, GKC rose to his feet, flung his cloak over his shoulder and, very deliberately walked into the confessional.

An amusing story  but the point is, the priest did not just grant a general absolution to all there. He  
                                         chose the ordained path and GKC took it.


Fr Corapi, (God bless him) once stated that, if he was on a plane that suddenly began to show signs of crashing, he would, if physically possible, stand up and administer a general absolution to all present. That would be totally in order.
The Papal guidance on Pastoral Norms, published in 1972 specifically states that those receiving a general absolution must all portray contrition and have been exhorted to repent, but a level of assumption must come into the equation in Fr Corapi's scenario.

What then are the special circumstances when it is legitimate?

Firstly, when there is an imminent danger of death and the priest has no time in which to hear individual confessions. Secondly, it is lawful under a situation where a large number of the faithful are gathered together for a short period and when, the regional terrain or political situation may mean that they may not have another chance of absolution for some time to come. Then the priest may bestow the Sacrament of Penance to all who show contrition and who receive his exhortations regarding the avoidance of sin.
This does not apply, however, to pilgrimages or large assemblies of the faithful.

Here is the Papal document:-

Pastoral Norms Concerning The Administration Of General Sacramental Absolution

The Council of Trent solemnly taught that for full and perfect forgiveness of sins three acts are required from the penitent as parts of the sacrament, these acts being contrition, confession and satisfaction. It also taught that absolution is given by the priest, who acts as judge, and that it is necessary by divine law to confess to a priest each and every mortal sin and the circumstances that alter the species of sins that are remembered after a careful examination of conscience (cf. Sess. XIV, Canones de Sacramento Paenitentiae 4, 6-9: DS 1704, 1706-1709).
A number of local Ordinaries have been disturbed at the difficulty for their faithful to go to confession individually because of the shortage of priests in some regions. They have also been troubled at certain erroneous theories about the doctrine of the Sacrament of Penance and the growing tendency to introduce the improper practice of granting general sacramental absolution to people who have made only a generic confession. They have therefore asked the Holy See to recall to the Christian people, in accordance with the true nature of the Sacrament of Penance, the conditions needed for the right use of this sacrament and to issue norms in the present circumstances.
This Sacred Congregation has carefully considered these questions and, taking account of the Instruction of the Sacred Apostolic Penitentiary of March 25, 1944, makes the following declarations:
1. The teaching of the Council of Trent must be firmly held and faithfully put into practice. This implies a reprobation of the recent custom which has sprung up in places by which there is a presumption to satisfy the precept of sacramentally confessing mortal sins for the purpose of obtaining absolution by confession made only generally or through what is called a community celebration of Penance. This reprobation is demanded not only by divine precept as declared by the Council of Trent, but also by the very great good of souls deriving, according to centuries-long experience, from individual confession and absolution rightly administered. Individual and integral confession and absolution remain the only ordinary way for the faithful to be reconciled to God and the Church unless physical or moral impossibility excuses from such confession.
2. It can indeed happen because of particular circumstances occasionally occurring that general absolution may or even should be given to a number of penitents without previous individual confession.
This can happen first of all when there is imminent danger of death and even though a priest or priests are present, they have no time to hear the confession of each penitent.
In this case any priest has the faculty to give general absolution to a number of people after first exhorting them, if there is time, very briefly to make an act of contrition.
3. Apart from the cases of danger of death, it is lawful to give sacramental absolution collectively to a number of faithful who have confessed only generically but have been suitably exhorted to repent, provided that there is serious necessity: namely, when in view of the number of penitents there are not enough confessors at hand to hear properly the confessions of each within an appropriate time, with the result that the penitents through no fault of their own would be forced to do without sacramental grace or Holy Communion for a long time. This can happen especially in mission lands but in places also and within groups where it is clear that this need exists.
This is not lawful however, when confessors are able to be at hand, merely because of a great concourse of penitents such as can for example occur on a great feast or pilgrimage (cf. Proposition 59 condemned by Innocent XI on March 2, 1679: DS 2159).
4. Local Ordinaries and, to the extent that they are concerned, priests are bound in conscience to see that the number of confessors should not become reduced because some priests neglect this noble ministry (cf. Presbyterorum Ordinis, 5, 13, Christus Dominus, 30), while involving themselves in secular affairs or devoting themselves to less necessary ministries, especially if these ministries can be performed by deacons or suitable lay people.
5. The judgment as to whether the conditions mentioned above (art. III) are present and, consequently, the decision as to when it is lawful to grant general sacramental absolution are reserved to the local Ordinary after he has conferred with other members of the episcopal conference.
If a serious need arises of giving general sacramental absolution apart from the cases laid down by the local Ordinary, the priest is obliged, whenever it is possible, to have previous recourse to the local Ordinary in order to grant the absolution lawfully; if this is not possible, he is to inform the Ordinary as soon as possible of the need and of the granting of the absolution.
6. In order that the faithful may take advantage of general sacramental absolution it is absolutely required that they be suitably disposed: each should repent of the sins he has committed, have the purpose of keeping from sin, intend to repair any scandal or loss caused, and also have the purpose of confessing in due time each serious sin that he is at present unable to confess. Priests should carefully remind the faithful of these dispositions and conditions, which are required for the validity of the sacrament.
7. Those who have serious sins forgiven by general absolution should make an auricular confession before receiving absolution in this collective form another time unless a just cause prevents them. They are strictly obliged, unless prevented by moral impossibility, to go to confession within a year. They too are affected by the precept that obliges every Christian to confess privately to a priest once a year at least all his serious sins that he has not yet specifically confessed (cf. Fourth Lateran Council, c. 21 and also Council of Trent, Doctrina de Sacramento Paenitentiae, c.5 De Confessione and canons 7 and
: DS, 1679-1683, 1707-1708; cf. also Proposition 11 condemned by the Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office in the Decree of September 24, 1665: DS[2031]).
8. Priests are to teach the faithful that those who are aware of being in mortal sin are forbidden to refuse deliberately or by neglect to satisfy the obligation of individual confession, when it is possible to have a confessor, while they wait for an occasion for collective absolution (cf. Instruction of the Sacred Apostolic Penitentiary, March 25, 1944.
9. In order that the faithful may easily be able to satisfy the obligation of making an individual confession, let care be taken that confessors are available in the churches on days and at hours that are convenient for the faithful.
In places that are remote or difficult to reach, where the priest can come only at rare intervals during the year, let it be arranged that, as far as possible, the priest shall on each occasion hear the sacramental confessions of a group of penitents and give collective absolution to the other penitents provided that the conditions mentioned above (art. III) are present, so that in this way all the faithful, if possible, shall be able to make an individual confession at least once a year.
10. The faithful are carefully to be taught that liturgical celebrations and community rites of Penance are of great usefulness for the preparation of a more fruitful confession of sins and amendment of life. Care must however be taken that such celebrations or rites are not confused with sacramental confession and absolution.
If in the course of such celebrations the penitents make an individual confession, each is to receive absolution singly from the confessor to whom he goes. In the case of general sacramental absolution, it is always to be given in accordance with the special rite laid down by the Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship. However, until the publication of this new rite, the formula of sacramental absolution, now prescribed, is to be used, but changed to the plural. The celebration of this rite is to be kept quite distinct from the celebration of Mass.
11. If one who is in a situation causing actual scandal to the faithful is sincerely penitent and seriously proposes to remove the scandal, he can indeed receive general sacramental absolution along with others but he is not to go to Holy Communion until, in the judgment of a confessor whom he is first to approach personally, he has removed the scandal.
With regard to absolution from reserved censures, the norms of law in force are to be observed, calculating the time for recourse from the next individual confession.
12. Priests should be careful not to discourage the faithful from frequent or devotional confession. On the contrary, let them draw attention to its fruitfulness for Christian living (cf. Mystici Corporis, A.A.S. 35 (1943), 235) and always display readiness to hear such a confession whenever a reasonable request is made by the faithful. It must be absolutely prevented that individual confession should be reserved for serious sins only, for this would deprive the faithful of the great benefit of confession and would injure the good name of those who approach the sacrament singly.
13. The granting of general sacramental absolution without observing the norms given above is to be considered a serious abuse. Let all pastors carefully prevent such abuses out of awareness of the moral duty enjoined upon them for the welfare of souls and for the protection of the dignity of the Sacrament of Penance.
In the audience granted on June 16, 1972 to the undersigned Cardinal Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Pope Paul VI specially approved these norms and ordered them to be promulgated.
From the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome, June 16,1972.
FRANCIS CARD. SEPER Prefect
Paul Philippe Secretary