St. James wrote, “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray.” (Jas 5:13)

St. Bede commented: “Just as James forbade people to complain to each other about their sufferings, so now he goes on to say how they should behave. If someone has suffered an injury, he ought to go to the church and pray that God will send him the grace of his comfort, so that the sadness of this world, which leads to death, will not overtake him.”

St. James teaches us that the proper response to suffering is to pray. It is the response of Jesus: “And being in agony he prayed more earnestly.” (Lke 22:44)

James wrote about the two sacraments of healing – anointing of the sick and penance – in his epistle: “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” (Jas 5:14-16)

St. John Paul II said, “The Council of Trent, in commenting on the text of James, says that this sacrament confers a grace of the Holy Spirit, whose internal anointing, on the one hand, frees the sick person’s soul from sin and the remnants of sin, and on the other hand, gives him relief and strength, inspiring in him great trust in the merciful goodness of God.”

According to Father Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, just as confirmation strengthens and perfects the grace received in baptism, so anointing of the sick perfects the purification of the soul already accomplished by the sacrament of penance. “Perfect spiritual health, that is, the total remission, not only of sin, but also of all its consequences, is the effect of this sacrament.”

Holy Mother Church encourages the practice of frequent confession. Pope Pius XII wrote against the opinions of those who assert that little importance should be given to the frequent confession of venial sins: “As you well know, Venerable Brethren, it is true that venial sins may be expiated in many ways which are to be highly commended. But to ensure more rapid progress day by day in the path of virtue, We will that the pious practice of frequent confession, which was introduced into the Church by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, should be earnestly advocated. By it, genuine self-knowledge is increased, Christian humility grows, bad habits are corrected, spiritual neglect and tepidity are resisted, the conscience is purified, the will strengthened, a salutary self-control is attained, and grace is increased in virtue of the sacrament itself. Let those, therefore, among the younger clergy who make light of or lessen esteem for frequent confession realize that what they are doing is alien to the Spirit of Christ and disastrous for the Mystical Body of our Saviour.” (Mystici Corporis Christi)

Father Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen described the efficacious results of sincere frequent confession: “Not only will he be absolved from his infidelities and receive an increase of sanctifying grace, but he will also receive the ‘sacramental grace,’ which assures him of divine assistance in correcting his weak points, overcoming the temptations to which he is most often exposed, and surmounting the particular difficulties he encounters in the practice of virtue.”

Father Francis Fernandez wrote, “Frequent confession is the best way to prepare for frequent Communion.”

Pope St. Paul VI said that frequent confession is “the privileged source of holiness and peace.”

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治療聖事為靈魂帶來健康

聖雅各伯寫道：『你們中間有受苦的嗎？他應該祈禱。』(雅各伯5:13)聖伯達評論說：『正如雅各伯禁止人們互相抱怨他們的痛苦一樣，現在他繼續說他們應該如何表現。如果有人受了傷害，他應該去教堂並作祈禱，祈求天主賜給他安慰的恩典，這樣這個世界導致死亡的悲傷就不會壓倒他。』聖雅各伯教導我們，對苦難的正確反應是祈禱。以下是耶穌的回應 – 『衪在極度恐慌中，祈禱越發懇切』(路加22:44)。

雅各伯在他的書信中寫到兩個別治療的聖事 – – 病人傅油和告解：『你們中間有患病的嗎？他該請教會的長老們來；他們該為他祈禱，因主的名給他傳油：出於信德的祈禱，必救那病人，主必使他起來；並且如果他犯了罪，也必得蒙赦免。所以你們要彼此告罪，彼此祈禱，為得痊癒。 義人懇切的祈禱，大有功效。』(雅各伯5:14-16)

聖若望保祿二世說：『特倫特大公會議在評論雅各伯書信時說，這個聖事賦予了聖神的恩寵，在聖神內的傅油，一方面將病人的靈魂從罪惡和罪惡的殘餘中釋放出來，另一方面，給他解脫和力量，激發他對天主憐憫善良的碩大信任。』

根據聖瑪利亞瑪大肋納的加比額爾神父的說法，正如堅振加強和完善了洗禮中接受的恩寵一樣，病人傅油也完善了告解聖事業已對靈魂的淨化。『完美的靈魂健康，即完全的赦免，不僅是罪，而且是其所有後果，是這項聖事的效果。』

聖慈母教會鼓勵經常告解。教宗庇護十二世，反對著那些斷言不應重視經常為小罪告解的人寫道：『尊敬的弟兄們，你們都知道，小罪實可以通過許多方式得到赦免，這是值得高度讚揚的。但是，為了確保在美德的道路上一天比一天地取得更快的進步，我們將認真倡導實踐經常虔誠的告解，經常的告解是在聖神向教會啓發的。藉著它，真正的自我認識會增加，基督徒的謙卑會增長，壞習慣會被糾正，屬靈的疏忽和不溫不火會被抵制，良心會被淨化，意志會被加強，有益的自我控制會被實現，恩寵也會因聖事本身而增加。 因此，讓那些輕視或不尊重勤辦告解的年輕神職人員認識到，他們所做的事與基督的聖神格格不入，對我們救主的奧體來說是災難性的。』

聖瑪利亞瑪大肋納的加比額爾神父形容勤辦告解的有效結果：『他不僅會從他的不忠中得到赦免，並得到更多的成聖恩寵，而且他也會得到「聖事的恩寵」，這保證他會得到神聖的幫助，糾正他的弱點，克服他最常受到的誘惑，並克服他在實踐美德時遇到的特殊困難。』

弗朗西斯、費爾南德斯神父寫道：『勤辦告解是為勤領聖體做準備的最佳方式。』教宗聖保祿六世說，勤辦告解是『聖潔與和平的特權泉源。』

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