Part 4

Holy Tridentine Omnifocals: Contemplations on the UnDramatization of Wounds

As I have beheld the ceaseless cycle of the heavens, wherein each star enacteth its ordained path without deviation, so doth the wounded soul dramatize its afflictions in recurring patterns, as if compelled by an unseen force. This dramatization is the soul’s unwitting repetition of past sins or sufferings, as St Gregory the Great (†604) teacheth in Moralia in Job: “The memory of wounds, if not purged by penance, driveth the soul to reenact the same evils.”

The soul, bearing the scar of original sin, experienceth this as a compulsion: “For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do” (Romans 7:19, Greek: οὐ γὰρ ὃ θέλω τοῦτο πράσσω ἀγαθόν, ἀλλ’ ὃ οὐ θέλω κακὸν τοῦτο ποιῶ – “For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do”).

St John Cassian (†435) describeth it as the “passions’ tyranny,” wherein the wound commandeth the will against reason. The character of these dramatizations is threefold:

1. Literal Repetition: The soul reenacteth the exact words or acts of the wound, as the possessed cry out unwittingly (Mark 5:7).
2. Symbolic Enactment: The affliction manifesteth in bodily ills or behaviors, as the lame man at the pool dramatized his paralysis (John 5:7).
3. Communal Spread: One soul’s wound infecteth others, as sin spreadeth from Adam to all (Romans 5:12, Greek: δι’ ἑνὸς ἀνθρώπου ἡ ἁμαρτία εἰς τὸν κόσμον εἰσῆλθεν – “By one man sin entered into the world”).

St Basil (†379) warneth: “Unhealed passions become chains that bind not only the sufferer but his kin.”

The Confessor’s Code

The guide of souls must observe a sacred code, as the ancient penitentials (e.g., Penitential of Theodore †690) prescribe for confessors. This code is not arbitrary but rooted in charity and prudence:

1. Break not confidence: “What thou hearest in thine ear, proclaim not upon the housetops” (Matthew 10:27, but in reverse for secrecy).
2. Judge not harshly: “Judge not, that ye be not judged” (Matthew 7:1, Greek: Μὴ κρίνετε, ἵνα μὴ κριθῆτε – “Judge not, that ye be not judged”).
3. Impose fitting penance: As the Council of Ancyra (314) graduated penances according to sins.
4. Seek the soul’s good alone: St John Chrysostom (†407): “The physician of souls healeth not for glory but for salvation.”

He who violateth this code woundeth the Church, as “If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him between thee and him alone” (Matthew 18:15).

Guidance (formerly “Auditing”)

Guidance is the art of leading the soul from darkness to light, as the shepherd seeketh the lost sheep (Luke 15:4-7). St Gregory the Great (†604), in Regula Pastoralis, delineateth the confessor’s duty: discern the wound, apply the remedy of truth.

The process is word-for-word from the divine command:

• Enter with prayer: “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed” (James 5:16, Greek: ἐξομολογεῖσθε οὖν ἀλλήλοις τὰς ἁμαρτίας, καὶ εὔχεσθε ὑπὲρ ἀλλήλων ὅπως ἰαθῆτε – “Confess therefore your sins one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed”).
• Diagnose the sin: “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts” (Psalm 139:23, Greek: Ἐταζέ με, ὁ Θεός, καὶ γνῶθι τὴν καρδίαν μου· δοκίμασόν με καὶ γνῶθι τὰς τρίβους μου – “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my paths”).
• Exhaust the confession: Repeat until the soul is unburdened, as the woman with the issue of blood touched the hem and was healed (Mark 5:25-34).

St John Climacus (†649): “Confession is the renewal of baptism.”

Diagnosis of the Soul

Diagnosis discerneth the wound’s nature. St Evagrius Ponticus (†399) listeth eight logismoi (thoughts) as diagnostic keys: gluttony, lust, avarice, sorrow, anger, acedia, vainglory, pride.

The confessor examineth:

• Somatics (bodily ills from spiritual wounds): As Job’s sores from Satan’s trial (Job 2:7).
• Chains (linked sins): “One sin leadeth to another” (Sirach 3:21, apocryphal but echoed in Fathers).
• Basic wound (original sin and first actual sin): “In sin did my mother conceive me” (Psalm 51:5, Greek: Ἰδοὺ γὰρ ἐν ἀνομίαις συνελήφθην, καὶ ἐν ἁμαρτίαις ἐκίσσησέν με ἡ μήτηρ μου – “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me”).

St Cassian (†435): “The skilled physician of souls probeth the hidden causes.”

Exhaustion of Wounds

To exhaust a wound is to bring it to light through confession and penance, until the soul findeth peace. St John Chrysostom: “As fire consumeth rust, so confession consumeth sin.”

The process:

• Relate the wound fully: “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy” (Proverbs 28:13, Greek: Ὁ ἐπικαλύπτων ἀσέβειαν ἑαυτοῦ οὐκ εὐοδωθήσεται, ὁ δὲ ἐξαγγελλων ἐλέγχους ἀγαπηθήσεται – “He that covereth his ungodliness shall not prosper: but he that reporteth his reproofs shall be beloved”).
• Repeat until the sting departeth: As David confessed until cleansed (Psalm 32:3-5).
• Apply penance: Fasts, alms, prayers, as the Council of Nicaea (325 AD) prescribed.

St Basil (†379): “Penance exhausteth the poison of sin.”

Say “next” for Part 5 (Pages 61-75, concluding the treatise).