Can Catholics only ask God for forgiveness and not a priest?

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Read the Bible, starting with the book of John, you going to see how God loves you, and the price that He paid for your sins. Read the Bible, you will find the truth.
 
Yes god can forgive any sins. God works outside of the sacraments as he wants to as he is God. He left us the sacraments as tools to receive grace in order to get to heaven.
We need to use the tools god left us. This does not mean that we cannot seek the grace of god outside of the sacraments, just that we need to do use the tools god has given us as well as seek grace outside of the sacraments.

It is when we refuse the tools (sacraments) that god has left us, and operate only outside of those sacraments that things become unclear.
 
annad347 said:
Do Catholic believe God wont hear our prayers, unless a priest is present?
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No, that’s not what we believe. As is evident when people are saying that if a person cannot go to confession to make an act of contrition and then make it to Reconciliation when the person can. God hears that prayer and knows the person’s heart and their situation.

Actually, this is advice that is supposed to be done during normal everyday life even when we’re not supposed to be staying away from each other. When we sin we are to immediately turn to God and ask for forgiveness before we even make it to the sacrament. I spend my entire time waiting in line for confession praying the Sorrowful Mysteries to contemplate on how much the Lord loves me and how I should love him as well.

A priest is present at confession as both Church (since when we sin we injure the entire Body of Christ and are commanded to confess our sins to one another) and Alter Christus (since Christ sent his Apostles with his authority to bind and lose, and those successors (the bishops) have given that authority to the priests in their diocese).
 
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annad347 said:
I dont think that’s what they mean. I think your priest is also looking for perfect contrition.

Besides if he’s not God is.

God always know if you are trully sorry. You could be crying like a baby for your sins with your priest, yet not have a care in world if you are trully sorry. God knows the difference.
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I get an impression that you think “perfect contrition” means “truly being sorry”, while “imperfect contrition” means “being sorry, but not really”.

But it is not so.

See the Catechism: “1452 When it arises from a love by which God is loved above all else, contrition is called ‘perfect’ (contrition of charity). Such contrition remits venial sins; it also obtains forgiveness of mortal sins if it includes the firm resolution to have recourse to sacramental confession as soon as possible.”, “1453 The contrition called ‘imperfect’ (or ‘attrition’) is also a gift of God, a prompting of the Holy Spirit. It is born of the consideration of sin’s ugliness or the fear of eternal damnation and the other penalties threatening the sinner (contrition of fear). Such a stirring of conscience can initiate an interior process which, under the prompting of grace, will be brought to completion by sacramental absolution. By itself however, imperfect contrition cannot obtain the forgiveness of grave sins, but it disposes one to obtain forgiveness in the sacrament of Penance.” (http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P4D.HTM).
 
But only God knows what is or isnt a perfect contrition, correct?
 
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I suspect you are Sola Scriptura which is the Bible alone.
The Bible actually came from the Church and so we need the Church to help us interpret and understand.
“Confess your faults one to another…” and
Jesus breathed on His apostles (not everyone notice) and said “receive the Holy Spirit, whoever sins you forgive they are forgiven, whoever sins you retain are retain”

If you are a true Bible alone Christian as I suspect you are, where do you think the Early church got the Bible from (hint all of it wasn’t written then), teachings of Jesus was passed on orally, we call that sacred tradition.

Now you are here, why don’t you come and see for yourself when this virus pandemic is over?

Ps nowhere in the Bible does it say by the Bible alone 🙂
 
Again you are using Bible verses out of context and more importantly using the Bible as a reference book and not a gift from God via the Catholic Church to the world.
 
annad347 said:
Do Catholic believe God wont hear our prayers, unless a priest is present? (
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It is “we” who can’t hear unless we have air vibrating our eardrums with “I absolve you in the Name of …”

We lie to ourselves and pretend God is talking when he is not or pretend he is not when he may be - we need a voice, a real air-vibrating voice, and that is why Jesus solemnly demanded that his apostles tell us in person of forgiveness.

He absolutely hears our prayers and makes absolutely sure we hear him physically by putting a priest in the confessional, commanded to speak for him, word for word.
 
khgalvao said:
He promises in His Word ((Bible) to forgive.
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Yes, and he makes good on this promise by putting his Apostolically authorized priest in front of you to deliver the forgiveness face to face, in person, so you can hear the declaration in the “ears you have for hearing” God’s messenger of his forgiveness.

He promises and we take him up on it in the confessional, - with our own ears we hear him keep his promise, keep his word.
 
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annad347 said:
And if you are alone? You will never be able to hear God?
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The Ethiopian Eunuch “was alone” in his carriage, not “hearing”, now what were his words to Philip? “How can I unless you explain it to me (in person vibrating my eardrums)?”

You can find a priest, unless you don’t want to hear what he was officially and apostolically sent to tell you so your eardrums would deliver intelligible words of forgiveness to your mind.
 
John_Martin said:
The Ethiopian Eunuch “was alone” in his carriage, not “hearing”,
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Wasn’t he reading something… or was he asking someone to help him hear God’s when he prays.
John_Martin said:
You can find a priest, unless you don’t want to hear…
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That’s not I meant… I meant if I had no ability to find or get to a priest. Im locked in a room, chained to wall in a basement, handcuffed in the trunk of a car that was pushed off a cliff and is now sinking into the ocean… dying in my bed alone because no one knows I’m sick… I am unable to get to a priest… you are saying I will not be able to hear God when I pray to Him? That He will not hear me when I confess my sins to Him? He will leave me in darkness because there is no priest near me? That He would not be powerful enough to help me hear Him?
 
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annad347 said:
Wasn’t he reading something… or was he asking someone to help him hear God’s when he prays.
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He couldn’t understand what he was reading just as people misread and do not understand that God gives his forgiveness with his servant telling you. He is your king and uses his messengers to give you the gifts he gives - the king is not a laborer but issues commands when he wants to deliver a word to you.
Find a priest - you are not in the trunk of a car and never will be.
And even if you were, this particular king knows where to send his messengers. But do not reject his servants - what they bring you is from Him.
 
I’m not talking about me… and totally misunderstood my point of being stuck in the trunk of a car about to DIE.
 
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annad347 said:
I’m not talking about me… and totally misunderstood my point of being stuck in the trunk of a car about to DIE.
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Prayer can be done wherever you find yourself “handcuffed” just as Jonah prayed before he died in the big fish.
We are talking about hearing God’s answer just as Jonah’s ears heard a vibration of air from the speech of the Angel of the LORD saying, “Arise”, just as Jesus said, “Cum” to the ‘talitha’.
You can pray in the trunk, but that is not where you will receive the answer. Dante shows a person that went through a similar situation in his “Purgatory.”
 
When did I say anything about me hearing God?

I asked if Catholics thought God wouldnt hear our prayers without a priest present… didn’t ask about if we would hear Him.

I already know how Catholics feel about us being able to hear God’s will. I dont agree which is why its not something I asked about… but thank you for trying to explain things to me about the ear vibration.
 
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