Confession man made?

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YosefYosep

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My mother does not attend confession because she thinks it’s a man made thing; she believes that Jesus never told people to confess their sins to priests. Is there any scriptural or historical references that I could use to help convince my mother that the sacrament of reconciliation was instituted by Christ?
 
I{Jesus} will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven.* Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven Matthew 16:19
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Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful. James 5:15
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The two verses above show clearly that Jesus gave the Apostles to power to forgive sin and that confession was indeed part of the early Church.

In fact, you can tell your mother, that in the early Church, a person was required to stand up before the congregation and confess their sins. Of course only three sins required public confession, apostasy, theft and murder.

Private Confession didn’t come until centuries later when priest were forbidden outside of monasteries in Ireland. So, to minister to the people, the created rooms along the outside walls of the monastery with a little window, which the priest could open and speak with the person. Confession was part of spiritual direction and privately confessing sins to a priest became the preferred method of the faithful and the Church made it such as we have today.

Jim
 
JimR-OCDS said:
The two verses above show clearly that Jesus gave the Apostles to power to forgive sin and that confession was indeed part of the early Church.

In fact, you can tell your mother, that in the early Church, a person was required to stand up before the congregation and confess their sins. Of course only three sins required public confession, apostasy, theft and murder.

Private Confession didn’t come until centuries later when priest were forbidden outside of monasteries in Ireland. So, to minister to the people, the created rooms along the outside walls of the monastery with a little window, which the priest could open and speak with the person. Confession was part of spiritual direction and privately confessing sins to a priest became the preferred method of the faithful and the Church made it such as we have today.

Jim
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Also, what’s the VERY first thing Jesus says to the assembled Apostles after the resurrection?

John 20: 19-23
19
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
20
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord
21
[Jesus] said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
22
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the holy Spirit.
23
Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”
 
Rolltide said:
Also, what’s the VERY first thing Jesus says to the assembled Apostles after the resurrection?

John 20: 19-23
19
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
20
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord
21
[Jesus] said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
22
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the holy Spirit.
23
Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”
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Yup! 👍

Jim
 
Rolltide said:
Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.
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The only way for the Apostles to have known whose sins to forgive and whose to retain was, they had to be told. They did not receive the gift of telepathy, after all.
 
Previously, people often confessed sins directly to God. However, Christ came along. Then, he insituted the sacrament of reconciliation. He breathed and said…“Receive the Holy Spirit”…that what sins were held bound would be held bound, what were forgiven would be forgiven.

Now, why would he have done all that, given authority to forgive sin, had if Christ was intending on people’s confessing directly to God?
 
Be aware, a person who justifies avoidance of confession with the reason the OP states is not easily swayed by even the most air-tight evidence. They are avoiding confession because it scares them, and rather than face their fear, they run away from their own conscience and try to justify it so they feel better. The goal is to make Confession attractive. Live it yourself. Let the grace of the Sacrament be evident in your life. Pray for such people, for it is only grace that converts.

Apologetics helps, but it won’t be the magic key that opens the door. It will be the grease that helps the door open more smoothly once the person lets the door be unlocked.
 
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