Confession question!

  • Thread starter Thread starter HNA444
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
H

HNA444

Guest
Someone is telling me how could we confess our sins to a priest, becasuse they are a sinner as well, and although I don’t agree with him, I really did not have an answer to that. I guess because i think that a priest has a closer relationship with God and can hear him more. But, can someone give me a verse in the bible to show that we should confess to a priest ? Also, why the church’s teeaching is important ? thanks!@
 
HNA444 said:
Someone is telling me how could we confess our sins to a priest, becasuse they are a sinner as well, and although I don’t agree with him, I really did not have an answer to that. I guess because i think that a priest has a closer relationship with God and can hear him more. But, can someone give me a verse in the bible to show that we should confess to a priest ? Also, why the church’s teeaching is important ? thanks!@
Click to expand...
St. John 20:21-24

2 Cor. 5:18-20

I would also commend to you an excellent book: Catholicism and Fundamentalism: The Attack on “Romanism” by “Bible Christians” by Karl Keating (Ignatius Press 1988) (ISBN: 0-089870-177-5). In this apologetic work, Mr. Keating titled Chapter 15, “The Forgiveness of Sins.”

Pax,
OA
 
HNA444 said:
Someone is telling me how could we confess our sins to a priest, becasuse they are a sinner as well, and although I don’t agree with him, I really did not have an answer to that. I guess because i think that a priest has a closer relationship with God and can hear him more. But, can someone give me a verse in the bible to show that we should confess to a priest ? Also, why the church’s teeaching is important ? thanks!@
Click to expand...
Perhaps this will help from John 20:22-23
22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

Christ said this to the Apostles, giving them, through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the authority to forgive or not forgive sins. This is the institution of the Sacrament of Reconcilliation, or “confession”

Were the Apostles not sinners??

Peace
James
 
JRKH said:
Perhaps this will help from John 20:22-23
22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
Click to expand...
Good job including John 20: 20-23 which could not mean anything but the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

In addition, you can add James 5: 14-16a – Is anyone among you sick? He should summon the presbyters of the church, and they should pray over him and anoint (him) with oil in the name of the Lord, and the prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, **confess your sins to one another **and pray for one another, that you may be healed.
 
The Catechism tells us that the sacraments act “ex opere operato”. Article 1127-1128.

This means that they are accomplished simply by the fact that they are performed. So if you go to confession and you state your sins to the priest, and he says the words of absolution, then your sins are absolved and you receive the grace from the sacrament, totally independent of the holiness or sinfulness of the priest. This is because the sacrament is actually performed by Christ, not the priest.

However, we also know that the amount of grace you receive depends on your own dispostion; ie how well did you examine your conscience before confession, how firm is your resolution to avoid sin in the future, etc.
 
JRKH said:
Perhaps this will help from John 20:22-2322 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
Click to expand...
The Apostles were not clairvoyant… how else would they know what sins to forgive or retain if they weren’t told?
 
Aside from the great biblical passages the other posters gave you, ask your friend this (I assume they are a protestant):

“Ok, I concede that the priest is a person who sins. Now, lets assume that there is a person other than God or Jesus or the Spirit who has never sinned. Could I then confess my sins to that person?”

Most likely the answer would be no (your friend would have some serious problems if he/she said yes)

Since the answer is no, then it would seem that whether or not the person has sins is not a real factor on why you should or shouldn’t confess to them. It is not about how pure or sinful they are, but who they are and the **authority they wield
**
Then you can proceed to use the various examples above to show them why being Catholic rocks.

btw, here is a short explanation and quotes from the Early Church Fathers (long before protestants existed)

catholic.com/library/Confession.asp

catholic.com/library/Forgiveness_of_Sins.asp
 
When consecrating the Eucharist and when forgiving sins in Confession, the priest, by virtue of the Sacrament of Holy Orders, stands in persona Christi – he represents the person of Christ. So it is Christ who consecrates the Eucharist and it is Christ who forgives sins in Confession.

[John]
{20:21} Therefore, he said to them again: “Peace to you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
{20:22} When he had said this, he breathed on them. And he said to them: “Receive the Holy Spirit.
{20:23} Those whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them, and those whose sins you shall retain, they are retained.”
 
HNA444 said:
Someone is telling me how could we confess our sins to a priest, becasuse they are a sinner as well, and although I don’t agree with him, I really did not have an answer to that. I guess because i think that a priest has a closer relationship with God and can hear him more. But, can someone give me a verse in the bible to show that we should confess to a priest ? Also, why the church’s teeaching is important ? thanks!@
Click to expand...
If this person is not a Catholic, why should he care?

If this person is a Catholic, I’d bet he’s got a whopper he needs to confess.
 
HNA444 said:
Someone is telling me how could we confess our sins to a priest, becasuse they are a sinner as well, and although I don’t agree with him, I really did not have an answer to that. I guess because i think that a priest has a closer relationship with God and can hear him more. But, can someone give me a verse in the bible to show that we should confess to a priest ? Also, why the church’s teeaching is important ? thanks!@
Click to expand...
Why do we confess to a priest? Because that’s the way Christ instituted it (I believe I got that one from Gus Lloyd). The scriptural quotes others gave are a good place to look.
 
mark_a said:
If this person is not a Catholic, why should he care?

If this person is a Catholic, I’d bet he’s got a whopper he needs to confess.
Click to expand...
As long has the person was baptized Christian and is sincerely repentant he can confess to a priest and receive absolution.

The bonus is that for all the times a protestant claims “salvation”, this is one window where indeed he is in a legitimate state of salvation, for as long has he is able to be free from serious sin.

Andy
 
You could perhaps use the analogy that God’s gifts and calling are irrevocable and are not dependent on the person’s own inability or ability to function as it is Christ who is functioning through the priest. Even though we remain Faithless, Christ is Faithful to fulfill His promises.
 
HNA444 said:
Someone is telling me how could we confess our sins to a priest, becasuse they are a sinner as well, and although I don’t agree with him, I really did not have an answer to that. I guess because i think that a priest has a closer relationship with God and can hear him more. But, can someone give me a verse in the bible to show that we should confess to a priest ? Also, why the church’s teeaching is important ? thanks!@
Click to expand...
This is a great site to look at for scritpure backing for Catholic Doctrine. John has done a really great job with this work.

scripturecatholic.com/confession.html

God bless
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top