confession question

[bobolink]

Does the priest judge the sinner in confession?

Does he judge your sins, deciding whether they are mortal or venial based on what you’ve told him?

Can he judge if they are?

Does he need to, particularly in deciding what your penance should be, depending on whether your sins were mortal or venial?

 

[teachccd]

The Sacrament of Reconciliation is a sacrament of healing whereby we tell our sins to the priest and if there is a “firm purpose of amendment” then he grants absolution. Only God truly knows whether or not a person severed their relationship with Him. (Mortal Sin) The priest can discern whether or not all of the components necessary were met but even he cannot make the judgment that God can. The authority was given to the Church to forgive or retain sins and that is upheld by God through the ministry granted them by Christ.(See John 19: 21-23) The priest represents the Church (the bride of Christ) and therefore acts in persona Christi when hearing confessions.

The seal of the sacrament holds that nothing can leave that confessional under any circumstances. A priest will not look or act differently towards you regardless of your sins. They are there to be the ears and mouth of God in order that we are healed of our sins and reconcile ourselves back to God.

I hope that this helped answer your question somewhat…teachccd

 

[bobolink]

The Sacrament of Reconciliation is a sacrament of healing whereby we tell our sins to the priest and if there is a “firm purpose of amendment” then he grants absolution. Only God truly knows whether or not a person severed their relationship with Him. (Mortal Sin) The priest can discern whether or not all of the components necessary were met but even he cannot make the judgment that God can. The authority was given to the Church to forgive or retain sins and that is upheld by God through the ministry granted them by Christ.(See John 19: 21-23) The priest represents the Church (the bride of Christ) and therefore acts in persona Christi when hearing confessions.

The seal of the sacrament holds that nothing can leave that confessional under any circumstances. A priest will not look or act differently towards you regardless of your sins. They are there to be the ears and mouth of God in order that we are healed of our sins and reconcile ourselves back to God.

I hope that this helped answer your question somewhat…teachccd

But surely the priest, acting in persona Christi, should know if we have severed our relationship with Christ? Surely he should know or be able to discern that from what we’ve confessed?

 

[Redratfish]

But surely the priest, acting in persona Christi, should know if we have severed our relationship with Christ? Surely he should know or be able to discern that from what we’ve confessed?

For a sin to severe our relationship with God the sin must be a mortal sin.

In a nutshell, for a sin to be mortal:
It must be seriously wrong,
You know its seriously wrong
and you freely choose to do it

A person can say he killed 3 men, but if he was forced to in self defence it is not a mortal sin

A person can say that he looked at porography, but if he did not know it was seriously wrong, or just happened to come across is on the tv and did not pursue it, it is not mortal.

Only the penitent and God can truly know if a sin is mortal or not. The priest can only hear what is confessed, and based upon age, maturity, ect, give absolution.

 

[millersatthefar]

But surely the priest, acting in persona Christi, should know if we have severed our relationship with Christ? Surely he should know or be able to discern that from what we’ve confessed?

Acting in persona Christi is not some kind of magic trick where the priest can read minds and is able to discern all of the infinite variables in a given confession of sin. Only God has perfect knowledge of the mental, psychological, and spiritual maturity of the penitent. Only God knows the state of mind the penitent was in at the time of the sin. Only God knows the truth or falsity of the penitent’s contrition. Seriously, I’m not even sure if a sin is mortal or not half the time. If you can not even judge yourself correctly all the time how can a priest? Adam

 

[teachccd]

But surely the priest, acting in persona Christi, should know if we have severed our relationship with Christ? Surely he should know or be able to discern that from what we’ve confessed?

Again, the priest has the authority bestowed upon him through the lineage of apostolic succession all the way to Christ to forgive sin. He can counsel you regarding the gravity of a particular sin but he cannot judge the eternal state of your soul before absolution. However, if you made a valid confession by not holding on to anything that you consider a serious sin then the priest can (with certainty) assure you that through the ministry of the Church granted to him by Christ you have been forgiven. In this state you have a moral assurance of eternal life. The priest cannot have the ability to assess your relationship with God. He may even grant you absolution but if you purposefully withheld a serious sin your confession would be invalid and the priest would not know this as well.

So, the Sacrament of Reconciliation is not for the priest but for your continual relationship with God. You go to God through the priest and you have a visible acknowledgement of your forgiveness. But the intricate details that you hold in your heart is only known to God… Does that make sense?

 

[Edward_H]

Good answers.

Two "surely"s in one short post may be a sign of insincerity.

Original post was also about “judging”.

As an aside, OP, don’t confuse final judging with an act of judgement, which is an act of the intellect. God gave us an intellect for a reason, so we can draw conclusions, make decisions, judge behavior as good or bad. This is very different from final judgement.

It’s easy to find people today( and not just young adults), who are intellectually hoodwinked into the conclusion that “to judge behavior” is tantamount to “judge not.”

 

[teachccd]

It’s easy to find people today( and not just young adults), who are intellectually hoodwinked into the conclusion that “to judge behavior” is tantamount to “judge not.”

Very true!

 

[bobolink]

Good answers.

Two "surely"s in one short post may be a sign of insincerity.

Original post was also about “judging”.

As an aside, OP, don’t confuse final judging with an act of judgement, which is an act of the intellect. God gave us an intellect for a reason, so we can draw conclusions, make decisions, judge behavior as good or bad. This is very different from final judgement.

It’s easy to find people today( and not just young adults), who are intellectually hoodwinked into the conclusion that “to judge behavior” is tantamount to “judge not.”

And you can accurately judge my interior dispositions in posting on CA Forums from the other side of the Atlantic Ocean by two uses of the word ‘surely’? I’d be impressed if you were correct. As it is, you are not. Judge not, and all that…

 

[FrDavid96]

Does the priest judge the sinner in confession?

Does he judge your sins, deciding whether they are mortal or venial based on what you’ve told him?

Can he judge if they are?

Does he need to, particularly in deciding what your penance should be, depending on whether your sins were mortal or venial?

Yes. The priest must be a judge. That’s an important part of his role as minister of the Sacrament.

True, the priest, in the capacity of minister of penance, is a physician in the sense that he makes a spiritual diagnosis and prescribes a remedy; and judge in that he decides whether or not the subject is properly disposed; but he becomes in one act physician, judge, and mediator when he dispenses this grace-laden mystery through the rite of absolving. The most essential act, therefore, in the whole process of this sacrament is absolution, under which sign divine grace is infallibly conveyed (providing no obstacle is placed in the way), and under which operation Christ is present as priest, physician, and judge.

sanctamissa.org/en/resources/books-1962/rituale-romanum/26-the-sacrament-of-penance-intro.html

1. A confessor should keep in mind above all that he holds the office of both judge and physician, and that he has been constituted by God a dispenser equally of divine justice and mercy, so that like an arbiter between God and men he may advance the cause of God’s honor and souls’ salvation.

sanctamissa.org/en/resources/books-1962/rituale-romanum/26-the-sacrament-of-penance-general-rules.html

The priest must be a judge, without being judgmental.