I’ve had trouble for a long time trying to decide if I’m in the
wrong religion. I am a cradle catholic so when the changes
were made in the 60’s I had a real hard time dealing with them.
One day it was a mortal sin to eat meat on Friday and then
the next day it was OK and so on. The changes that were
made in the Church shook my faith to the core and I have
not been able to feel the same since about my faith.
I believe in God - just not in everything the Church tells me now.
I talk to God and I ask God for forgiviness of my sins.
I don’t feel that I need another person as a go between.
Has the Catholic Church every let it’s members have a
spitirual confession with God and not priest and still have
the right to receive communion?
G.Lee
The change of which you speak - eating meat on Friday - is no more or less significant than the different changes which happened in the Mass itself during the Church’s history. Or the change from midnight to three hour fasting. Or the change from fasting for all of Lent except Sundays to Fridays only. You surely didn’t think all these disciplines stayed exactly the same from the Apostles up to Vatican 2, did you?
It’s about learning the difference between disciplines and dogmas. Some disciplines, especially those called PRECEPTS, are indeed binding on us, but not in and of themselves, unlike dogmas, rather they are binding because the Church binds us from time to time to observe them on pain of sin, and lack of obedience to the Church is indeed sinful.
So if you eat meat on Fridays (and for Fridays in Lent it’s the same today) the sin isn’t the eating of meat - that in itself is morally neutral - but the fact of disobedience to a Church precept.
All well and good that you don’t feel you need a go-between to obtain forgiveness - but consider the following
a) how do you actually know you’re forgiven? Jesus said many would call Him Lord and yet not be saved, so obviously not everyone who asks for forgiveness is forgiven. In confession you hear the words of absolution from the mouth of the priest who acts in Christ’s place and you know, unless you genuinely weren’t even the slightest bit sorry or you deliberately didn’t mention a mortal sin, that you’re forgiven, because He promised it. No such reassurances anywhere else.
b) Christ clearly didn’t feel that you don’t need a go-between. He gave the Apostles the power to forgive AND retain sins on His behalf (and their successors, as He certainly didn’t intend that power only for them - we need it just as much now).
Why would He give them a totally unnecessary (in your estimation) power? He gave it because it WAS necessary. And think about the ‘retaining’ bit - how on earth would they know which sins to retain unless they were verbally confessed first? And what about James’ command (for the bishops and priests to whom he was writing) to confess their sins TO EACH OTHER??
So the short answer is no - confession has always been and still is a necessity in the case of grave sin.
