Confession

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MattB99

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I am a confirmed Catholic and after leaving home for school, I have stopped regularly attending mass. I am currently in college and working full time as well. I know I could find time to attend mass weekly whether it be on Saturday evening or Sunday morning, but I have not had the “drive” in which I want to attend. The Catholic faith is very confusing for me right now but, I have started realizing that mass is an important event to attend and recently I have taken more interest in Catholicism. I have many questions in which could leave me here for hours, but I want to ask the one I think about the most. The idea of Confession has always confused me.
1.)–Why is it that I must confess my sins to a priest to be forgiven? I understand that the priest is the lifeline to God but why can’t I realize the wrongs I would like to right and ask God for forgiveness for the sins I have committed?
2.)-- If I am truly sorry for what I have done, can’t God see that in my heart?
3.)If I do confess my sins to a priest and he is in a state of sin, am I forgiven?
4.)What about the many sins I have committed and have forgotten about?

Also, I would like to purchase a book to try and understand the Catholic religion as it is today. Instead of reading a bible written thousands of years ago, I was wondering if there was a Catholic Bible I don’t have to decipher. Any other books good for young adults and Catholicism would be great too.

Thank you
 
…the simple answer??? Jesus told Peter. What you bind on earth is bound in Heaven. What you loose on earth is loosed in Heaven. Lots of rules in life. What does not kill you can only make you stronger. Quit whineing and go to confession. The shot of humble pie will do you good…really:thumbsup:

The I cannot wait all day for an answer,>…(name removed by moderator)ut confession on the search box of this website… you will get the windy answers for which you already know, but lack the courage to commit to… I wish you peace…:cool:
 
Well thank you for a “less than compassionate” answer. Another thing I realized about “model” Catholics…Some of the most judgmental, mean spirited, unhappy people on Earth. I find it sad that some people follow the bible so closely and abide by God’s rules to a “T.” But those “model” Catholics, are the absolute first to pass judgment on others, and believe to be “better” than anyone else. I don’t exactly have the resources to ask questions, nor am I comfortable with asking someone at my church, so I firgured I would try here first. Obviously you could not offer me any other useful information other than “stop whining” but I will pray for you.

Matthew 7:1-3
1Do not judge, or you too will be judged.
2For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged,
and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
3"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye
and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?
 
Hi Matt,
It’s nice to “meet” you. 🙂

The Baltimore Catechism will give you the Faith straight up and fast. Also The Catechism of the Catholic Church is a good thing to own, too.
1.)–Why is it that I must confess my sins to a priest to be forgiven? I understand that the priest is the lifeline to God but why can’t I realize the wrongs I would like to right and ask God for forgiveness for the sins I have committed?
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Because we’re a Sacramental Faith. Sacraments give an outward sign, in this case, it’s the words of the priest saying you’re forgiven. This was instituted by Christ when he told the apostles:
John 20:23 Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained.
2.)-- If I am truly sorry for what I have done, can’t God see that in my heart?
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This is how God has chosen to forgive sins, through the priest. They are the ministers of God in His name.

“The power to forgive sins implies the obligation of going to confession because as sins are usually committed secretly, the priest could never know what sins to forgive and what not to forgive, unless the sins committed were made known to him by the persons guilty of them.” -Baltimore Catechism #3

“Certainly, God could forgive our sins if we confessed them to Himself in secret, but He has not promised to do so; whereas He has promised to pardon them if we confess them to His priests. Since He is free to pardon or not to pardon, He has the right to establish a Sacrament through which alone He will pardon.”-Baltimore Catechism #3
3.)If I do confess my sins to a priest and he is in a state of sin, am I forgiven?
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Yes. The Sacrament of Holy Orders is indelible, in other words, one is a priest forever. And power to absolve sins comes from God and in no way depends on the personal holiness of the priest.
4.)What about the many sins I have committed and have forgotten about?
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You do your best to remember the kinds of sins, especially serious sins, and how many times you committed them if possible. If you honestly forget any serious sin, it is forgiven as well. You should also mention any less serious sins, too. 🙂

I’m happy for you, Matt! You’re on the right track.
 
MattB99 said:
1.)–Why is it that I must confess my sins to a priest to be forgiven? I understand that the priest is the lifeline to God but why can’t I realize the wrongs I would like to right and ask God for forgiveness for the sins I have committed?
2.)-- If I am truly sorry for what I have done, can’t God see that in my heart?
3.)If I do confess my sins to a priest and he is in a state of sin, am I forgiven?
4.)What about the many sins I have committed and have forgotten about?
Click to expand...
  1. Because Christ said to His Apostles: “And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’” (John 20: 22-23)
  2. Yes. You can make a perfect Act of Contrition which will keep you safe in case you die before going to Confession. But, in being sorry for your sins you must also remember the teaching of the Church, which is that mortal sins are to be confessed in sacramental Confession. Denying the necessity of Confession is a heresy.
  3. Consult the Catechism for what a good Confession entails. If the confession is good and absolution is received, the state of the priest’s soul doesn’t invalidate it.
  4. I will leave this to others in case I say something stupid and mislead you.
 
Deleted my post because Jacafamala did a better job. I want to second the recommendation of reading the Baltimore Catechism. It’s a pretty quick read, in the form of a very practical Q and A. Good luck.
 
I think most people would agree that Catholicism for Dummies is a solid book for you to read. I’ve read it twice now and I’m thinking about reading it again. Make sure it’s the one written by Father Triglio.
 
On the day of Jesus’ resurrection the first thing he did was breath on the apostles and said to them: “Whose sins you forgive are forgiven and whose sins you retain are retained.” Clearly Jesus himself had then instituted the sacrament of confession and wanted us to take our sins before his ministers.

Even if a priest is in mortal sin, your sins will be absolved.

When you make your confession tell all your mortal sins and even your venial sins, if you choose, which is a good thing. Should you forget to convey any of your mortal sins in that confession, then just bring them up the next time you go to confession.

There are good books you can read, including the Catholic Catechism of the Catholic Church, which I highly recommend.
 
Matt- I am a 23 year old Master’s student. I also experienced a loss of faith when I went to college. And I went to 12 years of Catholic school, and served Mass at the local Extraordinary Form Mass.

I recommend you do one important thing: Call up a good priest and schedule an hour to just sit down and talk to him.

I credit good priests for helping me to where I am right now- a practicing Catholic.

Keep poking around this website. It has LOTS and LOTS of great information.
 
Hi Matt, I am a convert and it took me a long, long, very long time to get used to the idea of confession. But once I did get get over those initial qualms, and nervousness, I actually look forward to confession. The thing is, I know I’ll leave with a lighter heart, and I know my soul has been cleansed. I hope this helps. 🙂
 
Liked the mention of the Baltimore Catechism! There’s alot of good in the Roman Catechism also:

Why Christ Instituted this Sacrament:
In the first place, however, it will be well to explain why it is that Christ our Lord was pleased to number Penance among the Sacraments. One of His reasons certainly was to leave us no room for doubt regarding the remission of sin which was promised by God when He said: If the wicked do penance, etc. For each one has good reason to distrust the accuracy of his own judgment on his own actions, and hence we could not but be very much in doubt regarding the truth of our internal penance. It was to destroy this, our uneasiness, that our Lord instituted the Sacrament of Penance, by means of which we are assured that our sins are pardoned by the absolution of the priest; and also to tranquilize our conscience by means of the trust we rightly repose in the virtue of the Sacraments. The words of the priest sacramentally and lawfully absolving us from our sins are to be accepted in the same sense as the words of Christ our Lord when He said to the paralytic: Son, be of good heart: thy sins are forgiven thee.

In the second place, no one can obtain salvation unless through Christ and the merits of His Passion. Hence it was becoming in itself, and highly advantageous to us, that a Sacrament should be instituted through the force and efficacy of which the blood of Christ flows into our souls, washes� away�all the sins committed after Baptism, and thus leads us to recognise that it is to our Saviour alone we owe the blessing of reconciliation.

Necessity of:
Returning now to the Sacrament, it is so much the special province of Penance to remit sins that it is impossible to obtain or even to hope for remission of sins by any other means; for it is written: Unless you do penance, you shall all likewise perish. These words were said by our Lord in reference to grievous and mortal sins, although at the same time lighter sins, which are called venial, also require some sort of penance. St. Augustine observes that the kind of penance which is daily performed in the Church for venial sins, would be absolutely useless, if venial sin could be remitted without penance.

Look here for the whole Catechism: cin.org/users/james/ebooks/master/trent/tindex.htm

I really don’t know why we stopped using these great Catechisms…

Laus Deo
 
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