Explaining Confession

[archistrage]

Two weeks ago I was in a book store, looking in the religious book section. This girl, a few years older me, walks over there as well, after she looks around for a minute, she asks me a question. I answer, and we kept talking for a while. We start talking about our religions, and when I tell her I’m Catholic, she says she has several questions, which I answer.

One of here questions though, was about the need for confession. More specifically, about confessing to a priest. It had been a while since I had thought about it, but I gave her an answer, and I wanted to hear what you guys think.

After asking me to explain about confession, she tells me that she believes that all she needs to do is to confess her sins to God, and she’s good.

I said, in a way, that’s true. It’s in the knowledge of knowing the evil of our sins, of their effect on others as well as our self, with the longing for the Sacrament and God’s Mercy (one in the same, I know), that we are restored to grace. The Church calls this Perfect Contrition. But here’s the deal, how often are we aware of the full damage of our sins, how often do we truly feel that sorrow, and reject those habits of sin, and seek God? As for myself, I know that it isn’t very often. In my own experiences, I know the pleasure that comes from keeping myself in that state of sin, as well as feeling that longing that comes from rejecting Christ out of our life.
That’s one of the reasons we have a priest, because acting in persona Christi, going to confession forces us to face our sins, and more importantly, face God.

When you’re a child, your parents are the ones who make you go to confession, in the hope you will get in the habit of it later in life. But once you are grown up, and living on your own, going to Confession is your choice. It is that acknowledgment, in facing our sins, just as a criminal faces his judge, that we are restored to God’s grace.

Did I get everything right? I know I missed several other reasons why confession is used; I just hope I didn’t tell her anything wrong.

Archistrage

 

[EmeraldWings]

well, as far as i can tell what you said was good, but lemme try and explain it further for you…

God knows our sins, and actually forgives us as soon as we are sorry, as we understand from Luke 7:47 “Wherefore I say to thee: Many sins are forgiven her, because she hath loved much. But to whom less is forgiven, he loveth less. And he said to her: Thy sins are forgiven thee. And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves: Who is this that forgiveth sins also? And he said to the woman: Thy faith hath made thee safe, go in peace.”
she was forgiven because she was sorry and had faith and love for God, that is what our forgiveness comes from,

we know from the bible we are to verbally confess our sins, of course in confession we are still really speaking to Jesus, but to confess means to reveal,
so the question is, if God knows our sins and therefore does not need us to reveal them to Him, and if He forgives us as soon as we’re sorry, then what is confession for? aha! i will explain…

first of all, confession is an act of humility, humility being an honest facing of facts, which is that you are a sinner and that you need the help of God, because it is for the reason that you did not seek God’s help that you have sinned in the first place, and now you are humbling yourself before Jesus, not just saying you are sorry, but *proving *it by kneeling before Him and revealing your sins in this humiliating way,

the forgiveness in confession we refer to is actually absolution, which remits the guilt and penalty due to sin,
even though God may forgive us before we confess, we are still dead in our soul and need the sacrament of penance to bring us back to life, and why is that?
well, what have you lost when you commit a mortal sin? sanctifying grace,
and how did you receive sanctifying grace in the first place? by the sacrament of baptism,
so if you can only receive sanctifying grace by a sacrament, then how do you receive it again after you have lost it? you can only be baptized once, so it can’t be that,
the obvious answer is the sacrament of penance.

another thing confession does for us is it gives us many many graces to overcome our sins and excel in virtue, so by not going to confession we make it harder for ourselves to get to heaven, and i think i can safely say, absolutely impossible to overcome all our sins, and not just that, but if we confess to a priest, he gives us advice for overcoming our sins, and penance to do afterwards, which we cannot give to ourselves.

well…there is much more i can say on this subject, which i otherwise would have, but i really gotta go, so i hope this helps you next time the subject comes up, tc.

 

[Seatuck]

catholic.com/library/Confession.asp

scripturecatholic.com/confession.html

 

[Reuben_J]

…

After asking me to explain about confession, she tells me that she believes that all she needs to do is to confess her sins to God, and she’s good.

…

Archistrage

This is correct statement and it applies to Catholics too, for we too confess our sin to God.

Having said that, the question that needs elaboration is how do we confess our sin to God?

Do we do that during our night prayer in our bed room before we go to sleep as we examine our conscience for the day? We do that too as Catholics. Or do we go the chapel, kneel before God, tell him in our heart or aloud about our sins and ask for forgiveness? We do that too, sometimes, as Catholics. You may want to ask her, how does she confess her sin to God?

And yet in the Bible, the apostles were given the power to forgive –the sins you forgive will be forgiven them. And yet too, in the Bible, sins committed are always against God and against man. And the Gospel asks to bring your brother who has sinned against you to the Church if he does not listen to you or your brothers.

Another question that need to be asked, by confessing to God directly, most probably in one of the manners described, how sure are we in making a good confession?

In the light of what the Bible says confession of sins needs to be done appropriately and according to the authority that had been given to the apostles. Thus for us it has to be done in the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Penance or Confession). Thus confession is not just to God but to man because the sin committed is against them both. WE need to go to man (priests) because of the promised authority given to him for this purpose.

In order that confession is made thoroughly and complete it has to follow at least these four steps: (1) Contrition, (2) Confession, (3) Penance and (4) Restitution.

Sins are not to be taken lightly because they separate us from God. In order that we are made right with him, we want to do it right according to his purpose.

God bless.