Hi,
When his disciples asked Him how to pray, Jesus began: “Our Father…” But of course, He also said that all prayer goes to the Father through Him. “No one comes to the Father, except through me.” (Jn. 14:4)
Certainly, we may direct sorrow for our sins to the Father through Jesus. But Jesus, on Easter Sunday night, gave His Apostles in the upper room the power to forgive sins in His name. “Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.’ And when He 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.” (Jn. 20:21-23) Here, mere men were given the power to forgive sins in His name. This obviously was His idea and He had the power to do this by means of breathing the Holy Spirit upon them. We do well to not ignore this, if we believe that Jesus is truly God.
Fr. Vincent Serpa, O.P.
