MERGED: Going to A Priest for Confession?/Reflection on Penance

[ServentOfChrist]

Hi, I’m new here.

I left the Catholic Church a year ago today and I am wondering if the Roman Catholic Church was right.

Can you tell me why you have to go to a priest for confession and penance, rather then going directly to Christ with repentance?

God Bless You All In Jesus Name.

 

[GPGT]

Why? Because you need to in order to in good conscience receive the Blessed Sacrament consecrated through Roman Catholic apostolic succession. Reason enough. That reminds me the priest told me one needs to go to confession once a year to remain a Catholic. That’s coming up soon for me as well.

 

[JerryZ]

Hi, I’m new here.

I left the Catholic Church a year ago today and I am wondering if the Roman Catholic Church was right.

Can you tell me why you have to go to a priest for confession and penance, rather then going directly to Christ with repentance?

God Bless You All In Jesus Name.

Jesus gave HIS authority to forgive OR RETAIN sins to His Apostles whom in their turn passed down this authority to the Bishops and Priests that they ordained down through the ages to our days and to the end of time.

You CANNOT go directly to Jesus when HE Himself set up the ORDINARY means by which you are to be reconciled with Him.
In Extraordinary circumstances, (for example you are in an accident and near death and no priests close by) then by all means direct yourself directly to Jesus and ask for His forgiveness.
BUT, if by a miracle you survive the accident, it is your duty to seek a Priest and confess to him so that you can be certain that you are forgiven.

Remember, when you go to the Priest in confession you have certainty that you are forgiven. Jesus’s authority is the assurance we have.
It’s all in the Bible, in case you need chapter and verse
Also I would like to clear that when you go to confession, you ARE going directly to Jesus. That is how HE set it up.

–

 

[HoneyBea]

Jesus gave HIS authority to forgive OR RETAIN sins to His Apostles whom in their turn passed down this authority to the Bishops and Priests that they ordained down through the ages to our days and to the end of time.

You CANNOT go directly to Jesus when HE Himself set up the ORDINARY means by which you are to be reconciled with Him.
In Extraordinary circumstances, (for example you are in an accident and near death and no priests close by) then by all means direct yourself directly to Jesus and ask for His forgiveness.
BUT, if by a miracle you survive the accident, it is your duty to seek a Priest and confess to him so that you can be certain that you are forgiven.

Remember, when you go to the Priest in confession you have certainty that you are forgiven. Jesus’s authority is the assurance we have.
It’s all in the Bible, in case you need chapter and verse

–

Actually you can ask Jesus for forgiveness anytime but you must be reconciled through the sacrament.

 

[Corki]

Can you tell me why you have to go to a priest for confession and penance, rather then going directly to Christ with repentance?

It’s an “and also” not a “rather than”. You go to Jesus Christ with a heart full of repentance. That repentance leads you to a desire to be reconciled with Him and with His Church. The Sacramental reconciliation is effected **by Christ **through the priest in the Sacrament of Confession.

 

[drafdog]

Apparently some people have difficulty with the sacrament of penance. One frequently encounters objections from Protestants who do not understand why they need to tell another human being how they have sinned when they can pray to God directly asking for forgiveness. And we all suffer from a general reluctance to name our own pet sins. Some of us are so shamed that we cannot even bring ourselves to tell the priest in the privacy of the confessional what we have done.
Jesus thought that it was important to have someone to talk to about our sins or he would not have given the apostles the mandate to forgive in his name. Yes, I admit that this is difficult. Why is it so difficult for us?
We need this sacrament as an exercise in humility. We need to break down the wall of self-satisfaction that surrounds us in order to avail ourselves of the graces of God. Going into the closet to pray for forgiveness is too easy. It allows us to maintain the illusion before others that we are good people. Today’s gospel is a case in point. (I’m certain that a lot of us heard homilies today on the sin of pride.) It is impossible to hear the still small voice of God while we’re muttering to ourselves, “I’m okay. Nothing wrong with me!” We pray that God’s kingdom come through the accomplishment of his will, but if we aren’t hearing his word, we won’t become part of that fulfillment, a part of that kingdom.
How do we overcome our squeamishness? One solution for the faint of spirit might be to tell the confessor that you are so ashamed that you can’t bear to mention your sin against the ___ commandment, and then ask for his help. The priest can ease the penitent through his confession and finally absolve the sinner. The prophet Joel admonishes Israel to return to the Lord and “rend your hearts, not your garments… the Lord is gracious and merciful…” So should we approach the sacrament. A proud heart is hard and will not be rent. We must soften ourselves and be broken to receive his graces.
Another solution might be to repair to the other side of the diocese to a parish where we aren’t known by the priests or the community at large. But again this is allows us to maintain a mask of respectability that we do not deserve. Far better to learn to weep and wail at our sinfulness and confess honestly before God and man. The graces of the sacrament are great, the true balm of Gilead.

Reb Levi

 

[ChurchSoldier]

2Cor5:10 says we will all meet Jesus and answer for what we’ve done in the body. Confession is just the opportunity to get some of the bad stuff out of the way before the face-to-face.

 

[JRKH]

Great Answers already.

As pointed out - it is a both/and - not an “either/or”.
All repentance for sin begins with going to Christ in prayer and supplication. I dare say that no one has confessed something to a priest who has not already done so internally - to Christ.
**
The authority and action of the priest in this matter is a gift given to us by Christ** in order to have someone tangible to talk to and with and take counsel from. The priest, in addition to reciting the words of absolution, listens, advises, and even evaluates the state of our contrition so that we do not fool ourselves in some way.
For example…
One person can become presumptuous - convincing himself that some sin is not as bad as it actually is.
Another person can go the other direction - becoming scrupulous - and seeing serious sin in everything.
The evil one can exploit either of these things - depending on the individual - and the danger of this happening is exponentially greater if the sinner does not have a good confessor - someone to help keep them balanced.

One more thing is that the act of physically confessing is a cathartic. It is a discipline that can help us to refrain from sin because we do not want to tell our confessor what we did. Likewise the act of examining the conscience in preparation for confession can help to bring our true state into focus. I can tell you that it has brought me to tears before.

The thing that I find interesting in all of this is how the secular world has developed a similar system in the psychiatric field.
No one really much questions the value of such counseling - - - But the idea of “confession” to a priest is periodically questioned…
As if Freud was smarter than Jesus…:dts:

Peace
James

 

[ffg]

look at the institution of the sacraments -

Even Jesus went to someone to be baptised. He could have dumped water on himself and said in ‘my family’s’ name.

If Jesus went to a human for baptism, who are we to change the process for sacraments.

Now look at all the sacraments, they all require other humans.

Something to remember is the purpose of all the actions of the Church - to bring humans closer to God. (or more directly, ‘to God’)

If you consider this in analysis, you will more easily understand the good from the acts of the Church.

 

[realcatholic15]

Pax

The priest symbolizes the Church, or the Whole body of Christ. If one sins, (especially a mortal sin) he loses his chance to enter heaven. He is hurt. As whole body, we are also hurt, because we are one body. We need to apologize to Jesus, and also, to the Church for sinning. Imagine if it is so literal. Would you announce your sins in public? Definitely no! We should apologize to the Church, through the priest.

Here is a helpful link:
youtube.com/watch?v=Wz5-vu6A58E
youtube.com/watch?v=oJg29UG6028

Pax et bonum

 

[ffg]

As whole body, we are also hurt, because we are one body.

I like this consideration.

Confession is where we go before the body part which represents the whole body, and apologize.

Good stuff.

 

[Jeanne_S]

Re the frequency of confession.This has been an ever evolving process for me over the past eight years,when I became serious about my faith.Having been a lazy Catholic for many years,I finally went to confession after twenty some years
Fast forward,I now receive the Sactament of Reconciliation monthly.I recognize the necessity of remaining in God’s grace.The more one frequents the confessional,the more one will realize what a beautiful gift Christ have us through this sacrament.

 

[johnnykins]

The simple answer is we confess to a priest because we believe Christ Himself set it up that way as the normative way to forgive sins when He granted the Apostles the ability to forgive sins. Obviously many disagree with that, but that is the fundamental reason - Christ wants it that way for our benefit.

A better question might be, why should we confess to another? Or put another way, why would Christ set it up that way?

I think the answer lies in our human nature - which Christ was clearly familiar with since He took on human nature. It is in our nature: not to be humble; not to accuse ourselves to another; to excuse our failings; to believe God will do what we want without any cost…

Confession to a priest forces us to be humble, to accuse ourselves orally to another, to make our excuses subject to question by another, to make us uncomfortable with our failings - that’s a cost. Like the old saying: “Confession is good for the soul.” Confession to a priest helps us move toward sanctity in our lives in a very concrete way that often is missing in a private, unspoken secret confession in our private prayers.

Can you simply pray to God and ask forgiveness and will He forgive you? Sure if you are truly repentant.

But, confession to a priest - to another human acting in persona Christi - for all its embarrassment, difficulty, self-abnegation - has genuine human benefits which Christ Himself wants us to claim in our daily life for our eternal benefit.

 

[Jeanne_S]

The simple answer is we confess to a priest because we believe Christ Himself set it up that way as the normative way to forgive sins when He granted the Apostles the ability to forgive sins. Obviously many disagree with that, but that is the fundamental reason - Christ wants it that way for our benefit.

A better question might be, why should we confess to another? Or put another way, why would Christ set it up that way?

I think the answer lies in our human nature - which Christ was clearly familiar with since He took on human nature. It is in our nature: not to be humble; not to accuse ourselves to another; to excuse our failings; to believe God will do what we want without any cost…

Confession to a priest forces us to be humble, to accuse ourselves orally to another, to make our excuses subject to question by another, to make us uncomfortable with our failings - that’s a cost. Like the old saying: “Confession is good for the soul.” Confession to a priest helps us move toward sanctity in our lives in a very concrete way that often is missing in a private, unspoken secret confession in our private prayers.

Can you simply pray to God and ask forgiveness and will He forgive you? Sure if you are truly repentant.

But, confession to a priest - to another human acting in persona Christi - for all its embarrassment, difficulty, self-abnegation - has genuine human benefits which Christ Himself wants us to claim in our daily life for our eternal benefit.

 

[vincent10395]

Hi, I’m new here.

I left the Catholic Church a year ago today and I am wondering if the Roman Catholic Church was right.

Can you tell me why you have to go to a priest for confession and penance, rather then going directly to Christ with repentance?

God Bless You All In Jesus Name.

21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” -John 20:21-23

Christ gave His power to the Apostles and their successors. Christ’s healing power works through the priests.

Hope this helped, God Bless!

 

[frobert]

Hi, I’m new here.

I left the Catholic Church a year ago today and I am wondering if the Roman Catholic Church was right.

Can you tell me why you have to go to a priest for confession and penance, rather then going directly to Christ with repentance?

God Bless You All In Jesus Name.

I had similar internal conflict. If you ask the question on this forum you no doubt will receive all the reasons and pros of confessing to a priest but on protestant forum you will mostly cons. For me it came down to what was best emotionally and not necessarily intellectually or who was right. I resolved the conflict by vowing to myself to make the best confession I could. I was away from the church for several decades so until I got to confession it was a painful experience. I put away whatever doubts I had, made an appointment with a local priest and went and went back several weeks latter to confess what I had forgot to confess the first time. I could not imagine the amount of relief that I would feel. From an intellectual stance I still have doubts of the necessity to confess but I will continue to go to confession and accept the priest’s guidance.

Good luck with whatever decision you make.

 

[Joe_5859]

Nice reflection.

I think it’s easy in our relatively individualistic American culture to buy into the “me and Jesus” notion as though the wider human family is completely irrelevant to our faith walk. From that perspective, I can see why it would be confusing to consider confessing our sins to anyone but God.

I don’t think there’s any shame in confessing to a priest you don’t know. I pretty much have to go outside my diocese to find a priest I don’t know. One’s sins are forgiven just the same.

 

[maryjk]

Hi, I’m new here.

**I left the Catholic Church a year ago today **and I am wondering if the Roman Catholic Church was right.

Can you tell me why you have to go to a priest for confession and penance, rather then going directly to Christ with repentance?

God Bless You All In Jesus Name.

How long were you with the Catholic Church?

Have you ever been to Confession?

You might want to do a search on the forum. There are numerous threads about this topic.

 

[MarcoPolo]

Hi, I’m new here.

I left the Catholic Church a year ago today and I am wondering if the Roman Catholic Church was right.

Can you tell me why you have to go to a priest for confession and penance, rather then going directly to Christ with repentance?

God Bless You All In Jesus Name.

I would add to what others said with this thought: It is kind of like asking “Why go to Matthew, Mark, Luke, or Isaiah, etc. ‘rather than’ directly to Jesus?” Or “Why go to the Apostles rather than Jesus?” Or “Why did Michael the Archangel defeat Satan (Rv 12:7-8) ‘rather than’ Jesus?” The answers to all these are similar to the idea of a priest in Confession. God has and continues to operate through various instruments since the beginning.

 

[a_Anita]

Hi, I’m new here.

I left the Catholic Church a year ago today and I am wondering if the Roman Catholic Church was right.

Can you tell me why you have to go to a priest for confession and penance, rather then going directly to Christ with repentance?

God Bless You All In Jesus Name.

You, friend in Christ who for the moment have doubts about the Church; the catholic church is THE Church Jesus founded (Mt 16:18). «On this rock …». Your protestant friends will tell you otherwise, but that’s because they have been thought so since they were children. Protestants don’t understand what The Catholic Church really is. I know that because I’ve been raised as a protestant. I became scared when I understood that my thoughts were «moving» in catholic direction which I had heard so much bad about. God helped me to come home to his real HOME, the CHURCH, because I asked for his guidance. Did you know that the Mass is not only to be taken back to Calvary at the transformation,(the moment of transubstantiation) but also, in that moment, to Heaven?

After verse 18 in Matthew (chapter 16) comes verse 19 and that answers your question about confession:** «I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.»**

When you hear the priest say: «… I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit», it is verse 19 in who guaranties that the sins that the priest absolved you from («loose on earth») is also «loosed in heaven".

You are only one confession away from the Church that Jesus founded and never wanted to be split apart (Jn 17: 21).

If you need some references to the catholic views on how to read the Bible (which was given to the Church in the first way), please PM me at the instant system here at CA or ask what referanses you want/need here on the thread. God knows that the way to heaven might be bumpy some times, but he never refuses anybody to come home if they have been lost on another path (as in the parable on the prodigal son who spilt his heritage, Lk 15:11–32).

Take your time. God will be with you …:bowdown2:

God bless you too in Jesus name, ServantOfChrist!