My struggle with Catholicism

  • Thread starter Thread starter tscott
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
T

tscott

Guest
Hi - my first post.

I feel like I have a calling to the Catholic Church, although I know very little about it. I really can’t explain it other than I have a thirst for knowledge about the Catholic faith and have a desire to attend Mass.

To learn more, I am reading a book called “Catholicism for Dummies”. I am struggling with what it says. Under a paragraph heading “You gotta confess” it says: "…the Church believes that mortal sins can’t be forgiven and the soul damns itself to hell without absolution from a priest."

I am having trouble getting past this because it goes against the Gospel. Christ died for all sins, not just some, and we have direct access to His grace.

Can someone please explain to me the need for absolution for mortal sins from a priest?

I don’t have any issues with going to confession as the scripture says…“confess your sins to one another”. So I’m good with that. Only the sentence I highlighted I am struggling with.

Scott
 
Unrepentant mortal sin. If you repent of your mortal sin and intend to go to the next possible Confession but die suddenly before you have the chance to go to Confession, then your soul is not lost. If you ever believe that you have committed a mortal sin, I’m am sure, with the good-will that you have, you will repent any wrong-doing and will choose go to Confession as soon as you reasonably can. God sees your intention and your repentance, so if death catches you before Confession, your soul will be saved. However if you mortally sin and are careless about Confession then you are yourself placing your soul in danger.

If you wish to read what the Catechism actually says about Confession see
scborromeo.org/ccc/p2s2c2a4.htm
The Catechism of the Catholic Church is available in full online
This link will take you to the Index:
vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM

Regarding your highlighted question, give me a minute and I’ll give you the text of Jesus’ words to the apostles, the first priests

21Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” John 20
Confession is one of the seven Sacraments and a source of divine grace.
The priest hears your Confession in the person of Christ, with Christ-given authority.

Does this help?
 
. 1John 5:16If anyone sees his brother sinning,if the sin is not deadly,he should pray to God and he will give him life. This is only for those whose sin is not deadly. There is such a thing as deadly sin,about which I do not say that you should pray. l 17All wrongdoing is sin,but there is sin that is not deadly.

There is deadly sin- mortal and not deadly -venial. In order for a sin to be mortal, you have to do it with full knowledge that it is mortal and choose to do it anyway.

.
tscott said:
Hi - my first post.

I feel like I have a calling to the Catholic Church, although I know very little about it. I really can’t explain it other than I have a thirst for knowledge about the Catholic faith and have a desire to attend Mass.

To learn more, I am reading a book called “Catholicism for Dummies”. I am struggling with what it says. Under a paragraph heading “You gotta confess” it says: "…the Church believes that mortal sins can’t be forgiven and the soul damns itself to hell without absolution from a priest."

I am having trouble getting past this because it goes against the Gospel. Christ died for all sins, not just some, and we have direct access to His grace.

Can someone please explain to me the need for absolution for mortal sins from a priest?

I don’t have any issues with going to confession as the scripture says…“confess your sins to one another”. So I’m good with that. Only the sentence I highlighted I am struggling with.

Scott
Click to expand...
 
This link may answer some of your questions, including to some non-Catholic objections

From the Catholic Encyclopedia

Confession

newadvent.org/cathen/11618c.htm

Warm regard, God bless you.
Wishing you a blessed Christmas,
Trishie
 
tscott said:
Hi - my first post.

I feel like I have a calling to the Catholic Church, although I know very little about it. I really can’t explain it other than I have a thirst for knowledge about the Catholic faith and have a desire to attend Mass.

To learn more, I am reading a book called “Catholicism for Dummies”. I am struggling with what it says. Under a paragraph heading “You gotta confess” it says: "…the Church believes that mortal sins can’t be forgiven and the soul damns itself to hell without absolution from a priest."

I am having trouble getting past this because it goes against the Gospel. Christ died for all sins, not just some, and we have direct access to His grace.

Can someone please explain to me the need for absolution for mortal sins from a priest?

I don’t have any issues with going to confession as the scripture says…“confess your sins to one another”. So I’m good with that. Only the sentence I highlighted I am struggling with.

Scott
Click to expand...
Hi, Scott…you may want to ask the mods…to move this to the apologetics section. You can also use the search engine of this website.

But for starters, there are venial sins and mortal sins…this should explain it…catholic.com/tracts/mortal-sin

Confession…catholic.com/tracts/confession

A book recommendation that will explain confession deeper…Scott Hahn’s Lord Have Mercy.

catholic.com/quickquestions/is-it-possible-for-a-person-with-a-mortal-sin-still-on-his-soul-to-die-and-go-to-heav

ewtn.com/library/ANSWERS/MORTSIN.htm

Traditionally, Catholic moral theology has distinguished between a mortal and a venial sin. In the First Letter of St. John (5:17), we read, “…All wrongdoing is sin, but not all sin is deadly.” The notion of a “deadly” or mortal sin is found in other parts of sacred Scripture as well. For instance, St. Paul in Galatians (5:19-21) asserted, “It is obvious what proceeds from the flesh: lewd conduct, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hostilities, bickering, jealousy, outbursts of rage, selfish rivalries, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, orgies and the like. I warn you, as I have warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God!” (Cf. Rom 1:28-32; 1 Cor 6:9-10; Eph 4:3-8) Therefore, sacred Scripture explicitly identifies certain sins which kill the grace of God in our soul and deprive a person of eternal salvation.
 
tscott,
Welcome to the boards. Hope we can be of help.

You’ve already been given some good answers so I’ll try not to repeat…instead, I’m going to offer sort of an analogy.

Mortal sin, as defined by the Catholic church “…destroys charity in the heart of man by a grave violation of God’s law…”(ccc 1855)
It in effect severs the relationship between God and the sinner.
Because of this severing, the soul needs what might be described as a “re-baptism” so to speak. The Catechism describes this as, "(necessitating) a new initiative of God’s mercy and a conversion of heart…(ccc 1856)

So - this is how I think of it - in the simplest terms…When we come into the Church we are Baptized and all our sins are forgiven. Should we sin Mortally - effectively cut off from God’s Church, we need confession and absolution as a sort of “re-baptism”.

Remember that the above is an attempt to give a “simple image” explanation. The Catechism certainly will give you the best and fullest answers…

Peace
James
 
Actually thats one of the best parts of being a Catholic, you get to go to a Priest and let it out, confess your sins, and when he says your sins are absolved, you feel good.
Also the Priest can give you advice if need be.
I also remember confess your sins to one another, but I’m not going to tell my sins to my family or friends, I mean you do talk, but its not the same.

I grew up Catholic so its just the way it is, unable to drive I go only a few times a year,
but at night I say an Act of Contrition, and I believe that works, but if you do a mortal sin you need to go as soon as possible.🙂
 
How does this go against the Gospel?

God forgives those sins through a priest. It is not in addition to Jesus’ sacrifice but b/c of it. It would not be possible if Jesus hadn’t died for all sins. Also, Jesus gave this authority to the Apostles, it was the same in the old testament btw, you had to see the priest and make an animal sacrifice. The sacrifice is taken care of, but God’s grace still works through the priest, just like it works through the water in baptism. God, who took on physical flesh and entered into a material world uses physical instruments to convey his grace.
 
I think this is the nuance, but I’m not positive, so maybe you should do more research. This is the way I see it:

Jesus’ dying didn’t automatically wash away our sins. He made it POSSIBLE for our sins to be forgiven.

At Mass (in the old translation, maybe still in the new…can’t remember), the when the priest is blessing the bread and wine, he says that Jesus died so that “sins may be forgiven.”
 
Link0126 said:
**How does this go against the Gospel? **

God forgives those sins through a priest. It is not in addition to Jesus’ sacrifice but b/c of it. It would not be possible if Jesus hadn’t died for all sins. Also, Jesus gave this authority to the Apostles, it was the same in the old testament btw, you had to see the priest and make an animal sacrifice. The sacrifice is taken care of, but God’s grace still works through the priest, just like it works through the water in baptism. God, who took on physical flesh and entered into a material world uses physical instruments to convey his grace.
Click to expand...
I think that maybe part of the confusion stems from this…“the Church believes that mortal sins can’t be forgiven…” which the OP posted as a quote from Catholicism for Dummies.
If that quote is accurate (from the book), it is an incorrect statement for the Church does NOT teach that Mortal sins cannot be forgiven…It teaches that Mortal sins need to be a) Sincerely repented and b) confessed to and absolved by a priest.

Peace
James
 
I love reconciliation:thumbsup: Remember that it is Christ who meets us in in the confessional…
 
tscott said:
Hi - my first post.

I feel like I have a calling to the Catholic Church, although I know very little about it. I really can’t explain it other than I have a thirst for knowledge about the Catholic faith and have a desire to attend Mass.

To learn more, I am reading a book called “Catholicism for Dummies”. I am struggling with what it says. Under a paragraph heading “You gotta confess” it says: "…the Church believes that mortal sins can’t be forgiven and the soul damns itself to hell without absolution from a priest."

I am having trouble getting past this because it goes against the Gospel. Christ died for all sins, not just some, and we have direct access to His grace.

Can someone please explain to me the need for absolution for mortal sins from a priest?

I don’t have any issues with going to confession as the scripture says…“confess your sins to one another”. So I’m good with that. Only the sentence I highlighted I am struggling with.

Scott
Click to expand...
I had similar problems when I converted and I was as inexplicably called as you seem to be. The difference is, I never read anything or went to Mass, I just started RCIA! Wow, was I dumb.

Anyway, the priest doesn’t forgive you, he acts as a conduit for Christ in a Sacrament. So he does, but* really* Jesus does. If you go through the RCIA process, they’ll give you the low down on what a Sacrament really is.

You don’t know if you have already been forgiven, you see, but you cannot approach the alter unless you are sure, and the Eucharist is everything. So we have this wonderful, srsly wonderful, Sacrament, that assures of Grace. I’d say I just decided to believe it, but I am a hard-headed worthless person and so God gave me quite the spiritual experience at my first reconciliation to let me know, Yes, I did institute this Sacrament and it’s real!

You’re really going to feel wonderful coming Home. God bless you abundantly on your journey.
 
Hello tscott – and welcome! You said you accept Confession “because the scripture says…‘confess your sins to one another.’” You will learn as you study that the Catholic Church is not based on the New Testament as all Protestant organizations are; rather, the NT is based on the teaching of the Catholic Church who wrote it, selected the contents, canonized it, and named it. She also canonized and named the Old Testament and compiled and named the Bible.

We read in the Didache (full name, The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles), a first-century document used by the Church for the instruction of adult pagan converts, “On the Lord’s own day [Sunday], assemble in common to break bread and offer thanks [Eucharist], but first confess your sins, so that your sacrifice may be pure.” There is historical as well as biblical evidence that confession to a priest has been practiced since the days of the Apostles. The full name of the liturgy (the formal worship of the Church) is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. or the Divine Liturgy.

I looked up the statement your referred to in Catholicism for Dummies. You quoted it correctly. The book is written by two priests, one a Ph.D., and this statement is correct. Read the entire paragraph carefully: mortal (deadly) sins are forgiven by true contrition (remorse, sorrow) that is based purely on the love of God, not mixed with the fear of hell. But since we can never be sure our motives are pure, confession to a priest and his absolution are always necessary. Even if we do make an act of what we think is Perfect Contrition, we still need to confess any mortal sin to a priest. I agree that the book could have explained it a little better. God has chosen to forgive serious sins through the sacrament of Penance (Confession), see John 20:19-23.

Please realize that Catholic teaching is intended for Catholics. The Church does not pass judgment on non-Catholics who commit mortal sins and do not have access to a duly ordained priest. That is between them and God.

You’ve begun the most interesting adventure of your life – the study of the 2,000-year-old Catholic Church, founded by Christ for the salvation of the world. May God be with you on your journey.

Jim Dandy
Ex-Southern Baptist, ex-agnostic, ex-atheist, ecstatic to be Catholic!
 
Thanks everybody for replying.

I have read each link and scripture listed, and I am beginning to see your point(s).

It’s hard because I’m coming here as a life-long Protestant, and am having to change something that is ingrained in my belief system.

Not sure how my family is going to take converting to Catholicism. I think my mom may be concerned/upset.

I’m going to keep reading, researching, praying and attending Mass. I trust God will lead me to where he wants me.

Scott
 
tscott said:
Thanks everybody for replying.

I have read each link and scripture listed, and I am beginning to see your point(s).

It’s hard because I’m coming here as a life-long Protestant, and am having to change something that is ingrained in my belief system.

Not sure how my family is going to take converting to Catholicism. I think my mom may be concerned/upset.

I’m going to keep reading, researching, praying and attending Mass. I trust God will lead me to where he wants me.

Scott
Click to expand...
We are always glad to help. Keep bringing on the questions…😃

Peace
James
 
tscott said:
Thanks everybody for replying.

I have read each link and scripture listed, and I am beginning to see your point(s).

It’s hard because I’m coming here as a life-long Protestant, and am having to change something that is ingrained in my belief system.

Not sure how my family is going to take converting to Catholicism. I think my mom may be concerned/upset.

I’m going to keep reading, researching, praying and attending Mass. I trust God will lead me to where he wants me.

Scott
Click to expand...
Hi, Scott…glad to have been of help. And keep the questions coming if you need more clarifications.

You can read or listen to conversion stories here, for what its worth…and hopefully, it may give you ideas. I would you are not the only one who struggled because of your previous upbringing as a protestant…I hope you will fund futher inspiration in them…chnetwork.org/

God bless and Merry Christmas…
 
Earlier this month the pope visited a prison, where he answered some questions from prisioners.

I’ll quote the report on one of these questions, relating to Confession:

(taken from site.catholicfavors.com/blog/4713/pope-benedict-visits-prisoners-and-answers-several-questions-from-them/ )

Gianni, another inmate, asked the Pope Benedict why he still has to have a confession for pardon instead of directly asking God for forgiveness.

“Naturally, if you get on your knees and, with real love for God, pray that God forgive you, he will,” the pope answered.

“But sin doesn’t disturb only the relationship between an individual and God,” he added, “it harms the community of the church and wider society.”

“The sacrament of reconciliation is the great gift by which, through confession, I can free myself from this and can receive real forgiveness, including in the sense of a full readmission into the community of the living church,” he noted.

“With the mass of things we have, we seem to be further from ourselves and from the experience that God exists and is close to me,” Pope Benedict concluded.
 
Joel_PF said:
Earlier this month the pope visited a prison, where he answered some questions from prisioners.

I’ll quote the report on one of these questions, relating to Confession:

(taken from site.catholicfavors.com/blog/4713/pope-benedict-visits-prisoners-and-answers-several-questions-from-them/ )

Gianni, another inmate, asked the Pope Benedict why he still has to have a confession for pardon instead of directly asking God for forgiveness.

“Naturally, if you get on your knees and, with real love for God, pray that God forgive you, he will,” the pope answered.

“But sin doesn’t disturb only the relationship between an individual and God,” he added, “it harms the community of the church and wider society.”

“The sacrament of reconciliation is the great gift by which, through confession, I can free myself from this and can receive real forgiveness, including in the sense of a full readmission into the community of the living church,” he noted.

“With the mass of things we have, we seem to be further from ourselves and from the experience that God exists and is close to me,” Pope Benedict concluded.
Click to expand...
The more things I read that Pope Benedict says, the more impressed I am with that man.
 
tscott said:
Thanks everybody for replying.

I have read each link and scripture listed, and I am beginning to see your point(s).

It’s hard because I’m coming here as a life-long Protestant, and am having to change something that is ingrained in my belief system.

Not sure how my family is going to take converting to Catholicism. I think my mom may be concerned/upset.

I’m going to keep reading, researching, praying and attending Mass. I trust God will lead me to where he wants me.

Scott
Click to expand...
You will probably discover that Protestantism (especially, Evangelicalism and less ecclesiastically mature denominations) are significantly different religious experiences that Catholicism. I would be hard-pressed to articulate the difference precisely and briefly, but I have always found that the place is ritual is almost completely absent in Protestantism (again, especially those less ecclesiastically mature denominations) and that there is something tremendously modern in the Protestantism devotion to individualism and ego.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top