Penance, binding and loosing, and infallibility

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SeekerM

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The last time I went to confession I was told that part of my penance was to quite trying to be perfect, and to stop looking for perfection in others.

Jesus said things like “whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained” (John 20 or 21, I think), and “whatsoever ye bind on earth shall be bound in heaven” (Matt. 18), and I kinda have the impression that penance given by a priest is infallible, and that the absolution he gives in conditioned on your doing the penance, and he’s more or less retaining your sins if you don’t perform the penance properly.

Is that right, or am I misunderstanding something?
 
Infallibilty does not apply to individual priests, but they do have the authority to forgive sins (or not). Absolution for our sins through the sacrament of Confession is conditional on us carrying out our penance. I would expect that your penance from that Confession would be to make an effort to do as the priest has instructed you.
 
No, absolution is not conditional on performing the penance.
 
Brendan_64 said:
Infallibilty does not apply to individual priests, but they do have the authority to forgive sins (or not). Absolution for our sins through the sacrament of Confession is conditional on us carrying out our penance. I would expect that your penance from that Confession would be to make an effort to do as the priest has instructed you.
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Thank you.

I meant to say “quit trying to be perfect.”
Brendan_64 said:
…Absolution for our sins through the sacrament of Confession is conditional on us carrying out our penance. I would expect that your penance from that Confession would be to make an effort to do as the priest has instructed you.
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So if I don’t quit trying to be perfect, the absolution doesn’t count, and I’m not forgiven?
 
SeekerM said:
Thank you.

I meant to say “quit trying to be perfect.”

So if I don’t quit trying to be perfect, the absolution doesn’t count, and I’m not forgiven?
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You do not have to do your penance to be absolved of the sins you confessed, but choosing to not do the penance assigned to you is a sin and would need to be confessed during your next visit.

Peace:)
 
SeekerM said:
The last time I went to confession I was told that part of my penance was to quite trying to be perfect, and to stop looking for perfection in others.

Jesus said things like “whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained” (John 20 or 21, I think), and “whatsoever ye bind on earth shall be bound in heaven” (Matt. 18), and I kinda have the impression that penance given by a priest is infallible, and that the absolution he gives in conditioned on your doing the penance, and he’s more or less retaining your sins if you don’t perform the penance properly.

Is that right, or am I misunderstanding something?
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My guess is that you struggle with scruples - yes??
PaulfromIowa said:
No, absolution is not conditional on performing the penance.
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THIS.

This is a question you need to ask your confessor the next time you go to confession.

Peace
James
 
Bishop Sheen put it in a way that explains well:

When you sin, it is like putting a nail in the cross.

When you go to confession and receive absolution, it is like taking a nail out of the cross.

But what are you left with when the nail is removed and your sin is absolved?

A hole.

That is why we have penance. It is to fill or repair that hole. Too many holes and your soul will be clouded, obscuring the light of Christ which should be shining from within you.
 
SeekerM said:
The last time I went to confession I was told that part of my penance was to quite trying to be perfect, and to stop looking for perfection in others.

Jesus said things like “whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained” (John 20 or 21, I think), and “whatsoever ye bind on earth shall be bound in heaven” (Matt. 18), and I kinda have the impression that penance given by a priest is infallible, and that the absolution he gives in conditioned on your doing the penance, and he’s more or less retaining your sins if you don’t perform the penance properly.

Is that right, or am I misunderstanding something?
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I’m not sure how you can live out that penance I think that is to abstract and not specific. Perfectionism is a issue some people deal with. There is a difference between being perfect and being a perfectionist. But enough on that.

When we sin we are guilty of the sin and we have a debt to pay, to God and to neighbor.

Sin damages our relationship with God and with Others. While are sins are forgiven by confession the wounds created by sin are not necessarily healed by confession.

For example, if someone kills someone just because you are forgiven of that sin doesn’t mean you no longer have to pay justice for doing that, have to heal your relationship with the family of the person you killed, and with God.

When we sin we have debt to pay back to God and to neighbor. That is the point of Penance and works of mercy is to help us pay our debt back to God and help us being to heal that relationship with our neighbors.

Understanding how sin is debt is very important to answering your question.
 
Brendan_64 said:
Infallibilty does not apply to individual priests, but they do have the authority to forgive sins (or not).** Absolution for our sins through the sacrament of Confession is conditional on us carrying out our penance.** I would expect that your penance from that Confession would be to make an effort to do as the priest has instructed you.
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This is not correct.

Absolution is not conditional upon performing the penance given.
 
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