Question for Catholic converts from Protestantism about Confession/Reconciliation

[Tommy999]

Just curious… Has it been your experience that the Catholic sacrament of Confession/Reconciliation serves as a deterrent to committing more sin? In other words, does confessing to a priest who is acting in persona Christi (if I understand the term correctly) instead just confessing to God without a priest help you sin less in a practical way than you did otherwise when you were Protestant and just confessed to God without the presence of a priest?

My guess is that it adds an accountability factor, but I wanted to hear from folks who have confessed in both the typical Protestant and Catholic manners to verify.

 

[Horton]

This is true of my experience with Reconciliation. When you know you have to speak your sins to another person (the priest in persona Christi) you really think about not committing that sin again. So yes the accountability factor is there.

In addition, most priests will give good counsel on stopping sins. As a convert from Protestantism I found confession intimidating at first, but that sacrament has helped me quite a bit.

 

[humbleseeker]

^
Ditto, what he/she said.

 

[VeryBlessed]

I’m a revert and spent many years in good Protestant churches. After a little more than a year back in the church, I am really seeing that the sacrament of reconciliation is an amazing resource helping me to a more genuine and deeper personal holiness. I’m so much more aware of my own sin, than when I was attending non-Catholic churches. And I am finally making slow but definite progress in chronic areas of sin that I had not made much progress on for many years before. The sacrament of confession is such a great way to grow in holiness.

The mindset of the non-Catholic churches I attended was something along the lines of, well, I confessed to being a sinner way back when I first accepted Jesus, and so now my ongoing sin is covered and is no longer a big issue. I don’t think that sort of thinking is at all intentionally taught, and maybe I was the only one who thought that way, but it seems to me now that such an attitude undermines holiness.

 

[VeryBlessed]

I wanted to add a few thoughts. As you said, I too think there is some value in the increased accountability. And yet there is something even more powerful and profound going on in the sacrament that I’m not able to put into words. There’s something about that absolute nakedness of the soul before God, the absolute humility of the experience, that is both hard and extremely good. It is a confrontation with his own holiness.

 

[Tommy999]

There’s something about that absolute nakedness of the soul before God, the absolute humility of the experience, that is both hard and extremely good. It is a confrontation with his own holiness.

… and that was something you didn’t feel when confessing your sins directly to God, without a priest present? I was wondering if you could elaborate on that, if you don’t mind.

 

[VeryBlessed]

I think the sacrament of confession, and having a person in front of me, forces me to confront my own sinfulness in a much more complete and deeper way. Now this is probably all my own fault, but in churches that teach “once saved always saved” and stress that one moment of conversion, I took habitual sin much more lightly than I do now. I shrugged off sin, thinking, “it’s covered”. In practice I only confessed my real big sins, and only occasionally. The link between the Eucharist and confession is enabling me to have an ongoing conversion experience, not from nonbeliever to believer but in becoming more and more like him, and more and more free of sin. This deeper experience of confessing may have been possible without a priest, of course, but for me, I didn’t deepen my experience of confessing until I was forced to by the sacrament. And I’m glad for the change.

 

[Tommy999]

Thanks for sharing that, VeryBlessed. I’ve never subscribed to the ‘Once Saved Always Saved’ belief. However, I think I understand where you’re coming from. I’ve become more aware of my sin and am sinning less frequently since listening and taking to heart what I hear on Catholic radio, EWTN in particular.

I appreciate you sharing your personal experience. I kind of thought it might be like you described.

 

[HeDa]

Hearing I am forgiven and not just imagining it in my head is what first came into my mind when thinking about my earlier life as a protestant (more than one denomination) and then as a Catholic.

 

[Tommy999]

Just curious HeDa …what was the significance of that difference in terms of its effect on you? Thanks for the reply, bt the way. Just wanted to be sure I understand you correctly.