Questions about confession I don't have answers for

[Kronk]

Hello, so I have wondered, s I usually do when I’m a bit antsy about needing to go to confession, about the faith and particularly about the sacrament of confession. Two things came up in my mind, I don’t believe them but I think its easier to word them in the accusatory manor they come up:

Does God forgive before confession? and if so why is confession needed?

When Christ gave the Apostles the power to forgive sins, since we only need to go to confession for mortal sins, does that mean God cannot/will not forgive mortal sins without the priest? if so, why?

Again, with this second one ^ I should stress I don’t find fault in God or believe such accusations, but I do not have an answer and that’s the best way I can word the question.

Many thanks!

 

[CRV]

Does God forgive before confession?

Yes, provided we are repentant.

why is confession needed?

So we are in no doubt that our sins have indeed being forgiven by Him.

And it is as He has ordered things to be in His Church. John 20:22-23 “22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.””

God cannot/will not forgive mortal sins without the priest?

If one makes a perfect Act of Contrition to God (along with repentance and the intention to receive the Sacrament of Confession asap), then He will forgive the sin then.

Why Do Catholics Confess Their Sins to A Priest? ← pdf file opens

Why Do Catholics Confess Their Sins to a Priest instead of Directly to God?

CCC - The Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation

Why Do Catholics Practice Confession of Sins to a Priest?

 

[IdaCatholic]

1. No. With exceptions. If one has perfect contrition and has the intent to confess if given the knowledge and opportunity. But perfect contrition is hard to attain.Or one receives the sacrament of baptism. There is a one time forgiveness at baptism.
   With this answer to question 1, I’m unsure of what question 2 is.
   Ccc 1452 and 1453 discuss contrition.
   The CCC is an excellent resource to use and answers your question definitively. It should be your first Avenue of authority.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

When Christ gave the Apostles the power to forgive sins, since we only need to go to confession for mortal sins,

While it is true that venial sins can be absolved without going to confession, for example by receiving the Eucharist or using holy water, confession is a sacrament and conveys grace. Those who never go to confession except when they think they’ve committed some mortal sin are missing out on God’s free gift of grace, which helps you be stronger in your faith and helps you not sin.

The whole attitude of “I haven’t committed a mortal sin, so I don’t need to go to confession” is technically correct if the issue is “Can I receive Communion today?” but is not a good way to approach the sacrament generally.

And the main reason we go to Confession is not because God’s forgiveness is limited somehow, but because God instituted this sacrament and wants us to use it, because it’s good for us.

 

[Kronk]

I agree wholeheartedly, I’m heading to confession soon for an emergency confession the next chance I get before a mass, since tomorrow is the one day I can’t go to mass during the week! Only myself to blame though, since I wouldn’t need it in the first place if I didn’t choose myself over God.

I do agree though, regular confession is what we need more of, embarrassingly my biweekly confession was just on Saturday, but God’s mercy is endless, so more confession for me!

 

[Vico]

…
Does God forgive before confession? and if so why is confession needed?
… does that mean God cannot/will not forgive mortal sins without the priest? if so, why?
…

Contrition (essentially a kind of sorrow, and an act of the virtue of penance) is a necessary condition for forgiveness. Confession individually with a priest is the norm because reconciliation with the Church is inseparable from reconciliation with God and the Church has the power to bind and loose sin. (Catechism 1445)

St. Thomas Aquinas, S.T. Whether Venial Sin Can be Forgiven Without Penance?

… Forgiveness of sin … is effected by man being united to God from Whom sin separates him in some way. … just as mortal sin cannot be forgiven so long as the will is attached to sin, so neither can venial sin, because while the cause remains, the effect remains.

… Consequently penance for mortal sins requires man to purpose abstaining from mortal sins, all and each; whereas penance for venial sins requires man to purpose abstaining from each, but not from all, because the weakness of this life does not allow of this. Nevertheless he needs to have the purpose of taking steps to commit fewer venial sins, else he would be in danger of falling back, if he gave up the desire of going forward, or of removing the obstacles to spiritual progress, such as venial sins are.

 

[phil19034]

When Christ gave the Apostles the power to forgive sins, since we only need to go to confession for mortal sins, does that mean God cannot/will not forgive mortal sins without the priest? if so, why?

God can and does forgive mortal sins without a priest all the time.

HOWEVER, in order for God to forgive without a priest, one must have Perfect Contrition. The problem here is that there isn’t an objective way to know when one has reached perfect Contrition.

This is why Jesus instituted the Sacarment of Confession, which only requires Imperfect Contrition and has an objective element in it (aka receiving absolution).

I pray I’m making sense.

God Bless

 

[InThePew]

Does God forgive before confession? and if so why is confession needed?

God’s forgiveness is ours for the asking - but we still need to ask because the sacrament exists for our sake not His. to put it another way, He already knows we’re sorry but we need to hear ourselves say it.

When Christ gave the Apostles the power to forgive sins, since we only need to go to confession for mortal sins, does that mean God cannot/will not forgive mortal sins without the priest? if so, why?

While we only need to go to confession for mortal sins viewing the sacrament in that way reduces it to a merely mechanical action - we say we’re sorry and the priest forgives us - whereas the effects of the sacrament are actually far more powerful. It’s a healing sacrament and the grace we receive through it helps us to shape our lives closer to that of Christ. Granted, God’s forgiveness isn’t limited to the sacrament but, at the same time, this is how He wants us to encounter His mercy. to put it another way, it’s a very human sacrament in that it involves an encounter with the divine through the mediation of a man - the priest - standing in the person of Christ. That doesn’t mean that I, as a priest, have a hotline to heaven on my side of the confessional, but it does mean that God works through me as an instrument of His mercy.