What to say to my friend? -- Confession related

[Nov1411]

I was talking to my non-Catholic friend about Confession and they said something along the lines of, “If you’re really sorry for something, you can pray right then and there and be forgiven. If you ask God for forgiveness, he’ll give it to you regardless of whether or not you speak your sins out loud to another person”

I was just wondering how you all would respond to that?

 

[PatriceA]

Confession is similar to going to a doctor for a physical ailment. Confession is tending to the state of your soul. You may want to truly get better but until you physically visit a doctor to tend to your health issues, its unlikely you’re going to get better. Same as going to reconciliation. You can be truly sorry for all your sins, but until you are absolved by the priest, the soul is still not in a state of grace.

 

[bmullins]

Your friend is right in a way, but what is required is complete and true contrition. It also doesn’t convey the graces that confession does. You see in confession you ARE confessing directly to Jesus Christ. So he’s right, you can and should go directly to God with your confession. The beautiful part about the confessional is there are spiritual graces you receive in there that help you come to that complete and true contrition that you may not get to on your own. Graces that also help you refrain from sinning in the future.

I would also encourage him to study the scriptures that say “Confess your sins one to another” and “Whose sins you forgive are forgiven”. That is why we confess.

Here is an awesome video that will help him.

Confession explained

You can also point them to ScriptureCatholic or send them to this quick blog link that will help them: (It will point them to this video and to the scripture at the same time)

Ordinary Time: Confession Explained

 

[Julia_Mae]

I was talking to my non-Catholic friend about Confession and they said something along the lines of, “If you’re really sorry for something, you can pray right then and there and be forgiven. If you ask God for forgiveness, he’ll give it to you regardless of whether or not you speak your sins out loud to another person”

I was just wondering how you all would respond to that?

Let’s say you stole a TV and got caught and hauled up before a judge who was in an awfully good mood and gave you a suspended sentence. You still have to give back the TV.

A lot of the talk about reconciliation seems to ignore the penance involved. Christ paid our debt, but we have to know the depth of our sin, and we have to pay it back. With interest if possible. I believe this is part of the “exchange of spiritual goods.”

We also have to be healed of our wounds, we harm our souls in our sin. We have to repair our separation form God. Only we can’t. That’s why reconciliation is a Sacrament. Something happens there, something real and life-changing.

 

[DoGodsBidding]

I was talking to my non-Catholic friend about Confession and they said something along the lines of, “If you’re really sorry for something, you can pray right then and there and be forgiven. If you ask God for forgiveness, he’ll give it to you regardless of whether or not you speak your sins out loud to another person”

I was just wondering how you all would respond to that?

In John Chapter 20: 23 Jesus gave the authority of the disciples to forgive sins when he said “Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” An ordained Catholic Priest has that same authority, and when we celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation we are assured of our condition in relation to God.

DGB

 

[Nov1411]

Thank you for the replies! You’ve all been helpful!

bmullins- Thanks for the links! That video is awesome!