Why confess to a priest?

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Here is another question between my husband and I we tend to go back and forth on…if Jesus is the new priest of the covenant and he is our high priest…wouldn’t we confess directly to him and not to a priest? I can’t tell if Jesus was the final, new form of high priest…or if God ordained priests even in the New Testament. Again, I would welcome your ideas and research on this topic that divides Catholics and Protestants. I have read many books on the topic, but would welcome more insights.
 
Jesus gave his apostles, and through his commission of Peter at Ceasarea Phillipi, Peter’s successors - the Church, the power to loose and bind. Therefore, to “forgive men’s sins” as Jesus put it, it would hold to reason that one has to know what sins are being forgiven. Hence - confession of sins.

Reading books is good. A suggestion - read the gospels in a particularly Catholic book - the Bible.
 
Heartfelt said:
Here is another question between my husband and I we tend to go back and forth on…if Jesus is the new priest of the covenant and he is our high priest…wouldn’t we confess directly to him and not to a priest? I can’t tell if Jesus was the final, new form of high priest…or if God ordained priests even in the New Testament. Again, I would welcome your ideas and research on this topic that divides Catholics and Protestants. I have read many books on the topic, but would welcome more insights.
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catholic.com/library/Forgiveness_of_Sins.asp
catholic.com/library/Confession.asp
catholic.com/thisrock/1998/9810fea2.asp
 
Heartfelt said:
Here is another question between my husband and I we tend to go back and forth on…if Jesus is the new priest of the covenant and he is our high priest…wouldn’t we confess directly to him and not to a priest? I can’t tell if Jesus was the final, new form of high priest…or if God ordained priests even in the New Testament. Again, I would welcome your ideas and research on this topic that divides Catholics and Protestants. I have read many books on the topic, but would welcome more insights.
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I’m sure there are many people who will disagree with me on this one but I will lay out my theology concerning the sacrament of confession anyway.

Firstly I would argue that as God exists outside of time and loves us to the point of dieing for us we are therefore forgiven even before we walk into the confessional. However, we should still go!

I see confession not as some magical way of being forgiven but more as a pilgrimage.

In deciding to go to confession we contemplate our sins and ask the Lord for forgiveness. Thus we have the first benefit of confession, it makes us think on our faults and failures.

Secondly we make a pilgrimage to go to confession, we actively make a journey to make our peace with God and those we have sinned against.

Thirdly that journey is not just a journey to find Gods forgiveness but to find forgiveness from the community that we have sinned against and which the priest acts as the spokesperson for. Confession is a reconciliation with our friend, family and neighbor as well as God.

Fourthly by going to confession we are actively choosing to make a pilgrimage back to the point of baptism. In baptism we are forgiven all our sins and accepted into Gods family. By going to confession we choose to return to those baptismal graces, to go back to the very source of life that the Church gave to us and to ask the Church to wipe us clean again as it did in the waters of the font. I personally struggle with the idea of the Priest forgiving me in place of God in the confessional but if you see it more as you yourself journeying back to your baptism where you have already been forgiven and see it as a bringing of that forgiveness into the present time by sincere repentance and prayer it may help.

So in summery. By going to confession we actively call to mind our faults and failures. We do penance by taking time out to go to confession and to complete the penance we are given as well, thus showing we are sorry. We are also healed in our relationships with other people and the Church, not just God. Finally we are making a pilgrimage back to baptism and washing ourselves anew in the font, something we cannot do by ourselves but only by the grace of God and the prayer and action of the whole body of Christ that is applied to us in the Sacrament. Whether we are forgiven by God before we go to confession or not this exercises allows the community to forgive us and also, by prayer and the effort we put into repenting, allows us by the grace of God to not sin again.
 
JoeyBaggz, since you brought it up, I just wanted to address your comment about reading the Bible vs. books. I’m sure you did not mean it this way, but you need to make sure you don’t come across as superior when you do not know a person. I read my Bible everyday and multiple times a day. I live by my Bible and find my spiritual nourishment in it. I pray to God every morning and ask for the HOly Spirit to help me through my day. I was born Catholic, but sadly, did not come to love the Bible until I was exposed to Protestants, to tell you the truth. However, I love and cherish the Catholic Mass, but my husband and I differ on this because he is far more distrustful of Catholics in general because of abuses in the church as well as because he does not have the hunger for the Eucharist like I do. But to get back to your comment about the Bible… I have the St. Joseph’s edition of The New American Bible, The KJV bible, THE NIV, The NRSV, the Holman Illustrated Study Bible, the New AMerican Standard Bible, The New Jerusalem Bible, along with concordances, etc etc
As for the books, I am currently reading “Letters Between A Catholic and an Evangelical” by Fr. John Waiss and James McCarthy, “Catholic and christian” by Alan Schreck, “Catholicism and Fundamentalism” by Karl Keating, “Rediscovering Catholicism” by Matthew Kelly, “With us Today” by John Hardon, “Early Christian Doctrines” by JND Kelly, “The Lamb’s Supper” by Scott Hahn, “Where is that in the Bible” by Patrick Madrid, “The Hidden Manna” by James O’Connor, “On Being Catholic” by Thomas Howard and “The Early Church” by Henry Chadwick and “TheChurch of Rome at the bar of history” by William Webster as well as “Rome sweet Home” by Hahn as well as many others.
I read extensively all books as well as all Bibles coming from all angles and interpretations, some being Catholic, some being more Protestant, some being more Baptist oriented…and I have been in prayer over my Catholic faith and that of my husband’s Protestant beliefs and I have been reading from both sides and appealing to the HOly Spirit. I do this in humility, knowing there are far better scholars and far more spiritual people than me on this forum, however, this is just a few of the books I read and I am here just to say, it is not in keeping with Christ’s humility to act as if I have yet to read the Bible. You must be careful before assuming that , it is hurtful and sounds arrogant. If anything, one of the main points my husband makes, and it is sadly true…is that many Catholics rarely read their bible. I’m not saying those on this forum do not, because I think it is filled with true reverent spiritual people. HOwever, working closely with the Archdiocese for many years in ministry, etc. I can say, sadly, many joke about the fact they don’t open their Bibles…(I’m speaking of layman of course) but still…that needs to change!
However, you stepped on a sore nerve this morning. I pray you didn’t mean it that way, but sometimes I do find that unless you back yourself up, sometimes sadly people will judge you if you don’t stand up for yourself every once in awhile. I hope this clarifies my position, that I’m not just reading a bunch of books and wandering around in a daze. I am highly educated and trust the HOly Spirit to discern for me the truth, yet I find the studies of Catholic vs. Protestant beliefs fascinating and also an opportunity to talk with my husband using Biblical scripture to back up my desire for being a Catholic.
Just to add as well…the reason I ask these questions I can find in my books, etc. is because I also want to hear from real people out there on these “hot” topics between the two groups. I just respect and admire the people on this forum and always like the links and books, ideas, etc and diverse opinons to add to my studies. I just like to hear from other people on these topics and I appreciate the discussions and JoeyBaggz, I appreciate the fact that you responded to my question and I’m not mad or something, I just wanted to point out with sincerity of spirit and not in anger, that t I do in fact read my Bible. I am acting with the belief you didn’t mean it that way and just letting you know where I do come from in regards to the Bible, which I cherish with all my heart.
Jonnyws, Thank you so much for your discussion, I greatly appreciate that, and I do agree. And to all of you, thank you so much for the links, I will look them up with great excitement. Thank you for posting, this entire forum has been such a help to me as I continue to pray about leading our family back to the Catholic Church (which means getting my husband back to it!!!)
Thank you all.
 
Heartfelt said:
Here is another question between my husband and I we tend to go back and forth on…if Jesus is the new priest of the covenant and he is our high priest…wouldn’t we confess directly to him and not to a priest? I can’t tell if Jesus was the final, new form of high priest…or if God ordained priests even in the New Testament. Again, I would welcome your ideas and research on this topic that divides Catholics and Protestants. I have read many books on the topic, but would welcome more insights.
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Ask your husband why Protestants thought they could change the rules 1500 years after the fact. The first thing Jesus did when he met his apostles after resurrection was offering peace. The very next thing he did was breathe on them and then told them to receive the Holy Spirit and that sins that they forgive will be forgiven and sins that they retain will be retained.

Also, take a peak at Leviticus Chapter Five and see how the ancient Jews confessed sins. Confessing to a priest isn’t something the Catholics just “made up.”
 
I have three thoughts/questions regarding confession of sins to a priest:
  1. If the apostles at Pentecost were given the power to bind or loose sins, how were they supposed to exercise this power if they didn’t know the sins? They can only know the sins if they are told!
  2. It is my understanding that in the early church, Christians confessed their sins publicly. Now this may have been in small intimate groups because worship was also in small groups. But as the church grew, publicly pronouncing ones sins became cumbersome. I also think, bishops and priests realized some people may have been withholding some sins because of fear of humiliation and/or retaliation and therefore not partaking of this wonderful renewal of grace.
  3. It is also my understanding that all of the instances in the NT where Jesus forgives sins takes place publicly. The prodigal son is welcomed by his father at a party. The woman about to be stoned is in a public square.
 
Dietrich Bonhoeffer ,a Luthern, died for his faith under Nazism. From his Cost of Discipleship:
Confession is a remedy against pride and self-deception.
 
DebChris said:
Dietrich Bonhoeffer ,a Luthern, died for his faith under Nazism. From his Cost of Discipleship:
Confession is a remedy against pride and self-deception.
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Yes, Martin Luther recognized the Sacrament of Holy Absolution. Many, if not most, Lutherans do not now and even the ones that do teach that it isn’t required. There are actually three different branches of Lutheranism alone and several thousand branches of Protestantism altogether.

One of the main reasons is pride. Pride because they didn’t want to recognize Church authority and so they created anarchy. Pride, actually, is a product of Satan.
 
DebChris said:
Dietrich Bonhoeffer ,a Luthern, died for his faith under Nazism. From his Cost of Discipleship:
Confession is a remedy against pride and self-deception.
Click to expand...
This ties in with the belief I’ve developed that the best answer to “why confess to a priest” is the question “why don’t you really want to confess to a priest?” A person who will answer that question honestly will gain the necessary understanding as to why God set things up the way he did.
 
MCL said:
I have three thoughts/questions regarding confession of sins to a priest:
  1. If the apostles at Pentecost were given the power to bind or loose sins, how were they supposed to exercise this power if they didn’t know the sins? They can only know the sins if they are told!
  2. It is my understanding that in the early church, Christians confessed their sins publicly. Now this may have been in small intimate groups because worship was also in small groups. But as the church grew, publicly pronouncing ones sins became cumbersome. I also think, bishops and priests realized some people may have been withholding some sins because of fear of humiliation and/or retaliation and therefore not partaking of this wonderful renewal of grace.
  3. It is also my understanding that all of the instances in the NT where Jesus forgives sins takes place publicly. The prodigal son is welcomed by his father at a party. The woman about to be stoned is in a public square.
Click to expand...
Actually, the Irish made the innovation of private confession. In making one’s confession to a priest, however, the authority of the Church is still represented. It was the priest who needed to witness the public confession; it is the priest who witnesses the private confession.

Public confession had also been reserved for very serious sins. One would confess and then the penance would take a long time. The absolution came later. This was a big deal, a once-in-a-lifetime thing.

With private confession came the confession of venial sins. This also made the confession actually private, since if only very serious sins were ever brought to confession, the very act of going to confession would be a sort of a public confession in and of itself.

From a practical standpoint, too, a priest is trained to know what is and is not a sin. A priest is ordained to act in the person of Christ, as Head and Shepherd. When a priest offers absolution, you haven’t just gotten a “there, there” from a friend about your guilt. You have actually gotten someone who knows what sin is, who is ordained to serve at the altar to assure you that you may approach it again, and who has the authority to say, “You are forgiven.”
 
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