Why do we need confession?

[Cor_ad_Cor]

So important is this power, God himself equates it with the giving of life.

Absolutely beautiful, Father. Thank you.

To the OP, I would recommend your Bible study take you to James 5:16

 

[edward_george1]

Certainly.

 

[tafan2]

Lots of good answers here. I will point out another factor that has little to do with the sacramental nature of confession (although I am by no means downplaying the grace we receive and the forgiveness we receive in confession). Lets be honest, how many of us, on a regular basis, will do an adequate job of seriously looking at what we do wrong in life if it wasn’t for regular confession? Yes, many of us do make daily examinations of conscience, but my guess is even that practice would soon fall away without a regular confession accompanying it. And many Catholics don’t do examinations of conscience except when going to confession. Non-Catholics? my guess it is almost never done. When people say forgiveness of my sins is between me and my God, how many of them actuallty take the time to ask forgiveness for individual sin? And then to walk through our faults with another person whom we can have the ultimate trust in their discretion (indeed, that word is a real understatement when considering the confessional seal)? This is all is very beneficial, and not just from a sacramental point of view, in making us better people. Indeed, it seems critical if that is the goal. If we do not honestly think about what we do wrong on a regular basis, how can we ever do better? If we do not rely on the help of another about our faults, are we really going to do better?
The idea that confession just makes it easy to sin is really absurd. If I never confess to another person, that’s when its easy to sin. If the most I ever do is pray and ask God to forgive my sins in a general fashion, without thinking about individual sins, that’s what makes it easy to continue sinning. But when I have to honestly go through the commandments and see where I have failed, and then I have to go talk about these individual failings with another person, that by no means makes sin easier.

 

[TK421]

I guess I am a little confused… Why do we even need confession and why is it an obligation?

I came across these verses… Acts 10:43, Romans 4:7, Ephesians 1:7… They all talk about how JESUS is who we ask and who we go to, to ask for forgiveness… Also saying our sins were forgiven on the cross. So I really don’t see the point in confession… Seems a little strange to me.
Confession to me is like I can go sin and do whatever I want because I can just go to a Priest every week and somehow my sins are forgiven???
Any feedback is appreciated!

Confession is a relief and an extra abundance of grace, not a burden. God doesn’t want forgiveness to be merely abstract but to come from the lips of a real person. Having grew up and lived as a protestant and also having been Catholic, Confession is so much better. On a human level it is initially scary of course and my instinct is to be like Adam and Eve and hide my sin from God, but it is so much better.

If for some reason a person does not have access to Confession, they can be forgiven anyway through a special grace, and God will never fail to give this grace because he is infinitely desirous of our eternal happiness.

If they do have access to Confession and purposely don’t go because of pride or apathy, then they aren’t really contrite in the first place, so it makes no difference whether they confess to a human being or only to God.

 

[margaret42]

Confession is a sacrament of the Church: and sacraments a “outward signs of God’s love”. When we confess to a priest, we are really confessing to God. And it seems that God’s love is shown by Jesus saying , “Your sins are forgiven”. Some times we don’t know if Jesus forgave us or not.

 

[Pattylt]

As a non Christian I think the Catholic confession is one of its more beautiful practices. A Protestant praying to God really has no assurance except his belief that God hears and forgives him…excluding the rare occurrence of God actually responding and I do not rule that out as a possibility. Has any Protestant ever discussed what Gods response for forgiveness was? What penance God gave him? They have no reassurance other than just belief that God forgave him. I don’t discount it. I just don’t feel that it as effective to one’s soul.

Catholics have the hard task of having to organize and state their sins out loud to a representative of Christ (or as Christ Himself). They also get advice when needed and a penance that assures them they were heard and forgiven. Harder to do? Shouldn’t it be?