Why do we need to confess our sins to a priest?

[Anna4]

I’m having trouble understanding why we have to confess our sins to a priest. If we pray to Jesus, he should know our hearts, and he forgives everyone who truly repents.

Why do we need a priest to tell us our sins are forgiven and to give us a penance? What if I know myself better than him and want to create my own penance?

Also, what types of sins should we confess to a priest? Every lie we told or pens we stole from work? Or only if we committed adultery, or stole $1 million.

Thank you for your thoughts.

 

[Thom18]

I’m having trouble understanding why we have to confess our sins to a priest. If we pray to Jesus, he should know our hearts, and he forgives everyone who truly repents.

Why do we need a priest to tell us our sins are forgiven and to give us a penance? What if I know myself better than him and want to create my own penance?

Do you believe that God instituted the priesthood of the Old Covenant, and that it was legitimate? Do you believe that God “knew the hearts” of repentant sinners as much then as under the New Covenant?

Your answer to this question will help us determine what we need to answer.

 

[Anna4]

Hi guys, I’m just looking for the Bible verses that explain this to start. Maybe I posted this in the wrong forum.

Thanks,

 

[Anna4]

Thank you, I’m not an Evangelical Protestant but it would help if you point me to the Bible verses that explain this. Or the rationale or history behind it.

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

I think we need to confess to a priest – someone who is authorized to hear our confession and grant absolution – because we need to hear that we are forgiven.

It’s one thing to confess to God, but to me, it’s not enough. I’ve never heard God say my sins are forgiven. But when I go through a priest chosen by God, I hear the words of absolution. There’s no doubt about what has happened.

 

[gama232]

1 John 1:19

What the Early Church Believed: Confession | Catholic Answers Tract

 

[Anna4]

Thank you, this makes a lot of sense. I definitely enjoyed hearing it.

 

[gohjedrek]

John 20.21-23 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

2 Corinthians 2.9-11 Another reason I wrote you was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything. Anyone you forgive, I also forgive. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.

 

[Anna4]

Ok thank you! John 1:19 does not mention a priest though. Not trying to be combative, just genuinely curious.

And what constitutes a mortal sin?

 

[kb117]

If we pray to Jesus, he should know our hearts, and he forgives everyone who truly repents.

And He does! But Jesus also instituted the Sacrament of Confession when He said,

As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” -John 20:21-23

Why do we need a priest to tell us our sins are forgiven and to give us a penance?

Keep in mind, it is not the priest as himself who forgives sins, but rather the priest In persona Christi. This means the priest has no power of his own, but it is Christ, through the priest, who forgives us. Jesus is the only one who can forgive us of our sins.

Remember, Jesus is God and therefore knows us better than anyone. I think He instituted the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession) knowing full well the total psychology of the human being. If you sin, tell Jesus to forgive you, sin again, etc., I think it’s very hard to break the habit of sin. By making that resolution, to actually tell someone how you have offended God, I think you are much less likely to want to commit that sin again. When you go to Confession, imagine you’re at the foot of Calvary, with Jesus on the cross, because that’s the whole reason your able to be forgiven.

What if I know myself better than him and want to create my own penance?

The penance doesn’t forgive you of your sins. The moment the priest says the words of absolution, your sins are forgiven. The penance is meant to restore what was lost. It begins to repair the soul from the damage that was done to it by the sin and disposes your spirit to again be open to God’s love. Imagine you break your leg. Then you go to the doctor and he fixes it. Well, now you have to go to physical therapy. When the doctor fixed your leg, that’s like Jesus forgiving you. But the physical therapy is the penance.

Also, what types of sins should we confess to a priest? Every lie we told or pens we stole from work? Or only if we committed adultery, or stole $1 million.

It is only required that you confess mortal sins. These are sins that destroy charity within a person. They can only be done consciously. There are three criteria for a sin to be a mortal sin (from the Catholic Catechism, para. 1857):

For a sin to be mortal , three conditions must together be met: “Mortal sin is sin whose object is grave matter and which is also committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent.”

But to add, it is good that we confess mortal and venial sins because when we confess a sin, we are actually provided a special grace to stop committing that particular sin.

I hope this helps!
God Bless!

 

[Anna4]

I guess I’m not understanding how God instituted the priests of the old covenant. I thought the old covenant was the 10 commandments. I’m not really sure why the priests came in, to the Bible. My thoughts were that God chose them (Moses) to do some work for him - lead the Jews out of Israel… I wasn’t aware he made them to forgive our sins too. I just didn’t read it anywhere. And anyway, I studied the Bible on my own.

 

[Anna4]

Oh my goodness, thank you so much. You are very kind. I really appreciate and understand all your explanations. God bless you !

 

[otjm]

I guess the most likely answer to your question is, if Jesus simply wanted us to pray to Jesus, then why did He so specifically give the power to forgive sins to the Apostles?

Another way of looking at it is to read the first few sentences of the Gospel of John: “all things were created through Him”. So if we, humans, were created through Him, then he knows our faults and weaknesses. And one of the faults and weaknesses of humans is their inability to be honest with themselves.

How often have people said “I made a mistake”, when what they actually did is “I committed a sin”.

A mistake is wearing a polka dot time with a striped shirt.

A sin is not a mistake; it is a choice, to turn away from God and to turn to ourselves. And requiring us to confess to a priest is requiring us to speak, and to name our sine - and to own them - they don’t belong to someone else. In short, it requires self honesty, something in short supply with humans.

 

[gohjedrek]

By making that resolution, to actually tell someone how you have offended God, I think you are much less likely to want to commit that sin again. When you go to Confession, imagine you’re at the foot of Calvary, with Jesus on the cross, because that’s the whole reason your able to be forgiven.

There is far greater humility and accountability to confess sins to the priest. It is the whole process of repentance and penance. In protestantism, it is general forgiveness of sins of the people, you confess in your mind, there is no penance as well.

In catholicism, it requires you to own up (humility), repent (accountability) and do penance (punishment).

Whichever model you end up choosing, I can’t judge but the latter model is more rational and if we want to draw parallel, we can see that in legal court system today.

 

[Gorgias]

I guess I’m not understanding how God instituted the priests of the old covenant.

There were “priests” from the very beginning. Melchizedek was a priest, through whom Abraham offered sacrifice.

Before the Mosaic covenant, the patriarch of the family was the priest for the family.

Following the “golden calf” debacle, God changed the priesthood from “every family” to a hereditary priesthood within one of the tribes of Israel.

I thought the old covenant was the 10 commandments.

Actually, there were 613 in the Mosaic covenant.

I’m not really sure why the priests came in, to the Bible.

Their role has always been to offer sacrifice in order to sanctify the people.

What if I know myself better than him and want to create my own penance?

St Paul mentions in one of his letters that he isn’t able to tell the state of his soul (such that he might know whether he’s saved or not). If even St Paul can’t know his own soul, how might we suggest that any of us do?

 

[po18guy]

It’s embarrassing, isn’t it? Well, that is how Jesus - Who you pray to, set it up. Do you really want to appear before Him on that day and tell Him:
“I did it my way”?

 

[Anna4]

It’s not the embarrassing part. It’s the thought: what makes a priest better than me to have a faster line to God than me? Am i not also God’s child that can go straight to my Father?

Also, it’s the thought that although I may not know my soul completely as Paul says, I think I know it better than someone else.

 

[OddBird]

What if I know myself better than him and want to create my own penance?

although I may not know my soul completely as Paul says, I think I know it better than someone else.

This is not a biblical reference, but a personal example.

Last time I confessed, on Ash Wednesday, I was assigned a Lent-long penance. This is not the kind of thing I would ever have created for myself – maybe I’m too self-indulgent, or just a bit of a coward.

What is happening is that I’m realizing Father did in fact put in my hands a powerful weapon against my worst habitual sin. I may know myself better than he knows me, but the most experienced of us in dealing with sin and its consequences is not I.

 

[po18guy]

You’re not Catholic or Orthodox, right?

Let’s consider the bible. In each and every case where our Lord forgave sins, He told the sinner that their sins were forgiven - they heard it. Absolute assurance. Jesus gave that authority to the twelve and they handed it on. Jesus gave power over sin to the twelve and they handed it on.

Paul forgave sins in the Person of Christ. Ponder that. In the Person of, and with the authority of Christ.

You may very well have learned a different Christianity than what Christ founded. That would not be your fault.

Are you equal to the Apostles? Do you have their authority?

Well…

And penance? Sin is not secret. It is not without harm to the Body of Christ. Do you think that you can get away scot-free? Once one knows that they have sinned and that they are guilty, what to do to make good?

Say you are careless and break something belonging to a friend or neighbor. The owner forgives you. Fine. The item is still broken.

Penance.

 

[Anna4]

I’m a person searching for the truth. Catholic but questioning how things are done because I don’t want to blindly believe anything I don’t understand. I used to be in the new age. They taught that we give away our power when we confess to a priest when we can talk to God directly.

As for penance I realize many people go off scot free. I actually have a rigorous spiritual life and take purification and my spiritual growth seriously.