This one is for Catholics?

Question

Why do we go to Confession? Could'nt we just ask God to forgive us? And why do we have to tell a priest? Help!

Answer 1

The Catholic Church believes that "Only God forgives sin."

When a penitent person asks God for forgiveness, his (or her) sins are immediately forgiven.

Catholics also believe that when someone sins they not only hurt their relationship with God, they also injure the entire church, the body of Christ. The Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation not only reconciles the sinner to God but with the entire church, including you and me.

With love in Christ.

Answer 2

I am a born again Christian, however, I used to be Catholic (which is also Christian) Confession idea goes back to the time of Jesus and the disciples, even before Jesus, Old Testament times. When the Ark of the Covevent was around, the only ones that could go in, per God at that time, were the high priests, and only once a year. When Jesus was doing is ministry and people became aware that he was the Messiah, they would ask for forgiveness from him, there were so many, that he told his disciples to go out and tell the nations of the good news (salvation thru him) and tell the people who wish salvation that they are forgiven of their sins through him. Jesus also made clear, hence the Lords prayer, he tells you to "pray to your father like this", that you could approach the father (God) yourself. Jesus' death was payment for our sins that make us once again pure enough to approach God and receive eternity with him if we chose that. Prior to Christ's sacrafice, we were not clean to be in his holiness.

In answer, yes, God prefers that we come to him with whatever we need or if we just want to talk. The priest for approaching God, is no longer a requirement, as otherwise, why did Jesus sacrafice himself to save us and make us able to be in the presense of God once more. It does say in the Bible that if you pray about forgiveness and still carry guilt on your heart, to confess to a brother or sister in Christ. That is so they may pray for you to and offer advice.

So, I believe confession in the Catholic denomination is somewhat following Old Testament law and partial idea of the idea of you being prayed for. You should however, be able to communicate with God for yourself. Its not a bad thing, but it is not a need either. A priest can't forgive you, only God can. Either way, you must truly be sorry and repentent for what you did. The part of confessing to a priest is not what I object to, it is the penance part. Saying three holy Mary's won't get you forgiveness. It is so easy, just talk to God and mean it!

God bless you and may you search his Word for answers anytime you question anything. The Holy Bible holds all the answers!

Answer 3

I'm so glad you asked this! Jesus gave his disciples the power to forgive sins on Easter Sunday. He conferred the power by breathing on the Apostles. Jesus gives the disciples the authority to forgive and NOT TO FORGIVE. This means a priest has to hear the sins in order to know whether to forgive them or hold them bound. Catholics always confess their sins to God. We do it directly and through His ministers. In James 5:13-16 James makes clear that the sins of the sick are forgiven in the sacrament of anointing. He specifies that the priests must be called.

Answer 4

While those who believe in Jesus receive forgiveness (Acts 10:43), we still sin even while we believe. So the question is, what do we do with the ongoing sins we commit?

John the Baptist admonishes us to bear the fruits of repentance (Matt 3:8), so a living faith is required (Acts 26:20). And we have been admonished from the earliest Church to confess our sins to one another (James 5:16) in order to pray for one another for forgiveness. However, priests are invested, through apostolic succession, the power to "loose and bind" (Matt 16:17-19) is granted unto them. Christ is the ultimate forgiver of sins, the priests are the mechanism through which this grace enters a penitent sinner.

That's the apparently difficult part to reconcile- we can ask God for forgiveness, because Jesus is our High Priest (Heb 16:20) and so is our intermediary (as the Jewish high priests were intermediaries who offered sacrifices on behalf of the people). So why not confess directly to God?

Let's take an analogy - why not learn your Bachelor's Degree entirely through self-study. Why use the intermediaries (professors) to teach what has been made apparent by the source (textbook authors)? It can be done, but it's not an easy road. In fact, you are doing yourself a disservice by not utilizing all the tools available to assist you in your journey.

The Catholic Church and its priests are in Christ's service, seeking to help you find Him. Just as the Lord wants all to repent (2 Peter 3:9), and offers ministers for instruction to repentance (2 Tim 2:25). The Church is invested with the power to "loose and to bind", so why not use it?

The Catechism is clear on this point:

#1484: "individual, integral confession and absolution remain the only ordinary way for the faithful to reconcile themselves with God and the Church." Ordinary means it doesn't require a special grace. Not that God isn't capable of it, but this capability has been invested in the priests who in Christ's name alone and by no power of their own, are channels for absolution.

Also, note that there is a difference between those sins that do not require confession (venial #1458) and those that are so deep and severing that confession is necessary (mortal #1855). Consider that there are but small slights that one recognizes immediately within their moral fiber as being wrong, and is moved to turn to God for forgiveness. Consider also that there are terrible sins that cry out for justice, and reflect a deep rupture in the relationship with Christ.

Confession is then a means of restoring that relationship, and the priest facilitates it.

In Christ
V17

Answer 5

Sin is any action, thought or word by Man that seperates him from God. If you are in a state of sin, do you think God has to hear you out?

The Sacrament of Confession weeds out the sincere from those who just wish to pay God lip service, 'I am sorry God. Oops, it happened again! Again God, I'm sorry!'

Jesus said to the Apostles (the first bishops of the Catholic Church), if you forgive men their sins they are forgiven... In other words, Jesus gave the Apostles the power to forgive sin in His Name. Jesus didn't say, "Oh, just come to me in prayer and I will forgive your sins." He specifically granted that authority to the Fathers of the Catholic Church.

The Sacrament of Repentance and Reconciliation (Confession) reconciles the sinner with God. This was an authority granted directly to the Church fathers, not arbitrarily given to anyone who happens to read that passage of the Bible. This authority was handed down to the present day bishops and priests of the Catholic Church.

It is not easy being a Catholic, but for Catholics Catholicism is the ordinary means for Salvation. That means Mass, Confession, Holy Eucharist, etc.



H

Answer 6

Confession before a preist is a creature comfort for us.

Catholics see the priest as merely a human stand-in for the person of Jesus. We are not confessing our sins TO the priest any more than we pray TO a cross. We use it as a physical symbol to aid our human minds in grasping that which is truly a mystery, the action is to the God that lies behind it all.

When in confession, it is Jesus that you are confessing to, and it is He that is granting you forgiveness.

Answer 7

The Catholic view is that the priest represents God, so you are telling your sins to God. Myself, I haven't gone to confession for a very long time. My life is between me and the universal being.

Answer 8

I'm an atheist, but I have studied religion.

Under Catholic rules, the pope is God and priests are his lesser Gods. The pope makes the rules and priests enforce them. And, if you violate the rules, the priest condemns you to hell, or, if you pay him enough money, he'll let you into heaven.

It is all about control, nothing more or less. They just want your money.


Try this test: Tell the priest you are going to use a tree to remind you of Jesus instead of him. See what he says.

Answer 9

Jesus said to the apostles in John 20, 22-23 : ""Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained."

It was Jesus who asked His apostles to confess.

Jesus knows how a human being works... We need incarnation, we need people, we cannot always spiritualize everything. And we suffer greatly from culpability. Therefore, Jesus gave the apostles a special gift : the ability of forgiving sins. When you go to a priest for confession, it's Jesus that speaks to you through him.

Personnaly, confession is a great confort to me.

Answer 10

The priest acts in the person of Christ when we go to confession. He gives us our penance and absolves us. We should talk to him about our problems so he can give us counseling. It is an act of humility to go to confession to a priest, especially one that we know. I know a lot of priests personally, it is very hard for me to go to confession to them, but I know that they are not allowed to tell anyone else what I said, and that they will not let my confession affect our friendship.
What is said in the confessional, stays in the confessional.

Perhaps you should read the Catechism.