Catholics: How does saying x # of Hail Marys absolve sin?

Question

I'm just so curious and totally baffled by much of these Catholic practices. I appreciate all who answered my previous question about Mary, I'm just curious as to how that practice originated. I believe that confession is really healthy for the soul, and am just curious to find out more about how that works.

SERIOUS ANSWERS PLEASE! I'm not trying to attack your faith, I'm just trying to find out more about it. I was baptized Catholic, confirmed Episcopalian, saved at an FCA event, and have attended/worked at a Presbyterian, Methodist, and Episcopal church. I got the protestant thing down pat. Thanks!

Answer 1

Part of the Sacrament of Reconciliation is penance (the other parts are contrition and confession). Sin is an action that takes us away from God and pennance is an action that leads a persons back towards the path of God.

Praying is one form of pennance. In prayer, we join our hearts and mind to God and the communion of saints. Another forms of pennance is doing good works.

The Holy Spirit works through the priest to forgive sins. It is only by the power and authority of the Holy Spirit acting throough the priest that our sins are forgiven. In this sense, when the priest gives us pennance, it is God that is giving us pennance.

A Hail Mary is popular for pennance because the last sentence of teh prayer is "Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death."

The basis for the Catholic practice of confessing to a priest is when Jesus gave this authority and power to His disciples after He rose from the dead:

(Jesus) said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you."
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the holy Spirit.
Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained."

--John 20: 21-23

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Answer 2

Saying X number of Hail Mary's isn't what absolves sin, the act of contrition, prayer said before confession, does that. The Hail Mary is your penance - the price you pay for the sin.

A previous answer was pretty good when she said that it is a way to meditate on the sin while, at the same time, giving Glory to Jesus (and if you really read the Rosary prayers, you will see that it is a Glorification of the Life of Jesus as we focus on the mysteries of his life, death and Resurrection).

The rosary probably began as a practice by the laity to imitate the monastic Divine Office (Breviary or Liturgy of the Hours), during the course of which the monks daily prayed the 150 Psalms. The laity, many of whom could not read, substituted 50, or even 150, Ave Marias (Hail Marys) for the Psalms. This prayer, at least the first half of it so directly biblically, seems to date from as early as the 2nd century, as ancient graffiti at Christian sites has suggested. Sometimes a cord with knots on it was used to keep an accurate count of the Aves.

The first clear historical reference to the rosary, however, is from the life of St. Dominic (died in 1221), the founder of the Order of Preachers or Dominicans. He preached a form of the rosary in France at the time that the Albigensian heresy was devastating the Faith there. Tradition has it that the Blessed Mother herself asked for the practice as an antidote for heresy and sin.

If you have more questions, please feel free to contact me. I am always happy to answer questions.

Answer 3

Prayer is meditation. Mary is mother-like. It's like when you were a child and you would go to your mommy and she'd make you feel better. It's similar to that. Some people take things way out of context and make bigger issues out of it than they really are. NO Catholics don't worship Mary. Judaism is actually based on the ancient Religion of Assyria. In fact the Qabballa's tree of life is actually the Assyrian God Ashur. Ashur was the first monotheistic God. The Hebrews based their religion on that. Even Abraham was from what is now Iraq formerly part of Assyria. Don't think you have religion down. It goes back further than Jesus and Judaism.

Answer 4

Protestants who have not got self belief that Christ ever instituted confession curiously had John 20:22-23 written out of their KJV Bibles. Salvation is a technique--no longer a for as quickly as and all element. Sin is something we are absolute to dedicate time and time back between the present time until eventually our demise. Jesus' atonement on the go grow to be the final Sacrfice of God-guy death for the sins of mankind, nonetheless He never sinned. ' regrettably Roman Catholic Penance isn't consistently in stable type. Prayer for forgiveness and the ought to do precise is obviously a element of any confession, however the prayers ought to circulate in simple terms previous what the priest provides as an education. The penitent sinner ought to comprehend the gravity of thier wrongdoing and not purely seek for confession as area of a few recurring. Being a "legalistic" Catholic is being a Christian who's lacking the factor.

Answer 5

I was born and raised Catholic. I have since left all of Christianity. I always wondered why we had to say the Hail Mary's too. I knew that God was the one that was to forgive our sins so how is it that we have to pray to Mary over and over again after confession? We had to say the Our Father too but I always seemed to get more Hail Mary's.

Answer 6

Hi! Thanks for asking a good question!
Please keep asking questions about the Catholic Faith--it is so important to understand one another! Please don't be put off if every reception to your questions are not as warm as I hope this one is!
So, saying "x # of Hail Marys" does not absolve sin. Mary is not God and she cannot forgive us for sins--only God can forgive us (and, depending on circumstances, any individual we have sinned against--i.e. if we called our brother a name, we can ask for forgiveness from God and our brother).
I was trying to figure out why you may have gotten this impression and here is my best guess: when someone goes to the sacrament of reconciliation (to be absolved of our sins), they are given a "penance" to do in reparation for their sins. It's not really that God forgives us because we "earned it" by doing our penance--God forgives us because of His love and grace that He chooses to bestow. Penance is more for us--think about it:think of a time when you hurt one of your friend's (or family member's) feelings. Did you ask them if there was any way you could make up for it? Even if there was not a way, it brought you peace to--say--bring over flowers or something like that. And it may have comforted your friend/family member, but it was also an outwardly sign of what was true inside--that you were truly sorry for what you had said or done.
Penance is like that. Sometimes, the priest gives us the penance of saying "Hail Marys." But you can also have other penances--for example, you stole something and the priest asks you to return it as your penance. Sometimes, I have even gotten the penances of praying for specific people or issues.
I really hope this clarifies stuff and answers your question. Please feel free to repost if it falls short--I will do my best!
God Bless and keep the questions coming!

Answer 7

It's not that the rote repetition of words absolves your sins. Repeating the prayer allows you to focus your thoughts on your desire for forgiveness. It also takes a lot of time, so it shows your commitment. It's a sign of your repentance. Saying Hail Marys is supposed to show that you sincerely repent and wish to do better in the future. That's why God forgives.
(Take all this with a grain of salt, my interaction with Catholicism has been pretty limited since my baptism.)

Answer 8

A better question might be why you have to confess to a priest in the first place (since the bible only tells us to repent and confess our sins to God and they will be forgiven) and why they worship Mary instead of God and Christ.

I'd love to see book chapter and verse saying either of those practices is biblical.

If we do indeed to do some works to get forgiveness, then we are saved by works, and grace is out of the equation, isn't it?

Answer 9

Forgiveness does not depend on penance.

When you ask God for forgiveness, with or without a priest, your sins are forgiven.

However, raised up from sin, the sinner must still recover his (or her) own full spiritual health. One way to help restore your spiritual health is to do penance.

Penance can consist of prayer, an offering, works of mercy, service of neighbor, voluntary self-denial, sacrifices, and above all the patient acceptance of the cross we must bear.

Such penances help us be more like Christ, who alone makes amends our sins once for all.

With love in Christ.

Answer 10

I was born and raised catholic and I have also left all religious mind conditioning

there's just a creator of the universe.
everything else is open to conjecture.
jesus buddha vishnu jehovah and allah/mohammed are not god
they are demgogues.

if we closed their temples dedicated to our subservience, we would find our true selves as private intelligent beings. our wars would largely end and we could own our future. until we remove the shackles of religion and these demogogues from our planet we are as nothing but sheep (just like the 'bible' makes clear)

we will not advance or improve.
this is not conjecture and I am not a hater.
I am telling you that these "beings" are not your creator. they have no power over you.
you are free to deal with your existence as you choose. no one is going to judge after you die. wake up! your soul's evolution is a matter between you and the universe/creator not some demogogue that claims to have the keys to your salvation. this planet would benefit more from education and economic parity then any damn "there'll be a better tomorrow when I die" religion will ever cough up.

don't people feel a little stupid bowing to a wall in a city?? that wall is not going to do a thing for you. don't they feel stupid worshiping a "god" that says you should kill the disbelievers?? don't they feel stupid worshiping a god that claims only it will deliver your soul and all the other religions can go to hell? think!!! be your glorious human self!!