Catholics, in light of the Easter season....?

Question

How is confession to a catholic priest something that is required by the Church? When Jesus was crucified and the curtain in the temple was shredded, did that not eliminate the need for a priest to go to God for us? This is just something that confuses me. Maybe I am simply ignorant in some aspect but this just seems to go against the Bible.

Answer 1

No, you're not ignorant, you're right. It's silly.


VKR

Answer 2

When a Catholic goes to confession, it is a ritual. The actual confession --a prayer to God for forgiveness of sins--doesn't require a priest.

The ritual is required (unlesss circumstances prevent it)--but the Catholic is not "confessing to a priest--nor does the priest "speak to God" on the person's behalf. Functionally, the human part of this--talking to the priest--serves as a way to provide guidence--and to provide a concrete action to show repentance (which is soley for the benefit of the person making confession). That's called the "penance--andis usualy a requirement to pray specifically for God's help in not repeating the sin(s).

A last point--because this is considered a "conversation with God-"-the priest is simply a symbolic stand-in)--the Church requires an absolute confidentiality--and I do mean absolute.

Answer 3

Confession is a sacrament of forgiveness and healing that has been with the Church since the beginning. John 20:21–23 shows this: "As the Father has sent me, even so I send you. . . . Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained".

I think you're also confusing Old Testatment law with New Testament. The priests of old brought sacrifices to God for the jewish people to the Jewish Temple, and then only the High Priest could enter that sacred room in the temple known as the Holy of Holies. The veil that covered it was there because everyone else was considered unfit to enter the presence of God, hence, only the highpriest was allowed.

This separation ended when Christ died for us. Scripture shows us that at His death, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, showing that through Christ we finally had union with God.

This is the meaning of the curtain in temple, which in one aspect is separate from talking about sacraments, like confession.

As shown in John 20, Jesus gave the Apostles the power to forgive or retain sins, and that power has been carried on through all of the successors of Peter to the present day. The sacrament forgives us of our sins because we continue to sin, especially those mortal sins that cut us off from God.

Here's a good link: http://catholic.com/library/Confession.asp

God bless.

Answer 4

well its simple really.

People do not like to admit guilt and faults. We're prideful people and like to live our lives how we want without others telling us how to live. Moreover, people are now thinking why should they divulge their weaknesses to a man who may be just as guilty of sin. The integrity of catholic priests has been in question for some time now.

Im not catholic, so Ive never confessed sins to a man of the cloth. I think in general, if a man or woman is contrite and repentant turning away from that sin, God will forgive them in prayer - privately. But, I can see however how perhaps some serious sins may require assistance. ie. Adultery, addictions, murder.... these woud require a sensative ear and assistance of some kind.

Answer 5

Yes, I was raised Catholic too.

The real problem I have with confession to a priest is the the chance to be humiliated. Its an insult to my ego! thats why I have a resistance to go. But I go anyway because I must keep up the good fight.

This is how I interpret the torn curtain: God no longer hides behind it. He goes directly in people's souls. Before the torn curtain we needed a priest to present our sacrifice to God. Today, it's different. Now the priest presents Jesus's sacrifice to US! I must recognize Jesus behind the priest.

Like Jesus says to a nunn called St Faustina:

"Come with faith to meet my representative. I myself am waiting there for you... Never analyze what sort of a priest it is that I am making use of; open your soul in confession, as you would to me, and I will fill it with my light."

...and especially in light of easter.

Answer 6

You are correct. When Jesus died the curtain in the temple was torn in two. As Scripture states is was torn in two from top to bottom. If man had torn the curtain it would have been torn from the bottom up. But God the Father tore the curtain signifying that man no longer needed the Levi (priest) from making the sacrifice for the sins of the people. Jesus had died once, for the sin of all man.
Now it is up to man to believe that Jesus paid the debt in full. As Jesus said "I am the way, the truth and the life, no man cometh unto the Father but by me'

Great Question!

Answer 7

As a former Catholic it was incredible to realize this - obviously the Catholic church never discussed it but you are right - Christ sacrifice tore the curtain which represents direct access between God and man, including confession and forgiveness of sins.
One of the websites above reads that penence was estblished by Christ - untrue - the "church" did it - there is NO scripture in any way related.
What reason would Catholics give for the curtain tearing in half?

Answer 8

You are not ignorant of anything the priest is the one ignorant of the Bible and its teachings he does not have the right or authority to forgive sins 1st Tim 2;5,6 Acts 4:12 Col 2:13,14 that power is for the Divine ones such as Jesus and his Father see ps 83;18 OKJV

Answer 9

This sacrament is rooted in the mission God gave to Christ in his capacity as the Son of man on earth to go and forgive sins (cf. Matt. 9:6). Thus, the crowds who witnessed this new power "glorified God, who had given such authority to men" (Matt. 9:8; note the plural "men"). After his resurrection, Jesus passed on his mission to forgive sins to his ministers, telling them, "As the Father has sent me, even so I send you. . . . 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).

Since it is not possible to confess all of our many daily faults, we know that sacramental reconciliation is required only for grave or mortal sins—but it is required, or Christ would not have commanded it.

Over time, the forms in which the sacrament has been administered have changed. In the early Church, publicly known sins (such as apostasy) were often confessed openly in church, though private confession to a priest was always an option for privately committed sins. Still, confession was not just something done in silence to God alone, but something done "in church," as the Didache (A.D. 70) indicates.

Penances also tended to be performed before rather than after absolution, and they were much more strict than those of today (ten years’ penance for abortion, for example, was common in the early Church).

But the basics of the sacrament have always been there, as the following quotations reveal. Of special significance is their recognition that confession and absolution must be received by a sinner before receiving Holy Communion, for "[w]hoever . . . eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord" (1 Cor. 11:27).

The Didache

"Confess your sins in church, and do not go up to your prayer with an evil conscience. This is the way of life. . . . On the Lord’s Day gather together, break bread, and give thanks, after confessing your transgressions so that your sacrifice may be pure" (Didache 4:14, 14:1 [A.D. 70]).

The Letter of Barnabas

"You shall judge righteously. You shall not make a schism, but you shall pacify those that contend by bringing them together. You shall confess your sins. You shall not go to prayer with an evil conscience. This is the way of light" (Letter of Barnabas 19 [A.D. 74]).

Peace and every blessing!

Answer 10

AMEN AMEN! I believe everything you just said. There is no where in the Bible where it says you have to go to a priest to confess your sins. Plus there is no where in the Bible that says you have to repent your sins to the priest before church or else you can't take communion. Tell me again, why do Catholics believe such lies?

Answer 11

I have never heard of the curtain in the temple being shredded. Where have you 'quoted' that from?
The answer to your question can be found by cutting and pasting this link.I think that your question is fully answered in on this page. http://www.saintaquinas.com/confess_essay.html