Catholics, do you think confession is still necessary?

Question

There is a verse in proverbs that says "He who covers his sins shall not prosper but whoever confesses and and forsakes them will have mercy." I feel that it is but manytell me just praying about sins, mortal sins on your own in your bedroom or something is sufficient and then bowing your head at the beginnning of mass, is all you neeed to do to be able to correctly recieve the eucharist.

Answer 1

Yes.

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.

Jesus said, "I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (Matthew 16:19)

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." (Luke 20:22-23)

The Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation with a priest ordained in the name of Jesus Christ not only reconciles the sinner to God but with the entire church, including you and me.

With love in Christ.

Answer 2

Receiving Eucharist at Mass will remove small veniel sins, but not serious mortal sins.

Consider the case of Judas at the last Supper. Judas received the Body and Blood of Christ at the Last Supper, but because he had let the devil turn his heart away from God, receiving Eucharist did no good whatsoever and he betrayed Jesus afterwards.

To be truly united with Christ and each other in the Sacrament of Eucharist, we must already be united in some way. When we commit a mortal sin, we must go to the Sacrament of Reconciliation to reconciled with God and our fellow man.

In John 20: 21-23, you will see that Jesus gave his disciples the authority to forgive and retain sins. Forgiveness of our sins is not simply a matter of saying "sorry" We must be truly repentant and sorry for the sins we have committed. Jesus told His disciples that sins are to be retained if we are not sorry for our sins.

Answer 3

Catholic doctrine states that mortal sin separates us from God so that by this act we have become enemies and need sincere and prompt repentance.
It is always a good thing to repent as soon as possible but for Catholics mortal sin must be confessed through the sacrament of confession and the given penance performed .
In confession several things happen that cannot happen by private remorse,firstly we receive actual grace that remits our sin,secondly we receive sanctifying grace that helps us to resist future sin,and thirdly because the Priest is the representative of Christ we know that we have been forgiven and a huge weight is lifted from us.
You will not experience these graces without the sacrament of confession.

Answer 4

Confession is absolutely necessary in order to receive forgiveness for mortal sins. Sounds like the person you're talking to may be unclear on the distinction between mortal and venial sin...since one can receive forgiveness for venial sin outside the sacrament of reconciliation. Another problem may be that he or she views confession in a negative way--as a punishment, rather than the profound gift that it is.

Answer 5

The Necessity and Practice of Orally Confessing Sins
James 5:16 - James clearly teaches us that we must “confess our sins to one another,” not just privately to God. James 5:16 must be read in the context of James 5:14-15, which is referring to the healing power (both physical and spiritual) of the priests of the Church. Hence, when James says “therefore” in verse 16, he must be referring to the men he was writing about in verses 14 and 15 – these men are the ordained priests of the Church, to whom we must confess our sins.

Acts 19:18 - many came to orally confess sins and divulge their sinful practices. Oral confession was the practice of the early Church just as it is today.

Matt. 3:6; Mark 1:5 - again, this shows people confessing their sins before others as an historical practice (here to John the Baptist).

1 Tim. 6:12 - this verse also refers to the historical practice of confessing both faith and sins in the presence of many witnesses.

1 John 1:9 - if we confess are sins, God is faithful to us and forgives us and cleanse us. But we must confess our sins to one another.

Num. 5:7 - this shows the historical practice of publicly confessing sins, and making public restitution.

2 Sam. 12:14 - even though the sin is forgiven, there is punishment due for the forgiven sin. David is forgiven but his child was still taken (the consequence of his sin).

Neh. 9:2-3 - the Israelites stood before the assembly and confessed sins publicly and interceded for each other.

Sir. 4:26 - God tells us not to be ashamed to confess our sins, and not to try to stop the current of a river. Anyone who has experienced the sacrament of reconciliation understands the import of this verse.

Baruch 1:14 - again, this shows that the people made confession in the house of the Lord, before the assembly.

1 John 5:16-17; Luke 12:47-48 - there is a distinction between mortal and venial sins. This has been the teaching of the Catholic Church for 2,000 years, but, today, most Protestants no longer agree that there is such a distinction. Mortal sins lead to death and must be absolved in the sacrament of reconciliation. Venial sins do not have to be confessed to a priest, but the pious Catholic practice is to do so in order to advance in our journey to holiness.

Matt. 5:19 - Jesus teaches that breaking the least of commandments is venial sin (the person is still saved but is least in the kingdom), versus mortal sin (the person is not saved).

Answer 6

Yes. Confession is still necessary. We ask God to forgive us but how do we know we were forgiven. The priest assures us with his absolution that God forgives us. Also confession gives us te grace to overcome the sins we have committed. Without God's grace it it difficult to avoid sins. The priest helps us overcome our temptations and sins. We have the grace to begin again.

Answer 7

Yes, confession is the greatest means of cleansing our soul. One should try to confess at least once a month. . There is a reason why the Sacrament of confession exists. Without confessing serious sin to a Catholic priest you will receive the Holy Eucharist unworthily and in a state of mortal sin.

Catholics confess their sins to priests because – as it is clearly stated in Sacred Scripture – God in the Person of Jesus Christ authorized the priests of His Church to hear confessions and empowered them to forgive sins in His Name. To the Apostles, the first priests of His Church, Christ said: "Peace be to you. As the Father hath sent me, I also send you... Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained." (John 20:21-23). Then again: "Amen I say to you, whatsoever you shall bind upon earth, shall be bound also in heaven; and whatsoever you shall loose upon earth, shall be loosed also in heaven." (Matt. 18:18). In other words, Catholics confess their sins to priests because priests are God's duly authorized agents in the world, representing Him in all matters pertaining to the ways and means of attaining eternal salvation. When Catholics confess their sins to a priest they ARE, in reality, confessing their sins to God, for God hears their confessions and it is He who, in the final analysis, does the forgiving. If their confessions are not sincere, their sins are not forgiven.

Furthermore, Catholics DO confess their sins directly to God as Protestants do: Catholics are taught to make an act of contrition at least every night before retiring, to ask God to forgive them their sins of that day. Catholics are also taught to say this same prayer of contrition if they should have the misfortune to commit a serious sin (called a "mortal sin" by Catholics).

Answer 8

I went to a Catholic school. I gave up going to confession,when I found out that the priest and the principal of my school were fooling around in the office. Then they both quit their professions and got married. They are only human like us.
I say whatever I have to say in bed in my prayers one on one with the mighty one!:)

Answer 9

How anyone can believe that a human being (Catholic Priest) has the right and the power to forgive sin is beyond me......... putting them on the same level as God, who do they think they are..........do they believe they have the divine wisdom to make pure judgements on who may be forgiven and who may not......... the power to forgive sins lies with God alone.......the Supreme and Most Just of Judges

Answer 10

I would love to answer this but Everydaycatholic and Sentinel already said everything I would have.

:)