Catholics can you please explain?

Question

how the act of the Father breathing on man according to your doctrine based on Matt.28:20 and Genesis 2:7, emphasizes how important the establishment of the sacrament of penance was

Yesterday I asked a question:
http://ca.answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AklawuZSlLMcx0c2WBJytnPAFQx.?qid=20070522172440AAoHqb2
and received an answer from a lovely girl who cited the above details. I've read the verses and was curious to know how Catholic doctrine related them to penitence.

Answer 1

I think you misunderstood the post on your previous question.


Read this.

http://www.catholic.com/library/Forgiveness_of_Sins.asp

Answer 2

>>Matt.28:20<<

"teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age."

You're right -- Matthew 28:20 has nothing to do with "how important the establishment of the sacrament of penance was"

>>received an answer from a lovely girl who cited the above details.<<

She was using Matthew 28:20 to support this statement: "the continuation of his [Jesus] presence throughout time".

Answer 3

John 20:22 - the Lord "breathes" on the apostles, and then gives them the power to forgive and retain sins. The only other moment in Scripture where God breathes on man is in Gen. 2:7, when the Lord "breathes" divine life into man. When this happens, a significant transformation takes place.

John 20:21 - before He grants them the authority to forgive sins, Jesus says to the apostles, "as the Father sent me, so I send you." As Christ was sent by the Father to forgive sins, so Christ sends the apostles and their successors forgive sins.

Lev. 5:4-6; 19:21-22 - even under the Old Covenant, God used priests to forgive and atone for the sins of others.

It is encouraged to confess not only to priests but those who you have wronged. The priest is only an instrument of God like we all are and he is there to give you advice and closure.

The Book of Matthew isn't relevant to this question, you've been misinformed.

Answer 4

In Matthew 28:20 Jesus says "And behold, I am with you, until the end of the age." Genesis 2:7 is about the creation of man. Those are NOT our evidences for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. We go to Confession because that's how Jesus told us to do it. The proofs in the Bible for Confession are Jn. 23:20 and Mt. 16:19. This institutes the power of the Apostles to act in the Person of Christ and to forgive sins in His name.

In Pace Christi,
A.F.

Answer 5

Here's the most appropriate and most clearly related scripture:

Joh 20:19 Now when it was late the same day, the first of the week, and the doors were shut, where the disciples were gathered together, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst and said to them: Peace be to you.
Joh 20:20 And when he had said this, he shewed them his hands and his side. The disciples therefore were glad, when they saw the Lord.
Joh 20:21 He said therefore to them again: Peace be to you. As the Father hath sent me, I also send you.
Joh 20:22 When he had said this, he breathed on them; and he said to them: Receive ye the Holy Ghost.
Joh 20:23 Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them: and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained.

The first thing the risen Christ did when he appeared to the apostles was to give them the power of the Holy Spirit and then, share the power of God with them, which was literally, the power to forgive sins, in Jesus' name.

Until that moment, God had reserved that power to himself.

This was an immediate and very radical departure from the old "scapegoat system" of symbolic atonement, which had no real force of law behind it, without Christ's finished work of salvation.

By empowereing the apostles in this way, Jesus provided them with the power to forgive sins, according to the traditional requirements of true contrition and true repentance, and he also provided them with the wisdom to know whether the ones confessing really meant to change their evil ways.

The immediate effect of this was to spread the most important benefit of Christ's perfect sacrifice far and wide, in the greatest head-on attack against Satan, sin, and death, that the world has ever known.

The Catholic Church faithfully continues that work today, 24/7 and 365, all around the world, providing God's absolute assurance of forgiveness, along with true peace of mind and spirit, in Jesus' name, to all those who make a good confession.

This certainty is especially comforting for those who face imminent death.

Non-catholics who prefer to apologize to God on their own will not know for sure whether God has accepted their apology until Judgment Day ... assuming that anyone has explained God's precise requirements for forgiveness to them, in the first place ... and assuming that they have in fact, expressed true, perfect contrition and have successsfully repented, by truly turning away from evil.

The reason Catholics enjoy a much better deal is because, through the great sacrament of reconciliation, which was personally instituted by Jesus, in the scripture passage cited above, the grace Jesus obtained for us is freely given and applied by the church, to make up for all but the most serious difficiencies that might exist in either one's individual confession, or one's intention to truly repent.

Answer 6

okay matthew is about jesus comes back and he is telling the disciples to go out and teach forgiveness to those who had persecuted him which will make them pure like they were when God first breathed life into man in genesis

Answer 7

We must all come to realize the misery and stinch of sin before we come back to God....Sometimes it takes the sorrow and pain of the result of sinfulness to make us realize how much we need the goodness of God and Jesus Christ.

Answer 8

I'm sorry, your question is somewhat confusing, do you mind rephrasing it and providing us text of the verses?

Answer 9

read it yourself. It's self explanatory