Catholics and confession?

Question

Non-catholics such as myself see no point in confession. We believe, and rightly so, we do not need a priest to confess. However is there a benefit to confessing? Does telling someone else your sins help you? Is it possible there is a psychological benefit to confessing?

A second question so I get my 5 points worth. I was once told by a Catholic that actually hearing someone say their sins are forgiven is important to many Catholics. Does this make Catholics more like Thomas who would not believe until he actually saw Jesus? Protestants confess to God and with no verbal confirmation believe our sins are forgiven. While Catholics rely on being told they are forgiven verbally. What do you think?

Answer 1

Actually, the Bible specifically states that we are to confess not only to God but to somebody else. See James 5:16. So you are incorrect that you don't need to confess to somebody.

Confessing to a priest is your safest bet because he is under penalty of mortal sin if he betrays your confidence, and also because he's been trained to counsel you as to how to avoid your sins in the future and thus grow closer to Christ.

There is also a definite psychological benefit to confessing. You say it aloud and the priest on the other side of the screen reminds you that Christ died for these sins and you are absolved by the Blood of the Lamb. It is a tremendously healing and encouraging experience.

I don't know that Catholics are any more like Thomas than other Christians. After all, we go to confession and hear the TRUTH that Jesus died for our sins. At any fundamentalist protestant church, the preacher will say the same thing from the pulpit. Why are we questioned for valuing this experience but not protestants?

Answer 2

We catholics believe that the only way to be forgiven of a sin and forget about it is by admitting what you have done wrong. Catholics confess to a priest representing God. When Catholics receive the sacrament of reconciliation, we have the opportunity not only to be forgiven, but to receive advice from the priest...kind and wise counsel as to how to do better in the future, living the Christian life.

Prayer for confession of sin is important because God has called us to come to Him, seeking His forgiveness. Sin separates us from God; He is perfect and cannot tolerate the presence of sin. The Bible tells us that all people have sinned and fall short of God’s standard. We are not perfect creatures, but we should strive to be the way Jesus has shown us to be. If we truly love God, we will want to please Him.

Answer 3

Without getting too much into the Scriptural or Theoligical basis behind the Catholic Sacrament of Reconciliation, let's look at it logically. Of course, it is very difficult to confess one's sins in private to a man, albeit a catholic man who has received the Sacrament of Holy Orders. It is much easier to simply pray to God and ask for forgiveness. Is one method of asking for His forgiveness more pleasing to God than the other? Only God knows, but certainly God recognizes the courage and humility required to honestly confess one's sins to another human being.

The truth of the matter is a good Catholic will ask for forgiveness from God everyday in a non-Sacramental setting. A good Catholic should start and end each day dedicating that day to God, and also ask for forgiveness.

Of course, there are tremendous psychological benefits to confessing to another person. Even alcoholics know this much, for in the Fifth Step of Alcoholics Anonymous, it is said: "We admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs."

I don't know that actually hearing someone say our sins are forgiven is important to all Catholics. What IS important is to be able to remain in a state of Grace so as to worthily receive the Body and Blood of our Lord in the Eucharist during Mass.

As to who is really like the Apostle Thomas can be argued either way. It can be said that Catholics believe Jesus is actually present during a Sacramental Confession, even though He cannot be seen, whereas protestants simply do not believe in the validity of the Catholic Sacrament of Reconciliation because Jesus is not present, or that is, He cannot be seen.

Answer 4

The priest alone has the power of absolution, and no one else. You might feel better after confessing to someone else, or even to a psychiatrist, but the priest is the only one with anointing handed down through the ages from bishop to bishop straight back to Christ (the anointed one)

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01061a.htm

here's an excerpt:
"But the Lord then principally instituted the Sacrament of Penance, when, being raised from the dead, He breathed upon His disciples saying, 'Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them, and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained.'

The Lord decreed it so in order to test us, and by this action to show us many things. That we need one another, that the seemingly highest person amoungst us, is actually the lowliest servant.

Put yourself in God's shoes and see what you come up with. If only our entire society was based upon such orderliness and respect. Our planet would glow with spiritual life!

The second question: yes, hearing that, and then receiving Christ in the Eucharist makes me feel as if I am a worthy vessel, no longer cracked, but loved by God, and taken off the shelf once in a while to be used by Him. Receiving the Eucharist worthily is the anticipation after absolution is given. Is this not the main theme of the Old Testament? To come before the Lord without blemish! To enter the Holy of Holies in a worthy way! But Christ Himself brought the Holy of Holies into our own temples to carry around for a day, a week, a month, so that we may be Christ-like to our brethren. It is not me, but Christ within me that is good. My self is annihilated, and He is alive within me. Could I do this if the priest did not say it?

I don't get the Thomas reference. Thomas lived while Christ lived, and he obviously didn't believe that ANYONE could rise themselves from death. We do not live anywhere near the time of Christ, and yet we believe. "Blessed are they who have not seen!" was Christ's reply to Thomas. Everyone alive since then is who Christ was talking about.

I do not condemn those who are not Catholic, since we live in a world of differences. It is there if you want it, and open to all. Ask always, the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Answer 5

Benefit to confessing:
yes

Telling someone your sins help you?
yes

Psychological benefit to confessing:
yes

So, CATHOLICS believe that the priest acts in personae Christi for all sacraments. That means that confessing to the priest in valid form IS the act of confessing to God as well. Our sins are NOT forgiven by the priest, but rather by the priest in conjunction with the Holy Spirit acting with Christ (whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven). As you've seen from some of the other answers, there is a scriptural basis for confession.

Now, why confession? There are three steps to "making a situation right." Let's say i accidently throw a baseball through my neighbors window. I must meet three conditions in order for that to be "made right":
1) I must feel genuinely sorry for the wrong that i did (contrition)
2) I must appologize (confession)
3) I must pay for the window, or otherwise make the situation right (penance)
Now, often when we sin there is no physical, but rather SPIRITUAL damage to ourselves. The priest, who is well trained in this field, assigns appropriate penance which makes the the situation right with ourselves, in other words, it heals our soul to God's mercy by attempting to make some small balance for the harm that our sin did.

Aside from all that, there are no sweeter words to me than 'Your sins have been forgiven, Go now in peace to love and serve the Lord'

Answer 6

Prometheus, Shinigami, and J.P. are all correct.

If nothing else, in simplified terms, you're much more aware of the wrong you've done and feel a lot more guilty for it if you're sitting inches away from someone, telling them all the dark things you've done. It's not necessarily an easy or pleasant thing to do, nor is it meant to be. You're SUPPOSED to feel guilty for doing bad things, so that hopefully you won't be as likely to do them again. Any lazyass can claim "Oh, I told God in my head that I was sorry"; but there's no accountability there. The penance that the priest gives is meant mostly to help you meditate and reflect on the wrong you've done, and give you the chance to think on why it might be a good idea to avoid doing it again. No one expects you to be sinless, but at least you have a better chance of avoiding it if you have someone to talk to about it, someone who can both hold you accountable as well as offer support, insight, and prayer. That's the whole point.

Answer 7

Why did Jesus give the power to forgive to the apostles if he did not want his followers involved in the business of forgiving sins?

Think about this -- it's really easy to turn inward and say, "Oops, sorry God." You don't have to look him in the face and see the hurt and despair.

When you look that priest in the eyes and see the pain of the Crucified Christ reflected in his eyes, that he, a simple man like you, knows the pain you have caused yourself, God, and the entire community of Christ...

well, that's a bit harder, you see.

Do you really want to have to go back and admit you failed AGAIN? Would this not be a poignant reminder every time you are tempted again, something you know you have to look into those eyes again, and say you fell? Imagine knowing you have the entire community accepting your repentance, and then being faced with the choice again... It's so easy to turn inward and apologize. But to look in those eyes again...

Further, in the Bible, it does state that you should confess your sins to the whole community. Inward confession is never referenced in the NT.

The priest is not a stand-in for Christ, he is a stand in for the community.

Answer 8

it is important to many of us to have someone hear our sins and let us repent. think about it. if you say i wish i hadn't done that I'm so sorry i did, how much good does that do for you. even tho we know hat god forgave us for being truly sorry we still feel completely awful. when someone tells us that we are forgiven it feels more real because we're not just giving ourselves forgiveness from god.

it's not so much the thomas thing, because we don't have god speak to us and we are never truly given a real concrete sign that he forgives us. but because we know he does and the priest tells us he does we feel more like it's real. also, we agree with protestants on that point, but reconciliation (confession) just encourages us, plus we believe it's the proper way to do it.

Answer 9

I experience great joy in going to confession. It is difficult at times to tell your sins to the Priest but I have comfort in knowing that Christ bestowed the power to forgive sins to his Apostles and his Church. Once the Priest grants absolution, I know that I am completely forgiven through the work of Christ.

Answer 10

They don't have to confess directly to a priest anymore. And honestly what does it hurt? I always felt better having someone to look at and talk to. As a man of God I figured he knew what he was talking about. I sure didn't know the Bible like he did. And yeah, it does feel better knowing you are "forgiven" at least when I believed in that crap.
Catholics pray to God and pray to Jesus just as much as fundie's do. It makes them LESS of a Christian just because they like to talk to a man of God? Then what exactly is pastoral counciling??