Posted on 12/28/2011 10:49:22 AM PST by Salvation
Gary Zimak is the founder of Following The Truth Ministries (http://www.followingthetruth.com), a lay apostolate created to assist Catholics in learning more about their Faith. He is a regular guest on EWTN Radio’s “Son Rise Morning Show”, Ave Maria Radio’s “Catholic Connection with Teresa Tomeo” and appears frequently on several other Catholic radio programs. In addition to writing for CatholicLane. Mr. Zimak hosts a daily program on BlogTalkRadio and posts frequently on his blog, Facebook and Twitter. He is a member of Catholics United For The Faith and the Knights of Columbus and resides in New Jersey.
Catholic Ping!
Personal confession, to God, you bet it is.
We can now go boldly to the throne of God, there is no ‘veil’, its been torn.
Confession to a priest? Not so much.
Just a bit of Holy, Inerrant Scripture for you:
I. Jesus Christ Granted the Apostles His Authority to Forgive Sins
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.
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 20:23 - Jesus says, “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven. If you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” In order for the apostles to exercise this gift of forgiving sins, the penitents must orally confess their sins to them because the apostles are not mind readers. The text makes this very clear.
Matt. 9:8 - this verse shows that God has given the authority to forgive sins to “men.” Hence, those Protestants who acknowledge that the apostles had the authority to forgive sins (which this verse demonstrates) must prove that this gift ended with the apostles. Otherwise, the apostles’ successors still possess this gift. Where in Scripture is the gift of authority to forgive sins taken away from the apostles or their successors?
Matt. 9:6; Mark 2:10 - Christ forgave sins as a man (not God) to convince us that the “Son of man” has authority to forgive sins on earth.
Luke 5:24 - Luke also points out that Jesus’ authority to forgive sins is as a man, not God. The Gospel writers record this to convince us that God has given this authority to men. This authority has been transferred from Christ to the apostles and their successors.
Matt. 18:18 - the apostles are given authority to bind and loose. The authority to bind and loose includes administering and removing the temporal penalties due to sin. The Jews understood this since the birth of the Church.
John 20:22-23; Matt. 18:18 - the power to remit/retain sin is also the power to remit/retain punishment due to sin. If Christ’s ministers can forgive the eternal penalty of sin, they can certainly remit the temporal penalty of sin (which is called an “indulgence”).
2 Cor. 2:10 - Paul forgives in the presence of Christ (some translations refer to the presences of Christ as “in persona Christi”). Some say that this may also be a reference to sins.
2 Cor. 5:18 - the ministry of reconciliation was given to the ambassadors of the Church. This ministry of reconciliation refers to the sacrament of reconciliation, also called the sacrament of confession or penance.
James 5:15-16 - in verse 15 we see that sins are forgiven by the priests in the sacrament of the sick. This is another example of man’s authority to forgive sins on earth. Then in verse 16, James says “Therefore, confess our sins to one another,” in reference to the men referred to in verse 15, the priests of the Church.
1 Tim. 2:5 - Christ is the only mediator, but He was free to decide how His mediation would be applied to us. The Lord chose to use priests of God to carry out His work of forgiveness.
Lev. 5:4-6; 19:21-22 - even under the Old Covenant, God used priests to forgive and atone for the sins of others.
Well,to be all nit-picky, it’s “ordinarily necessary.”
Viewed apart from the sacramental side, it is also a chance, strangely declined by many, to live into the truth that God’s forgiveness is FAR more important than the opprobrium of men.
How do you know your sins are forgiven?
Through the Sacrament of Confession God forgives our sins and FORGETS them!
Now that’s a blessing!
Well, you may do so at your leisure, I’ll still elect to take them right to the One In Charge, thank you.
Here in the Hartford area, there is only ONE parish that (I know of that) offers daily noon-time confession. I have to travel 20 minutes during my lunch break to get there.
There is always a line of 5-20 people. The wait time is 15-45 minutes, even with the priest encouraging quick but thoughtful confessions. Sometimes they bring in a second priest.
I would like to see more parishes offer at least one weekday noon penance. It is difficult (not impossible, but difficult) for working people with kids to make it to a weekend confession.
By my confessing them to God, I know.
There you go trying to get a protestant to actually pay attention to evidencce direct from the Holy Bible. You must know by now that they only listen to what some guy in a cheap polyester suit with no actual formal training in the Bible tells them what he thinks the Bible says.
There you go trying to get a protestant to actually pay attention to evidencce direct from the Holy Bible. You must know by now that they only listen to what some guy in a cheap polyester suit with no actual formal training in the Bible tells them what he thinks the Bible says.
Well, in the East we still regard it as necessary: the minimum standard being 1) at least once a year; 2) to return to communion after willfully “absenting [oneself] from the synaxis” (i.e. not going to church) for a period of three weeks or more; and 3) after the commission of any grievous sin. Antiochians in North America tend to confess (when (2) and (3) don’t apply) two to four times a year, though some of our priests and hierarchs have tried to encourage monthly confession.
Of course a lot of Slavs still stick by the one-confession, one-communion rule (which sometimes leads to receiving communion of the Holy Mysteries about four times a year, but ought instead lead to more frequent confession).
We are told to confess our sins one to another. However I like to go to G-d through Yashua to be forgiven not to some mortal.
It would sound as though you have experienced visions or messages of some kind to know that.
Please enlighten us.
How can you know God’s mind?
Did you read the article?
If you did then you know the priest is ...................
Please go back and read it.
As opposed to someone who feels that you have no understanding at all and need to do as told, in Latin no less?
The bible is in plain English now, not Latin. The veil was not torn so that a man could put it back up again.
And I forgot about how the woman with the issue of blood made prayer to Peter first.
And how the little children should be allowed to come to Jesus, but only after giving 2 pence to Judas first.
The confessional is nothing less than a modern ‘Holy of Holies’. And is as relevant.
You really think every protestant church is how you’ve said they are?
You really want to go pointing fingers at the clergy of other denominations?
If I painted the Roman church with the same broad brush you painted all the other denominations, I’d say you ought to never leave your kids alone for 5 seconds with any priest.
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Following The Truth: Why Doesn’t God Answer My Prayers? (Catholic or Open)
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Following The Truth: Jesus Is Waiting – Don’t Forget To RSVP! (Catholic or Open)
Following The Truth: So, You Just Received Jesus…Now What? (Catholic or Open)
Following The Truth: An Advent Challenge: Love Your Enemies! (Catholic and Open)
Following The Truth: The Journey To Bethlehem is Not Comfortable! (Catholic or Open)
Following The Truth: Does God Want Us To Worry? (Catholic or Open)
Following The Truth: The Morning Offering – Pray Without Ceasing! (Catholic or Open)
Following The Truth: A (Lenten) Advent “Weight” Loss Program (Catholic or Open)
Following The Truth: Hurry Up, Lord…I’m Waiting! (Catholic or Open)
Following The Truth: Evangelize? Sorry, But I’m Catholic! (Catholic or Open)
Following The Truth: Ten Facts Most Catholics Don’t Know (But Should!) (Catholic or Open)
Following The Truth: Letting Your Conscience Be Your Guide(What Jiminy Cricket Didn’t Tell You) [Catholic or Open]
Following The Truth: Catholic “Fluff” – The Enemy Within (Catholic or Open)
Following The Truth: Appreciating The Gift Of Suffering (Catholic or Open)
Following the Truth: Satan’s Attack On The Church – What You Can Do! (Catholic or Open)
Following the Truth: Saying “Y-E-S” to God During Lent (and Advent) [Catholic or Open]
Following the Truth: Spiritual Dryness: “I Don’t Feel Anything!” (Catholic or Open)
Following the Truth: A Biblical Roadmap To The One, True Church (Catholic or Open)
Another side of it is that only having it for an hour on Saturday for a parish of 1000+ families doesn’t really give the impression of real importance.
Freegards
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