Posted on 01/11/2015 12:54:31 PM PST by NYer
Freedom of speech is a great thing. Unfortunately, it comes at an unavoidable price: When citizens are free to say what they want, theyll sometimes use that freedom to say some pretty silly things. And thats the case with the 12 claims were about to cover.
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Some of them are made over and over, others are rare. Either way, while the proponents of these errors are free to promote them, we as Catholics have a duty to respond.
5. "You don't need to confess your sins to a priest. You can go straight to God."
As a former Baptist minister, I can understand the Protestant objection to confession (they have a different understanding of priesthood). But for a Catholic to say something like this...it's disappointing. I suspect that, human nature being what it is, people just don't like telling other people their sins, and so they come up with justifications for not doing so.
The Sacrament of Confession has been with us from the beginning, coming from the words of Christ Himself:
"Jesus said to them again, 'Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.' And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, '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)
Notice that Jesus gives His apostles the power to forgive sins. Of course, they wouldn't know which sins to forgive if they weren't told what sins were involved.
The practice of confession is also evident in the Letter Of James:
"Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith will save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed." (James 5:14-16)
It's interesting that nowhere does James (or Jesus) tell us to confess our sins to God alone. Rather, they seem to think that forgiveness comes through some means of public confession.
And it's not difficult to understand why. You see, when we sin, we rupture our relationship not just with God, but with His Body, the Church (since all Catholics are interconnected as children of a common Father). So when we apologize, we need to do so to all parties involved — God and the Church.
Think of it this way. Imagine you walk into a store and steal some of their merchandise. Later, you feel remorse and regret the sinful act. Now, you can pray to God to forgive you for breaking His commandment. But there's still another party involved; you'll need to return the merchandise and make restitution for your action.
It's the same way with the Church. In the confessional, the priest represents God and the Church, since we've sinned against both. And when he pronounces the words of absolution, our forgiveness is complete.
Gates are DEFENSIVE not offensive ...
As such he invested his authority in St. Peter, who became the Bishop of Rome, as is our Pope today.
Do you really believe that Jesus gave His divine authority away?
But if God has forgotten your sin..how does He know how long to leave you there?? I ask again what kind of purging can it be if someone can buy you out of it
Those that were intended to hear heard..
Mat 13:3 And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;
4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:
5 Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:
6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.
7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:
8 But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.
9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
15 For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
It never occurs to them that if they can work their way there.. there was no need for Jesus
Amen.
You acutally have no idea. But I am glad that what you do brings you peace.
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After 12 years of catholic education I assure you I’m knowledgeable about Catholicism.
If you would like to discuss it feel free. If all you have are childish little digs like this, don’t bother
Don't get mad at me. I teach kids like the one you were. Religion is just another subject to them. Some grab it and run some blow it off. Claiming 12 years of Catholic education is not going to cut it. You were a child and you understood as a child.
God Bless you. You have a beautiful name.
My sisters admitted to doing the same thing and we even compared our list of made up sins finding they were the same. So we decided to confess to sometimes making up sins so we would have something to say to the priest on Friday night. When I confessed this sin of making up sins, the priest laughed and said just tell me the truth and I’ll help you find a sin to confess.
Every former Catholic I've ever talked to admits to doing the same thing.
The problem is, we have no idea of how much sin we really confess each and every day.
In the Beatitudes, Jesus reveals to us that it's all about the heart. So those people who think they go to confession and they're good, have no doubt missed plenty of sin in their lives and are walking around with unconfessed and (therefore they believe) unforgiven sin, which could very well damn them to hell.
Remember, that as a Baptized Catholic you will ALWAYS be a baptized Catholic — sounds like confirmed too. Those indelible marks are on your soul.
I will pray for you; I see the faith in you and welcome you back to the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.
It’s by God’s Mercy. All the way around.
That’s because they were CHILDREN, the point was not the sin, the point was the practice of going to Confession, like the Practice of going to Church, it’s to make it a lifetime habit. To make it second nature. At some point they are supposed to learn the faith as an adult and approach it as an adult.
If one's own efforts are required as the Catholics teach it's not. As Paul said, if one's righteousness is gained through keeping some law it nullifies the death of Christ in that persons life.
Please note the number of anti-Catholic to anti-Catholic posts here, and on other threads. Maybe there ought to be a caucus thread.
*They* who?
The people who made up sin to confess to a priest?
They didn’t just do it only when they were children.
What a system of bondage. Doing something weekly to get into the habit of it? So you can do it the rest of your life as second nature. At that point, you can do it without even thinking. It loses all it’s meaning when you can do something so by rote that becomes nothing more than going through the motions. Where’s the relationship in that?
And what’s wrong with just keeping short accounts with God and going directly to HIM whenever we slip up and dealing with it right away?
Do you ever read what you post?
I went through a lot of bumps in the road, and it was a really difficult time in my life. I was hurt and angry and disillusioned on nearly everything in my life. There was a Mass for the repose of the soul of my Grandfather, and I went, simply out of respect for him. I sat alone, that is, I went separately from my parents- I went at the last minute and the only place to sit was in the choir loft. I sat down, and, as Mass began, I began to cry. I sobbed the whole time, because for the first time in years, I was at peace. I went home that day, and never looked back. I made a commitment to learn my Faith, and it has given me a joy and peace which are among the Fruits of the Holy Spirit. My time away taught me tolerance, and love and respect for what others genuinely believe.
One answer to all your questions: Yes!, I believe! I am a Catholic of the Roman Rite; I chose to be, was not pushed; I love my God on a One-to-one level, and through His Church! I've opened my heart to all of you to show why I believe as I do, as you ask questions of me regarding what I believe and why. I pray God all may come to Him in one way or another!
May all of us find joy and peace and all the Gifts and Fruits the Holy Spirit has to offer! May God bless all of you!
To sum it up:
An Act of Faith
O My God, I firmly believe
That Thou art one God in three Divine Persons,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit;
I believe that Thy Divine Son became man,
And died for our sins,
And that He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe these and all the truths
Which the Holy Catholic Church teaches,
Because Thou has revealed them.
Who canst neither deceive nor be deceived.
An Act of Hope
O My God, relying on Thy almighty power
And infinite mercy and promises,
I hope to obtain pardon of my sins,
The help of Thy grace, and life everlasting,
Through the merits of Jesus Christ,
My Lord and Redeemer.
An Act of Charity
O My God, I love Thee above all things,
With my whole heart and soul,
Because Thou art all-good and worthy of all love.
I love my neighbor as myself for the love of Thee.
I forgive all who have injured me,
And ask pardon of all whom I have injured.
AMEN!
It was a response to your false assertion that confession dates from the 1200s. The sources cited lived, worshiped and died before that period.
No .. There was a group confession at the service..I was VERY CLEAR .. There was no "private confession to a priest until the church council in 1215
After more than 50 years I left the rituals of religion behind me and chose a relationship with Christ. You wouldn't understand if I told you. It's something you must seek without the blinders of religion.
To your credit you were right on one thing; I was a child. A 54 year old child. I now mature and grow in my faith in Jesus. Hopefully you'll grow up one day and leave the catholic rituals behind. 1Cor 13:11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.
Thank you and yes, God does bless me more than you can imagine.
...have no doubt missed plenty of sin in their lives...
When I was small sin, to me, was the ten commandments. As an adult I found it is those things creating the condition of my heart. But now I confess to Jesus directly, without the middle man, often, as soon as I commit the sin and can repair the damage. Sometimes I feel the burden lift from me as I pray confession to Him. He’s so beautiful and good to me. Isn’t He GREAT!!!!! I just love Him so much.
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