Why do Catholics have to confess their sins to a priest instead of praying straight to God? [Ecu]

Black Cordelias ^ | July 2, 2008 | bfhu

[NYer]

Q. Why do Catholics have to confess their sins to a priest instead of praying straight to God?

A. In obedience to Christ.

John 20:19-23 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. 21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

After His resurrection, Jesus, appeared to His disciples on Easter Sunday evening. He conferred the power to forgive sins by breathing on them. This corresponds to God breathing life into Adam. And so, Jesus breathes life giving power to forgive sins into his disciples. Note that this is before Pentecost and the general bestowal of the Holy Spirit. This is a special and unique pouring out of the Holy Spirit for the disciples, the first priests and bishops of the Christian Church.

And the purpose of this special dispensation of the Holy Spirit is to empower the apostles with the authority to forgive or not forgive sins in the name of Christ. This specific action cannot mean some sort of general power such as that by the preaching of the Gospel sins are forgiven or not depending upon the hearer. Jesus says, “If you forgive….if you do not forgive…” It would be impossible for the disciples to obey Jesus without audibly hearing the confessions of men and women, boys and girls.

2 Corinthians 5:17-20 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.

Now this verse can be interpreted in a Protestant way to mean salvation by the preaching of the Gospel. However, we see this verse as further proof for the sacrament of reconciliation/confession. Also, James points out

James 5:13-16 Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. 14Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 16Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

The Greek word for elders is presbuterous. This is the Greek etymological root from which we get our English word for priest. So, James is saying to call the priests to pray for healing both physical and spiritual. Why would James specify the calling of the elders/priests for those who are sick if they had no more authority than the average Christian?

[Apercu]

To paraphrase Ronaldus Maximus...”There you go again...”.
Keep your bigotry to yourself.

[chs68]

"Q. Why do Catholics have to confess their sins to a priest instead of praying straight to God?

A. In obedience to Christ."

Whose obedience to Christ?

In the scripture you cite, Jesus does not command people to confess to priests.

Just where is it, exactly, where Jesus says, "Don't confess your sins to me (or to my Father) directly. Instead, I command you to confess your sins to other human beings, ordained for that purpose. If you do that with a pure and contrite heart, you sins shall be forgiven"???

[rbmillerjr]

Which of Hahn’s books is that excerpt from? I haven’t read any of his books, but I relate to those emotions.

[NYer]

As in all things Catholic.......follow the money.

Sorry ... I'm not following you. Are you suggesting that people pay for remission of their sins?

[MozarkDawg]

Q. Why do Catholics have to confess their sins to a priest instead of praying straight to God?

Because a duly-ordained priest has received his authority directly from Christ, through Peter, down through each pope to bishop. When you receive absolution from a duly-ordained priest, you are in essence receiving absolution from Christ Himself -- same goes for all the Sacraments.

Believe/accept this or not, but this is the reason for Roman Catholics.

[Emperor Palpatine]

I suspect he’s referring to the old medieval and Renaissance practice of the Church selling plenary indulgences.

[NYer]

Just where is it, exactly

In 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. In the next line, 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. Jesus then says in John 20:23 "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.

[Petronski]

A. In obedience to Christ.

I notice a lot of that in Catholicism.

:O)

[Petronski]

Never found a Bible in the pews of the RC Church either.

The missalettes are filled with Scripture.

[NYer]

Which of Hahn’s books is that excerpt from? I haven’t read any of his books, but I relate to those emotions.

[magisterium]

Just where is it, exactly, where Jesus says, "Don't confess your sins to me (or to my Father) directly. Instead, I command you to confess your sins to other human beings, ordained for that purpose. If you do that with a pure and contrite heart, you sins shall be forgiven"???

John 20:22-23

[r9etb]

The priests, or deacons, read the Gospel. That reading and the readings mentioned below usually form the basis of their homilies.....

You're talking about liturgical practice during services, aren't you? There's nothing preventing lay people from reading the Gospels for themselves....

[isrul]

I always especially liked that the priest has the option not to forgive. At least according to Jesus. I don't think that option gets much play nowadays.

[FatherofFive]

The only other moment in Scripture where God breathes on man is in Gen. 2:7, when the Lord "breathes" divine life into man.

The Breath of God creating the priesthood for His Church!

His Church that will not be destroyed or fall away from him. With the Holy Spirit who will guide the Church to always teach the Truth, and He will always be with us. The Church with the teaching authority and the authority – given by Christ- to bind and loose in matters of faith. The Church of the apostles was definitely one: " One body and one Spirit: as you are called in one hope of your calling. One Lord, one faith, one baptism. One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in us all. (Eph. 4:4-6).

The Catholic view of the Church is the only one that is consistent with all of Scripture.

The view that the church is based on the Bible is supported nowhere in the Bible itself, and was created by men 1,500 years after the resurrection of Christ.

[Gumdrop]

Are you a priest, NYer? That’s hoe I interpret your message.

Confession to a priest is a wonderful grace-filled act. Unfortunately most Catholics, myself included do not make use of the sacrament as often as we should. After I’ve been to confession, I have a deep feeling of closeness to God. It’s wonderful!

[annalex]

If you want to be on the Catholic Theology for non-Catholics list but are not on it already, or if you are on it but do not want to be, let me know either publicly or privately.

Previously posted:

On Salvation Outside the Catholic Church
The Great Heresies
SALVATION PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE
JUSTIFICATION IN CATHOLIC TEACHING
Hermits and Solitaries [Ecumenical]
THE PRIESTHOOD DEBATE
RIGHTEOUSNESS AND MERIT
A Well-Rounded Pope [Ecumenical]
A Monastery to Last 1,000 Years [Ecumenical]
Explaining Purgatory from a New Testament Perspective [Ecumenical]
In the Crosshairs of the Canon [How We Got The Bible] [Ecumenical]
'An Ordinance Forever' - The Biblical Origins of the Mass [Ecumenical]
Beginning Catholic: Church Authority In Scripture [Ecumenical]
Beginning Catholic: Catholic Tradition: Life in the Spirit [Ecumenical]
Christian Atheism
Vatican plea to uncover Virgin Mary and show her breast-feeding baby Jesus

[xzins]

If the confessional were for counseling, I’d have no problem with it.

I’d probably have no problem if it were made clear that forgiveness comes from God, but the minister is simply there to pray with the person and to point out the need to change one’s life.

[D-fendr]

You probably shouldn’t have any problem with it.

[Juan Medén]

Reading "priest" into presbuteros is akin to reading "dynamite" into dunamis, the Greek word for power. It is called an anachronism, i.e., reading a later, derived meaning into an earlier form of the word. We would never say that we have received the "dynamite" of the Holy Spirit, since dynamite as we know it did not exist in the first century. Neither should we read "priest" into presbuteros because priests, as we know them, did not exist in the first century and would have been unrecognizable to the first century writers of the Bible.

[xzins]

Probably not...in the long run that is not where I find disagreement with the RCC.