A little boy went into Confession. "Bless me, Father, for I have sinned....I was mean to my brother, got mad at my parents, and had a bath with bubbles." The priest said, "Son, work on those first two things, but there is nothing wrong with simply taking a bath with bubbles." He gave the boy absolution and then his penance.
The next boy came in. "Bless me, Father,...I didn't obey my parents a few times, and had a bath with bubbles." The priest started thinking to himself, 'why do they think this is a sin?' "My son, having a bath with bubbles is not a sin." After he received absolution, the boy left to do his penance.
The next child, a little girl, came into the Confessional. "Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. I'm Bubbles."
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Going to Confession
Whenever we go to the Sacrament of Penance, we encounter Jesus Christ in the Confessional (through the person of the priest). It is Christ himself who hears our sins and forgives EVERY sin for which we are sorry.
In this POWERFUL Sacrament, Jesus desperately wants to free us from our sins, the tremendous weight of our sins, our burdens, anxieties, problems, fears, and doubts.
In Confession, there is Christ. Freedom. Mercy.
Forgiveness. Healing. Reconciliation with the Father.
Union with the Church. Peace. Rejoicing in Heaven.
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Questions for GW bloggers
1. Why is going to Confession so difficult for many Catholics?
2. Why do we need to go to a priest to have our sins forgiven?
3. Where in the Gospel does Jesus give the first priests (the Apostles) the power to forgive sins?
2 comments:
Josh,
Thanks very much, bro! Wow, you go deep in a hurry! You show the intellectual ability that takes me a while to get cranking! You express yourself and faithful Catholics well.
Since your comment, we've had 2 excellent comments like yours about Confession. Check them out, especially the one about seeing the need for a priest in Confession as we do in Baptism and Marriage. Both Anonymouses encapsulate very well what I wrote, and in a much more concrete way. Always great to meet Catholics who are more devout and profound than I (happens frequently!)
Oh, and even though they left a comment, they didn't leave a name so that they might win the lunch for 2 at Au Pied Bistro. So, at this point, you're the only one in the running. I'll give it out this Sunday night at the 8:30 Club.
I remember years ago talking to a couple who were very devout Pentecostal Christians. They expressed the view that I implied in my post (that we can just go to God directly to have all of our sins forgiven). Well, my girlfriend (at the time), a devout Catholic, agreed with them. And, I thought it was 2 on 2! I was shocked! So, then it was 3 on 1 for that issue.
Anyway, weeks later, I was talking with her family (devout Catholics) about it, and they agreed with her! So, I brought out the Catechism, and read # 1452 about perfect contrition: "it also obtains forgiveness of mortal sins if it includes the firm resolution to have recourse to sacramental confession as soon as possible." Yeah, they didn't have much to say after that, other than a debate about perfect contrition.
So, that long, long story magnifies your point that we Catholics have bought into the Protestant notion of achieving forgiveness of all of our sins on our own. Thanks again, bro, and hopefully we'll get some more profound insights from you on the site here.
In Christ,
Greg
From www.catholicbridge.com"
Jesus said..."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)
Perhaps an important thing to note is that Thomas was not present at this time - but he did receive the gift. This suggests that perhaps Peter (who was given the keys to the kingdom) gave it to him. Jesus said to Peter "whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven" (Mat 16:19)
These apostles prayed over the next generation of apostles. Some of them became Bishops. The Bishops in turn prayed over the newly ordained priests. Every priest from the beginning of the Church right back to Peter was prayed over in the same way. And hence Catholics feel that from generation to generation this Grace has been passed on. The Bishop places an "indelible seal" upon the priest when he prays over him. In Catholic terminology this is called "secession." For a list of every Pope back to Peter go here.
Two chapters after giving the keys of the kingdom to Peter, Jesus is more clear that power has been given to the Church.
If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector, for very truly I tell you whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. (Mat 18:17-18)
Jesus says the same thing twice within 3 verses. Catholics think that this means he was very serious. In the Greek text of Mat 18:18, the word "you" in "whatever you bind" is plural. When he says the same thing to Peter in Mat 16:18 the Greek text used for "whatever you bind" is singular. Catholics think these two juxtaposed but similar phrases lay out the early structure of the Church with Peter as the Pope and the other apostles as priests.
Let's look at a verse that Catholics think refers to three generations of "Apostolic Succession":
[W]hat you have heard from me before many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. (2 Tim. 2:2).
First Generation: "me" = Paul, "an apostle of Christ Jesus by command of God our Saviour and of Jesus Christ our hope" (1 Tim 1:1)
Second Generation: "you" = Timothy, who was most likely ordained by Paul: "Do not neglect the gift you have which was conferred on you through the prophetic word with the imposition of hands of the presbyterate." (1 Tim 4:14) "For this reason, I remind you to stir into flame the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands." (2 Tim 1:6)
Third Generation: "faithful men" = successors who will receive this "imposition of hands" after Timothy.
Catholics believe that what is handed down in succession is twofold: (1) the teaching of Christ given to the Apostles (known as Apostolic Tradition), and (2) the power to teach it with binding authority, one aspect of the "gift" conferred 1 Tim 4:14 above (known as Apostolic Authority).(1)
Catholics feel that the sinner sins in the material world and therefore the forgiveness must also manifest itself in the material world as well as in heaven. The only way that this can happen is through a human being - a priest. Jesus recognized that forgiveness must still be manifested in the material world after he died. This is why he commissioned the apostles to do it, and this is why Catholics believe this has continued to this day through priestly secession in obedience to Jesus' command "whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven." This does not take away from Christ's role as the One True Priest, it actually empowers his role on earth. There is a great song by Evangelical Christian bock band Audio Adrenaline that says, "I want to be your hands, I want to be your feet." Catholics have no problem that Jesus has ordained some to act on his behalf in the material world.
One of the big complaints against the Catholic practice of Confession with a priest is that people can just run back to the Priest every week and live poorly the rest of the time. God was clear that it will not go well for those who willfully persist in sin after having received the knowledge of the truth. (Heb 10:26) So if a Catholic makes insincere confession there could be some serious "Temporal Punishment." And God knows the heart. In my experience, the Catholics who go to confession are usually sincere. The nominal Catholics (the Christmas and Easter crowd) wouldn't be caught anywhere near a confessional.
Here are some other biblical passages Catholics like to note:
2 Cor 5:18-19 "...gave us the ministry of reconciliation..."
2 Cor 2:10-11 "What I have forgiven... in the presence of Christ..." Paul has forgiven people's sins in the name of Christ.
1 John 1:19 "If we confess our sins..."
James 5:14-16 "...Let him call for the elders of the church... he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to one another..."
2 Chronicles 26:1, Uzziah was chastised for performing priestly functions because he wasn't a priest. He got leprosy and died.
We must remember, the priest is not the one who forgives. The forgiveness comes from Jesus. Before every confession the priest calls upon Jesus to come. He is simply performing a service for Jesus.
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