19 When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
Jesus and Thomas
24 But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”
The Holy Bible : New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition. 2008 (Jn 20:19–25). Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press.
14 Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective. 17 Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18 Then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain and the earth yielded its harvest.
The Holy Bible : New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition. 2008 (Jas 5:14–18). Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press.
I've underlined the the passage that relate to confessing our sins to those who are leaders within the Church. I've made bold those parts which I feel touch on the nature of the confessee. As a former Protestant, I recall hearing many times that the only person we need to confess our sins to is God. Some pastors in their sermons would add that we need to confess our sins to those whom our sin affects personally. Even some more would recommend seeing professional counselors depending on the severity and/or the habitual nature of particular sins, ie., if a married spouse commited adultery once, they might recommend a marriage counselor but if a person commits homosexual acts over long periods of time the recommendation would be to further recommend a counselor who deals with such addictions. Now, in terms of the sacrament of confession, once can easily go to God in private prayer and make in sincerity an act of contrition to not repeat such offenses, but sometimes this does not give a greater accountability as there is no visual sign. Speaking of my own circumstances, I find that confessing to another Christian helps greatly. When I was a Baptist, I was able to form an accountability group with my peers that took about almost two years in the making after establishing a strong trust and knowing their personal maturity level. Long before I was a baptist, I confessed a sin to a Christian friend of mine that was a Church of Christ member, and they didn't know how to handle it and allowed me to sit with them in bible study but was rebuked and subsequently shunned. No granted, my sin was grave at that time, and I did deserve the rebuke; however, their righteousness was indeed not enough in the fact that they ignored their responsibility to pray for me and to encourage me in the healing process. Based on these experiences of being burnt by what I thought were strong Christians in the last example, and with the Gospel passage showing clearly that the disciples mentioned in the passage was indeed the original 12 disciples, as Thomas is clearly referenced, and also the fact that the Church through its prayers of its elders and those in leadership as they reflect Elijah's righteousness, I am convinced that the sacrament of confession is one of the most sacred events in the Church.
Since this is a debate amongst a Christian forum, I am sure there is going to be some difference of opinion in regards why should one have to confess one's sins to a priest. However, what really concerns me here is the maturity of the confessee. The accountability support group I was able to muster as a Southern Baptist was fairly successful, but it took a long time to establish to avoid immature members from joining the group to avoid being burned from my other bad experience at confessing to what I thought was a mature, but turned out somewhat immature "another."
Jesus and Thomas
24 But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”
The Holy Bible : New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition. 2008 (Jn 20:19–25). Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press.
14 Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective. 17 Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18 Then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain and the earth yielded its harvest.
The Holy Bible : New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition. 2008 (Jas 5:14–18). Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press.
I've underlined the the passage that relate to confessing our sins to those who are leaders within the Church. I've made bold those parts which I feel touch on the nature of the confessee. As a former Protestant, I recall hearing many times that the only person we need to confess our sins to is God. Some pastors in their sermons would add that we need to confess our sins to those whom our sin affects personally. Even some more would recommend seeing professional counselors depending on the severity and/or the habitual nature of particular sins, ie., if a married spouse commited adultery once, they might recommend a marriage counselor but if a person commits homosexual acts over long periods of time the recommendation would be to further recommend a counselor who deals with such addictions. Now, in terms of the sacrament of confession, once can easily go to God in private prayer and make in sincerity an act of contrition to not repeat such offenses, but sometimes this does not give a greater accountability as there is no visual sign. Speaking of my own circumstances, I find that confessing to another Christian helps greatly. When I was a Baptist, I was able to form an accountability group with my peers that took about almost two years in the making after establishing a strong trust and knowing their personal maturity level. Long before I was a baptist, I confessed a sin to a Christian friend of mine that was a Church of Christ member, and they didn't know how to handle it and allowed me to sit with them in bible study but was rebuked and subsequently shunned. No granted, my sin was grave at that time, and I did deserve the rebuke; however, their righteousness was indeed not enough in the fact that they ignored their responsibility to pray for me and to encourage me in the healing process. Based on these experiences of being burnt by what I thought were strong Christians in the last example, and with the Gospel passage showing clearly that the disciples mentioned in the passage was indeed the original 12 disciples, as Thomas is clearly referenced, and also the fact that the Church through its prayers of its elders and those in leadership as they reflect Elijah's righteousness, I am convinced that the sacrament of confession is one of the most sacred events in the Church.
Since this is a debate amongst a Christian forum, I am sure there is going to be some difference of opinion in regards why should one have to confess one's sins to a priest. However, what really concerns me here is the maturity of the confessee. The accountability support group I was able to muster as a Southern Baptist was fairly successful, but it took a long time to establish to avoid immature members from joining the group to avoid being burned from my other bad experience at confessing to what I thought was a mature, but turned out somewhat immature "another."