Confession

[aspen]

One of my favorite parts of belonging to the catholic Church is the practice of reconcilliation. Being able to confess the sins that have come between myself and God and myself and the Body of Christ is so effective because I am actually getting to tell a priest and hear him communicate God’s absolution. You guys are missing out!

I know some Protestants have an accountability partner - i used to, but it is just not the same thing. No judgment, no lectures, no chance of gossiping......just absolution and a chance to practice your reconnection through prayer or a good work.

 

[Helen]

Bless you aspen.

 

[Willie T]

One of my favorite parts of belonging to the catholic Church is the practice of reconcilliation. Being able to confess the sins that have come between myself and God and myself and the Body of Christ is so effective because I am actually getting to tell a priest and hear him communicate God’s absolution. You guys are missing out!

I know some Protestants have an accountability partner - i used to, but it is just not the same thing. No judgment, no lectures, no chance of gossiping......just absolution and a chance to practice your reconnection through prayer or a good work.

Prayer seems to work pretty well for ANY of that.

 

[bbyrd009]

Being able to confess the sins that have come between myself and God and myself and the Body of Christ is so effective because I am actually getting to tell a priest and hear him communicate God’s absolution.

the part i dislike about this is that you are the priest, and we are supposed to be confessing one to another, not to some third party who has assumed a place between you and God. Whom you have given a place might be a better way to put that. So the works meet for "repentance" are now done as penance, which imo is also...not the best pov.

so it sounds good, and you are obv a humble guy, i don't mean to say that the formula has no value, but that there will be consequences down the line; for instance, you basically must embrace Fascism as the RCC has done, imo this is the essence of you going to someone you deem a "priest" right.

A fab Catholic Institution imo, but not Christian wadr.
i hope you understand i have a lot of respect for you, and we would never have had this convo in person, bc i would not have responded IRL at all

 

[Helen]

I think that we do so often need 'flesh and blood'...
The old song " Take it to the Lord in prayer " sound good and is true...yet sometime we need a person.
After all, Jesus did send them out two by two.
And God did say " It is not good for man to be alone"
He put us into a Body...where " every joint supplies"...

The lone ranger is much easily picked off by the Enemy. He may have armour..but Paul never mention any part of armour for our backs. He knew that "we are our brothers keeper".

However spiritual we think that we may be...we do need each other as a check and balance to what we think we see or hear.

Even Moses needed Aaron and Hur to hold up his arms while Joshua fought against the Amalekites,...Joshua was winning while the hand were up...but Moses alone could not do it for long by himself.
" and his hand stayed stead until the going down of the sun"

Just a thought..

 

[Enoch111]

...I am actually getting to tell a priest and hear him communicate God’s absolution...

No human priest can grant absolution (supposedly God's absolution), and there is no such teaching in the New Testament.

 

[Helen]

"Piglet?" said Pooh.

"Yes Pooh?" said Piglet.

"Do you ever have days when everything feels... Not Very Okay At All? And sometimes you don't even know why you feel Not Very Okay At All, you just know that you do."

Piglet nodded his head sagely. "Oh yes," said Piglet. "I definitely have those days."

"Really?" said Pooh in surprise. "I would never have thought that. You always seem so happy and like you have got everything in life all sorted out."

"Ah," said Piglet. "Well here's the thing. There are two things that you need to know, Pooh. The first thing is that even those pigs, and bears, and people, who seem to have got everything in life all sorted out... they probably haven't. Actually, everyone has days when they feel Not Very Okay At All. Some people are just better at hiding it than others.

"And the second thing you need to know... is that it's okay to feel Not Very Okay At All. It can be quite normal, in fact. And all you need to do, on those days when you feel Not Very Okay At All, is come and find me, and tell me. Don't ever feel like you have to hide the fact you're feeling Not Very Okay At All. Always come and tell me. Because I will always be there."

 

[aspen]

No human priest can grant absolution (supposedly God's absolution), and there is no such teaching in the New Testament.

Hmm....

So was the early church just wrong?

It was pretty rough back then.....parishioners were required to stand up in the congregation and confess their sins to the entire church before receiving absolution

 

[aspen]

the part i dislike about this is that you are the priest, and we are supposed to be confessing one to another, not to some third party who has assumed a place between you and God. Whom you have given a place might be a better way to put that. So the works meet for "repentance" are now done as penance, which imo is also...not the best pov.

so it sounds good, and you are obv a humble guy, i don't mean to say that the formula has no value, but that there will be consequences down the line; for instance, you basically must embrace Fascism as the RCC has done, imo this is the essence of you going to someone you deem a "priest" right.

A fab Catholic Institution imo, but not Christian wadr.
i hope you understand i have a lot of respect for you, and we would never have had this convo in person, bc i would not have responded IRL at all

Actually, i would enjoy having coffee with you in real life - i know we disagree on many things, but i respect you and learn a great deal from your posts

 

[aspen]

Prayer seems to work pretty well for ANY of that.

So true!

Prayer is a big part of confession.....before, during, and after

 

[bbyrd009]

No human priest can grant absolution (supposedly God's absolution), and there is no such teaching in the New Testament.

hmm, i go the other way; any human priest can grant forgiveness, and if your "priest" is ok with you forgiving his sins too then cool imo. Plenty of Script for that i guess.

"Absolution" i don't even know what that means, even after i looked it up.
Sounds like a court/law term to me?

 

[epostle]

hmm, i go the other way; any human priest can grant forgiveness, and if your "priest" is ok with you forgiving his sins too then cool imo. Plenty of Script for that i guess.

"Absolution" i don't even know what that means, even after i looked it up.
Sounds like a court/law term to me?

If you rob a bank, get caught, get off on a technicality, you have, in a sense, been absolved from the crime, which has nothing to do with the state of your soul. Examination of conscience, repentance, confession, forgiveness, with the proper disposition is a package deal. Confessing sins is only part of it, and it seems to be the only part that non-Catholics focus on..Going through the motions like as robot is meaningless. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is not a magic ritual. It demands self honesty. Going in is hard, coming out is like having had a shower for the soul.

 

[GodsGrace]

If you rob a bank, get caught, get off on a technicality, you have, in a sense, been absolved from the crime, which has nothing to do with the state of your soul. Examination of conscience, repentance, confession, forgiveness, with the proper disposition is a package deal. Confessing sins is only part of it, and it seems to be the only part that non-Catholics focus on..Going through the motions like as robot is meaningless. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is not a magic ritual. It demands self honesty. Going in is hard, coming out is like having had a shower for the soul.

It's even called the Sacrament of Reconciliation now.

To Confess means to own up to what you did, to accept that you did wrong.

To forgive means to tell a person that you no longer hold them responsible for what they did to you to harm you. But you are not friends again.

To be reconciled means that you've asked forgiveness, it has been forgiven, and you are once again friends and in good rapport.

 

[Truth]

Prayer seems to work pretty well for ANY of that.

I Agree! I thought that we as believers, have A High Priest, after the Order of the Melchizedek who is our propitiation, our mediator before God?
John the Baptist only cried OUT Repent and be baptized! God Himself only asked the people of Israel to tune away from their sin and Repent to Him! In all the Temple Services, there was never a Sacrifice for Intentional Sin, but God would forgive even the Jews if they just turned back, and Repent. God and Savior truly know a persons Heart, they know if when you Repent if it is sincere, How would any man know if your Repentance was sincere? let alone grant Absolution, especially if the person was Not Sincere! I know My Heart, and You All know your Hearts, but do we Know each others Heart! I ask for forgiveness in My Own Closet, to My High Priest! I do not believe I am missing the Mark!

 

[Helen]

God and Savior truly know a persons Heart, they know if when you Repent if it is sincere, How would any man know if your Repentance was sincere? let alone grant Absolution, especially if the person was Not Sincere! I know My Heart, and You All know your Hearts, but do we Know each others Heart! I ask for forgiveness in My Own Closet, to My High Priest! I do not believe I am missing the Mark!

I agree with that, when it is against God himself...but I do believe that when it is against a friend or ever one not close to us...the 'closet' costs us nothing....open confession is what humbles us. Don't you think?
Even as kids we didn't mind our mothers reprimand, but we sure did 'grind our teeth' when she made us say sorry to a sibling or neighbour kid.

 

[Truth]

It's even called the Sacrament of Reconciliation now.

To Confess means to own up to what you did, to accept that you did wrong.

To forgive means to tell a person that you no longer hold them responsible for what they did to you to harm you. But you are not friends again.

To be reconciled means that you've asked forgiveness, it has been forgiven, and you are once again friends and in good rapport.

That is true, But how many people have truly gone to someone that they have hurt, or sinned against and made reconciliation, asked the other party to truly forgive me, the offender!
In 1966 my oldest brother was to ship out for Vietnam, so He and my second oldest brother were watching TV in our room, they woke me up, so I asked them to turn it off, and they refused, so I CUSSED my oldest brother. Two months later He came home in a Body bag, I never got say I was sorry! This has happened two other times in my life, and it will never happen again!
If you Sin Against God you Repent to God, If you Sin Against a Person you also leave you sacrifice at the Alter and go to that Person Reconcile, then go back to your Alter and offer your sacrifice of Repentance to God, through Our High Priest!

 

[Helen]

James says " Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed...."
I don't believe this means that we sit and tell another our general faults and failures, I think it means toward the person we are speaking to.
"keeping short accounts"

 

[Truth]

I agree with that, when it is against God himself...but I do believe that when it is against a friend or ever one not close to us...the 'closet' costs us nothing....open confession is what humbles us. Don't you think?
Even as kids we didn't mind our mothers reprimand, but we sure did 'grind our teeth' when she made us say sorry to a sibling or neighbour kid.

Yes I just posted a deeper thought in post #16 which expounds on your reply.
Thank You!

 

[Helen]

Yes I just posted a deeper thought in post #16 which expounds on your reply.
Thank You!

, I think we were both writing our posts at the same time...I just type slowly! LOL

 

[GodsGrace]

I think that we do so often need 'flesh and blood'...
The old song " Take it to the Lord in prayer " sound good and is true...yet sometime we need a person.
After all, Jesus did send them out two by two.
And God did say " It is not good for man to be alone"
He put us into a Body...where " every joint supplies"...

The lone ranger is much easily picked off by the Enemy. He may have armour..but Paul never mention any part of armour for our backs. He knew that "we are our brothers keeper".

However spiritual we think that we may be...we do need each other as a check and balance to what we think we see or hear.

Even Moses needed Aaron and Hur to hold up his arms while Joshua fought against the Amalekites,...Joshua was winning while the hand were up...but Moses alone could not do it for long by himself.
" and his hand stayed stead until the going down of the sun"

Just a thought..

What do you think it means to confess our sons one to the other?