Can someone explain Confession to me?

You do get advice on penance and how to avoid whatever sin in the future during confession. That has been my experience anyway.

The info below should help you out.


1. Why do I have to go to a priest for confession instead of going straight to God? After all, the Bible says that “there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 2:5).

The Lord does want us to come to him when we fall into sin. He wants to bring us forgiveness so much that he gave the apostles the power to forgive sins. This power given to the apostles and their successors does not come from within them but from God. Throughout the New Testament, Jesus gave the apostles authority over unclean spirits, the authority to heal, the authority to raise people from the dead, et cetera. No Christian assumes that these powers came from the men themselves, since God is the one that has chosen to use them to manifest his power and mercy.

In the words of Paul, “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Cor. 5:18). The apostles and their successors are merely ambassadors for Christ (2 Cor. 5:20), bringing his forgiveness to the world through the sacraments and the message of the gospel. If God has chosen to bring his message of forgiveness to the world by means of sinful, human ambassadors, why would he not be able to give these messengers the power to forgive and retain sins? And why would this not be a natural way for Jesus to extent his merciful presence on earth for all generations?

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How to Defend the Sacrament of Confession

I'm no expert on this, but I think of confession as being similar to checking my food pantry to see what I need to replace, what I need to discard (out of date/would make me sick) and how I can best use the food that I have.

So what I need to replace would perhaps be a bad attitude towards someone, or unwillingness to do good things, like fasting or praying.

What I need to discard would be the sins that I remember having committed.

And making the best use of my talents or knowledge that God has given me would be using the food that I have instead of wishing for other things.

James 5:14-16 talks about the sacraments of anointing of the sick and confession

the context of the verse is confession to the elders (Presbyters or priests as called in modern English)

God could have just set it up that we just confess directly to Him

He could have directly spread the knowledge of the Gospel or He could directly help all the poor
God choose to include humans in His plan for salvation
He is so generous

ACatholicRose said:

the priest is there "in persona christi" (in the person of Christ) and he is not the one who is absolving of sins, but rather it's God that's absolving you of your

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The priest absolves you of your sins. Here are the words of Absolution:

"God, the Father of mercies, through the death and resurrection of his Son has reconciled the world to himself and sent the Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sins; through the ministry of the Church may God give you pardon and peace, and I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, + and of the Holy Spirit."

ACatholicRose said:

Still, it feels strange going to confession to tell your sins to a priest.

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Jesus gave the Apostles the ability loose and bind. To be able to do this, a penitent needs to verbally express their sins. Also, the priest represents the Catholic faithful. In James we are told to confess our sins to one another. We fulfill this command 2 ways. First by confessing to the priest who represents the faithful. Second, we fulfill this command at every Mass during the penitential rite.