I'm all clean!

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Ok, I finally did my first confession. Whew! I am glad it is over, but I am glad I did it, because I feel like a "clean slate" now in terms of sins.

The only thing that was difficult about it was that the priest was quiet the whole time that I was going through my long list of sins from my entire life. I kept wondering if I was doing it right, etc, because he didn't say anything until the end. It was a bit unnerving having a one-sided conversation. I kept wondering what he was thinking when I was confessing my sins.

But, all he gave me was three Hail Mary's and was very nice about it.

Anyway, I am good to go for receiving the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ next Sat at my confirmation!

:clap:
 

Wolseley

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Your first confession is something you'll always remember. :)

I was much younger then, but I recall walking around for the rest of the day with a big smile on my face.

You will increasingly come to appreciate this Sacrament as you continue on in your life as a Catholic, CP, believe me. :) The only thing that beats it is Holy Eucharist.

May God continue to bless you as you continue your journey.

Peace,
---Wols.
 
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Yesterday at 06:36 PM ZooMom said this in Post #4

I always feel like that after Confession. I'm seriously thinking of going every week. :)

So am I, it feels great afterwards.

Also, our priest has a good analogy for the whole process. On judgement day, imagine that we have to watch a videotape of our lives. All of the bad things that are on the tape, we need to face up to. But some parts of the tape are missing, they have been recorded over with static. Those are the parts that we have confessed, and they are already forgotten by God.

Now who wouldnt want to erase the whole tape in advance! ;)
 
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Gabriel

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I am happy for you in that you understand that your slate is clean.

I understand very little about the Catholic faith so I don't understand something about the priest's role in this. Is confessing to a priest the only way to ask for forgiveness of sins? It seems like you let them "build up" so to speak until you can express them to a priest. Why is that? When I sin, I immediately pray, directly to God, for forgiveness. Is my prayer insufficient?

Please be aware that I am not questioning the validity of your confession. One thing I hate about this board is the lack of tone of voice and body language. I believe we are often assumed to be confrontational when we are not trying to be so.
 
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No problem Gabriel, I won't take offense. ;)

We believe that Jesus gave the authority to forgive (or to not forgive sins) to the apostles. That is very much biblical, check out James 15:26, and John 20:23, for reference.

Now, it is not the priest himself forgiving, it is the priest standing in for Christ. The power is always from Christ.
 
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Also...

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.

John 20:22 - the Lord "breathes" on the apostles, and then gives them the power to forgive and retain sins.

Gen. 2:7 - the Lord "breathes" divine life into man. This is the only other moment in Scripture where God breathes on man. When this happens, a significant transformation takes place.

John 20:23 - Jesus says, "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.

Matt. 9:8 - this verse shows that God has given the authority to forgive sins to "men." Hence, those Protestants who acknowledge that the apostles had the authority to forgive sins (which this verse demonstrates) must prove that this gift ended with the apostles. Otherwise, the apostles' successors still possess this gift. Where in Scripture is the gift of authority to forgive sins taken away from the apostles or their successors?

Matt. 9:6; Mark 2:10 - Christ forgave sins as a man (not God) to convince us that the "Son of man" has authority to forgive sins on earth.

Luke 5:24 - Luke also points out that Jesus' authority to forgive sins is as a man, not God. The Gospel writers record this to convince us that God has given this authority to men. This authority has been transferred from Christ to the apostles and their successors.

Matt. 18:18 - the apostles are given authority to bind and loose. The authority to bind and loose includes administering and removing the temporal penalties due to sin. The Jews understood this since the birth of the Church.

John 20:22-23; Matt. 18:18 - the power to remit/retain sin is also the power to remit/retain punishment due to sin. If Christ's ministers can forgive the eternal penalty of sin, they can certainly remit the temporal penalty of sin (which is called an "indulgence").

2 Cor. 2:10 - Paul forgives in the presence of Christ (some translations refer to the presences of Christ as "in persona Christi"). Some say that this may also be a reference to sins.

2 Cor. 5:18 - the ministry of reconciliation was given to the ambassadors of the Church. This ministry of reconciliation refers to the sacrament of reconciliation, also called the sacrament of confession or penance.

James 5:15 - in this verse we see that sins are forgiven by the elders in the sacrament of the sick. This is another example of man's authority to forgive sins on earth.

1 Tim. 2:5 - Christ is the only mediator, but He was free to decide how His mediation would be applied to us. The Lord chose to use priests of God to carry out His work of forgiveness.

Lev. 5:4-6; 19:21-22 - even under the Old Covenant, God used priests to forgive and atone for the sins of others.
 
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Dear Gabriel,
The priest in my RCIA class used the illustration of a jar on the TV. The family has a pact to put all your change every day into the jar tosave up for a trip. One day you decide to be a big shot and treat yuor friends to lunch, lacking your own money you empty the jar. On the way home you are struck by guilt, so you pull over and pray for forgiveness. Upon reaching home, Mom's in the kitchen and you say, so what's for dinner...... You're forgiven right? Wrong, you still need to be reconciled to your comunity. How? First admit you are wrong, not only to God, but to the community, apologize, ask for help in mending your ways. As head of the community this is where the priest comes in. As represetitave of the community the priest, if he senses contrition, may absolve you of your sin, with some act of reparation(usually symbolic). Hope this Helps
 
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