How do individual priests have the authority to forgive your sins?

[BAChristian]

Just wanted to give everyone an update...I tell ya, the Lord is blessin' me with some very kind people around here. I've been getting PMs, with offers to talk to me offline, I've met a couple of converts, and this Wednesday, I'm meeting with a Deacon at my local parish to discuss some of my thoughts on what I've learned so far about Catholicism, and possibly how I'd like to proceed. I can't wait.

In the meantime, I was thinkin' tonight about forgiveness of sins. I guess I still have this issue, as a Protestant, believing that I should go to a priest to confess my sins, when I can just pray to Jesus, and ask him to forgive me.

So my lingering questions are:

1) How do individual priests, appointed by their bishops, have the authority to forgive sins, when they are not directly in line of succession with Peter? In other words, why can any person, who has been called to priesthood, all of a sudden have the authority to forgive sins?

OR

Are priests just blessing you? "Bless me father for I have sinned..."

2) Can't I just talk to the Lord, in the privacy of my own room, and say, "Lord, I'm sorry for saying XYZ to my friend, Bob. Please forgive me.", and everything is ok? Do I HAVE to go to confession for that sin? Because I can see myself feeling really bad about something, wanting to confess right there and then and make amends to God, and then now I have to go to Confession and do the same thing AGAIN to a priest? I'm confused.

Anyway...props to St. Irenee...he really helped me offline with a "differences in sin" question...so I'm hoping that everyone here in this forum can help a brotha out!

Anyway, I'll probably get my answer in Karl Keating's Catholicism and Fundamentalism book I bought...

bbiab...

 

[JeffreyLloyd]

What was the main reason Jesus came to Earth? Why did God take on human flesh and become a man? - We were all in need of salvation. So, Jesus, God in flesh became a man, to save us from our sins, when you come down to it, He came to forgive our sins. That was God's sole reason for sending Jesus, correct?


Now, let me set the scene. It's right after Jesus' resurrection. Jesus has died on the cross and has risen from the grave. He has concurred death! He then appears to his disciples and says, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." (John 20:21). Then Jesus did something VERY important. Something God did way back in Genesis: He breathed on them, and said "Receive the holy Spirit." (John 20:22).


So what has happened so far? We have Jesus, right after his glorious resurrection. Telling his disciples (the very first priests), he is going to send them as God has sent Him. He then breathes on them and says, "Receive the holy Spirit." You know something very important is about to happen. but what? Sacred Scripture tells us in the very next verse:

"Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained." (John 20:23)

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.

Sacred Scripture tells us there is, "..one mediator between God and the human race, Christ Jesus.." (1 Tim. 2:5), As Catholics we acknowledge, 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.

The Old Testament law is a shadow of the new things to come (Hebrews 10:1). What is a shadow? An outline of the actual thing! We can see that the Old Covenant, God used priests to forgive and atone for the sins of others. (Lev. 5:4-6; 19:21-22). Now we have Jesus under the New Covenant showing us the fulfillment of this by granting the authority to forgive sins to his disciples.

St. James also tells us the confession must be done orally in James 5:16. We also see this in Acts 19:18, Matt. 3:6; Mark 1:5

We have something called venial sins and mortal sins. Venial sins are minor ones, like those mentioned in 1 John 5:16-17; Luke 12:47-48, this has been the teaching of the Catholic Church for over 2,000 years, but, today, most Protestants no longer agree that there is such a distinction. Mortal sins lead to death and must be absolved in the sacrament of reconciliation. Venial sins do not have to be confessed to a priest, but the pious Catholic practice is to do so in order to advance in our journey to holiness.

Again in Matt. 5:19 Jesus teaches that breaking the least of commandments is venial sin (the person is still saved but is least in the kingdom), versus mortal sin (the person is not saved).

There is a lot more to it then this, and if you really want to understand why Catholics believe it is biblical to confess your sins to a priest, check out Scott Hahn's book: "Lord Have Mercy."

 

[JeffreyLloyd]

....

Are priests just blessing you? "Bless me father for I have sinned..."

umm... I've never heard it being said that way before. When I'm in confession, I say, "Forgive me father for I have sinned..."

 

[ej]

umm... I've never heard it being said that way before. When I'm in confession, I say, "Forgive me father for I have sinned..."

Ha! I was terrified at my first confession 'forgive me father for I have sinned, this is my first confession. i've been picking on my little brother quite a lot...'

I was taught that we are addressing the Priest as 'Father' but that he is not forgiving us, but giving us advice on how to obtain forgiveness from the Boss...

 

[Aaron-Aggie]

1) How do individual priests, appointed by their bishops, have the authority to forgive sins, when they are not directly in line of succession with Paul? In other words, why can any person, who has been called to priesthood, all of a sudden have the authority to forgive sins?

A good place to begin on the priesthood is Article 6 of the Catechism

The authority comes from the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands and consecration during the sacrament of Holy Orders.

1597 The sacrament of Holy Orders is conferred by the laying on of hands followed by a solemn prayer of consecration asking God to grant the ordinand the graces of the Holy Spirit required for his ministry. Ordination imprints an indelible sacramental character.

 

[Aaron-Aggie]

Also check out the catechism on THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE AND RECONCILIATION​

http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt2sect2chpt2.htm#art4​

1441 Only God forgives sins.39 Since he is the Son of God, Jesus says of himself, "The Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins" and exercises this divine power: "Your sins are forgiven."40 Further, by virtue of his divine authority he gives this power to men to exercise in his name.41

1442 Christ has willed that in her prayer and life and action his whole Church should be the sign and instrument of the forgiveness and reconciliation that he acquired for us at the price of his blood. But he entrusted the exercise of the power of absolution to the apostolic ministry which he charged with the "ministry of reconciliation."42 The apostle is sent out "on behalf of Christ" with "God making his appeal" through him and pleading: "Be reconciled to God."43

 

[Benedicta00]

1) How do individual priests, appointed by their bishops, have the authority to forgive sins, when they are not directly in line of succession with Paul? In other words, why can any person, who has been called to priesthood, all of a sudden have the authority to forgive sins?

Paul?? You mean Peter...right?

Because they have the authority given to them by the bishop that they received as past of their divine commission to act in Christ's person.

This is the laying on of hands that is in Acts. The bishop who is a direct successor to the apostles ordains the priest with the divine commission of Jesus to forgives sins.

Are priests just blessing you? "Bless me father for I have sinned..."

They are blessing you when you go in there to make a confession and after he hears you confession and helps discern with you your sins he then grants you absolution, sometimes he does not grant absolution if he knows from talking with you that you are not sorry and you are not seeking true forgiveness. I think that is extremely rare that he may do this but he does have that authority.

2) Can't I just talk to the Lord, in the privacy of my own room, and say, "Lord, I'm sorry for saying XYZ to my friend, Bob. Please forgive me.", and everything is ok? Do I HAVE to go to confession for that sin? Because I can see myself feeling really bad about something, wanting to confess right there and then and make amends to God, and then now I have to go to Confession and do the same thing AGAIN to a priest? I'm confused.

This is what the will of God is that you go to him and confess your sins. Jesus ordained that his priests grant you absolution in his person, not as a stand in. When you go to confession YOU ARE going to Christ there is no two ways about that.

Jesus said, " As the father has sent me, so I send you...go and forgive sins if you forgive them, they are forgiven, if you hold them bound they are held bound."

He also said..."he who hears you, hears me... he who rejects you rejects me and the one who sent me."

Also this is a sacrament designed to give you grace, in the sacrament you are given grace that breaks the power of a sin that you may be bound to, you need that grace.

 

[Benedicta00]

umm... I've never heard it being said that way before. When I'm in confession, I say, "Forgive me father for I have sinned..."

I say bless me father

 

[Benedicta00]

I was taught that we are addressing the Priest as 'Father' but that he is not forgiving us, but giving us advice on how to obtain forgiveness from the Boss...

He is forgiving us, but not in his own person but in the person of Christ.

He does not just give us advice on how to obtain forgiveness, he is forgiving us but by the authority he has been given to act in Persona Christi. The person of Christ.

 

[Credo]

2) Can't I just talk to the Lord, in the privacy of my own room, and say, "Lord, I'm sorry for saying XYZ to my friend, Bob. Please forgive me.", and everything is ok? Do I HAVE to go to confession for that sin? Because I can see myself feeling really bad about something, wanting to confess right there and then and make amends to God, and then now I have to go to Confession and do the same thing AGAIN to a priest? I'm confused.

I was asked almost this very same question by a friend of mine earlier in this year. And, yes, she is a Catholic. I was visiting in Ireland and happened to mention that I would like to go to confession sometime while I was there and she asked, “Why do we really need to go to a priest to confess? Why not just pray to God?”

My best approach to this is to remind all of us that we are an amalgam of flesh and spirit. If we were spirit only, hey, there probably wouldn’t be a problem. But we’re not. We’re made of matter, also. And being made up of matter, we naturally rely upon sight, sound, smell, all of our natural senses. When we approach Jesus in the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession), we’re using the natural abilities that God gave to us to ask for forgiveness. We open our hearts and let our short comings pour out. There are 2 types of contrition: imperfect contrition and perfect contrition. Imperfect contrition is being sorry for a transgression out of fear of punishment. While I was away from the Sacraments, this was the type of contrition I possessed. Perfect contrition is being sorry for offending God, not for fear of retribution. After I re-discovered the joy and peace of confession, this is the type of contrition that I now have. And, IMHO, it’s much easier to have perfect contrition when I pour out my wrong-doing to Christ verbally.

At the same time, we’re going to get some wonderful advice and it helps to prevent such sins in the future. Not to mention, the 3 most powerful words that I hear at the end “I absolve you!” and it’s always “In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit!” As Fulton Sheen put it, the Blood of Christ is dripping from the priests hands when he absolves our sins. I have often wept for joy when leaving the confessional, it’s unimaginable.

In the confessional, we’re able to confront our sin head-on. That’s awfully hard to do alone. Guilt is relieved and healing begins. Our spirit is healed and so is our conscience, both parts that make us human. Christ calls us to be humble, and there’s no better way to humble ourselves than to openly admit our sinfulness.

Not only do we make amends with God, but we also make amends with the Body of Christ. We, the Church, are called the "Body of Christ". When we sin we not only harm our relationship with Christ, we've also harmed His Body, the Church. So, the priest has a two-fold part. He's acting in "Persona Christi", in the person of Christ, and also as a representative of Christ's Body, the Church. Confession heals and reconciles us with both.

For your listening pleasure, check out Tim Staples:

Confession - right click and select "Save Target As"
Or, listen online: Confession

Also, Fr. Mitch Pacwa and Dr. Scott Hahn:

Healing Power of Confession - right click and select "Save Target As"
Or, listen online: Healing Power of Confession

Hope this has been helpful and thanks for "listening" to me ramble!

God Bless!

 

[Hoonbaba]

Here's how I understand priests and their power to forgive sins:

It’s crucial to understand apostolic authority as the backdrop. Without it, none of this would really make sense. We know that Christ had authority (Matt 7:29). Then we see Jesus exercising his authority to forgive sins (Matt 9:6). Then Jesus imparts authority unto the 12 disciples (Mark 3:14-15). And again we see Jesus imparting authority to the disciples (Mark 6:7, Matt 10:1). Matt 16:19 and Matt 18:18 imply that Peter and the rest of the apostles were given authority to ‘loose and bind’. Then we see Jesus proclaiming the great commission where it’s possible that even more authority was granted (Matt 28:18). Equally noteworthy is the fact that the Church is doing Jesus’s work, as if Jesus passed on the Olympic torch to the Church. This would naturally include forgiving sins since Jesus granted such authority to the Church (John 20:22-23). And naturally, priests serve in the person of Christ via Apostolic Succession.

Hope some of this helped =)

-Jason

 

[BAChristian]

Everyone: Thank you so much for the information. Especially for giving me exact Bible quotes, and also some links to some really good reading and listening material.

This is exactly what I needed. I'm studying and praying about this...

Honestly folks, from a Protestant PoV, you should REALLY make this a sticky, because those people who are interested in conversion will always want to go back and re-read this thread and look up literature...

(I find that even though I've studied this, I keep going back to it to make sure I have no doubts. I don't wanna have doubts that I want to become a Catholic should I decide to start RCIA. If I start RCIA, I'm going all the way. IMO, there's no wishy-washyness with God.)

 

[JeffreyLloyd]

Please BAchristian, if you have more questions please post them (in their own threads). We all really enjoy helping you!!

God Bless and Peace be with you!

 

[Rising_Suns]

I find that even though I've studied this, I keep going back to it to make sure I have no doubts. I don't wanna have doubts that I want to become a Catholic should I decide to start RCIA. If I start RCIA, I'm going all the way. IMO, there's no wishy-washyness with God.)

just so you know, RCIA is non-binding. if you still don't feel like converting after completeing the RCIA program, then that is fine. Don't feel like you have to get every question answered before starting the RCIA. It is designed mostly to answer those very questions.

 

[stray bullet]

"Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained." (John 20:23)

Not to nitpick or debate but I'm curious about this, as to me it seems more like "Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us". This seems to be more the general Christian rule of forgive and God will forgive... retain and it'll stay with you.

While I understand the need of confession and plan to eventually, I don't quite see that verse the same as you do.

 

[Hoonbaba]

Not to nitpick or debate but I'm curious about this, as to me it seems more like "Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us". This seems to be more the general Christian rule of forgive and God will forgive... retain and it'll stay with you.

While I understand the need of confession and plan to eventually, I don't quite see that verse the same as you do.

After carefully reading the Lord's prayer (Matthew 6:9-13) in light of John 20:23, what you said makes some sense. And verses 14 and 15 (of Matthew 6) certainly support what you said as well.

But I don't see how that tears apart the idea of priests forgiving sins. I think both interpretations of John 20:23 can work, perhaps harmoniously too. In other words, we know that Jesus was speaking to the apostles, so maybe it can be said that these words concerning forgiving sins were directed to them specifically. And if they retained anyone's sins (by not forgiving someone's sins) then naturally God would retain that particular apostle's sins as well as the person who seeks forgiveness (during confession that is).

I could be wrong though

-Jason