The "What you always wanted to ask a priest but were afraid to" thread

[Crunchy]

How can you confess past sins if you may not remember them... but you are feeling bad so you wonder if it is caused by sins in your past you have not yet confessed to God ?????

 

[Father Rick]

How can you confess past sins if you may not remember them... but you are feeling bad so you wonder if it is caused by sins in your past you have not yet confessed to God ?????

First, before one goes to confessional, one does an "examination of conscience". That is, one prayerfully examines their heart and life, asking God to show them any sins that may be there that need to be dealt with. God will remind you of any issues that are there that need to be confessed.

Second, during the actual rite of confession, it always ends with something to the effect of "and any other sins that I may not remember". It is understood that one usually doesn't remember every single little sin that one may have committed... but that is ok. The idea is to be as open and honest with God as possible. If you've done that, that is all that can be asked of you. The sacrament of reconciliation is all about God's grace and forgivenness. Know that His grace is there in spite of all our weaknesses (including our imperfect memories).

 

[Jecoulo]

How can you confess past sins if you may not remember them... but you are feeling bad so you wonder if it is caused by sins in your past you have not yet confessed to God ?????

Ask God to forgive you for sinning. He knows what they are. They do not have to be named one by one. Tell Him you are sorry. If you have hurt anyone tell them you are sorry. Continue with life and do not dwell on the pasot

 

[Moriah_Conquering_Wind]

How come it cannot makesy new threadings in this section?
It havesy something to post to ALL staffs at once time.

 

[Father Rick]

I don't know Moriah...

I know that there have been some glitches/coding problems the past few days. Maybe it is just a bug...

 

[Jecoulo]

Hello Father,

Why are non RC Christians forbidden to participate in communion in an RC church?

 

[Crunchy]

Do you know, is there any difference between a Priest, A Father, A Vicar, a Pastor etc?

Can Non-Catholics confess to a Priest in a Catholic church?

How do you forgive yourself, even if you know God has forgiven you?

Is Yoga and Tai Chi okay for Christian's to practice?

Why did Jesus have to ascend into Heaven, why could He not have stayed here on earth to help us?

Is it acceptable for Non-Catholics to use rosary beads for prayer?

Agape xxxx

 

[RosemaryChildAtHeart]

why does God not heal all the time? What constitutes as who is healed and who is not?

 

[WatcherRRS]

In your personal opinion, do you believe that protestants will go to Heaven, Hell, or Limbo when they die?

And do you have different opinions on this related to what type of protestant christian it is? Like Baptist vs Church of Christ, etc.

 

[yourmaryness]

Hi Father,
I am new to this thread. I am not a Catholic but have always wanted to ask a priest why is there confession to a priest? I believe that I can go to Jesus directly and ask His forgiveness for my sins. I want to know why when one is a Catholic, they go to confession and confess their sins to a priest? Can you show me in scripture why this is done? Thank you so much! Blessings to you!

 

[Father Rick]

Hey everyone...

Sorry it's been so long since I've been here. Don't know what happened that this thread "fell off the radar". I'll try to get caught up real quick.

 

[Father Rick]

Hello Father,

Why are non RC Christians forbidden to participate in communion in an RC church?

There are 2 different reasons:

First, in the RC, communion is seen as just that-- and act of "communion" with both God and one another. That is, it is a sign of coming together in unity with one another and with Christ.

Those who are "not in union" with the RC are not allowed to receive since they are not "in unity".

The second reason is from the warning given by Paul in scripture that those who receive in an unworthy manner are "eating and drinking damnation to themselves." In order for one to receive communion, the RC wants to make certain the person actually recognized what they are doing-- and not actually bringing harm on themselves. It must be noted here that members of those non-RC churches that have apostolic succession and have maintained the sacraments (such as the Eastern Orthodox, the Old Catholics, etc.) ARE allowed to receive communion from the RC since there is a certainty that these do understand what they are receiving.

 

[Father Rick]

Do you know, is there any difference between a Priest, A Father, A Vicar, a Pastor etc?

Of the things you've listed, only "priest" is an ordained position. That is in the catholic churches, there are 3 "levels" (for lack of a better word) of ordination: deacon, priest, and bishop.

A priest is frequently called 'father', although such is simply a term of respect, not an official title.

A pastor is the person overseeing the welfare of a particular congregation/parish. The person acting in that respect is usually a priest (but could be a deacon).

The title "vicar" means "representative of another"... and is used a variety of ways. For example, in a very small parish-- one not large enough to have actually achieved "church" status, many times the pastor is still technically the diocesan bishop but there may be assigned someone to handle the day to day issues "representing" the bishop. This person would be the "vicar" of the bishop. Again, this is usually a priest.

Can Non-Catholics confess to a Priest in a Catholic church?

yes, they may.

How do you forgive yourself, even if you know God has forgiven you?

Learning to forgive oneself can be a difficult thing at times. My suggestion is to study in the scriptures of exactly what God says about you-- of His love and grace towards you. Seeing just how great His forgivenness truly is can often help one to forgive themselves.

Is Yoga and Tai Chi okay for Christian's to practice?

This is a bit of a gray area.
Both Yoga and Tai Chi have physical and spiritual elements to them. If one is simply practicing the physical-- that is exercising, stretching, etc. then one is doing nothing wrong. If one continues on into the spiritual areas, then one is moving into a form of non-Christian worship.

Why did Jesus have to ascend into Heaven, why could He not have stayed here on earth to help us?

Jesus said that He had to ascend into Heaven so that the Holy Spirit could be sent to be here on earth with us to help us. It wasn't a matter of Him abandoning us. Rather, in His physical body He could only be in one place at one time-- while the Holy Spirit can be (and is) with all of us at once.

Is it acceptable for Non-Catholics to use rosary beads for prayer?

Agape xxxx

Yes... they can and some do.

 

[Father Rick]

why does God not heal all the time? What constitutes as who is healed and who is not?

I wish I knew all the answers to this... but no one knows all the details. One thing to remember is that healing is not just physical-- but often people need healing emotionally, mentally, spiritually, etc... and many times God is working to bring healing but may not start with the "symptom" we think He should. There's actually a thread I started on this here.

 

[Father Rick]

In your personal opinion, do you believe that protestants will go to Heaven, Hell, or Limbo when they die?

Proper Catholic theology is that all those baptized into Christ are part of His body, the church... with the same end results.

And do you have different opinions on this related to what type of protestant christian it is? Like Baptist vs Church of Christ, etc.

The difficulty with this part of your questions is that under the title "protestant" are those who are pretty solid in their understanding of who Christ is..... all the way to those who claim to be Christian, yet deny Him- deny He was God, deny a need for salvation, etc.

 

[Father Rick]

Hi Father,
I am new to this thread. I am not a Catholic but have always wanted to ask a priest why is there confession to a priest? I believe that I can go to Jesus directly and ask His forgiveness for my sins. I want to know why when one is a Catholic, they go to confession and confess their sins to a priest? Can you show me in scripture why this is done? Thank you so much! Blessings to you!

Well... there is basic misunderstanding shown in your question here.

First, a person does not confess their sins to a priest. They confess to God in the presence of a priest who is there as a representative of Christ. The priest then, acts not in/of himself, but pronouncing the forgivenness of Christ on Christ's behalf.

As to scripture, after Jesus rose from the dead he appeared to the disciples and spoke to them. There, scripture records, He breathed on them, and said "receive the Holy Spirit. Whoever's sins you forgive will be forgiven, whoever's sins you retain will be retained."

 

[yourmaryness]

Have you ever struggled with jealousy? If so, how did you handle it?

 

[JesseTys]

Hello.

While browsing Youtube I stubbled upon this.
www . youtube . com/watch?v=-ojryg8diko
Excuse me for breaking this rule that won't let me post links but this has been on my mind and I need someones opinion.
And I know it appears to be a joke video but is calling Jesus a zombie Blasphemous?

 

[yourmaryness]

This may sound like a silly question but.....Does a priest do confession? Does he go before another priest?

 

[yourmaryness]

What is the difference between an episcopalian priest and a catholic priest?