Catholic FAQ #3: Why must we confess our sins to a priest?

[adrienneclark62511]

You don't need a priest to intercede for you, because Jesus' death tore down the curtain that separates humanity from the Holiest of Holies, a place only priests used to be able to go. Now we have direct access to God, and we can confess on our own, the only middle man is the Holy Spirit, that dwells wihin believers. Pray directly to God!

[jjenks3483]

Wow! So sad, so misinterpreted. No man can stand in the place if Jesus, and also, no man can forgive me of my sins, for it is God I have sinned against, not man. Jesus Christ paid my debt, the curtain was torn, now I, as a born again believer can come straight to the Father God and confess my sin and need for the strength and help I need through Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

[tampabayismyhome]

Can a priest tell the cops some ones confession. If no one was hurt or abused. it was a crime for money, like stolen Check? please let me know. Me and my friend where talking about this the other day and i want to know who was right.

[BigGrinStudios]

@tampabayismyhome No. The sacramental seal is inviolable, and thus it is absolutely wrong for a confessor in any way to betray the penitent, for any reason whatsoever, whether by word or in any other fashion.

[tampabayismyhome]

@BigGrinStudios Thank You.

[isurrender2win]

Humility is the springboard for success....physical, emotional or spiritual. When I humbly admit I have done wrong, it lightens my step. To go a step further and ask forgiveness, breaks down walls...mine and others. My best relationships grow when I can practice this humility... especially my relationship with God. Every 4 weeks, I clean up my side of the street through reconciliation and it really works for me! Why? How? I don't have all the answers. That must be why it's called 'FAITH'

[BigGrinStudios]

@isurrender2win Beautifully stated. Thanks for sharing.

[nintendo768]

If we are really sorry without confessing to a priest then it is still repentance. I do agree it is better to repent to a priest, but I still believe talking straight to God works.

[lovencare62]

@nintendo768 @nintendo768, yeah you are right, we can talk god everywhere. God is everywhere that is really true. But Jesus instituted his only one true church(catholic) a special sacred place of him where all his creatures on earth will get together in only one church and he has given an authority his priest to preach the people in according to all his teachings that we may all learn to obey them so that we are worthy to recieve his promises of salvation.

[lovencare62]

@nintendo768 It is like a King has a Kingdom and he has a ministries who follow all his rules and regulations to all his kingdom. That is what is mean jesus want us to be, we all get together in one true faith and to obey his rule and regulations that he instructed to all his apostles in his church.

[theaznstyles1]

After many years of being a Catholic, I recently returned to the Sacrament of Reconciliation and am so glad that I did. Although my sins were not mortal, they were, nevertheless, obstacles to my growth as a follower of Jesus. The words of absolution freed my soul from the burdens I was carrying and I have found a new love for serving Christ and the Church. I highly recommend this Sacrament to every Catholic. The grace it gives is undeniably wonderful and enriching.

[HeavenJoans1]

I have a question, when we cant remember the number of the mortal sins we committed, can we be general like I did this alot of times or a few times etc? I am scrupulous and have been worried my confession wont be valid if I do this?

[SuperGreenbone]

"THE PRIESTS STANDS in THE PLACE OF JESUS CHRIST"???

"THE PRIEST REPRESENT BOTH GOD AND THE CHURCH"??

[SuperGreenbone]

"Stealing chocolate chip cookies is a small thing".... when was stealing a small thing??

Stealing is a sin. no such sin is small or great.

[SuperGreenbone]

wait wait wait wait!!!! "the eucharists will forgive our/my sins???"

[TonyZSpirit]

Im sorry, but you guys take John 20:22-23 way out of context. I am doing this out of love for you guys. John 22:23 nowhere mentions confession of sin. (2) John 20:23 nowhere promises, or even hints, that the authority to forgive sins would be passed on to the successors of the apostles. Jesus’ promise was specifically directed to the apostles. (3) The New Testament nowhere states that the apostles would even have successors to their apostolic authority. "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

[drdst17]

@TonyZSpirit Um, yes it most definitely DOES. And we are NOT taking it out of context, no matter how much you want to believe this.

How can the Church, who WROTE the Bible, take its own document out of context? Christ gave the Church all authority, not the Bible. You Protestants worship a product of the Church, then try to use it against the Church. This is unintelligent and senseless. I hope your ego will allow you to see this, but I doubt it.

[ClanLcps]

it sad to see people think that catholics want all power. in the bible it says jesus told the apostles who ever told them there sin shall be forgiven and those who dont confess arent forgiven (John 20:22-23) when they said in romans to confess in spirit they mean to be truthful reveal the goodness off the lord

[259irish]

So correct me if im wrong, but in the beginning this guy basically say's there are big sins and small sins, which I thought every Christian knows is not true. God hates sin ALL sin to Him there are no degrees. In Gods eyes stealing a candy bar and killing someone are just as vile in the site of the Lord. But we as humans do not have the capacity to understand this

[wonderwall62]

The veil was torn when He died. For him to say that we need to confess to him when the sin is mortal is to put the veil back on.

[JeffersonDinedAlone]

Confessing to other human beings is pointless, and unneccesary. We don't require a middleman. We may pray directly.

[unixmanable86]

If I need to confess to a priest. Then how come, you a as priest, contradict yourself at 2:28 to 2:34? "When he says those words, "I absolve you from your sins." They are the words of Jesus Christ?" YOU said that at 2:28 in the video. Those words use the personal (not the possessive 'thee' or 'thy') pronoun "I", meaning Christ, Not YOU, but the living "I AM GOD" as it says in the old testament. Now may I remind you: Moses wasn't your God, And neither are you their (the church's) GOD. So forgive.

[JohnWrot]

I think it would do well to remake this video and reference/quote the many areas of Scripture that back-up the Church's teaching. John 20, James 5, 1st John 5, etc. This type of stuff is what your viewers don't argue with. The analogy is a great one that does additionally illustrate why Jesus made this Sacrament the way he did. -If sensored for approval, no need to post. This can be between you and me. -John Wrot!

[TonyZSpirit]

@JohnWrot James 5:16 Is saying to, "Confess your faults to ONE ANOTHER, and pray for ONE ANOTHER." 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. The Scripture is talking about confessing our sins to God. 1 Peter 2:5-9 Is saying how all who believe have a "holy priesthood", and "royal priesthood." Also, the NT teaches that there are to be: Elders, Deacons, Bishops, and Pastors. I see nothing specifically to a priest.

[MrDoctorlove993]

So the only job that the priest has is to pretend to be Jesus? I'm trying to research the most I can about Catholicism. This is one thing that is bothering me. The other thing is honoring Mary. Jesus honored her because God said in the 10 commandments "Honor thy Father and Mother", so Jesus did. But why do we have to honor her if she isn't out Mother. Especially if Jesus is our father. I do believe that we need to respect her and hold her in high regards, but why ask her to pray for us?

[existentialiste832]

i have just went to confession yesterday, my 2nd in 28 yrs. and i feel great. i feel peace in my heart.

[spinemelter2000]

@existentialiste832 I am happy for you, but may I ask why you haven't gone to confession more frequently? I ask because I have a similar problem. I last went to confession two years ago, and I know I'm supposed to go every year, but I'm a terrible procrastinator. It's also intimidating to open up to another person about my sins, even if that person is a priest.

[teton99]

John 20:21-23

Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

Breath = A New Creation, like God breathed life into Adam, therefore Confess= A New Creation.

[30760005]

When Jesus forgive someone when he was on earth he said, your sins are forgiven go away and never sin again. And when the apostles were given the authority to forgive sins, it was a one confession procedure. Now where is it in the bible that it says we have to continually go to a priest for forgiveness?

[dave54303]

a sin is a sin no matter how big or small in the eyes of god. its bad on a equal level

[studsterkel1]

@dave54303

1 John 5:16-17

"If any one sees his brother committing what is not a mortal sin, he will ask, and God will give him life for those whose sin is not mortal. There is sin which is mortal; I do not say that one is to pray for that. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin which is not mortal."

Here is where the Apostle, John, explains that there are some sins which are "mortal" or are death to the soul. But by differentiating, there are some sins which are lesser and not mortal.

[JohnWrot]

@dave54303 Your idea is noteworthy, but it is not wholly true. In the book of 1st John (ch 5) in the Bible, John (the Apostle) makes clear that there is a "sin that leads to death" and sin "that does NOT lead to death". This notion which you speak of, and surely learned in your church, is not accurate by the Bible (God's word) or by teaching of the Catholic Church (the pillar and bulwark of Truth). Seek Truth. But be careful, you might end up Catholic. ; ) Reply to chat anytime.

[beccabroadcasting]

@dave54303 Venial and Mortal sins. They are not equal. Mortal is more severe, venial, less.

[PHATHCOX]

@dave54303 (Matthew 12:31-32) And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. That even by itself doesn't make it look to me like sin is bad on an equal level.

[caycug1]

Wow, how convenient. You can sit back and sensor all comments. That way, you aren't letting people with questions think for themselves. Typical of RCC to try to hide/cover up things, because then they will loose their sense of power over others.

[BigGrinStudios]

@caycug1 When people, like yourself, are open to honest dialogue as a means of making the truth known, we love to enter into the conversation. Most of the comments we receive are vulgar and filled with hate. We are not trying to hide anything, but rather are being prudent about what should and should not be posted. Are you an ex-Catholic speaking from experience? May God's peace and joy fill your heart today.

[caycug1]

@BigGrinStudios I don't think that we need "sin police", which is how I view Catholic priests. With that kind of power, they can really screw with people... and many do. Why would I need to put the power of God's forgiveness of my sins into the hands of imperfect priests? We need to confess our sins to God, and receive that forgiveness from Him.

[caycug1]

The bible encourages us to fast and pray for things, but not as penance for sins we have committed. "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins (to God), He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:8-9) The only priest you need to confess to is Jesus, our "One Mediator between God and man" (1 Timothy 2:5) Just say no to Catholic guilt tripping.

[BigGrinStudios]

@caycug1 Sorry that you see confession as "Catholic guilt tripping." It's actually a beautiful gift that celebrates God's mercy in an intimate way! You quote the Bible as if it is opposed to the Sacrament, but did you notice you had to add "(to God)" to make it work? Here are two verses to think about: James 5:16 & John 20:22-23. The Catholic Church has always believed that Jesus gave the Apostles the authority to forgive sins. If there wasn't something to that, why mention it in the Gospel?

[caycug1]

@BigGrinStudios James 5:16 is talking about confessing your faults to the person that you sinned against... not to a Catholic priest.

John 20:22-23 is valid for all believers. Jesus didn't say "only you and your successors are the only one's I give power to forgive"

I the Lord's Prayer, as we pray to God, we say "Forgive us our trespasses...." That takes care of it... no confession to a Catholic priest is necessary.

[TheGallantGentry]

It is also important to think about those who may have "shot an I'm sorry to God" and still feel like even though they are sorry, they won't be forgiven or feel like no matter what they do, it's never enough for God to forgive them. Perhaps the person believes that what they have done or the way they have lived their life is so bad that God will never forgive them. The Sacrament of Reconciliation (confession) is there for this reason, as well. Take comfort that you are forgiven no matter what.

[jesusnava55]

that example about the kid who eat the cookies and needing to do something to make up for it, doesn't that contradict the way God is? Rom 8:1-2 there is no more condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. because through Christ I am free. So in the case of the kid he wouldn't need to do anything to pay his dept because it is already paid. Right?

[jesusnava55]

I have been looking at your videos and I have some more questions I hope you are not offended. I am honestly asking these question to grow and learn more in my faith. I hope you dont get offended. I had a question about sins. Do you believe that God keeps track about witch is is worst than another (Mortal sin)? I thought sin is sin and God view its all the same to God, and dont you have to confess your sins to God 1 John 1:8-10, and then we confess our sins to each other for healing James 5:16

[LordJasonGarfield]

Hey the BIBLE never says that you need to go through the Preist. Salvation by faith alone!

[reyhotdudexxx]

if we do not confess our sins to a priest, our sins will not be forgiven by god?

[sdroflah]

Can I do an act of contrition to be forgiven before going to confession so I dont go to hell if I die before I have the opportunity to confess to a priest?

[theologian42]

It's rather ironic that Monsignor Barr argues that confession is an antidote to cheap grace. The idea of cheap grace was popularized by Dietrich Bonheoeffer, who was a Lutheran theologian.

One of Luther's main complaints about Rome was that it was interposing priests between believers and God. He maintained that Christ is the only mediator between us and God, and that no other mediator is necessary or possible.

Bonhoeffer clearly would not recognize this application of his theology.

[jl4e23]

@theologian42

Because he is explaining it from a Catholic stand point, not a Luthern stand point.