Confession of sins
-
-
New Member
Contact:
PM
Member since 03/22/2009
Where exactly does it say in the Bible to confess your sins directly to God?
Proverbs 28:13: He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.
Mark 1:4-5: John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And there went out to him all the country of Judea, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.
John 20:22-23:"And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
James 5:16: Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects.
1 John 1:9: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness
2 Corinthians 5:18-20: All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. So we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We beseech you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
No Mary, No Jesus. Know Mary, know Jesus.
-
-
Contact:
PM
Member since 11/17/2007
Location: Canada
It makes perfect sense to me, I really do not know why or even when some Christians dropped the sacrament of reconciliation.
Martin Luther considered it to be one of the greatest gifts Christ gave us.
Pax et Bonum,
Faith_at_Large
Malachi 1:11 "For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name [shall be] great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense [shall be] offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name [shall be] great among the heathen, saith the LORD of hosts."
-
-
New Member
Contact:
PM
Member since 10/13/2007
Location: USA
I'm not as afraid of making my first confession as I once was. I know I am nearly ready and it is important for me to be completely honest when I do it. With my religious background, the sacrament is downright terrifying... but now I see its purpose.
"There are water and tears; the water of baptism and the tears of repentance." -St. Ambrose“
-
-
Contact:
PM
Member since 11/17/2007
Location: Canada
I'm glad to see you are making progress. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is one of Christ's most extraordinary gifts. It can seem frightening because no one in their right mind loves to say their sins out loud before another human being; however, in this instance, the priest is bound to never repeat whatever you tell him and when he absolves you of your sins, he is speaking for Christ and your sins are truly forgiven - Jesus said this in the Bible.
It is fantastic for healing our souls, and gives us extraordinary grace.
Even from a human perspective, we tend to be less inclined to be repeating the same sins over and over again. That alone helps us to want to avoid repeating sins after receiving absolution. But the grace we receive and the Holy Spirit that dwells in us makes it easier for us to accomplish this.
I have participated in this sacrament for many years and I find that it always lifts me up afterward. I always feel like the weight of the world has been lifted from my shoulders.
The most powerful instance was when I had been away from the sacrament for a long time. I had become more worldly and had my sense of sin dulled, but once I was drawn back to the sacrament, I was in tears. The joy I felt was so great and it was truly like being welcomed home as a prodigal daughter by an ever loving Father.
Pax et Bonum,
Faith_at_Large
Malachi 1:11 "For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name [shall be] great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense [shall be] offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name [shall be] great among the heathen, saith the LORD of hosts."
-
-
New Member
Contact:
PM
Member since 10/13/2007
Location: USA
Thanks for the support. I have always thought that is hard to confess your sins to one another as you said, and it seemed as if I always had a tendency to ignore James 5:16 (Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.) Truth is, it relieves you a great deal to confess, even if it is only to a fellow Christian (or any other person, for that matter). Someone once said to me, "It's so much easier to admit your sins than to let them haunt you." This is so true. I have always confessed unto God in private, but sometimes that just doesn't seem to work. It's not that I am not insincere or that God doesn't forgive me... it's quite simply because I know that I am inferior to him, so I can not easily accept his forgiveness.
"There are water and tears; the water of baptism and the tears of repentance." -St. Ambrose“
-
-
New Member
Contact:
PM
Member since 10/11/2009
In other words, Jesus is the church and if we leave the church then we come home and confess our sins to God, we are reconciled back again? Then why did i have to be reconciled to the church in order to recieve the Eucharist? What if i confess my sins to a friend, it is God that forgives us right? lacy-1
Freedom!
Edited by lacy-1 on 10/24/2009 17:31:07
-
-
New Member
Contact:
PM
Member since 10/13/2007
Location: USA
Lacy, do you ever read the Catechism? If not, I highly recommend it if you want to learn what the Catholic Church teaches and why.
CC#1441: Only god forgives sins (Mark 2:7)...
CC#1466: The confessor is not the master of God's forgiveness, but its servant...
"There are water and tears; the water of baptism and the tears of repentance." -St. Ambrose“
-
-
Contact:
PM
Member since 11/17/2007
Location: Canada
Jesus gave His Apostles and their successors the authority to forgive or retain sins, not your friend unless he happens to also be a Catholic priest.
But the good thing is that we can trust Jesus at His word. If we confess properly to a Priest who Christ has already promised to have the authority to forgive our sins, we can know for certain that our sins are forgiven.
Not only that, but those who participate in this sacrament are always blessed by the experience, having received Grace from Jesus and experienced the lightening of the weight their bore.
Pax et Bonum,
Faith_at_Large
Malachi 1:11 "For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name [shall be] great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense [shall be] offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name [shall be] great among the heathen, saith the LORD of hosts."
|
|
Subscribe by Email
RSS