There is such a freedom and joy when you hear the priest says I absolve you from your sins. People go therapists and psychologists and pay loads of money to tell them . Just go to confession, it’s free. Just go.
I believe, correct me if I'm wrong, not only does confession bring emotional and spiritual healing it also prevents evil spirits and demons from using these sins to harass you with.
Dallas Beus Yes this is true Especially in a state of mortal sin, demons use this weight to bring you down and demotivate you. But the grace of God surpasses all, even mortal sin. I know this because it has happened to me.
I'm not a great catholic, I have much room for improvement, but I know for a fact somewhere in the gospels it says Jesus breathed on the apostles, giving them the power to forgive sins. I'm sure Jesus, who is God, didn't do this expecting it to end there. Like I said, I'm no brain scientist, but it's clear to me Jesus expected this gift to continue for as long as man exist on earth.
Be a great Catholic go to confession weekly and you'll see your sin's fall away one by one. Go to the five first Saturdays for reparation for offenses committed against our Lady. Additionally spend fifteen minutes meditating on the mysteries of the rosary and she will grant us the Grace needed to obtain salvation. That's the easiest insurance plan I can think of. God bless you
@@keig6161 my friend why Mary? Does it not say there is only one mediator between man an God that's Christ Jesus, or Jesus said who is my mother an brother but he who does the will of God.
HOPE IN DARKNESS so why did God/Jesus came in human form BY MARY? He is God he could’ve just popped out of nowhere and still be Jesus!? Why did he do it through Mary??
Very good video. I just went to confession after 10 years of being away from the church. I wish I would’ve done it sooner. And I can’t help but share with my friends and family that are away from the Church. But I first ask God to help me, to open the door. If it doesn’t feel right then I stop.
I'm truly extremely heartbroken now that I cannot have confession in person right now... terrified but praying to God that my sins will be forgiven in these terrifying times now.
Say these prayers 7 Prayers of Saint Bridget Devotion for twelve years. Our lady of all nation prayer. Shoulder wound of Christ prayer. 15 secret torment prayers. Google all the above Start praying right now still the this storm abates.
Chaplet OF holy wounds prayer, And the chaplet of 5 wounds prayer and the divne mercy prayer. Look up Google for all the promises attached to these prayers.
Yes ,that is true . But what if the church does not provide much opportunity to go to confession ? In my parish ,there is no opportunity, we have a ' travelling' priest that goes from parish to parish , we can only celebrate communion every 14 days . This is all by lack of priests , which makes the churches become empty. So I also am not a perfect catholic ,but I love my Lord very much and I put my trust in Him . I am convinced ,as my Father knows what is in my heart, He will forgive my sins. Peace to all , from Belgium ❤❤🇧🇪🙏🙏
Father Nathan, I came across this homily of yours I saved in 2019. Still beautiful and impactful. Sometimes The Father puts things in my path that I need to pay attention to. This is a reminder of his great goodness and mercy. Thank you. Prayers for your good health and happiness. Today I attend Light of the world Church.
@@haileydittrich6628 Then you need to pray for humility and realize that your eternal life with God and pleasing Him is more important than your temporary uncomfortability.
@Sue W Exactly, which is the idea when disciplining an errant child.... No accountability....greater likelihood you will repeat the offense and not learn to live a more virtuous life as Jesus expects you to do. He said in scripture He would spit a lukewarm believer out of His mouth. Don't also forget that He admonished the disciples "whatever sins you forgive are forgiven, whatever sins you retain are retained." Hoping for an easy out is simply put, childish.
I haven’t been to confession in too long , its just been that long I I’m scared to go back , I recently got a thought to open a random page in the bible(I haven’t opened a bible since I was about 13/14 I’m 23 now) and the verse I stumbled on was so powerful to me, I want to get back to god but I’m struggling with everything in life and the weight of the world is pulling me in and holding me down
I'm in the same boat as you friend, actually afraid, right now I'm dealing with the sins of the flesh, I'm good most of time, but I slip up every now and then
I went to confession last night for the first time since my first and last confession almost 40 years ago. I’m 46. Needless to say, I was nervous and I had a very long and grievous list for sins. The priest was so kind and grateful that I was there. He gave me 1 Our Father and 1 Hail Mary as penance because his absolution of my sins is an unbreakable covenant of god and he didn’t want any obstacles to my commuting in the Eucharist. I encourage you to go so that you can stop suffering your sins and experience the feeling of being in god’s grace.
Confession is for us! We need to hear the words of absolution because we are human and we need the assurance of those words. Confession is God’s gift to us. Confession isn’t about God’s need but our need.
As Bill W. would say, unless one has admitted one's faults out loud to another human being, one's spiritual house cleaning remains largely theoretical.
Speak the truth in love when correcting other's. Do it out of love for them when you have a relationship; people know the difference. Tell them God wants what's best for them and so do you; sin is not good for us.
I went to Catholic grammar school from kindergarten to 6th grade and my parents pulled me out of there. It was a horrible way to get an education. We had all female teachers and a few nuns. It was customary to have students stand up in front of class and humiliate them for not knowing an answer and make you cry. Physical assaults that would today be grounds for child abuse with criminal charges. I had a nervous stomach my entire childhood from everyday feeling like I was walking on eggshells just sitting in class. I hated school. Some of the teachers were parents that were filling in for classes where the school could not afford a trained teacher and by the time I left the Catholic school and started 7th grade public school, I was at least 2 years behind my peers. The last time I went for confession was when I was 12, (now 56) just before I left. The entire class walked over to the church and had to stand in line waiting to go into the confessional box. When it was my turn I said something to the priest like “I find church too confusing to understand and my grades are not very good.” The priest then yells at me, loud enough that everyone out in the church aisle heard him, say, “Son, don’t be a Bum!!! Go to church and learn! He scared me. When I opened the door to leave, the rest of the students were laughing at me. I felt so humiliated that I sat down in the pew and just buried my face. I was mortified. After I received my Confirmation, I never went to confession ever again. I went to public school after that and only go to church now for Christmas and Easter and a few other occasions. I want to get back into the Catholic Church, but I can’t bring myself to go to confession again. And now as a more educated adult, I feel that with many of the changes the church has gone through over the past few decades, especially with the mortal sins that have been committed by the church against its parishioners, I think the Pope should stop using priests as the mediator for confession. I think too many people these days are too embarrassed to sit face to face with a priest and tell them their deepest thoughts. We have seen how thousands of priests have been caught doing the most obscene violations against the Church that would make the average parishioner turn red. It has also been proven that these gross violations have gone all the way to the top to the Pope for covering up these MORTAL SINS. I don’t care what the Catholic Church says I have to do. The Church had its chance to do the right thing and has failed miserably. The Church is losing people. Things need to change. Why would God allow these horrific crimes and behavior to occur in His House? I tried going to a few non-denominational churches and actually found one that I like. But I still want to be Catholic with my relationship to God. So, I will do my best to follow all the Sacraments of the Catholic Church, except confession. If I can pray to God directly, then I should be able to confess my sins to him directly also. If I am wrong about this, well under the experiences I endured, I am sure God will understand.
Check out this video from my series on Daily Lenten Reflections. While I can't vouch for other priests, bishops, or Catholic School experiences, all I can say is that my experience of Catholic School was the exact opposite. I won't argue that many of the people, including some (not all, some) of the nuns teaching in them today would rather substitute their own radical, liberal, feminism for Catholic Teaching. As for the discipline of Catholic Education, considering what both adults and children are exposed to nowadays, and what they need to deal with, and considering the weak, willed, snowflakes that are growing up now, who cannot deal with anything without becoming completely crippled emotionally, all I can say to what I got in Catholic Schools is simple -- Catholicism and Catholic Schools are not for the faint of heart. Finally, the vast, VAST majority of priests are good, honest, dedicated men. Name me a single profession that does not have, and has not had its bad eggs (some eggs being downright rotten to the core - or the yoke). Did you give up watching football, or pull your kids out of sports (if you have kids) because of the Jerry Sandusky cover up or because of the more than heavy criminal records of many professional football players? So please do not impose on the good men of the priesthood the perversion of a few, especially when those few came from a whole other generation, already perverted by the moral upheaval of the '60s.
Sorry you had that experience. However, the catholic school is not the catholic church. Bad people are everywhere and those who are in charge of such school or any school should monitor what is going on.
There was a time when I resisted going to confession. Several years ago I got real sick and almost died. It changed me. I no longer have a fear of confession. It is a wonderful sacrament that I go to willingly about once a month because it offers so much grace. I want salvation.
A young woman who was raised Protestant and raised to hating the Catholic Church had a rude awakening. She took several theology courses and realized that first century Israel the people was required to go through a priest using a sacrificial animal to reconcile with GOD. A person can not reconcile with with GOD on their own. A priest has to be involved. I pray for the heretical Protestants everyday. I hope someday they wake up! Jesus started the priesthood. It is his church and we lay people have to support these men especially during unpopular and unprecedented times. If anyone questions if we need any other person to reconcile with Almighty GOD? They just have to read about Jewish tradition and how they reconciled with their Creator. Through a Priest!
My dearest prayers go out to pious souls who die unexpectedly without having a chance to go to Confession for a mortal sin, especially if they have genuine remorse for their sin. May the Lord have mercy on their souls and find true repentance deep within their hearts.
@@jameshoyt3692 Maybe not to a priest, but I seem to recall a human exchange regarding David's sin with a prophet named Nathan, much like there is in Confession too a priest;.and it was Nathan who declared on God's behalf that David's sin was forgiven, much like a priest does in Confession. So thank you for pointing out yet another Biblical passage that supports Confession to a priest. I hadn't though of that one before.
I am not Catholic, and never have been, for perspective, I am a confessional Lutheran. Everyone, needs or should go to private confession. James 5:16 -James clearly teaches us that we must “confess our sins to one another,” not just privately to God. There is no better person to confess your sins to than your “father confessor”. Confessing sin allows for a clean conscience, it is life giving and should not be despised.
Wow this was great. And unfortunately my husband pointed out something I said, and then I hear JAMES 1:26. I feel like this video was laid in my lap. It has been since Easter the last time I went to confession. I know where I am headed this weekend. Thank you Fr.
James is probably my favorite book in the Bible. James was not afraid to speak the truth. He kept it short but sweet. I think why so many Protestant denominations leave out James is because of views on works and faith and confession. They see it as too Catholic I guess, but it says part of Scripture, Catholic or not. Before I converted to Catholic, I never heard a preacher ever even mention James. No matter what Church that I attended.
I love the Sacrament of Confession. As Jesus said to Saint Faustina, "know this, that the priest is just a screen and it I. Myself, who is waiting for you, and it is I, Myself, who will act in your soul. For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world. Jesus, I trust in you.
Jesus is the mediator. He is the Word Incarnate. So, His interaction with us is a human interaction that must be maintained for the forgiveness of sins. After all, Jesus said "your sins are forgiven"; he said it with a human voice, and it was heard with human ears. To take away the human interaction is to return to the Old Testament standards of forgiveness in which the mediator was the High Priest and MAYBE forgiveness was granted. With the human, incarnational, interaction, forgiveness is guaranteed. Therefore, the priest (who also goes to Confession regularly) provides that human, incarnation, interaction that is now required. -- th-cam.com/video/a9Va8IO7Ivo/w-d-xo.html
For some people, Confessing to God through our Lord Jesus Christ, when they are really and truly serious about it can be much more personal and a lot more difficult. Great video Father Nicholas!
The problem with requiring confession to a priest is that the priest will limit his availability to a few hours on a few specified days, which may not, indeed usually does not, fit the confessor's schedule, whereas God is always available.
The Problem with Jesus being the Word Incarnate is that He, also, is a human being and had limited availability, but people came to him anyway. God is always available, but we must do it as Jesus, a human, showed us and when he declared "whose sins you forgive are forgiven" to his ministers, also human, there is really no way to get around it. We must go to the Church's ministers for the forgiveness of sins. To say otherwise is to deny the very essence of Christianity -- the Word became Flesh.
@@fr.williamnicholas955 i get what you're saying and I agree it is good and necessary to confess to a priest. But, I've seen where priests have even said it is good to confess both to God and to a priest. And, if you cannot get to a priest, then you should confess to God. Whether that is God The Father, Son, or Holy Spirit specifically, I don't know. But I don't see how we're somehow limited from confessing to Christ because of his human nature, particularly now that he is in his glorified body in Heaven. Does he not hear our prayers? Are we not told by The Church to offer Christ prayers, including the prayers, "Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me a sinner." And, "O my Jesus, forgive us our sins. Save us from the fires of hell.." etc.
The Bible tells us in 1 John 1:8-9 But if we confess our sins to God, he will keep his promise and do what is right: he will forgive us our sins and purify us from all our wrongdoing. Through faith or believe in God's Word is my guarantee that my sins are/were forgiven. Hebrews 11:1 To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see. Hebrews 11:6 No one can please God without faith, for whoever comes to God must have faith that God exists and rewards those who seek him. Psalms 103:12 12 As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our sins from us.
The Sacrament of Confession heals our souls. Jesus pours out a torrent of graces on us through this sacrament of His mercy. Through the words of the priest Jesus counsels us, comforts us and forgives us. I will be ever grateful for Jesus' Divine Mercy.
Thank you Father for this direct & deep explanation. You are full of the spirit of wisdom. I believe that there is no such thing as alternative nor option in this particular issue. May God continue to bless you. Amen!
So many arguments , excuses and attempts to interpret ( or misinterpret) scripture in order avoid confessing our sins to a priest. This is scandalous ! Are people so ignorant of Jesus' words in Matthew 18:18 ? Dear Rev. Fr. one of your homilies gave me so much confidence and the grace to make my confession, which I am determined to make a regular habit of. Thank you so much and God bless you for the very simple and inspiring sermons.
And we need to approach forgiveness of sins as HE directed us. Can't say we "believe" in God and deny his direction on the forgiveness of sins. Confession is essential, otherwise we deny the Incarnation, in which case, our professed faith in Christ is an empty lie.
So as a Protestant, I have no problem with someone confessing to a priest as we are supposed to confess to others (although I don't think you always have to confess to another person for the following reasons) . I do have a problem with a person _having_ to confess to a priest specifically. Every believer in Christ as Lord and Saviour is indwelt with the Holy Spirit. When the veil was torn at Jesus' death, the divide between people and God was broken and we no longer need a priest as middle man between God and us. All believers are themselves temples of the Holy Spirit, and the kingdom of God is a kingdom of priests. A person in vocational ministry is not closer to God in any way. So I think we can confess to a priest, to a brother or sister in faith, or to God directly, following the guidance of the Holy Spirit as to which we should do. Thanks for this video and your perspective, I like to learn about what other Christians believe.
But it was to the leaders, the Apostles that Jesus said, "whose sins you forgive are forgiven and whose sins you retain are retained" (John 20:23) He did not say this to his general group of followers. So the one who has the authority to forgive sins, and for whom their declaration of forgiveness is a guarantee of God's forgiveness (again, John 20:23) is the one to whom you would confess. Also, the priest is bound by the seal of Confession to never reveal what he has heard in Confession, nor to even confirm or deny that someone even came to Confession. One may decide to confess to a "brother or sister in faith" but they are not bound by the seal to refrain from revealing what they heard - and we all know how people, and especially Christians, know how to keep things to themselves and never, gossip about anything to anyone ever! (good luck with that idea) - nor do they have the authority to forgive sins, so confessing to a "brother or sister in faith" is little more than wishful thinking when it comes to God's forgiveness.
Femina my friend, you said, "Every believer in Christ as Lord and Saviour is indwelt with the Holy Spirit." This is a common misunderstanding among so many Protestants and when asked, they can't seem to remember where they learned this from. Initially they will say that the Bible teaches this, however, that is not so. Faith alone does not save, neither does faith alone cause the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Sacraments Save Souls, There is not a single example of any person in the Biblical New Covenant Church being saved without a Catholic Sacrament. There is no Biblical directive to pray directly to God to have your sins forgiven outside of the Sacrament of Confession. Biblical Salvation is done the Catholic way. There are no examples of Protestant salvation in the entire Bible. I hope that you will reconsider what you believe about the Sacraments.
if you go to confession properly you will be in the state of grace for a while then your actions will be deemed good, it is most important ! it is only in a state of grace that we can be in God's grace !
Luke 20:46 - Beware the scribes. They like to walk around in long robes, and they love the greetings in the marketplaces, the chief seats in the synagogues, and the places of honor at banquets. They defraud widows of their houses, and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will receive greater condemnation.”
@@vaccineymartini9293 yes, I agree. But, "I confess to Almighty God that I have sinned through my own fault, in my thoughts, in my words, and what I have done and have failed to do. I ask...to pray for me to the Lord our God." Amen.
'Dusting' can be done by the 'owner' of the house. Christians have the(they should) 'eyesight' to see the 'dust'. The important thing is not losing 'eyesight' .Without clear conscience, one can not know which road leads to the LIGHT. Church is like a Lighthouse, needs to make sure its light shines to guide ships. Church must check if the lightbulb needs to dust or to replace it.🐏
After 42 years I went to confession. Stubbornness and pride kept me from going. In the past I have confessed sins directly to God. If I’m truly honest with myself, I didn’t go to the priest because of my ego and shame. Humbling myself I went to seek forgiveness. We know God is with us and He forgives us because He loves us, but we can’t physically touch or see Him. We have only ourselves to hold us accountable and sin no more. We are fleshy and weak. The act of confession to the priest or one another holds us accountable if we’re truly sorry for the sins. I had not seen these videos before but I appreciate they are available for those that are not able to get to the church.
K, what a wonderful story you tell! Congratulations and thank you! I hope people who read your post will be inspired to access of the wonderful grace of this sacrament. God bless you this Eastertide.
I am just returning to faith after 35 or more years of living totally in the world. I haven't taken confession in over 30 years, any suggestions on doing my first confession in decades? I don't remember every sin but I know I have broken every commandment in one way or another.
I endeavour to go to confession once a week where possible. Thank you, Fr. It's lovely to see a priest in his proper apparel. I wish more of you dressed like this even in the open; so many souls would be saved that way. Pax.
I am dying in hospital and the chaplain is a deacon who can minister viaticum. The chaplain can ask me to make a confession to assess that I am in a fit state to receive Holy Communion, but cannot give absolution. Self-accusation is a useful exercise and one may hope that if I die shortly afterwards then there will be a more favourable outcome. This is just about the only case I can think of where non-sacramental confession may be useful. Of course the deacon can send for a priest and I may indicate my consent to that, but if I die in the meantime we have done something useful.
One of the reasons people don't go to confession as much as they should are limited times that churches have them, I.e. One hurried hour before the Saturday evening Mass. I wonder why more priests don't have them say, 30 minutes before daily or Sunday Mass. Also, I know priests are terribly busy, yet Confessions don't seem to be heard either on Holy Thursdsy or Holy Saturday. Why is this? The his isn't an excuse for not going, but I believe if more priests did this and announced it from the pulpit it may change as its not emphasized as much.
Our church (& entire order of Institute of Christ the King churches) offer them pretty much daily...AND only 1 priest!! Nevertheless, if people called the priests and asked for a specific time or another time when it is mutually convenient then that is one way to go to confession. And if more people did this, then they would realize that they need to offer more confession times. But really there is no excuse because one can always call one of the many priests in a city and make a mutually convenient arrangement time.
I know what you mean about what seems like difficulty getting into the scheduled confessions. But I have learned that most priests will stop whatever they are doing to hear a confession. I can't go to the regular confession times because of my work schedule. But I call when i need to. I also had one priest tell me that if I saw him or the associate in Wal-Mart or whatever to just tell him that I need to confess and he would pull the shopping cart over. This same guy said he would hear me before mass if necessay
We have confessions 3 times a week. Plus other churches do too before mass. We also have a big reconciliation service during Advent and Easter time with 12 priests available, well announced and publicized so no excuse for not going
I confessed my sins to a priest today and felt relieved. However, in between confessions I pray to God through Jesus for our sins with the help of the Holy Ghost to allow us the ability of the perfect penance just in case we die in our sleep with an unknown mortal sin.
Hello Frier. I live in England and would ask why does it take a year for someone to be able to convert to Catholism and only after a year, only then be able to go to confession to then finally be able to receive the blessed sacrament? Why was it that Peter and the other deciples converted people who then confessed their sins and received the body and blood of Christ all in a day? Why is it if Peter was the first pope and was able to do this, then why over 2000 odd years later, the Catholic Church cannot do the same thing? Bearing in mind the many apparitions of Our Lady and her urgent messages of the need for people to convert, confess, receive the holy sacraments, pray the Rosary every day etc etc; It's a lot to ask, in this day and age, to ask people to "hang on" for a year plus until they can go to confession to then be clean enough to receive the sacraments (which I think is right). What makes me shocked about all of this, is I go to my Catholic Church as an Anglican wanting to convert and cross my arms when the priest gives out the Sacraments. Unless I had of researched this prior to going, i wouldn't have know it was wrong and the priest never asked me, yet I know FOR A FACT! that 99% of every other person did not go to confession on the specified days and times ( I was there at those times), yet they still all took the sacraments. This is a complete contradiction & is wrong on every level, yet it happens week in and week out. Something's not right about all this that people are allowed to do this and completely get a way with disrespecting The Farther like this. Why don't the priests remind people before any mass that they're not to receive the sacraments unless they've been to confession before hand?
From the earliest centuries of Catholicism, the Church has always had a period of preparation before receiving the Sacrament of Baptism. Those in preparation were always referred to as Catechumens and there was never a rush to Baptize people, even if there was a risk of them being killed by a persecution (they were still given a full Christian burial). The stories of the Bible are less proofs of HOW things were done under the apostles and intended more to convey the rapid growth of the Church that resulted from the preaching of the Apostles. The customary time after that period of Catechumenate for a new Christian to be baptized is Easter, which is still, today, the customary time.
I am a Catholic in Japan. I want to go to confession. But the church here does not seem to have a weekly confession. Furthermore, there are only Japanese speakers.Iin the case of those who through disability are unable to vocalize confession to priests, what is the accepted teaching?
What about the sins that we are unaware of? Does the priest know about them as God does? What about the sins of the priest himself? How can a sinner forgive sins?
Please note that we are taught to confess our sins to one another (James 5:16). The Apostles received power over sin from Christ ( Matthew 16:19, 18:18, John 20:23). They handed it on to their successors. Paul forgave sins IN THE PERSON OF CHRIST and with the authority of Christ (2 Corinthians 2:10). Paul had a ministry of reconciliation to Christians urging them to be reconciled to God (2 Corinthians 5:20 and following). Orthodox and Catholic priests received this teaching directly from the Apostles and have practiced it continuously since 33 AD. NOTE: 500 years ago, "MAN" who is fatally flawed by his ego, decided that these BIBLE verses no longer apply. Can you be Christian if you DENY any part of the bible?
...and, whether Protestants like it or not, the reason Jesus gave that authority to the Church and its ministers (John 20:23 - why do Bible literalist non-Catholics have such a mental barrier with this particular passage?) is because Catholics DO confess to Jesus. What you seem to willingly refuse to remember is that Jesus is not some dismembered being, or an imaginary friend. He is the Word made Flesh in the Incarnation. So you have to have the incarnational exchange (spoken in a human voice, heard with human ears) in order to receive the forgiveness of sins from Jesus. Otherwise the Incarnation was a waste of time, and God does not waste His time. To deny the human exchange in the forgiveness process is to deny the Incarnation, and therefore, is to deny Jesus. To go "directly to Jesus" as you understand it, is no more than confessing to thin air and PRESUMING forgiveness (and the OT calls presumption a form of idolatry - 1 Sam 15:23) as if you were talking to an imaginary friend (and, btw, Jesus is more than an imaginary friend). The priest acts "in persona Christi", which means, as the minister of Jesus, when you confess in the human, incarnational exchange to a priest, you are confessing to Jesus in the human, incarnational exchange; when you receive absolution, in the human, incarnational exchange from a priest, you are receiving absolution from Jesus...and whose sins the priest forgives are forgiven (again, John 20:23 - yes! the passage does exist; Jesus said it! You can't deny it!) Please try to come up with some new cliches that we Catholics HAVEN'T heard before.
@@teenherofilms 'Christianity dotes on sin and judgement. Never love.' Sorry to disagree. When Jesus died on the cross he did it in LOVE of you and me. Instead of hating those who killed him in such ignominious manner he FORGAVE them and left us the example to follow. I guess that was 'love' at best. Christianity, it all began with Christ right? The legacy is left to us to cherish and uphold.
Actually, the Bible says in numerous places that sins must be confessed and that the Church has the power to forgive sins, given to its ministers by Jesus (John 20:23) -- studio.th-cam.com/users/videoa9Va8IO7Ivo/edit
I find it so confussing I dont bother. God knows how I feel. The 'church rules' say I cant receive the sacrements because I am divorced and my first husband is stiill alive. Guess I doomed to hell.
No where in the Church "rules" forbids you to receive the sacraments if you are divorced. It is when you re-marry that the issue arises (or marry outside the Church). Rather than presume that you know "the rules" and sarcastically say you are doomed to hell (as if that is NOT a serious thing, which it is), why don't you bite the bullet and actually talk to a priest who can be of help?
Don't accept the lie that you are doomed to he'll. You are loved with an everlasting love. Only GOD knows your story and sees your heart and that's what matters. God bless you!
You have God who loves you and forgives all Sins , many other denominations understand people seperate churches are full of divorced folk , If you were the only one on earth ,Jesus would still die for you , he loves you that much , your correct in what you say God knows your heart ,most Catholic churches will probably never know your name ..
Doesn't your parish have regular confession times, like, "Saturday, 3-4:30 pm (just before the Saturday evening Mass)?" It's usually posted in the bulletin or the parish website, along with the "Mass times." I know people find it difficult to set up an appointment for confession because priests always seem to be busy with other things more important than confession. But believe me, they always make time for you, because confession is as important as the other things they are busy with. You can also go to another church for confession, if you feel it hard to catch your parish's confessional hours. God bless you.
OBJECTOR: I don’t see how the Catholic Church can teach that a priest can forgive sins. It’s against the Bible. The Psalmist, speaking to God, says in Psalm130:4, "But with you there is forgiveness." A man cannot forgive the sins of another person. The only sins a man can forgive are those against him directly. Jesus said we should forgive those who sin against us. But how can a priest, or any human being, forgive sins which are not against him directly. Only God can do that. CATHOLIC: You’re absolutely right. Only God can forgive sins. In Mark 2:1-12 we find what you are saying in the story of the healing of the paralytic. When Jesus saw the paralytic, he said to him, "Your sins are forgiven" (Mark 2:5). The scribes gave the same objection that you raised-that is, that only God can forgive sins. They asked, "Who can forgive sins except God alone?" And they were right. But notice how Jesus changes this later in the story. He performs the miracle of healing precisely to show that "the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins" (Mark 2:10). So what was once only in heaven is now on earth because Jesus has the authority to forgive. OBJECTOR: Yes, but Jesus is God and therefore has the power to forgive. You see, that proves my point. Only Jesus can forgive sins because he is God. A human priest cannot. CATHOLIC: So you agree that there was once a man on earth who could forgive sins. It was the one who was fully God and fully man. And I assume that if Jesus Christ were on earth again, forgiveness of sins would be on earth again. OBJECTOR: Yes, but Jesus is now in heaven according to the Bible. So we can only find forgiveness in heaven with God-specifically with God’s Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus is our great high priest who intercedes for us with his Father, as it says in Hebrews 4:14 and 7:25. CATHOLIC: I agree that Jesus can forgive our sins because he is our great high priest. But the Catholic faith says that Jesus’ priesthood was also given to men so that they could continue his earthly work of forgiving sins. OBJECTOR: Where does the Bible say that? CATHOLIC: In John 20:19-23. Let me read it: "On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.’ 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." OBJECTOR: That’s an interesting passage, but it doesn’t say anything about Jesus giving his priesthood to men. I didn’t hear him say, "I make you priests." And even if he did make them priests, he didn’t give them the power to forgive sins. CATHOLIC: Then what do you think Jesus meant when he said in verse 23, "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained"? To me, that sounds like he is giving the apostles authority to forgive sins. OBJECTOR: He is giving them the authority to proclaim the gospel, which has the forgiveness of sins in it. The power to forgive is something he kept for himself. If sinners believe the gospel, they will receive forgiveness. CATHOLIC: You must have read John Calvin’s interpretation of John 20:19-23, because that is exactly what he says about Jesus’ words. As you know, John Calvin was the Protestant Reformer of Geneva, Switzerland, who broke away from the Catholic Church in the early 1530s. In 1536 he published his famous Institutes of the Christian Religion in which he identified himself clearly as a Protestant. He was convinced that the Catholic Church was corrupt. And one of its worst corruptions, according to Calvin, was the presumption of a priest forgiving sins. That power was something that Christ reserved exclusively for himself, Calvin said. OBJECTOR: I’ve never read John Calvin’s writings but it sounds like he was a pretty good thinker. He is absolutely right in thinking that Christ was authorizing the proclamation of the gospel and not the forgiveness of sins. CATHOLIC: Calvin was a very attentive interpreter of the Bible and paid close attention to the details of the text, but in this text I don’t think he paid enough attention. In verse 23 Jesus says, "You forgive" and "you retain," not "You proclaim forgiveness" or "You proclaim retention." It seems that Calvin couldn’t take verse 23 for what it really says because he was prejudiced against the Catholic doctrine. OBJECTOR: But you don’t know that. It’s not a very charitable judgment to say that he was prejudiced against the Catholic faith. CATHOLIC: You may be right, but I think I can safely infer from Calvin’s many writings that he hated Catholic teachings. Perhaps he thought he had good reasons because he had seen so many abuses of the sacrament of confession. Whatever his motivation may have been, it seems clear that he did not pay close enough attention to verse 23. On the other hand, consider the use of this text that the Catholic Church makes in its formula of absolution. OBJECTOR: What is a formula of absolution? CATHOLIC: It’s the words that a priest uses to confer or convey the forgiveness of Christ once a person has confessed his sins. This absolution is based directly on Jesus’ words in John 20:19-23. It says, "God, the Father of mercies, through the death and resurrection of his Son, has reconciled the world to himself and sent the Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sin, through the ministry of the Church. May God give you pardon and peace, and I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen." OBJECTOR: I suppose any Christian would find those words beautiful, but I still don’t see how they are in the Bible or specifically in John 20:19-23. CATHOLIC: Consider this. The formula reminds us that reconciliation is the plan of the Father in heaven when it says, "God, the Father of mercies . . . has reconciled the world to himself." That is, the plan of salvation is not made up by the Church. The Church only proclaims what God has done. And further, this plan is accomplished "through the death and resurrection of his Son." OBJECTOR: I agree. God is the only Savior who in and through Christ’s death and resurrection has brought salvation into the world. But what does that have to do with a priest forgiving sin? CATHOLIC: Think with me further. The formula of absolution wishes peace on the sinner with the words, "May God give you pardon and peace." These words remind us of Jesus’ words in John 20:19 and 21, "Peace be with you." Jesus wished peace on his followers. He also conferred that peace on them by giving them the Holy Spirit. This is what it means in John 20: 22, "He breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’" The formula states this important role of the Holy Spirit when it says that God "sent the Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sin." The Holy Spirit is the active agent of bringing the forgiveness of Christ to sinners. OBJECTOR: Okay. I agree that the Holy Spirit plays an important role in applying the forgiveness of Christ to sinners, but again that action is something only God can do. I don’t see anywhere in John 20:19-23 where a man is given authority to forgive the way your formula of absolution says. CATHOLIC: Notice how in verse 21 Jesus says, "As the Father has sent me, so I send you." In other words, Jesus is giving his apostles the same authority that he received from his Father. Now what authority did Jesus receive from God the Father? We saw earlier, in Mark 2:10, that he had the authority to forgive sins. Jesus brought the power of forgiveness from heaven to earth. So now, in John 20:21, he is giving that same authority to his apostles. And he is explicit about what he is giving them, "Whoever’s sins you forgive, they are forgiven." OBJECTOR: Ah ha. That’s where the Catholic Church makes its fatal mistake. God the Father gave Jesus that authority because he is God too. But a human priest is not God. Even the Catholic doesn’t say that a priest is God. CATHOLIC: You’re right. A priest is not God, but the priest has the power to confer or convey the forgiveness of God-not by his own power but by the power that Christ conferred on his apostles that day recorded for us in John 20:19-23. OBJECTOR: Yes, but didn’t your formula of absolution have the priest saying, "I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit?" That sounds like it’s the priest who is doing the forgiving. CATHOLIC: Yes, that’s what the formula says, but it says that because the priest is acting in the place of Christ. A priest’s authority to convey forgiveness does not come from himself. It comes from Christ. By the power of the Holy Spirit, the priest stands in the place of Christ to declare the sinner forgiven. That is why the formula of absolution uses the pronoun I. The I is Christ speaking through the human priest. If Jesus had not come to earth, there would be no forgiveness on earth, and if he had not conferred on the apostles this ministry of reconciliation" (2 Cor. 5:18), we would have no forgiveness today. But we can thank God that Christ did indeed come and that he passed on his authority to the Church to reconcile sinners to God.
I was a catholic, and I still remember instruction that confessors should , before going to the priest, first confess their sins to God in repentance, where God Himself undo our sins, so that when we kneel before the priest, we just might end up getting his counseling, which is salient.
What you refer to is the Examination of Conscience in which we ask God in prayer to make our sins known to us so that we can fully confess them to a priest. What you also refer to is the spiritual direction that priests should give when a person comes to Confession. It is not "counseling" nor should it be. But it is a good point you make. Where people will pay top dollar to go to counselors, but refuse to go to Confession for free. Psychologists line their pockets, but the priest bestows God's forgiveness as Jesus commanded them to do (John 20:23)
My husband is Catholic and goes to confession and maybe feels better for a few days if lucky a couple of weeks . We have 11 children living of whom he supports none . He moved out 6 years ago and is complaining and unhappy. I feed him allow him to come read his daily readings here yet hes always got issues with everyone except himself ! If confession to a priest is right then why is he never happy?? His anger turns people off there's nothing attractive about that attitude!!
@ Margaret . Confession is about asking God for forgiveness and doing the penance ie making good the harm sin has caused. Always complaining and being unhappy is not related to sin (confession). Its his mental and emotional state. He has not let the love of God touched him.
According to my Bible in Psalms 32:6 Now I say that each believer should confess his sins to God when he is aware of them, while there is time to be forgiven. Judgment will not touch him if he does.
No jump to the New Testament (I assume you are Christian). Jesus says that the Son of Man has the power to forgive sins (Mark 2:10) and then tells the Apostles (i.e. the Church) "Whose sins you forgive are forgiven" (John 20:23). That in addition to the followers of John the Baptist confessing their sins to him, and the Apostles in both the Acts and the Epistles regularly instruct Christians to confess their sins to one another, but particularly to the ministers of the Church. Join us here in the Christian era. God has brought us far forward since the Psalms.
My single biggest issue is the limited time slots my church has for confessions (which, I now feel the need to say, is still no excuse😞), but I have surprised myself in how often I have managed to confess to a priest.
Touché, Snyarhedir! I have the same issue, and like you, I feel it's still no excuse. And like you, I've surprised myself that I'm able to access the sacrament once a month. But I have another advantage. Where I live, the four churches in my area offer confession on two or three days during the week, one to two hours per day, on different days. So if I fail to catch the confession time in my parish, I simply go to another parish. As St. John Vianney said, "The good God is very good!" God bless you this Eastertide.
John 14:6 makes it pretty clear that Christ is the way, I don't see anywhere in that verse where Jesus says “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through a priest."
Keep reading. The Bible is a big book. Nothing contradicts this passage but confession is in there too, as is Jesus giving the power to forgive sins to the Church. There is more than just one line in the Bible. Good start though.
@@fr.williamnicholas955 the difference between thee and me is RC tradition. Not wanting to cause an argument just explaining my POV. I use the bible, you use RC tradition (you even mentioned it in your video) and its interpretation of the Bible and non-Biblical extras. Christ gave some people the power to forgive sins but RC tradition pushes that further and suggests that priest have the same power. This RC tradition is not Biblical so I confess to God himself not to a man who has somehow added more to the Bible that what is there.
By that reasoning, the RC Church has been around four hundred years longer than the Bible, and, when all is said and done, the Bible is a product of Catholic tradition. To confess only, or "directly" to Christ is to ignore other parts of the Bible. There are no RC traditions that are not reinforced by the Bible, but in the end, Biblical interpretation is subject to RC tradition because RC tradition came first, and ultimately gave rise to the Bible as we know it.
@@fr.williamnicholas955 The idea that the RCC has been around for 400 years longer than the Bible is a fallacy that RCs keep promulgating. The OT as we know it was around 300 years before Christ was born and it predicted his birth, death, and resurrection. The books of the NT were written before Rome officially converted to Christianity. To claim that the RC is responsible for the Bible is wrong and also puts the RC ahead of God which most Christians believe inspired the Bible. With regards to Biblical interpretation being subject to RC tradition let me ask you do RCs still believe the Earth is at the centre of the Galaxy and that the sun revolves around us rather than us around it? Remember Galileo was tried for heresy and put under house arrest because he went against RC tradition and said the Earth revolved around the sun not the Sun revolved around the Earth as the RC wanted everyone to believe.
The OT is only part of the Bible. The NT is a product of the Church and the Bible as we know it today did not exist until 400 years after the founding of the Catholic Church, which was long before the fall of Rome; and it was the Catohlic Church that compiled and approved the NT and re-compiled the OT as we know it today. Early Fathers such has Ignatius of Antioch, and even the Emperor Theodosius, referred to the Church as Catholic. You are the only one referring to it as "Roman". Stop calling it Roman and stick to Catholic I'll have no problem with it. As to your second point. The Church never thought the earth was flat and was perfectly open to the heliocentric findings. Copernicus, who proposed it long before Galileo was a priest and a cardinal, and the Catholic Church was Galileo's publisher. Galileo wrote his book at the request and financing of the Church. Galileo was not tried for heresy, he was was tried for breach of contract for publishing his book in violation of the contract with his publisher, the Church, who owned his work (anyone whose had a book published knows the publisher owns the work). Galileo's book was on the motion of the tides, which cannot be understood without knowledge of the gravitation of the cosmos (i.e. the moon, etc.) It was NOT on the heliocentric universe. The attributes of the heliocentric universe was his data on which he built his theory regarding the tides, and the Church did not dispute him on his data (since it had already been demonstrated before - i.e. Copernicus). However, the Church did not trust Galileo's CONCLUSIONS regarding the TIDES and wanted him to test his theories more thoroughly. Galileo refused and published his book independently, IN VIOLATION OF CONTRACT. Sorry to burst your bubble, but he was not tried for heresy, or for his heliocentric holdings, but for breach of contract. BTW, in the 20th century it was Albert Einstein who demonstrated that Galileo's conclusions on the tides were completely wrong. So in the end the Church was right. Good effort, though. Keep trying.
I went to Catholic schools since I was nine years old. The priests and nuns were wonderful, I was aloud to be left by my mom at the convent, due to we had just left Cuba and were trauma from leaving our family behind. Without Mary accepting The Holy Spirit there would be no Jesus. Mary is as important as Jesus who is God incarnate. I certainly do not judge for fear of being judged nor do I like if someone says something about my mom so let’s respect God’s mother.
She's not "just as important" as Jesus. Everything she does always points directly toward her Son and the greatness of God. Would that more of us did that.
Fr. Nicholas, I’ve been in total quarantine since last March. God forbid anything should happen to me, and the Lord calls me home without being able to have a priest hear my confession? Have been viewing daily Mass since March and doing my spiritual communion. But still concerned. Am sure am not the only senior under this circumstance because of Covid-19. Please keep me in your prayers Fr.. God bless you. Truly enjoyed this video. Thank you.
Extremely well explained Father. My attitude is that we confess our sins/ admit our sinfulness directly to God on a daily basis, but I believe that I need to confess my sins to My Priest to receive absolution from an Authourotive Religious Figure. I feel better admitting my sins to a Priest in addition to asking God’s forgiveness every night. That is just my mindset. Neville J.
The New Testament also says that all believers are priests of the New Covenant. That now instead of having to go through human intermediaries as we did in times past that there is only one intermediary between God and man. The man Christ Jesus. That is why the Temple Curtain that separated the Holy of Holies from all but the High Priest once a year was rent in 2 from top to bottom (From Heaven to Earth) to show that now every man through Christ was acceptable to the Father through Christ Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit. I understand that men continue to want to insert themselves between man and God but what God has done let no man presume to undo. So is a priest of the New covenant enabled by the sacrifice of Christ and empowered and marked by the Holy Spirit by the will of the Father a lesser priest than one that an institution of man has raised up?
In the Lord's prayer we say, " forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us ". Will not God forgive us our sins when we forgive those who hurt us?
The Bible does not contradict itself. One verse does not cancel out another verse; and the Bible says in multiple places to confess your sins, and in a few places they actually do so. If anything Jesus meant that we should not approach the Confession of sins hypocritically, expecting God to forgive our sins when we ourselves refuse to forgive.
Jesus saved us baptized with the Holy Spirit from Original Sin. Sins committed after baptism have to be confessed, absolved and penance served to be forgiven by God. That’s why He instituted the Sacrament of Reconciliation. 2 Cor 5:18 But all is of God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ, and who has given us the ministry of reconciliation. 2 Cor5:19 For certainly God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, not charging them with their sins. And he has placed in us the Word of reconciliation. 2 Cor5:20 Therefore,we are ambassadors for Christ, so that God is exhorting through us. We beseech you for Christ: be reconciled to God. John 20:21 Therefore, he said to them again: “Peace to you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” John 20:22 When he had said this, he breathed on them. And he said to them: “Receive the Holy Spirit. John 20:23 Those whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them, and those whose sins you shall retain, they are retained.” Mt 18:18 Amen I say to you, whatever you will have bound on earth, shall be bound also in heaven, and whatever you will have released on earth, shall be released also in heaven. Mt 16:18 And I say to you, that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it. Mt 16:19 And I will give YOU the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatever YOU shall bind on earth shall be bound, even in heaven. And whatever YOU shall release on earth shall be released, even in heaven.” Mt 28:18 And Jesus, drawing near, spoke to them, saying: “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Mt28:19 Therefore, go forth and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Mt 28:20 teaching them to observe all that I have ever commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, even to the consummation of the age.”
Please watch the video before commenting. Just a modest suggestion. Thanks. And also watch this one as well -- th-cam.com/video/a9Va8IO7Ivo/w-d-xo.html
Thank you so much for your information. View the person who consume spirits over limited level can't be representative of God. They themselves may have wrong doing without declare. So myself confess likely to whom I trust and mostly I confess directly to God. But there are many good priest around the world.
Well yes James is right , I feel zero devotion when I don t control my tongue .i feel uneasy to confess over and over again this sin. But I never recieve communion if I don t confess,Never.because a priest explained and showed me in the new testament that it will have a reverse effect on me and hurt me. Indeed
...and Jesus said to his Apostles (aka the ministers of the Gospel and leaders of His Church): "Whose sins you forgive are forgiven, and whose sins you retain are retained" (John 20:23 - why, oh why is that passage so hard for Bible literalists to mentally grab?) So, confessing sins to one another (James) is one thing, but confessing to a minister of the Church (words of Jesus, which I'll take over James any day) has Jesus' guarantee that the sins are forgiven. Mike drop! Time to find another cliche we Catholics haven't heard.
I will pray for you ABC.....tonight I will pray specifically for you in my evening prayers.....and hope they have some efficacy.....I too want too want to be good......
I'm a newly baptized 55 year old with a 38 year old bad smoking habit......I guess this is going to be really annoying to my dear Priest . Please pray for me .
I found a plan where anyone can quit. If I can quit, anyone can do it. I simply would do my best to 'wait' to smoke, and postpone it. It took years, and I cut down more and more this way, until finally I waited many hours to smoke, with only a few a day; my brain did not notice a withdrawal to fight by doing it this way. At that point, I was very able to easily switch to the nicotrol inhaler, which was fully worth the money & I feel the best way to quit. God spoke to me directly to quit, in a harsh word through a minister, just as I was about to mess up at the very end of my time smoking, and go smoke, a tv minister said, "someone has something in their life, with a hold on them. I don't know what it is, but God is saying to you, 'get it out of your life or die.'" God truly hears prayer and will help. Blessings.
This is a question I wrestle with as a Protestant. I’ve never experienced anyone confessing sins to one another in the church family. I believe we are missing out by not doing this and it’s encouraging if we can practice this. It greatly saddens me that I don’t see see this lived out. It definitely makes me wonder if there really is a need for a priest but then how can we get past the fear of not trusting in the priest?
I would highly recommend you read the early church fathers. Early church history in general. I think learning what the earliest Christians believed and practiced would be very enlightening
In catholicism, the sacraments are "ex opere operato" meaning "by the act itself". The priest does not need to be in a state of grace to give valid sacraments
Sometimes, the grace that flows through the absolution by Christ THROUGH the priest is overwhelming, literally taking your breath away. Please note that we are taught to confess our sins to one another (James 5:16). The Apostles received power over sin from Christ ( Matthew 16:19, 18:18, John 20:23). They handed it on to their successors. Paul forgave sins IN THE PERSON OF CHRIST and with the authority of Christ (2 Corinthians 2:10). Paul had a ministry of reconciliation to Christians urging them to be reconciled to God (2 Corinthians 5:20 and following). Orthodox and Catholic priests received this teaching directly from the Apostles and have practiced it continuously since 33 AD. NOTE: 500 years ago, "MAN" who is fatally flawed by his ego, decided that these BIBLE verses no longer apply. Can you be Christian if you DENY any part of the bible?
Thank you ever so much Fr. William for your much detailed and informative explanation about confessing our sins to a priest to receive God's forgiveness. It is really sad to know that more and more Catholics shy away from obeying this one of the most vital Sacred Sacraments. More so being disobeyed by those whom they called themselves as non practicing Catholics. There is no such thing as practicing nor non practicing. It's either you are a devoted and a dedicated Catholic or you are not. (No judgment here, just observations). For the most part, those who don't adhere to the Sacrament of Confession lack the complete understanding of its valuable meaning. There are so many factors contributing to this lack of understanding. 1.) Fear of Confidentiality - Most are still doubtful about the oath of secrecy that their sins would not be divulged. They still believe that when they confess their sins to the priest that the same priest would tell others about their sins. 2.) Lack of knowledge about the whole concept of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. In Hosea 4:6, it says, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." And so it is. There is no excuse for ignorance especially now with our technological world where you can always search and found out for yourself or the easiest and simplest way is just ask your priest. 3.) Feeling of Embarrassment. This I do understand but when one completely realized from this Sacrament of Healing the rewards of being free by absolution, it is a glorious feeling knowing that whatever it is that is pricking your conscience is gone and that you know that you do have the love of God and His mercy all along, you would not have missed this for the world. 4.) Unpleasant previous personal experienced. This is an individual situation which I believe can be resolved by continuous praying, fasting and eventually would lead to an awareness of the importance of confession to the priest. 5.) Pride. This is one character trait that most of us have one way or another. There is a feeling of 'for lack of a better word,' ignorance because of self righteousness attitude and thinking that the priest is just another person and why should they go to them and confess their sins. They have to quite understand that priests are God's Shepherds, Holy Men, Anointed Holy Men and not just ordinary human beings. Again, Hosea 4:6. So many misunderstandings about this topic and one can only renew their outlook about it through their own will if they so desired. No one is forced to do anything, that is against to one's will, a betrayal to oneself. All in all, at the end, we all have to answer to only one Source and hopefully we are all ready when that time comes. Having said these, I do go for monthly confession and that for me should be more than that. Why? We are all human beings, we are all sinners and there's never a moment that we have to think that we never sin so we do not need to go for confession to a priest. Through the priest we received pardon and be reborn, renewed and purified. Thank you once again Fr.William and may the blessings of the Lord be upon you now and forevermore.
Confession is a Holy Sacrament, which you do not receive by confessing to a lay person.. Jesus says that you are confessing to Him thru a priest, not anyone else can give you the absolution , so that you can receive Holy Communion worthily. There are many followers of Lucifer infiltrated through out our Church that are working to destroy it from within.
Elizabeth L. When Jesus died on the cross , how may sins did he die for? You seem to think that by confessing to a priest that you can be forgiven . When you read the bible it is quite clear that Jesus died for ALL the sins of mankind and there is no need to confess your sins to someone other than God ,in Jesus name. There is only one interceding on our behalf and that is Jesus . James 5:…15 And the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick. The Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail. 17 Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.… So when was the last time you confessed your sins to a priest and he in turn confessed his sins to you? Jesus paid the debt that we could not.
Feeling embarrassed? U can go to a priest u dont know, or he knows you. No need to be embarrassed because I m sure he heard all kinds of sins before, nothing new to him .to be more practical, does the priest see u face to face when u confess in the usa? Maybe if there s this barrier where u can be bearly seen,it will make things easier . As for the frequency, I think a soon as we sin ,we should go to confession,because sin is that bond which ties us to the ennemy, in confession we break it. Personally each week, I write them down so not to forget any sin.
I dont see the debate between Paul in Ephesians, "Saved by Grace thru Faith, & not by our works " & Book of James, "Faith w/ out works is dead". Its very clear that were saved by The Grace of God thru Faith in Jesus & a result of our Faith is works or fruit otherwise our faith is stagnant, Faith is a gift from God so we dont hide it but we live it in Thanksgiving to God by The Holy Name of The King of Kings & Lord of Lords Christ Jesus. He is our mediator between us & The Father, The Shepard & Overseer of our souls
The debate is between the "either/or" people" - It's either faith or works; or for some, "faith, NOT works". Catholics take a "both/and" approach. Yes, it is faith and NOT works that saves. But it has to be the RIGHT kind of faith, not faith in general or faith in anything. If it is a faith that does not INCLUDE good works, it is NOT the kind of faith that saves. The Good Works show that it is a faith that saves. Without the Good Works, it is not a faith that saves. As James says: "Faith without works is as dead as a body without breath." Ergo, Good Works are essential to faith that saves.
@@fr.williamnicholas955 If one is truly regenerated by Holy Spirit, born again, it just comes easy & is joyful to bear fruit as the tree is now good it will bear good fruit & be a light in the world. I appreciate your reply, I could probably ask you alot as I was raised a Roman Catholic but now would say Im a regenerated Christian, God Bless Kind Sir
You're always welcome to come home. There are no "regenerated" or "born again" Christians. Just the real deal. When people stray, they simply come back to the real deal and are always welcome "Born again" is actually in the Gospel of John, but it is Nicodemus' misunderstanding of what Jesus was saying - "How can one be born again? Can one re-enter the womb and be born again?" (John 3). Jesus corrected his misunderstanding stating one must be "born from above" or "born of water and the Holy Spirit", indicating Baptism and Confirmation. We see a lot of this in the Acts of the Apostles when people who are baptized, then receive the Holy Spirit (in the case of Cornelius (Acts 10:44-48) it happens in reverse). You're more with it than you realize. Maybe you never received the Sacrament of Confirmation (just a guess, not a judgment). Time to come home.
@@fr.williamnicholas955 I recieved confirmation but late teens & twenties I was absolutely of the world & all that it had & it was all destructive. Only by His Mercy, I had a pretty radical transformation & I went to a catholic church but as I picked up a Bible, God opened my eyes to His Amazing Word & I couldnt help but question the things I saw such as R.C church removing the 2nd commandement Thou shall not worship any graven image & the church was filled w/ em as they made 2 out 10th commandement & Im sure you have heard all the other issues protestants might have such as Mary, confession, Pope etc. Im learning that some Priests, prob such as yourself can answer whether agreed w/ or not but I actually appreciate the discussions. I was always told a Priest had to interpret scripture for catholics but Im so beyond grateful God opened my understanding & hunger to His Word, as since the day I opened The Gospel of John I have not failed to read scripture even 1 morning. Anybody can take issue & find things to disagree about. There are different ministries but The same Lord
First of all, the Bible is a product of the Catholic Church and all Biblical interpretation is therefore subject to Catholic teaching. (I know, I know, the writings of the Bible came first, but it was the Church that collected them into the Bible as we know it and it was the Church that declared them inspired.) Jesus did not establish a Bible. He established a Church to teach with His authority. After all, the Bible tells us so. Second, the commandment says "you shall not make unto ME a graven image." No Catholic Church has a graven image of God. If you are going to see the images of Mary and the Saints as a violation of that commandment, you may as well see images of your family members in your home as violations as well. (And don't go to the "Catholics worship the saints" track. They don't.) Finally, as for "removing" the 2nd Commandment. May I recommend -- th-cam.com/video/4nPNM4MRQ8g/w-d-xo.html and th-cam.com/video/FsmSWqJWqbA/w-d-xo.html As an EX-Catholic, it helps to know the reasons in addition to the distinctions.
I think that confession to a priest is important and valid, especially in that the penitent can benefit from spiritual direction and advice given by the priest, and that Jesus gave the apostles the authority to forgive sins in his name, but we must be careful to not tie the hands of God as to the boundaries of his mercy by strict rules and tradition. That is the mistake that the pharisees of Jesus time made......and the Christian church still makes to this very day. However.....I do think it obvious that the proper interpretation of the "sins forgiven" in in James 5:20 are the sins of the person who has been turned from the errors of his ways, and not those of the person who has turned him from the error of his ways. James 5:20..."Let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way gives life to his soul from death and blots out the multitude of his sins." I am also of the opinion that God forgives the sins of anyone who asks His forgiveness, and is sincerely sorry and repents, not by just saying he is sorry, but is sincere in his efforts to not repeat those transgressions in future. God bless you Father for your efforts to keep us on the Jesus track.
We can make an act of Perfect Contrition out of the Love of God and our sins are forgiven. I know this applies supposedly to when we can't see a priest but to me it shouldn't be conditional.
Years ago, maybe 25, I heard a Catholic Priest say "If you save a soul, you save your own". I never heard that saying before. I then discussed what the priest had said years ago to a former Catholic friend who is now a devout "protestant" (I'm still trying to get him back). When I told my friend what the priest said, my friend who is a lawyer said, "no way". I disagreed with him because I felt the Priest was correct, but I had no "persuasive authority" to support what I was told" "If you save a soul, you save your own". Now, after watching this video, I know the priest from years ago was correct. He cited St. James as authority. BTW, I can see how there is confusion in the understanding by what St. James wrote but I believe in the plain meaning of statements and it seems to me there would be less importance if what St. James wrote did not apply to the person doing the "saving act" of bringing a person back to the grace of God.
the problem i think with protestants is that they do not understand that works are Gods way of allowing us to build merit, we are saved yet we merit more in heaven through our works and our works are gifts from God to allow us to merit more.. if we say no to these gifts then we are not lost , it is just we have not got as much merit and in Heaven there is a hierarchy and we may have to sit at a lower position at the table when the master tells us to move a more meritorious person has just come in. So tell them we do works as a response to God prompting us and when we do we gain grace for ourselves and others, not doing works is against God. but still saved. this is why we suffer for others, we are saved so we spend time working with Christ as the body to save others. happy Christmas
I admit, this was confusing. I think it means James says do this (confess) if you are not doing this (saving other souls - bringing others back to God). For me, it's easier to confess than trying to drag everyone to God who is resisting my introverted, introspective, juxtapositional method of bringing the message to them especially considering that I am still learning the subject myself. It seems that while I am learning the subject of all things God, hearing it from others it makes sense. But when I try to explain it, it's like a puff of air, where did all that I know disappear to? Currently I am in the phase of Love means follow God's rules even if you don't agree with them. Obedience = love. A 'fake it until you make it' type of thing. I go through the motions but don't feel anything. That said, how does one develop a conscience that guides discernment if you don't agree the sins you avoid are wrong? I am following God's rules, not because I like them, enjoy them or any reason but because I LOVE God, love is an action word and obeying God is loving Him. Am I missing something?
Still doesn’t clear up the channel of having to go through a priest to have him upchannel my confessions to Jesus. Where in the Bible does it say that I have to go to a priest? No trying to be smart. Just seeking answers
Mr C Matthew chap 8 “He stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, “I will do it. Be made clean.” His leprosy was cleansed immediately. 4 * Then Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one, but go show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses prescribed;b that will be proof for them.”
I think on Easter night when Jesus appeared to the apostles, he gave them authority when he said "If you forgive men's sins, they are forgiven." etc. The priest gets his authority from Jesus.
The letter to The Romans says there is one mediator between God and man the man Christ Jesus. How does the Catholic church reconcile that verse with the idea if priestly confession.
That's easy! -- th-cam.com/video/a9Va8IO7Ivo/w-d-xo.html JESUS said: "The Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins." (Mark 2:10) People confessed their sins to John the Baptist (Mark 1:5) and to the Apostles (Acts 19:18). JESUS said to the Apostles "whose sins you forgive are forgiven" (John 20:23) The Bishops and presbyters continue the work of the Apostles in the Church (1 & 2 Timothy, Titus) So...put it all together and it makes sense that you confess to the one(s) to whom Jesus has given the authority to forgive sins - i.e. the priest/bishop BTW - Paul does not contradict Jesus. So, if Jesus is the sole mediator, it also makes sense that when the one whom JESUS has given authority to receive confessions and declare sins forgiven, then it is, in fact, JESUS who forgives whenever a priests bestows absolution (forgiveness). That is why it's called a Sacrament. This also makes sense since Jesus is God made human. Therefore, there must be the human exchange in the process of forgiveness of sins otherwise the Incarnation was futile in God's plan of salvation and reconciliation of sinners and the life death and ministry of Jesus was a waste of time (which it was not). (Mike drop)
When you can not go to confession, because of outside problems rather than religious reasons, confessing directly to God is the only solution. It is the only solution until you can get to confession and receive physical absolution from the priest.
If churches expected every Catholic to go to Confession, then they would allot more than 1 hour a week for it. For example, most parishes only have 30 - 60 mins on Friday and Saturday each week for Confession time where there are 1000's of members!!!! Each confession lasts 15-30 mins!!
I tried going to confession twice and both priests refused to give me absolution. First priest said no because I was living with my girlfriend at the time. The second priest said no because I’ve been married three times 🙄
One major misunderstanding regarding Confession is that it is "one-stop-shopping". It must include a Firm Purpose of Amendment; something that is hard to demonstrate when one is currently living with a girlfriend after being married three times. Confession is a good thing, but it still requires something called "conversion" on our part. Be grateful you had two shepherds who were willing to actually shepherd you. How you choose respond to that is up to you. Another thing to consider: When the priest acts within the context of Sacraments and worship, he acts "in persona christi"; which means whenever the priest consecrates in the Mass, baptizes, bestows forgiveness in Confession etc., it is Christ who is acting through him. This includes preaching and instruction when done in those contexts. So you might consider who was really speaking to you when, not one, but TWO priests instructed you in this way. d2y1pz2y630308.cloudfront.net/2645/documents/2020/5/in%20persona%20christi.pdf
I will come back and reply. Jesus loves you and with His grace you can overcome this!!! It is not hopeless. Delete everything that has to do with what you’ve been doing. It may not be easy. Get a St. Dominic crucifix and began wearing it and get it blessed as soon as possible by a priest. If you fall. Get up, think of Jesus who loves you and ask Him to help you not hurt Him again. Play the exorcism video by fr. McNamara it says “the Exorcism Prayer Read by Fr. Leo McNamara” pray with it. It helps against violent temptations! There is on in Latin very powerful “Esorcismo di Leone XIII (Latino) - Per Uso Privato” there is a man, holding up a cross with a picture of Jesus behind him. Play them both until the temptation goes away. Call out to Jesus and His Blessed Mother to cover you in her protective blue mantle. I ask her to do it. Ask for grace, but you must use your will by the grace of God. You are in a fight for your soul. Are these things work eternal damnation? Jesus helps with sin, for He helped me as did our Holy MOTher. The only thing to do with sexual sin is to RUN from it. If you allow yourself to start thinking about it. Watch out.,God can and will bring you out of this. BUT the only one who says yes to it is you. Jesus help you and He will. He hears a contrite heart. You will fall again, but the more you fight, the less the sin has control over you!!! This is truth. Pray the rosary, play the exorcism videos, go to confession, fight, you want to go to Heaven don’t you? With love
and Logan, if you're a Catholic, you need to get serious with your relationship with Christ, and get to Confession ASAP........and if you're NOT Catholic, you need to get into a good RCIA program at your local Catholic Church, and BECOME one.......
I have twist on that topic.. what happens ( as did to me) when the priest says " I cannot offer you absolution" I am involved with a man. What then ? I guess my soul is lost since I cannot have absolution..
I can't believe he calls confessing to Jesus an alternative . We all have intercession directly with divine persons through the saving grace of Jesus death and rising from the grave. Thanks to this ,we have direct access to the Father.
Since "no one comes to the Father except through me [Christ], we do not have "direct access to the Father". As Jesus is human, we cannot claim the forgiveness of sins unless we have that human connection with those Jesus has commissioned to stand in for him for that purpose; and he gave that to the Church and its ministers: "Whose sins you forgive are forgiven" (John 20:23).
@@fr.williamnicholas955 I'm learning more about catholicism and I'm curious. What do you do with the book of Hebrews and it's discussion about Christ as the High Priest and 1 Timothy 2:5 where is declares Christ our one mediator to God? In particular with respect to the Catholic requirement for confession to a priest.
@@robypoteau We need to take the Scriptures in its totality. Not in smaller quotations or passages. Jesus is our High Priest, but he also left behind a Church, whose ministers have the authority to forgive sins in God's name. We cannot go "directly to God" because we are now dealing with an Incarnate Son of God, God become human. We must have that human exchange otherwise we are, even if unintentionally, denying the Incarnation. We cannot go "directly to Christ" unless it is done in a human way, in a human exchange. Which is why priests stand in with the authority God gave the Church to forgive sins. In short, whenever a priest administers a sacrament, including Confession, it is Christ who is administering.
The fact that one confesses his sins to a priest does not equate to one's sins being forgiven, by virtue of the the fact that one confesses to a priest, unless one is actually sorry for one's sins and is in an attitude of repentance, being in the mindset of doing one's best to sin no more.
Also Protestant churches offer Confession and in my church (Lutheran) we have confession of sin and general absolution in the liturgy. But for Catholics it seems like a virtue to go to confession often and for Protestants it is a virtue not to go to confession often...It's not good at all if we constantly fall in the same sin.
You need to confess at least once a year in the Catholic church. Plus we are sinners by nature, so don't worry if anyone thinks you are confessing too often, just get good with God.
There is such a freedom and joy when you hear the priest says I absolve you from your sins. People go therapists and psychologists and pay loads of money to tell them . Just go to confession, it’s free. Just go.
predictably this is how liberals would reason out! I suggest you to check up what Our Lady of Good Success have to say for 20th century!
Karen Stempkoski yep
I believe, correct me if I'm wrong, not only does confession bring emotional and spiritual healing it also prevents evil spirits and demons from using these sins to harass you with.
I have said the same to many people. Amen. I am glad to see this from another.
Dallas Beus Yes this is true
Especially in a state of mortal sin, demons use this weight to bring you down and demotivate you. But the grace of God surpasses all, even mortal sin. I know this because it has happened to me.
I'm not a great catholic, I have much room for improvement, but I know for a fact somewhere in the gospels it says Jesus breathed on the apostles, giving them the power to forgive sins. I'm sure Jesus, who is God, didn't do this expecting it to end there. Like I said, I'm no brain scientist, but it's clear to me Jesus expected this gift to continue for as long as man exist on earth.
Be a great Catholic go to confession weekly and you'll see your sin's fall away one by one. Go to the five first Saturdays for reparation for offenses committed against our Lady. Additionally spend fifteen minutes meditating on the mysteries of the rosary and she will grant us the Grace needed to obtain salvation. That's the easiest insurance plan I can think of. God bless you
Good call. John 20: 22-23 :)
@@keig6161 my friend why Mary? Does it not say there is only one mediator between man an God that's Christ Jesus, or Jesus said who is my mother an brother but he who does the will of God.
HOPE IN DARKNESS so why did God/Jesus came in human form BY MARY? He is God he could’ve just popped out of nowhere and still be Jesus!? Why did he do it through Mary??
Hey, you're probably smarter than many brain scientists out there.
Thank you Father Nicholas for occupying a little part of the internet with credible and trustworthy leadership. You are a true pastor.
It's always a comfort to listen the Words of Jesus. Thank you father.
Very good video. I just went to confession after 10 years of being away from the church. I wish I would’ve done it sooner. And I can’t help but share with my friends and family that are away from the Church. But I first ask God to help me, to open the door. If it doesn’t feel right then I stop.
I'm truly extremely heartbroken now that I cannot have confession in person right now... terrified but praying to God that my sins will be forgiven in these terrifying times now.
Say these prayers
7 Prayers
of Saint Bridget
Devotion for twelve years.
Our lady of all nation prayer.
Shoulder wound of Christ prayer.
15 secret torment prayers.
Google all the above
Start praying right now still the this storm abates.
Chaplet OF holy wounds prayer,
And the chaplet of 5 wounds prayer and the divne mercy prayer.
Look up Google for all the promises attached to these prayers.
Also pray the 7 sorrows of Mary prayer.
Holy face of Jesus prayer.
Say it too.
We are in the same boa bro.this lockdown is precluding me from saying a clean nice confession.
Yes ,that is true . But what if the church does not provide much opportunity to go to confession ? In my parish ,there is no opportunity, we have a ' travelling' priest that goes from parish to parish , we can only celebrate communion every 14 days . This is all by lack of priests , which makes the churches become empty. So I also am not a perfect catholic ,but I love my Lord very much and I put my trust in Him . I am convinced ,as my Father knows what is in my heart, He will forgive my sins.
Peace to all , from Belgium ❤❤🇧🇪🙏🙏
Call! Make an appointment. The more effort you put into confession, the more heartfelt it may be.
Father Nathan, I came across this homily of yours I saved in 2019. Still beautiful and impactful. Sometimes The Father puts things in my path that I need to pay attention to. This is a reminder of his great goodness and mercy. Thank you. Prayers for your good health and happiness. Today I attend Light of the world
Church.
I know when I have sinned because my deed accuses me and I am not at peace...
Yeah! Definitely a fair assessment for when we have sinned, or continue in sin.
So true.. anytime is a great time to confess
what is your name so I can quote you?
Thanks : very true 👍
Karmic backlash is real too 😢 it does come around. Nothing of your own doing will escape your reality. This is the "punishment" ..
Confession is good for the soul . A great sacrament of the church.
@@haileydittrich6628 Then you need to pray for humility and realize that your eternal life with God and pleasing Him is more important than your temporary uncomfortability.
@Sue W you said it all !!!!. I am a proud Catholic
@Sue W amen. Thank you
@Sue W Exactly, which is the idea when disciplining an errant child.... No accountability....greater likelihood you will repeat the offense and not learn to live a more virtuous life as Jesus expects you to do. He said in scripture He would spit a lukewarm believer out of His mouth. Don't also forget that He admonished the disciples "whatever sins you forgive are forgiven, whatever sins you retain are retained." Hoping for an easy out is simply put, childish.
Please pray for me . I am fighting with my depression please do pray for me
i will do
Not to worry, I will pray 🙏 for you. GJC
I haven’t been to confession in too long , its just been that long I I’m scared to go back , I recently got a thought to open a random page in the bible(I haven’t opened a bible since I was about 13/14 I’m 23 now) and the verse I stumbled on was so powerful to me, I want to get back to god but I’m struggling with everything in life and the weight of the world is pulling me in and holding me down
God Bless you ❤️🙏
I'm in the same boat as you friend, actually afraid, right now I'm dealing with the sins of the flesh, I'm good most of time, but I slip up every now and then
Hey brother I was lost for so long too. Remember God still loves you, and He wants confession from you ❤
Please go and see a priest you will feel and be so much happier
I went to confession last night for the first time since my first and last confession almost 40 years ago. I’m 46. Needless to say, I was nervous and I had a very long and grievous list for sins. The priest was so kind and grateful that I was there. He gave me 1 Our Father and 1 Hail Mary as penance because his absolution of my sins is an unbreakable covenant of god and he didn’t want any obstacles to my commuting in the Eucharist. I encourage you to go so that you can stop suffering your sins and experience the feeling of being in god’s grace.
Confession is for us! We need to hear the words of absolution because we are human and we need the assurance of those words. Confession is God’s gift to us. Confession isn’t about God’s need but our need.
As Bill W. would say, unless one has admitted one's faults out loud to another human being, one's spiritual house cleaning remains largely theoretical.
Speak the truth in love when correcting other's. Do it out of love for them when you have a relationship; people know the difference. Tell them God wants what's best for them and so do you; sin is not good for us.
I went to Catholic grammar school from kindergarten to 6th grade and my parents pulled me out of there. It was a horrible way to get an education. We had all female teachers and a few nuns. It was customary to have students stand up in front of class and humiliate them for not knowing an answer and make you cry. Physical assaults that would today be grounds for child abuse with criminal charges. I had a nervous stomach my entire childhood from everyday feeling like I was walking on eggshells just sitting in class. I hated school. Some of the teachers were parents that were filling in for classes where the school could not afford a trained teacher and by the time I left the Catholic school and started 7th grade public school, I was at least 2 years behind my peers. The last time I went for confession was when I was 12, (now 56) just before I left. The entire class walked over to the church and had to stand in line waiting to go into the confessional box. When it was my turn I said something to the priest like “I find church too confusing to understand and my grades are not very good.” The priest then yells at me, loud enough that everyone out in the church aisle heard him, say, “Son, don’t be a Bum!!! Go to church and learn! He scared me. When I opened the door to leave, the rest of the students were laughing at me. I felt so humiliated that I sat down in the pew and just buried my face. I was mortified. After I received my Confirmation, I never went to confession ever again. I went to public school after that and only go to church now for Christmas and Easter and a few other occasions. I want to get back into the Catholic Church, but I can’t bring myself to go to confession again. And now as a more educated adult, I feel that with many of the changes the church has gone through over the past few decades, especially with the mortal sins that have been committed by the church against its parishioners, I think the Pope should stop using priests as the mediator for confession. I think too many people these days are too embarrassed to sit face to face with a priest and tell them their deepest thoughts. We have seen how thousands of priests have been caught doing the most obscene violations against the Church that would make the average parishioner turn red. It has also been proven that these gross violations have gone all the way to the top to the Pope for covering up these MORTAL SINS. I don’t care what the Catholic Church says I have to do. The Church had its chance to do the right thing and has failed miserably. The Church is losing people. Things need to change. Why would God allow these horrific crimes and behavior to occur in His House? I tried going to a few non-denominational churches and actually found one that I like. But I still want to be Catholic with my relationship to God. So, I will do my best to follow all the Sacraments of the Catholic Church, except confession. If I can pray to God directly, then I should be able to confess my sins to him directly also. If I am wrong about this, well under the experiences I endured, I am sure God will understand.
Check out this video from my series on Daily Lenten Reflections.
While I can't vouch for other priests, bishops, or Catholic School experiences, all I can say is that my experience of Catholic School was the exact opposite. I won't argue that many of the people, including some (not all, some) of the nuns teaching in them today would rather substitute their own radical, liberal, feminism for Catholic Teaching. As for the discipline of Catholic Education, considering what both adults and children are exposed to nowadays, and what they need to deal with, and considering the weak, willed, snowflakes that are growing up now, who cannot deal with anything without becoming completely crippled emotionally, all I can say to what I got in Catholic Schools is simple -- Catholicism and Catholic Schools are not for the faint of heart.
Finally, the vast, VAST majority of priests are good, honest, dedicated men. Name me a single profession that does not have, and has not had its bad eggs (some eggs being downright rotten to the core - or the yoke). Did you give up watching football, or pull your kids out of sports (if you have kids) because of the Jerry Sandusky cover up or because of the more than heavy criminal records of many professional football players? So please do not impose on the good men of the priesthood the perversion of a few, especially when those few came from a whole other generation, already perverted by the moral upheaval of the '60s.
Sorry you had that experience. However, the catholic school is not the catholic church. Bad people are everywhere and those who are in charge of such school or any school should monitor what is going on.
There was a time when I resisted going to confession. Several years ago I got real sick and almost died. It changed me. I no longer have a fear of confession. It is a wonderful sacrament that I go to willingly about once a month because it offers so much grace. I want salvation.
This is why we must continue to pray for conversion of sinners!
Caroline - we are all sinners in some way or another! But of course there are some very bad and evil sinners
A young woman who was raised Protestant and raised to hating the Catholic Church had a rude awakening. She took several theology courses and realized that first century Israel the people was required to go through a priest using a sacrificial animal to reconcile with GOD. A person can not reconcile with with GOD on their own. A priest has to be involved. I pray for the heretical Protestants everyday. I hope someday they wake up! Jesus started the priesthood. It is his church and we lay people have to support these men especially during unpopular and unprecedented times. If anyone questions if we need any other person to reconcile with Almighty GOD? They just have to read about Jewish tradition and how they reconciled with their Creator. Through a Priest!
My dearest prayers go out to pious souls who die unexpectedly without having a chance to go to Confession for a mortal sin, especially if they have genuine remorse for their sin. May the Lord have mercy on their souls and find true repentance deep within their hearts.
If they have genuine repentance they will be forgiven. King David was forgiven because he had a contrite heart, not because he went to a priest.
@@jameshoyt3692 Maybe not to a priest, but I seem to recall a human exchange regarding David's sin with a prophet named Nathan, much like there is in Confession too a priest;.and it was Nathan who declared on God's behalf that David's sin was forgiven, much like a priest does in Confession. So thank you for pointing out yet another Biblical passage that supports Confession to a priest. I hadn't though of that one before.
Thank you Father I feel so strengthened in my faith.😇😇😇😇😇😇😇
I am not Catholic, and never have been, for perspective, I am a confessional Lutheran. Everyone, needs or should go to private confession. James 5:16 -James clearly teaches us that we must “confess our sins to one another,” not just privately to God. There is no better person to confess your sins to than your “father confessor”. Confessing sin allows for a clean conscience, it is life giving and should not be despised.
where does it say must?
2 Corinthians 5:18
Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation.
Wow this was great. And unfortunately my husband pointed out something I said, and then I hear JAMES 1:26. I feel like this video was laid in my lap. It has been since Easter the last time I went to confession. I know where I am headed this weekend. Thank you Fr.
Rev Fr thanks very educative and insightful
James is probably my favorite book in the Bible. James was not afraid to speak the truth. He kept it short but sweet. I think why so many Protestant denominations leave out James is because of views on works and faith and confession. They see it as too Catholic I guess, but it says part of Scripture, Catholic or not. Before I converted to Catholic, I never heard a preacher ever even mention James. No matter what Church that I attended.
I love the Sacrament of Confession. As Jesus said to Saint Faustina, "know this, that the priest is just a screen and it I. Myself, who is waiting for you, and it is I, Myself, who will act in your soul.
For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
Jesus, I trust in you.
I trust Jesus, but I have seen uncaring priests at my church, and distant.
When the Veil was torn in two, the OT need for a mediator was no longer needed.
Jesus is the mediator. He is the Word Incarnate. So, His interaction with us is a human interaction that must be maintained for the forgiveness of sins. After all, Jesus said "your sins are forgiven"; he said it with a human voice, and it was heard with human ears. To take away the human interaction is to return to the Old Testament standards of forgiveness in which the mediator was the High Priest and MAYBE forgiveness was granted. With the human, incarnational, interaction, forgiveness is guaranteed. Therefore, the priest (who also goes to Confession regularly) provides that human, incarnation, interaction that is now required. -- th-cam.com/video/a9Va8IO7Ivo/w-d-xo.html
Thank You Father. I was thinking that’s what I was told in 1st grade...
For some people, Confessing to God through our Lord Jesus Christ, when they are really and truly serious about it can be much more personal and a lot more difficult. Great video Father Nicholas!
Thank you so much Father for clearing that up.
The problem with requiring confession to a priest is that the priest will limit his availability to a few hours on a few specified days, which may not, indeed usually does not, fit the confessor's schedule, whereas God is always available.
The Problem with Jesus being the Word Incarnate is that He, also, is a human being and had limited availability, but people came to him anyway. God is always available, but we must do it as Jesus, a human, showed us and when he declared "whose sins you forgive are forgiven" to his ministers, also human, there is really no way to get around it. We must go to the Church's ministers for the forgiveness of sins. To say otherwise is to deny the very essence of Christianity -- the Word became Flesh.
@@fr.williamnicholas955 i get what you're saying and I agree it is good and necessary to confess to a priest. But, I've seen where priests have even said it is good to confess both to God and to a priest. And, if you cannot get to a priest, then you should confess to God. Whether that is God The Father, Son, or Holy Spirit specifically, I don't know.
But I don't see how we're somehow limited from confessing to Christ because of his human nature, particularly now that he is in his glorified body in Heaven. Does he not hear our prayers? Are we not told by The Church to offer Christ prayers, including the prayers, "Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me a sinner." And, "O my Jesus, forgive us our sins. Save us from the fires of hell.." etc.
The Bible tells us in
1 John 1:8-9 But if we confess our sins to God, he will keep his promise and do what is right: he will forgive us our sins and purify us from all our wrongdoing.
Through faith or believe in God's Word is my guarantee that my sins are/were forgiven.
Hebrews 11:1 To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see.
Hebrews 11:6 No one can please God without faith, for whoever comes to God must have faith that God exists and rewards those who seek him.
Psalms 103:12 12 As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our sins from us.
The Sacrament of Confession heals our souls. Jesus pours out a torrent of graces on us through this sacrament of His mercy. Through the words of the priest Jesus counsels us, comforts us and forgives us. I will be ever grateful for Jesus' Divine Mercy.
Thank you Fr. Be Blessed in your work of God.
Thank you Father for this direct & deep explanation. You are full of the spirit of wisdom. I believe that there is no such thing as alternative nor option in this particular issue. May God continue to bless you. Amen!
So many arguments , excuses and attempts to interpret ( or misinterpret) scripture in order avoid confessing our sins to a priest. This is scandalous ! Are people so ignorant of Jesus' words in Matthew 18:18 ? Dear Rev. Fr. one of your homilies gave me so much confidence and the grace to make my confession, which I am determined to make a regular habit of. Thank you so much and God bless you for the very simple and inspiring sermons.
And we need to approach forgiveness of sins as HE directed us. Can't say we "believe" in God and deny his direction on the forgiveness of sins. Confession is essential, otherwise we deny the Incarnation, in which case, our professed faith in Christ is an empty lie.
So as a Protestant, I have no problem with someone confessing to a priest as we are supposed to confess to others (although I don't think you always have to confess to another person for the following reasons) . I do have a problem with a person _having_ to confess to a priest specifically. Every believer in Christ as Lord and Saviour is indwelt with the Holy Spirit. When the veil was torn at Jesus' death, the divide between people and God was broken and we no longer need a priest as middle man between God and us. All believers are themselves temples of the Holy Spirit, and the kingdom of God is a kingdom of priests. A person in vocational ministry is not closer to God in any way. So I think we can confess to a priest, to a brother or sister in faith, or to God directly, following the guidance of the Holy Spirit as to which we should do.
Thanks for this video and your perspective, I like to learn about what other Christians believe.
But it was to the leaders, the Apostles that Jesus said, "whose sins you forgive are forgiven and whose sins you retain are retained" (John 20:23) He did not say this to his general group of followers. So the one who has the authority to forgive sins, and for whom their declaration of forgiveness is a guarantee of God's forgiveness (again, John 20:23) is the one to whom you would confess.
Also, the priest is bound by the seal of Confession to never reveal what he has heard in Confession, nor to even confirm or deny that someone even came to Confession. One may decide to confess to a "brother or sister in faith" but they are not bound by the seal to refrain from revealing what they heard - and we all know how people, and especially Christians, know how to keep things to themselves and never, gossip about anything to anyone ever! (good luck with that idea) - nor do they have the authority to forgive sins, so confessing to a "brother or sister in faith" is little more than wishful thinking when it comes to God's forgiveness.
Femina my friend, you said, "Every believer in Christ as Lord and Saviour is indwelt with the Holy Spirit." This is a common misunderstanding among so many Protestants and when asked, they can't seem to remember where they learned this from. Initially they will say that the Bible teaches this, however, that is not so. Faith alone does not save, neither does faith alone cause the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Sacraments Save Souls, There is not a single example of any person in the Biblical New Covenant Church being saved without a Catholic Sacrament. There is no Biblical directive to pray directly to God to have your sins forgiven outside of the Sacrament of Confession. Biblical Salvation is done the Catholic way. There are no examples of Protestant salvation in the entire Bible. I hope that you will reconsider what you believe about the Sacraments.
if you go to confession properly you will be in the state of grace for a while then your actions will be deemed good, it is most important ! it is only in a state of grace that we can be in God's grace !
But faith without works is as dead as a body without breath - Epistle of James.
So clear! I always knew about apostolic succession. You went beyond. Thank you Father for making it so clear why we need to confess to a priest.
Confession: because even an unused room needs dusting
Trippy man....people can forgive each other instead of God, good news for all!
Luke 20:46 - Beware the scribes. They like to walk around in long robes, and they love the greetings in the marketplaces, the chief seats in the synagogues, and the places of honor at banquets. They defraud widows of their houses, and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will receive greater condemnation.”
elle4pets amen!
@@vaccineymartini9293 yes, I agree. But, "I confess to Almighty God that I have sinned through my own fault, in my thoughts, in my words, and what I have done and have failed to do. I ask...to pray for me to the Lord our God." Amen.
'Dusting' can be done by the 'owner' of the house. Christians have the(they should) 'eyesight' to see the 'dust'. The important thing is not losing 'eyesight' .Without clear conscience, one can not know which road leads to the LIGHT. Church is like a Lighthouse, needs to make sure its light shines to guide ships. Church must check if the lightbulb needs to dust or to replace it.🐏
After 42 years I went to confession. Stubbornness and pride kept me from going. In the past I have confessed sins directly to God. If I’m truly honest with myself, I didn’t go to the priest because of my ego and shame. Humbling myself I went to seek forgiveness. We know God is with us and He forgives us because He loves us, but we can’t physically touch or see Him. We have only ourselves to hold us accountable and sin no more. We are fleshy and weak. The act of confession to the priest or one another holds us accountable if we’re truly sorry for the sins. I had not seen these videos before but I appreciate they are available for those that are not able to get to the church.
K, what a wonderful story you tell! Congratulations and thank you! I hope people who read your post will be inspired to access of the wonderful grace of this sacrament. God bless you this Eastertide.
Also for confessions St Matthew 9:1to 8 /St John 20:21-23 /2 Corinthians 5:18 - 20
We only have 1 hour a week assigned for a 1500+ congregation. And sometimes you can't make it to that hour.
Thank you for this series. It is beneficial. Since my last confession, it has been 4
decades.
😕
I am just returning to faith after 35 or more years of living totally in the world. I haven't taken confession in over 30 years, any suggestions on doing my first confession in decades? I don't remember every sin but I know I have broken every commandment in one way or another.
Find a catholic website how to confess then youll see some examining conscience and also see the 7 deadly sins and the sins in the bible
I endeavour to go to confession once a week where possible. Thank you, Fr. It's lovely to see a priest in his proper apparel.
I wish more of you dressed like this even in the open; so many souls would be saved that way. Pax.
I am dying in hospital and the chaplain is a deacon who can minister viaticum. The chaplain can ask me to make a confession to assess that I am in a fit state to receive Holy Communion, but cannot give absolution. Self-accusation is a useful exercise and one may hope that if I die shortly afterwards then there will be a more favourable outcome. This is just about the only case I can think of where non-sacramental confession may be useful. Of course the deacon can send for a priest and I may indicate my consent to that, but if I die in the meantime we have done something useful.
I have prayed for you, and your soul, friend.
Praise The Lord . I am your new subscriber Fr. William my best wishes from (Holy land)Israel and India to your channel 🙏
One of the reasons people don't go to confession as much as they should are limited times that churches have them, I.e. One hurried hour before the Saturday evening Mass. I wonder why more priests don't have them say, 30 minutes before daily or Sunday Mass. Also, I know priests are terribly busy, yet Confessions don't seem to be heard either on Holy Thursdsy or Holy Saturday. Why is this? The his isn't an excuse for not going, but I believe if more priests did this and announced it from the pulpit it may change as its not emphasized as much.
Our church (& entire order of Institute of Christ the King churches) offer them pretty much daily...AND only 1 priest!!
Nevertheless, if people called the priests and asked for a specific time or another time when it is mutually convenient then that is one way to go to confession. And if more people did this, then they would realize that they need to offer more confession times. But really there is no excuse because one can always call one of the many priests in a city and make a mutually convenient arrangement time.
On Holy Thursday confessions should be offered or available but on holy Saturday there wouldn’t be celebration of the sacraments
I know what you mean about what seems like difficulty getting into the scheduled confessions. But I have learned that most priests will stop whatever they are doing to hear a confession. I can't go to the regular confession times because of my work schedule. But I call when i need to. I also had one priest tell me that if I saw him or the associate in Wal-Mart or whatever to just tell him that I need to confess and he would pull the shopping cart over. This same guy said he would hear me before mass if necessay
We have confessions 3 times a week. Plus other churches do too before mass. We also have a big reconciliation service during Advent and Easter time with 12 priests available, well announced and publicized so no excuse for not going
I confessed my sins to a priest today and felt relieved. However, in between confessions I pray to God through Jesus for our sins with the help of the Holy Ghost to allow us the ability of the perfect penance just in case we die in our sleep with an unknown mortal sin.
Hello Frier. I live in England and would ask why does it take a year for someone to be able to convert to Catholism and only after a year, only then be able to go to confession to then finally be able to receive the blessed sacrament? Why was it that Peter and the other deciples converted people who then confessed their sins and received the body and blood of Christ all in a day? Why is it if Peter was the first pope and was able to do this, then why over 2000 odd years later, the Catholic Church cannot do the same thing? Bearing in mind the many apparitions of Our Lady and her urgent messages of the need for people to convert, confess, receive the holy sacraments, pray the Rosary every day etc etc; It's a lot to ask, in this day and age, to ask people to "hang on" for a year plus until they can go to confession to then be clean enough to receive the sacraments (which I think is right). What makes me shocked about all of this, is I go to my Catholic Church as an Anglican wanting to convert and cross my arms when the priest gives out the Sacraments. Unless I had of researched this prior to going, i wouldn't have know it was wrong and the priest never asked me, yet I know FOR A FACT! that 99% of every other person did not go to confession on the specified days and times ( I was there at those times), yet they still all took the sacraments. This is a complete contradiction & is wrong on every level, yet it happens week in and week out. Something's not right about all this that people are allowed to do this and completely get a way with disrespecting The Farther like this. Why don't the priests remind people before any mass that they're not to receive the sacraments unless they've been to confession before hand?
From the earliest centuries of Catholicism, the Church has always had a period of preparation before receiving the Sacrament of Baptism. Those in preparation were always referred to as Catechumens and there was never a rush to Baptize people, even if there was a risk of them being killed by a persecution (they were still given a full Christian burial). The stories of the Bible are less proofs of HOW things were done under the apostles and intended more to convey the rapid growth of the Church that resulted from the preaching of the Apostles. The customary time after that period of Catechumenate for a new Christian to be baptized is Easter, which is still, today, the customary time.
I am a Catholic in Japan. I want to go to confession. But the church here does not seem to have a weekly confession. Furthermore, there are only Japanese speakers.Iin the case of those who through disability are unable to vocalize confession to priests, what is the accepted teaching?
What about the sins that we are unaware of? Does the priest know about them as God does? What about the sins of the priest himself? How can a sinner forgive sins?
Priests go to Confession too.
All sins are absolved in the sacrament of reconciliation if you go in with a penitent heart. Even those you did not remember at that exact time
Please note that we are taught to confess our sins to one another (James 5:16). The Apostles received power over sin from Christ ( Matthew 16:19, 18:18, John 20:23). They handed it on to their successors. Paul forgave sins IN THE PERSON OF CHRIST and with the authority of Christ (2 Corinthians 2:10). Paul had a ministry of reconciliation to Christians urging them to be reconciled to God (2 Corinthians 5:20 and following). Orthodox and Catholic priests received this teaching directly from the Apostles and have practiced it continuously since 33 AD. NOTE: 500 years ago, "MAN" who is fatally flawed by his ego, decided that these BIBLE verses no longer apply. Can you be Christian if you DENY any part of the bible?
Pray an act of perfect contrition everyday
Twice a day? Before Holy Communion so that one is in the best state to receive and before going to sleep?
Whether the church like it or not a person does not have to confess to a priest! Jesus is
the best person to confess our sins to.
...and, whether Protestants like it or not, the reason Jesus gave that authority to the Church and its ministers (John 20:23 - why do Bible literalist non-Catholics have such a mental barrier with this particular passage?) is because Catholics DO confess to Jesus. What you seem to willingly refuse to remember is that Jesus is not some dismembered being, or an imaginary friend. He is the Word made Flesh in the Incarnation. So you have to have the incarnational exchange (spoken in a human voice, heard with human ears) in order to receive the forgiveness of sins from Jesus. Otherwise the Incarnation was a waste of time, and God does not waste His time. To deny the human exchange in the forgiveness process is to deny the Incarnation, and therefore, is to deny Jesus.
To go "directly to Jesus" as you understand it, is no more than confessing to thin air and PRESUMING forgiveness (and the OT calls presumption a form of idolatry - 1 Sam 15:23) as if you were talking to an imaginary friend (and, btw, Jesus is more than an imaginary friend).
The priest acts "in persona Christi", which means, as the minister of Jesus, when you confess in the human, incarnational exchange to a priest, you are confessing to Jesus in the human, incarnational exchange; when you receive absolution, in the human, incarnational exchange from a priest, you are receiving absolution from Jesus...and whose sins the priest forgives are forgiven (again, John 20:23 - yes! the passage does exist; Jesus said it! You can't deny it!)
Please try to come up with some new cliches that we Catholics HAVEN'T heard before.
Confessing to God's Holy Priests is True Humility !!!!! Amen
This was truly enlightening and comprehensive and complete an explanation. Thank you Fr William.
@@teenherofilms
'Christianity dotes on sin and judgement. Never love.' Sorry to disagree.
When Jesus died on the cross he did it in LOVE of you and me. Instead of hating those who killed him in such ignominious manner he FORGAVE them and left us the example to follow. I guess that was 'love' at best. Christianity, it all began with Christ right? The legacy is left to us to cherish and uphold.
I grew up a catholic, but now often attend another church , we always confess our sins to God , the Bible says thats ok ...
Actually, the Bible says in numerous places that sins must be confessed and that the Church has the power to forgive sins, given to its ministers by Jesus (John 20:23) -- studio.th-cam.com/users/videoa9Va8IO7Ivo/edit
I find it so confussing I dont bother. God knows how I feel. The 'church rules' say I cant receive the sacrements because I am divorced and my first husband is stiill alive. Guess I doomed to hell.
No where in the Church "rules" forbids you to receive the sacraments if you are divorced. It is when you re-marry that the issue arises (or marry outside the Church). Rather than presume that you know "the rules" and sarcastically say you are doomed to hell (as if that is NOT a serious thing, which it is), why don't you bite the bullet and actually talk to a priest who can be of help?
Don't accept the lie that you are doomed to he'll. You are loved with an everlasting love. Only GOD knows your story and sees your heart and that's what matters. God bless you!
You have God who loves you and forgives all Sins , many other denominations understand people seperate churches are full of divorced folk , If you were the only one on earth ,Jesus would still die for you , he loves you that much , your correct in what you say God knows your heart ,most Catholic churches will probably never know your name ..
The confessional is used as a storage area and confession is only available if you phone to make an appointment
Doesn't your parish have regular confession times, like, "Saturday, 3-4:30 pm (just before the Saturday evening Mass)?" It's usually posted in the bulletin or the parish website, along with the "Mass times."
I know people find it difficult to set up an appointment for confession because priests always seem to be busy with other things more important than confession. But believe me, they always make time for you, because confession is as important as the other things they are busy with.
You can also go to another church for confession, if you feel it hard to catch your parish's confessional hours. God bless you.
We do it face to face not in the confessional at my parish. And all Catholic Churches need to have times for the sacrament of reconciliation
Yes Sir as I gave testimony to the fact that our Soul has a target to Jesus crucified on the Cross
OBJECTOR: I don’t see how the Catholic Church can teach that a priest can forgive sins. It’s against the Bible. The Psalmist, speaking to God, says in Psalm130:4, "But with you there is forgiveness." A man cannot forgive the sins of another person. The only sins a man can forgive are those against him directly. Jesus said we should forgive those who sin against us. But how can a priest, or any human being, forgive sins which are not against him directly. Only God can do that.
CATHOLIC: You’re absolutely right. Only God can forgive sins. In Mark 2:1-12 we find what you are saying in the story of the healing of the paralytic. When Jesus saw the paralytic, he said to him, "Your sins are forgiven" (Mark 2:5). The scribes gave the same objection that you raised-that is, that only God can forgive sins. They asked, "Who can forgive sins except God alone?" And they were right. But notice how Jesus changes this later in the story. He performs the miracle of healing precisely to show that "the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins" (Mark 2:10). So what was once only in heaven is now on earth because Jesus has the authority to forgive.
OBJECTOR: Yes, but Jesus is God and therefore has the power to forgive. You see, that proves my point. Only Jesus can forgive sins because he is God. A human priest cannot.
CATHOLIC: So you agree that there was once a man on earth who could forgive sins. It was the one who was fully God and fully man. And I assume that if Jesus Christ were on earth again, forgiveness of sins would be on earth again.
OBJECTOR: Yes, but Jesus is now in heaven according to the Bible. So we can only find forgiveness in heaven with God-specifically with God’s Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus is our great high priest who intercedes for us with his Father, as it says in Hebrews 4:14 and 7:25.
CATHOLIC: I agree that Jesus can forgive our sins because he is our great high priest. But the Catholic faith says that Jesus’ priesthood was also given to men so that they could continue his earthly work of forgiving sins.
OBJECTOR: Where does the Bible say that?
CATHOLIC: In John 20:19-23. Let me read it: "On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.’ 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."
OBJECTOR: That’s an interesting passage, but it doesn’t say anything about Jesus giving his priesthood to men. I didn’t hear him say, "I make you priests." And even if he did make them priests, he didn’t give them the power to forgive sins.
CATHOLIC: Then what do you think Jesus meant when he said in verse 23, "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained"? To me, that sounds like he is giving the apostles authority to forgive sins.
OBJECTOR: He is giving them the authority to proclaim the gospel, which has the forgiveness of sins in it. The power to forgive is something he kept for himself. If sinners believe the gospel, they will receive forgiveness.
CATHOLIC: You must have read John Calvin’s interpretation of John 20:19-23, because that is exactly what he says about Jesus’ words. As you know, John Calvin was the Protestant Reformer of Geneva, Switzerland, who broke away from the Catholic Church in the early 1530s. In 1536 he published his famous Institutes of the Christian Religion in which he identified himself clearly as a Protestant. He was convinced that the Catholic Church was corrupt. And one of its worst corruptions, according to Calvin, was the presumption of a priest forgiving sins. That power was something that Christ reserved exclusively for himself, Calvin said.
OBJECTOR: I’ve never read John Calvin’s writings but it sounds like he was a pretty good thinker. He is absolutely right in thinking that Christ was authorizing the proclamation of the gospel and not the forgiveness of sins.
CATHOLIC: Calvin was a very attentive interpreter of the Bible and paid close attention to the details of the text, but in this text I don’t think he paid enough attention. In verse 23 Jesus says, "You forgive" and "you retain," not "You proclaim forgiveness" or "You proclaim retention." It seems that Calvin couldn’t take verse 23 for what it really says because he was prejudiced against the Catholic doctrine.
OBJECTOR: But you don’t know that. It’s not a very charitable judgment to say that he was prejudiced against the Catholic faith.
CATHOLIC: You may be right, but I think I can safely infer from Calvin’s many writings that he hated Catholic teachings. Perhaps he thought he had good reasons because he had seen so many abuses of the sacrament of confession. Whatever his motivation may have been, it seems clear that he did not pay close enough attention to verse 23. On the other hand, consider the use of this text that the Catholic Church makes in its formula of absolution.
OBJECTOR: What is a formula of absolution?
CATHOLIC: It’s the words that a priest uses to confer or convey the forgiveness of Christ once a person has confessed his sins. This absolution is based directly on Jesus’ words in John 20:19-23. It says, "God, the Father of mercies, through the death and resurrection of his Son, has reconciled the world to himself and sent the Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sin, through the ministry of the Church. May God give you pardon and peace, and I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen."
OBJECTOR: I suppose any Christian would find those words beautiful, but I still don’t see how they are in the Bible or specifically in John 20:19-23.
CATHOLIC: Consider this. The formula reminds us that reconciliation is the plan of the Father in heaven when it says, "God, the Father of mercies . . . has reconciled the world to himself." That is, the plan of salvation is not made up by the Church. The Church only proclaims what God has done. And further, this plan is accomplished "through the death and resurrection of his Son."
OBJECTOR: I agree. God is the only Savior who in and through Christ’s death and resurrection has brought salvation into the world. But what does that have to do with a priest forgiving sin?
CATHOLIC: Think with me further. The formula of absolution wishes peace on the sinner with the words, "May God give you pardon and peace." These words remind us of Jesus’ words in John 20:19 and 21, "Peace be with you." Jesus wished peace on his followers. He also conferred that peace on them by giving them the Holy Spirit. This is what it means in John 20: 22, "He breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’" The formula states this important role of the Holy Spirit when it says that God "sent the Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sin." The Holy Spirit is the active agent of bringing the forgiveness of Christ to sinners.
OBJECTOR: Okay. I agree that the Holy Spirit plays an important role in applying the forgiveness of Christ to sinners, but again that action is something only God can do. I don’t see anywhere in John 20:19-23 where a man is given authority to forgive the way your formula of absolution says.
CATHOLIC: Notice how in verse 21 Jesus says, "As the Father has sent me, so I send you." In other words, Jesus is giving his apostles the same authority that he received from his Father. Now what authority did Jesus receive from God the Father? We saw earlier, in Mark 2:10, that he had the authority to forgive sins. Jesus brought the power of forgiveness from heaven to earth. So now, in John 20:21, he is giving that same authority to his apostles. And he is explicit about what he is giving them, "Whoever’s sins you forgive, they are forgiven."
OBJECTOR: Ah ha. That’s where the Catholic Church makes its fatal mistake. God the Father gave Jesus that authority because he is God too. But a human priest is not God. Even the Catholic doesn’t say that a priest is God.
CATHOLIC: You’re right. A priest is not God, but the priest has the power to confer or convey the forgiveness of God-not by his own power but by the power that Christ conferred on his apostles that day recorded for us in John 20:19-23.
OBJECTOR: Yes, but didn’t your formula of absolution have the priest saying, "I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit?" That sounds like it’s the priest who is doing the forgiving.
CATHOLIC: Yes, that’s what the formula says, but it says that because the priest is acting in the place of Christ. A priest’s authority to convey forgiveness does not come from himself. It comes from Christ. By the power of the Holy Spirit, the priest stands in the place of Christ to declare the sinner forgiven. That is why the formula of absolution uses the pronoun I. The I is Christ speaking through the human priest. If Jesus had not come to earth, there would be no forgiveness on earth, and if he had not conferred on the apostles this ministry of reconciliation" (2 Cor. 5:18), we would have no forgiveness today. But we can thank God that Christ did indeed come and that he passed on his authority to the Church to reconcile sinners to God.
I normally don't like comments that are very long. I like people to keep them concise.
But this one was brilliant! Thanks for taking the time.
I was a catholic, and I still remember instruction that confessors should , before going to the priest, first confess their sins to God in repentance, where God Himself undo our sins, so that when we kneel before the priest, we just might end up getting his counseling, which is salient.
What you refer to is the Examination of Conscience in which we ask God in prayer to make our sins known to us so that we can fully confess them to a priest. What you also refer to is the spiritual direction that priests should give when a person comes to Confession. It is not "counseling" nor should it be. But it is a good point you make. Where people will pay top dollar to go to counselors, but refuse to go to Confession for free. Psychologists line their pockets, but the priest bestows God's forgiveness as Jesus commanded them to do (John 20:23)
My husband is Catholic and goes to confession and maybe feels better for a few days if lucky a couple of weeks . We have 11 children living of whom he supports none . He moved out 6 years ago and is complaining and unhappy. I feed him allow him to come read his daily readings here yet hes always got issues with everyone except himself ! If confession to a priest is right then why is he never happy?? His anger turns people off there's nothing attractive about that attitude!!
@ Margaret . Confession is about asking God for forgiveness and doing the penance ie making good the harm sin has caused. Always complaining and being unhappy is not related to sin (confession). Its his mental and emotional state. He has not let the love of God touched him.
Margaret Verwer You have to pray for him, pray rosary as a family and you life will change forever. Family pray together stays together
According to my Bible in Psalms 32:6 Now I say that each believer should confess his sins to God when he is aware of them, while there is time to be forgiven. Judgment will not touch him if he does.
No jump to the New Testament (I assume you are Christian). Jesus says that the Son of Man has the power to forgive sins (Mark 2:10) and then tells the Apostles (i.e. the Church) "Whose sins you forgive are forgiven" (John 20:23). That in addition to the followers of John the Baptist confessing their sins to him, and the Apostles in both the Acts and the Epistles regularly instruct Christians to confess their sins to one another, but particularly to the ministers of the Church. Join us here in the Christian era. God has brought us far forward since the Psalms.
@@fr.williamnicholas955
Do you honestly believe that God is not going to forgive a Catholic who confesses their sins directly to Him?
My single biggest issue is the limited time slots my church has for confessions (which, I now feel the need to say, is still no excuse😞), but I have surprised myself in how often I have managed to confess to a priest.
Touché, Snyarhedir! I have the same issue, and like you, I feel it's still no excuse. And like you, I've surprised myself that I'm able to access the sacrament once a month.
But I have another advantage. Where I live, the four churches in my area offer confession on two or three days during the week, one to two hours per day, on different days. So if I fail to catch the confession time in my parish, I simply go to another parish. As St. John Vianney said, "The good God is very good!" God bless you this Eastertide.
James is maybe my favorite book, along with the Psalms. I am a very direct, plain speaking person.
John 14:6 makes it pretty clear that Christ is the way, I don't see anywhere in that verse where Jesus says “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through a priest."
Keep reading. The Bible is a big book. Nothing contradicts this passage but confession is in there too, as is Jesus giving the power to forgive sins to the Church. There is more than just one line in the Bible. Good start though.
@@fr.williamnicholas955 the difference between thee and me is RC tradition. Not wanting to cause an argument just explaining my POV. I use the bible, you use RC tradition (you even mentioned it in your video) and its interpretation of the Bible and non-Biblical extras. Christ gave some people the power to forgive sins but RC tradition pushes that further and suggests that priest have the same power. This RC tradition is not Biblical so I confess to God himself not to a man who has somehow added more to the Bible that what is there.
By that reasoning, the RC Church has been around four hundred years longer than the Bible, and, when all is said and done, the Bible is a product of Catholic tradition. To confess only, or "directly" to Christ is to ignore other parts of the Bible. There are no RC traditions that are not reinforced by the Bible, but in the end, Biblical interpretation is subject to RC tradition because RC tradition came first, and ultimately gave rise to the Bible as we know it.
@@fr.williamnicholas955 The idea that the RCC has been around for 400 years longer than the Bible is a fallacy that RCs keep promulgating. The OT as we know it was around 300 years before Christ was born and it predicted his birth, death, and resurrection. The books of the NT were written before Rome officially converted to Christianity. To claim that the RC is responsible for the Bible is wrong and also puts the RC ahead of God which most Christians believe inspired the Bible.
With regards to Biblical interpretation being subject to RC tradition let me ask you do RCs still believe the Earth is at the centre of the Galaxy and that the sun revolves around us rather than us around it? Remember Galileo was tried for heresy and put under house arrest because he went against RC tradition and said the Earth revolved around the sun not the Sun revolved around the Earth as the RC wanted everyone to believe.
The OT is only part of the Bible. The NT is a product of the Church and the Bible as we know it today did not exist until 400 years after the founding of the Catholic Church, which was long before the fall of Rome; and it was the Catohlic Church that compiled and approved the NT and re-compiled the OT as we know it today. Early Fathers such has Ignatius of Antioch, and even the Emperor Theodosius, referred to the Church as Catholic. You are the only one referring to it as "Roman". Stop calling it Roman and stick to Catholic I'll have no problem with it.
As to your second point. The Church never thought the earth was flat and was perfectly open to the heliocentric findings. Copernicus, who proposed it long before Galileo was a priest and a cardinal, and the Catholic Church was Galileo's publisher. Galileo wrote his book at the request and financing of the Church.
Galileo was not tried for heresy, he was was tried for breach of contract for publishing his book in violation of the contract with his publisher, the Church, who owned his work (anyone whose had a book published knows the publisher owns the work).
Galileo's book was on the motion of the tides, which cannot be understood without knowledge of the gravitation of the cosmos (i.e. the moon, etc.) It was NOT on the heliocentric universe. The attributes of the heliocentric universe was his data on which he built his theory regarding the tides, and the Church did not dispute him on his data (since it had already been demonstrated before - i.e. Copernicus). However, the Church did not trust Galileo's CONCLUSIONS regarding the TIDES and wanted him to test his theories more thoroughly. Galileo refused and published his book independently, IN VIOLATION OF CONTRACT.
Sorry to burst your bubble, but he was not tried for heresy, or for his heliocentric holdings, but for breach of contract.
BTW, in the 20th century it was Albert Einstein who demonstrated that Galileo's conclusions on the tides were completely wrong. So in the end the Church was right.
Good effort, though. Keep trying.
I went to Catholic schools since I was nine years old. The priests and nuns were wonderful, I was aloud to be left by my mom at the convent, due to we had just left Cuba and were trauma from leaving our family behind. Without Mary accepting The Holy Spirit there would be no Jesus. Mary is as important as Jesus who is God incarnate. I certainly do not judge for fear of being judged nor do I like if someone says something about my mom so let’s respect God’s mother.
AMEN !!!
I dont understand how Mary could be just as important as Jesus Christ. I just dont get it.
She's not "just as important" as Jesus. Everything she does always points directly toward her Son and the greatness of God. Would that more of us did that.
Fr. Nicholas, I’ve been in total quarantine since last March.
God forbid anything should happen to me, and the Lord calls me home without being able to have a priest hear my confession? Have been viewing daily Mass since March and doing my spiritual communion. But still concerned. Am sure am not the only senior under this circumstance because of Covid-19. Please keep me in your prayers Fr.. God bless you.
Truly enjoyed this video.
Thank you.
Extremely well explained Father. My attitude is that we confess our sins/ admit our sinfulness directly to God on a daily basis, but I believe that I need to confess my sins to My Priest to receive absolution from an Authourotive Religious Figure. I feel better admitting my sins to a Priest in addition to asking God’s forgiveness every night. That is just my mindset. Neville J.
The New Testament also says that all believers are priests of the New Covenant. That now instead of having to go through human intermediaries as we did in times past that there is only one intermediary between God and man. The man Christ Jesus. That is why the Temple Curtain that separated the Holy of Holies from all but the High Priest once a year was rent in 2 from top to bottom (From Heaven to Earth) to show that now every man through Christ was acceptable to the Father through Christ Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit.
I understand that men continue to want to insert themselves between man and God but what God has done let no man presume to undo. So is a priest of the New covenant enabled by the sacrifice of Christ and empowered and marked by the Holy Spirit by the will of the Father a lesser priest than one that an institution of man has raised up?
In the Lord's prayer we say, " forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us ". Will not God forgive us our sins when we forgive those who hurt us?
The Bible does not contradict itself. One verse does not cancel out another verse; and the Bible says in multiple places to confess your sins, and in a few places they actually do so. If anything Jesus meant that we should not approach the Confession of sins hypocritically, expecting God to forgive our sins when we ourselves refuse to forgive.
But hurting others is not de only type of sins we commit. Self-indulgence ,pride, self-righteousness, doubts abt God, etc r sins tt do not hurt others
Jesus saved us baptized with the Holy Spirit from Original Sin. Sins committed after baptism have to be confessed, absolved and penance served to be forgiven by God. That’s why He instituted the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
2 Cor 5:18 But all is of God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ, and who has given us the ministry of reconciliation.
2 Cor5:19 For certainly God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, not charging them with their sins. And he has placed in us the Word of reconciliation.
2 Cor5:20 Therefore,we are ambassadors for Christ, so that God is exhorting through us. We beseech you for Christ: be reconciled to God.
John 20:21 Therefore, he said to them again: “Peace to you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
John 20:22 When he had said this, he breathed on them. And he said to them: “Receive the Holy Spirit.
John 20:23 Those whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them, and those whose sins you shall retain, they are retained.”
Mt 18:18 Amen I say to you, whatever you will have bound on earth, shall be bound also in heaven, and whatever you will have released on earth, shall be released also in heaven.
Mt 16:18 And I say to you, that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.
Mt 16:19 And I will give YOU the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatever YOU shall bind on earth shall be bound, even in heaven. And whatever YOU shall release on earth shall be released, even in heaven.”
Mt 28:18 And Jesus, drawing near, spoke to them, saying: “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.
Mt28:19 Therefore, go forth and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
Mt 28:20 teaching them to observe all that I have ever commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, even to the consummation of the age.”
Please watch the video before commenting. Just a modest suggestion. Thanks.
And also watch this one as well -- th-cam.com/video/a9Va8IO7Ivo/w-d-xo.html
Thank you so much for your information. View the person who consume spirits over limited level can't be representative of God. They themselves may have wrong doing without declare. So myself confess likely to whom I trust and mostly I confess directly to God. But there are many good priest around the world.
Hebrews 12:14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:
Well yes James is right , I feel zero devotion when I don t control my tongue .i feel uneasy to confess over and over again this sin. But I never recieve communion if I don t confess,Never.because a priest explained and showed me in the new testament that it will have a reverse effect on me and hurt me. Indeed
Fad go how can u confess all your sins!? What if u forget some or don't realize u sinned? I can go to Jesus.
...and Jesus said to his Apostles (aka the ministers of the Gospel and leaders of His Church): "Whose sins you forgive are forgiven, and whose sins you retain are retained" (John 20:23 - why, oh why is that passage so hard for Bible literalists to mentally grab?) So, confessing sins to one another (James) is one thing, but confessing to a minister of the Church (words of Jesus, which I'll take over James any day) has Jesus' guarantee that the sins are forgiven.
Mike drop!
Time to find another cliche we Catholics haven't heard.
@@melindabloom7281 Just give it up, MB. You're not going to win this one. Forget about it. Join the CC, you won't regret it!
@@fr.williamnicholas955 Protestant=Protest, that's all I gotta say.
Hi, can someone please pray for me? I want to be good.
I will pray for you ABC.....tonight I will pray specifically for you in my evening prayers.....and hope they have some efficacy.....I too want too want to be good......
I'm a newly baptized 55 year old with a 38 year old bad smoking habit......I guess this is going to be really annoying to my dear Priest . Please pray for me .
I found a plan where anyone can quit. If I can quit, anyone can do it. I simply would do my best to 'wait' to smoke, and postpone it. It took years, and I cut down more and more this way, until finally I waited many hours to smoke, with only a few a day; my brain did not notice a withdrawal to fight by doing it this way. At that point, I was very able to easily switch to the nicotrol inhaler, which was fully worth the money & I feel the best way to quit. God spoke to me directly to quit, in a harsh word through a minister, just as I was about to mess up at the very end of my time smoking, and go smoke, a tv minister said, "someone has something in their life, with a hold on them. I don't know what it is, but God is saying to you, 'get it out of your life or die.'" God truly hears prayer and will help. Blessings.
This is a question I wrestle with as a Protestant. I’ve never experienced anyone confessing sins to one another in the church family. I believe we are missing out by not doing this and it’s encouraging if we can practice this. It greatly saddens me that I don’t see see this lived out. It definitely makes me wonder if there really is a need for a priest but then how can we get past the fear of not trusting in the priest?
I would highly recommend you read the early church fathers. Early church history in general. I think learning what the earliest Christians believed and practiced would be very enlightening
In catholicism, the sacraments are "ex opere operato" meaning "by the act itself". The priest does not need to be in a state of grace to give valid sacraments
Sometimes, the grace that flows through the absolution by Christ THROUGH the priest is overwhelming, literally taking your breath away. Please note that we are taught to confess our sins to one another (James 5:16). The Apostles received power over sin from Christ ( Matthew 16:19, 18:18, John 20:23). They handed it on to their successors. Paul forgave sins IN THE PERSON OF CHRIST and with the authority of Christ (2 Corinthians 2:10). Paul had a ministry of reconciliation to Christians urging them to be reconciled to God (2 Corinthians 5:20 and following). Orthodox and Catholic priests received this teaching directly from the Apostles and have practiced it continuously since 33 AD. NOTE: 500 years ago, "MAN" who is fatally flawed by his ego, decided that these BIBLE verses no longer apply. Can you be Christian if you DENY any part of the bible?
Thank you ever so much Fr. William for your much detailed and informative explanation about confessing our sins to a priest to receive God's forgiveness.
It is really sad to know that more and more Catholics shy away from obeying this one of the most vital Sacred Sacraments. More so being disobeyed by those whom they called themselves as non practicing Catholics.
There is no such thing as practicing nor non practicing. It's either you are a devoted and a dedicated Catholic or you are not. (No judgment here, just observations).
For the most part, those who don't adhere to the Sacrament of Confession lack the complete understanding of its valuable meaning.
There are so many factors contributing to this lack of understanding.
1.) Fear of Confidentiality - Most are still doubtful about the oath of secrecy that their sins would not be divulged. They still believe that when they confess their sins to the priest that the same priest would tell others about their sins.
2.) Lack of knowledge about the whole concept of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. In Hosea 4:6, it says, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." And so it is. There is no excuse for ignorance especially now with our technological world where you can always search and found out for yourself or the easiest and simplest way is just ask your priest.
3.) Feeling of Embarrassment. This I do understand but when one completely realized from this Sacrament of Healing the rewards of being free by absolution, it is a glorious feeling knowing that whatever it is that is pricking your conscience is gone and that you know that you do have the love of God and His mercy all along, you would not have missed this for the world.
4.) Unpleasant previous personal experienced. This is an individual situation which I believe can be resolved by continuous praying, fasting and eventually would lead to an awareness of the importance of confession to the priest.
5.) Pride. This is one character trait that most of us have one way or another. There is a feeling of 'for lack of a better word,' ignorance because of self righteousness attitude and thinking that the priest is just another person and why should they go to them and confess their sins.
They have to quite understand that priests are God's Shepherds, Holy Men, Anointed Holy Men and not just ordinary human beings. Again, Hosea 4:6.
So many misunderstandings about this topic and one can only renew their outlook about it through their own will if they so desired. No one is forced to do anything, that is against to one's will, a betrayal to oneself.
All in all, at the end, we all have to answer to only one Source and hopefully we are all ready when that time comes.
Having said these, I do go for monthly confession and that for me should be more than that. Why? We are all human beings, we are all sinners and there's never a moment that we have to think that we never sin so we do not need to go for confession to a priest. Through the priest we received pardon and be reborn, renewed and purified.
Thank you once again Fr.William and may the blessings of the Lord be upon you now and forevermore.
Confession is a Holy Sacrament, which you do not receive by confessing to a lay person.. Jesus says that you are confessing to Him thru a priest, not anyone else can give you the absolution , so that you can receive Holy Communion worthily.
There are many followers of Lucifer infiltrated through out our Church that are working to destroy it from within.
Elizabeth L. When Jesus died on the cross , how may sins did he die for? You seem to think that by confessing to a priest that you can be forgiven . When you read the bible it is quite clear that Jesus died for ALL the sins of mankind and there is no need to confess your sins to someone other than God ,in Jesus name. There is only one interceding on our behalf and that is Jesus .
James 5:…15 And the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick. The Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail. 17 Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.…
So when was the last time you confessed your sins to a priest and he in turn confessed his sins to you?
Jesus paid the debt that we could not.
Feeling embarrassed? U can go to a priest u dont know, or he knows you. No need to be embarrassed because
I m sure he heard all kinds of sins before, nothing new to him .to be more practical, does the priest see u face to face when u confess in the usa? Maybe if there s this barrier where u can be bearly seen,it will make things easier . As for the frequency, I think a soon as we sin ,we should go to confession,because sin is that bond which ties us to the ennemy, in confession we break it. Personally each week, I write them down so not to forget any sin.
I dont see the debate between Paul in Ephesians, "Saved by Grace thru Faith, & not by our works " & Book of James, "Faith w/ out works is dead". Its very clear that were saved by The Grace of God thru Faith in Jesus & a result of our Faith is works or fruit otherwise our faith is stagnant, Faith is a gift from God so we dont hide it but we live it in Thanksgiving to God by The Holy Name of The King of Kings & Lord of Lords Christ Jesus. He is our mediator between us & The Father, The Shepard & Overseer of our souls
The debate is between the "either/or" people" - It's either faith or works; or for some, "faith, NOT works".
Catholics take a "both/and" approach. Yes, it is faith and NOT works that saves. But it has to be the RIGHT kind of faith, not faith in general or faith in anything. If it is a faith that does not INCLUDE good works, it is NOT the kind of faith that saves. The Good Works show that it is a faith that saves. Without the Good Works, it is not a faith that saves. As James says: "Faith without works is as dead as a body without breath."
Ergo, Good Works are essential to faith that saves.
@@fr.williamnicholas955 If one is truly regenerated by Holy Spirit, born again, it just comes easy & is joyful to bear fruit as the tree is now good it will bear good fruit & be a light in the world. I appreciate your reply, I could probably ask you alot as I was raised a Roman Catholic but now would say Im a regenerated Christian, God Bless Kind Sir
You're always welcome to come home. There are no "regenerated" or "born again" Christians. Just the real deal. When people stray, they simply come back to the real deal and are always welcome
"Born again" is actually in the Gospel of John, but it is Nicodemus' misunderstanding of what Jesus was saying - "How can one be born again? Can one re-enter the womb and be born again?" (John 3). Jesus corrected his misunderstanding stating one must be "born from above" or "born of water and the Holy Spirit", indicating Baptism and Confirmation. We see a lot of this in the Acts of the Apostles when people who are baptized, then receive the Holy Spirit (in the case of Cornelius (Acts 10:44-48) it happens in reverse).
You're more with it than you realize. Maybe you never received the Sacrament of Confirmation (just a guess, not a judgment). Time to come home.
@@fr.williamnicholas955 I recieved confirmation but late teens & twenties I was absolutely of the world & all that it had & it was all destructive. Only by His Mercy, I had a pretty radical transformation & I went to a catholic church but as I picked up a Bible, God opened my eyes to His Amazing Word & I couldnt help but question the things I saw such as R.C church removing the 2nd commandement Thou shall not worship any graven image & the church was filled w/ em as they made 2 out 10th commandement & Im sure you have heard all the other issues protestants might have such as Mary, confession, Pope etc. Im learning that some Priests, prob such as yourself can answer whether agreed w/ or not but I actually appreciate the discussions. I was always told a Priest had to interpret scripture for catholics but Im so beyond grateful God opened my understanding & hunger to His Word, as since the day I opened The Gospel of John I have not failed to read scripture even 1 morning. Anybody can take issue & find things to disagree about. There are different ministries but The same Lord
First of all, the Bible is a product of the Catholic Church and all Biblical interpretation is therefore subject to Catholic teaching. (I know, I know, the writings of the Bible came first, but it was the Church that collected them into the Bible as we know it and it was the Church that declared them inspired.) Jesus did not establish a Bible. He established a Church to teach with His authority. After all, the Bible tells us so.
Second, the commandment says "you shall not make unto ME a graven image." No Catholic Church has a graven image of God. If you are going to see the images of Mary and the Saints as a violation of that commandment, you may as well see images of your family members in your home as violations as well. (And don't go to the "Catholics worship the saints" track. They don't.)
Finally, as for "removing" the 2nd Commandment. May I recommend -- th-cam.com/video/4nPNM4MRQ8g/w-d-xo.html
and
th-cam.com/video/FsmSWqJWqbA/w-d-xo.html
As an EX-Catholic, it helps to know the reasons in addition to the distinctions.
I think that confession to a priest is important and valid, especially in that the penitent can benefit from spiritual direction and advice given by the priest, and that Jesus gave the apostles the authority to forgive sins in his name, but we must be careful to not tie the hands of God as to the boundaries of his mercy by strict rules and tradition. That is the mistake that the pharisees of Jesus time made......and the Christian church still makes to this very day.
However.....I do think it obvious that the proper interpretation of the "sins forgiven" in in James 5:20 are the sins of the person who has been turned from the errors of his ways, and not those of the person who has turned him from the error of his ways.
James 5:20..."Let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way gives life to his soul from death and blots out the multitude of his sins."
I am also of the opinion that God forgives the sins of anyone who asks His forgiveness, and is sincerely sorry and repents, not by just saying he is sorry, but is sincere in his efforts to not repeat those transgressions in future.
God bless you Father for your efforts to keep us on the Jesus track.
We can make an act of Perfect Contrition out of the Love of God and our sins are forgiven. I know this applies supposedly to when we can't see a priest but to me it shouldn't be conditional.
Years ago, maybe 25, I heard a Catholic Priest say "If you save a soul, you save your own". I never heard that saying before. I then discussed what the priest had said years ago to a former Catholic friend who is now a devout "protestant" (I'm still trying to get him back). When I told my friend what the priest said, my friend who is a lawyer said, "no way". I disagreed with him because I felt the Priest was correct, but I had no "persuasive authority" to support what I was told" "If you save a soul, you save your own". Now, after watching this video, I know the priest from years ago was correct. He cited St. James as authority. BTW, I can see how there is confusion in the understanding by what St. James wrote but I believe in the plain meaning of statements and it seems to me there would be less importance if what St. James wrote did not apply to the person doing the "saving act" of bringing a person back to the grace of God.
the problem i think with protestants is that they do not understand that works are Gods way of allowing us to build merit, we are saved yet we merit more in heaven through our works and our works are gifts from God to allow us to merit more.. if we say no to these gifts then we are not lost , it is just we have not got as much merit and in Heaven there is a hierarchy and we may have to sit at a lower position at the table when the master tells us to move a more meritorious person has just come in.
So tell them we do works as a response to God prompting us and when we do we gain grace for ourselves and others, not doing works is against God. but still saved. this is why we suffer for others, we are saved so we spend time working with Christ as the body to save others. happy Christmas
I admit, this was confusing. I think it means James says do this (confess) if you are not doing this (saving other souls - bringing others back to God).
For me, it's easier to confess than trying to drag everyone to God who is resisting my introverted, introspective, juxtapositional method of bringing the message to them especially considering that I am still learning the subject myself.
It seems that while I am learning the subject of all things God, hearing it from others it makes sense. But when I try to explain it, it's like a puff of air, where did all that I know disappear to?
Currently I am in the phase of Love means follow God's rules even if you don't agree with them. Obedience = love. A 'fake it until you make it' type of thing. I go through the motions but don't feel anything.
That said, how does one develop a conscience that guides discernment if you don't agree the sins you avoid are wrong? I am following God's rules, not because I like them, enjoy them or any reason but because I LOVE God, love is an action word and obeying God is loving Him. Am I missing something?
Still doesn’t clear up the channel of having to go through a priest to have him upchannel my confessions to Jesus. Where in the Bible does it say that I have to go to a priest? No trying to be smart. Just seeking answers
Check out the following video -- th-cam.com/video/a9Va8IO7Ivo/w-d-xo.html
Mr C Matthew chap 8 “He stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, “I will do it. Be made clean.” His leprosy was cleansed immediately.
4
* Then Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one, but go show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses prescribed;b that will be proof for them.”
I think on Easter night when Jesus appeared to the apostles, he gave them authority when he said "If you forgive men's sins, they are forgiven." etc. The priest gets his authority from Jesus.
The letter to The Romans says there is one mediator between God and man the man Christ Jesus. How does the Catholic church reconcile that verse with the idea if priestly confession.
That's easy! -- th-cam.com/video/a9Va8IO7Ivo/w-d-xo.html
JESUS said: "The Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins." (Mark 2:10)
People confessed their sins to John the Baptist (Mark 1:5) and to the Apostles (Acts 19:18).
JESUS said to the Apostles "whose sins you forgive are forgiven" (John 20:23)
The Bishops and presbyters continue the work of the Apostles in the Church (1 & 2 Timothy, Titus)
So...put it all together and it makes sense that you confess to the one(s) to whom Jesus has given the authority to forgive sins - i.e. the priest/bishop
BTW - Paul does not contradict Jesus. So, if Jesus is the sole mediator, it also makes sense that when the one whom JESUS has given authority to receive confessions and declare sins forgiven, then it is, in fact, JESUS who forgives whenever a priests bestows absolution (forgiveness). That is why it's called a Sacrament.
This also makes sense since Jesus is God made human. Therefore, there must be the human exchange in the process of forgiveness of sins otherwise the Incarnation was futile in God's plan of salvation and reconciliation of sinners and the life death and ministry of Jesus was a waste of time (which it was not).
(Mike drop)
When you can not go to confession, because of outside problems rather than religious reasons, confessing directly to God is the only solution. It is the only solution until you can get to confession and receive physical absolution from the priest.
Amen God is good all the time Amen all the time God is good Amen thank you Lord Jesus Amen I give myself to you Lord bless you my Angle I love you
Please share with me how the Catholic Church feels about I Timothy 2:5?
Will someone please share with this person the meaning of Mark 2:9-11 & John 20:23?
If churches expected every Catholic to go to Confession, then they would allot more than 1 hour a week for it. For example, most parishes only have 30 - 60 mins on Friday and Saturday each week for Confession time where there are 1000's of members!!!! Each confession lasts 15-30 mins!!
I tried going to confession twice and both priests refused to give me absolution. First priest said no because I was living with my girlfriend at the time. The second priest said no because I’ve been married three times 🙄
One major misunderstanding regarding Confession is that it is "one-stop-shopping". It must include a Firm Purpose of Amendment; something that is hard to demonstrate when one is currently living with a girlfriend after being married three times. Confession is a good thing, but it still requires something called "conversion" on our part. Be grateful you had two shepherds who were willing to actually shepherd you. How you choose respond to that is up to you.
Another thing to consider: When the priest acts within the context of Sacraments and worship, he acts "in persona christi"; which means whenever the priest consecrates in the Mass, baptizes, bestows forgiveness in Confession etc., it is Christ who is acting through him. This includes preaching and instruction when done in those contexts. So you might consider who was really speaking to you when, not one, but TWO priests instructed you in this way.
d2y1pz2y630308.cloudfront.net/2645/documents/2020/5/in%20persona%20christi.pdf
Oh and thanks for the James bit. I didn't know about that.
God, please forgive me for my sins for watching adult websites online and smoking weed please forgive me god and jesus, Amen
logan larsen, God is not mocked...
I will come back and reply. Jesus loves you and with His grace you can overcome this!!! It is not hopeless. Delete everything that has to do with what you’ve been doing. It may not be easy. Get a St. Dominic crucifix and began wearing it and get it blessed as soon as possible by a priest. If you fall. Get up, think of Jesus who loves you and ask Him to help you not hurt Him again. Play the exorcism video by fr. McNamara it says “the Exorcism Prayer Read by Fr. Leo McNamara” pray with it. It helps against violent temptations!
There is on in Latin very powerful “Esorcismo di Leone XIII (Latino) - Per Uso Privato” there is a man, holding up a cross with a picture of Jesus behind him. Play them both until the temptation goes away. Call out to Jesus and His Blessed Mother to cover you in her protective blue mantle. I ask her to do it. Ask for grace, but you must use your will by the grace of God. You are in a fight for your soul. Are these things work eternal damnation? Jesus helps with sin, for He helped me as did our Holy MOTher. The only thing to do with sexual sin is to RUN from it. If you allow yourself to start thinking about it. Watch out.,God can and will bring you out of this. BUT the only one who says yes to it is you.
Jesus help you and He will. He hears a contrite heart. You will fall again, but the more you fight, the less the sin has control over you!!! This is truth. Pray the rosary, play the exorcism videos, go to confession, fight, you want to go to Heaven don’t you? With love
and Logan, if you're a Catholic, you need to get serious with your relationship with Christ, and get to Confession ASAP........and if you're NOT Catholic, you need to get into a good RCIA program at your local Catholic Church, and BECOME one.......
@@margaretmari But what can people do if churches in their country aren't yet opened due the pandemic crisis? Is there an online way to do it?
I have twist on that topic.. what happens ( as did to me) when the priest says " I cannot offer you absolution" I am involved with a man. What then ? I guess my soul is lost since I cannot have absolution..
Absolution is generally, if ever, refused if there is no firm purpose of amendment, or intention to turn away from the sin one is confessing.
I can't believe he calls confessing to Jesus an alternative . We all have intercession directly with divine persons through the saving grace of Jesus death and rising from the grave. Thanks to this ,we have direct access to the Father.
Since "no one comes to the Father except through me [Christ], we do not have "direct access to the Father". As Jesus is human, we cannot claim the forgiveness of sins unless we have that human connection with those Jesus has commissioned to stand in for him for that purpose; and he gave that to the Church and its ministers: "Whose sins you forgive are forgiven" (John 20:23).
Then why did Jesus bestow the power to forgive sins to the apostles then?
@@fr.williamnicholas955 I'm learning more about catholicism and I'm curious. What do you do with the book of Hebrews and it's discussion about Christ as the High Priest and 1 Timothy 2:5 where is declares Christ our one mediator to God? In particular with respect to the Catholic requirement for confession to a priest.
@@robypoteau We need to take the Scriptures in its totality. Not in smaller quotations or passages. Jesus is our High Priest, but he also left behind a Church, whose ministers have the authority to forgive sins in God's name. We cannot go "directly to God" because we are now dealing with an Incarnate Son of God, God become human. We must have that human exchange otherwise we are, even if unintentionally, denying the Incarnation. We cannot go "directly to Christ" unless it is done in a human way, in a human exchange. Which is why priests stand in with the authority God gave the Church to forgive sins. In short, whenever a priest administers a sacrament, including Confession, it is Christ who is administering.
@@fr.williamnicholas955This is a wonderful explanation
The fact that one confesses his sins to a priest does not equate to one's sins being forgiven, by virtue of the the fact that one confesses to a priest, unless one is actually sorry for one's sins and is in an attitude of repentance, being in the mindset of doing one's best to sin no more.
Also Protestant churches offer Confession and in my church (Lutheran) we have confession of sin and general absolution in the liturgy. But for Catholics it seems like a virtue to go to confession often and for Protestants it is a virtue not to go to confession often...It's not good at all if we constantly fall in the same sin.
You need to confess at least once a year in the Catholic church. Plus we are sinners by nature, so don't worry if anyone thinks you are confessing too often, just get good with God.