2 Corinthians 5:20: So we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We beseech you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
John 20:21-23: 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.”
Matthew 18:18: “Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
2 Corinthians 5:18-20: All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. So we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We beseech you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
The power to forgive sins is reserved to priests. As long as there is a need for the forgiveness of sins, the priests of the Catholic Church will continue to possess this power from Christ. Christ would not abandon his Church. As long as his Church exists, so will his mercy. The tragedy today is that many opt to remain in their sins. One of the greatest spiritual powers of every priest is neglected. The graces of this sacrament cannot be exaggerated.
WM: I don’t see where in those verses that priests are the only people who can forgive sins.
FATHER JOE:
The sacrament of Penance as practiced in the Church finds it roots in Old Testament practices and in the authority that Jesus gives his apostles in the New Testament. There is a rapid development of the sacrament from the power of the keys: baptismal innocence to second penance to auricular confession.
In regard to 2 Corinthians 5:20, look at the context of the citation. We read in verse 18: “And all this is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and given us THE MINISTRY OF RECONCILIATION, namely God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting their trespasses against them and ENTRUSTING TO US THE MESSAGE OF RECONCILIATION.
Catholics acknowledge that redemption comes through Christ. It is only because Jesus has made himself the great sin-offering that his priests can forgive sins. People are forgiven and healed, not simply as individuals, but as members of the body of Christ, the Church. We do not deny that there are other means to discover God’s mercy; but, the sacrament is a certain way, a corporate way, and a grace-filled way. Sanctifying grace is granted as well as the many actual graces to live out our discipleship. The authority given to the apostles is passed down to the bishops and priests today who exercise THE MINISTRY OF RECONCILIATION.
Looking to John 20:21-23, the authority to forgive sins is very clearly given the Church, albeit to her apostolic leadership: “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven, if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” This makes every priest a judge of souls as well as a minister of divine mercy. This notion of the priest and the Church as a judge of right and wrong, of sin and virtue, is further confirmed by Matthew 18:18. Again, look at the context. Jesus forgives sins. Now his apostles will do the same, of course, because Christ himself will be perpetuating his ministry through them. He says, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you” (verse 21). Jesus was sent into the world for the forgiveness of sins. He told the repentant that their sins were forgiven and to go and sin no more. Our Lord knew by his divine knowledge the sins of others. The apostles, bishops and priests cannot read minds. Thus, the penitent would confess their sins prior to absolution. Our priests still do what Christ did in his public ministry.
John 20:21-23: 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.”
WM: We don’t need priests to absolve us from our sins. That’s why Jesus died on the cross. Through His death, burial and resurrection WE can now come boldly to the throne of God to receive mercy in our time of need. We don’t need a priest to be a middleman. We are worthy because of Jesus. God sees us through the Blood of Jesus and that means we are seen as righteous (in right standing with God).
FATHER JOE: The Church acknowledges that you can ask for mercy in prayer and in the exercise of all the sacraments. However, some sins are reserved to the Church for absolution. Counsel and the actual graces are bestowed. We do need priests just like we needed to ministry of Paul and Barnabas. The Church is not disposable. We have shepherds for a reason. The incarnation itself makes possible the role of our priests because God in Jesus Christ is not hesitant to use the elements of earth and the human to convey his presence and saving power. Both the Orthodox churches of the East and the Catholic Church of the West believe in the sacrament of Penance and the MINISTRY OF RECONCILIATION. God sees us as we really are— saints and sinners alike. Our justification is not imputed upon us. God does not see us through the bloodstained glasses of Jesus. We are not disguised by Christ but transformed by him. The forgiveness of sins makes possible our real restoration to the likeness of God. Small venial sins can be forgiven in many ways; mortal sin is best treated by the sacrament so that we can be assured of sanctifying grace. We read in Hebrews 4:13, “No creature is concealed from him, but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we need to render an account.” Faith can soul and have to be healed or restored; we are not “once saved, always saved.” Rather, we live in the sure and certain HOPE of our salvation. Absolution helps to insure our continued conversion so that at the end of our lives, when the Father looks upon us, he will see his Son, not standing in front of us, but living inside of us. We must become and remain a new creation, new Christs.
WM: Priests were needed in the Old Testament to enter the holy of holies because sin could not exist in God’s presence. Priests had to remain perfect so that they could enter God’s presence on everyone’s behalf. That’s not necessary anymore. When Jesus died he tore that veil and we now have direct access to God. Jesus is our High Priest. That’s all we need.
FATHER JOE: You would deny both Confession and the sacrifice of the Mass. But you are wrong. Every ordained bishop and priest is a successor to the apostles. They participate in the one high priesthood of Jesus Christ. Access to God is mediated. Jesus is one with his Mystical Body, the Church. Therefore, we can say that Christ is the Way and the Truth and the Life. However, we would also stress the Church as his sacrament of salvation. He has given a definite structure to the Church as the NEW PEOPLE OF GOD or the NEW JERUSALEM or NEW ZION. Not everyone has the same role. God establishes, not simply millions of independent relationships, but many personal friendships within the larger corporate union of God’s people with one another and with him, the Church.
WM: Hebrews 4:16 – Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God’s unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it].
FATHER JOE: There is nothing in this passage which refutes the Catholic practice. We come to the Lord in faith with contrite and humbled hearts. If we expect absolution then we must be sorry for our sins. The priestly work of Jesus continues to be made manifest in the shepherds he has appointed. Instead of coming to God alone, we need priestly counsel, “… you need to have someone teach you again the basic elements of the utterances of God” (Hebrews 4:12).
WM:
Hebrews 2:16-17 – For, as we all know, He [Christ] did not take hold of angels [[a]the fallen angels, to give them a helping and delivering hand], but He did take hold of [[b]the fallen] descendants of Abraham [to reach out to them a helping and delivering hand].(A)
So it is evident that it was essential that He be made like His brethren in every respect, in order that He might become a merciful (sympathetic) and faithful High Priest in the things related to God, to make atonement and propitiation for the people’s sins.
FATHER JOE: Once more, there is nothing here that refutes the Catholic practice of Confession. It simply teaches that salvation comes to men and not angels. Satan and his fellow demons are eternally lost. Men have an opportunity to know salvation in Christ Jesus. This does not negate the instrumentality of men used by Christ.
WM:
Hebrews 1:11-14 – [We pray] that you may be invigorated and strengthened with all power according to the might of His glory, [to exercise] every kind of endurance and patience (perseverance and forbearance) with joy, Giving thanks to the Father, Who has qualified and made us fit to share the [a]portion which is the inheritance of the saints (God’s holy people) in the Light. [The Father] has delivered and [b]drawn us to Himself out of the control and the dominion of darkness and has transferred us into the kingdom of the Son [c]of His love, In Whom we have our redemption through His blood, [which means] the forgiveness of our sins.
“Learn to enjoy the good life that God planned for us!”
FATHER JOE: I have a bible too and the Church is not afraid of Scripture. We are made fit for the kingdom of God by embracing the redemptive work of Christ and having faith in the Lord within the context of the Church. Catholics live out their discipleship through the sacraments and a life of charity. Remember, “Faith is the realization of what is HOPED FOR and evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). Your second citation here is mislabeled. It is not Hebrews 1. The citation is actually Colossians 1:11-14. Accepting the redemptive work of Christ does indeed bring the forgiveness of sins. Such is the value of faith and baptism. However, the sacraments are given to us, especially Confession, so that we might return to God’s good graces after falling again into sin. Knowing fallen human nature, St. Paul prayerfully admonishes them to seek “all spiritual wisdom and understanding to live in a manner worthy of the Lord, so as to be pleasing, IN EVERY GOOD WORK bearing fruit and growing in the knowledge of God, ….”
Dear father, would any sins ever be retained? Sometimes i do the same bad things again even after confession, how patient could God be?
Theresa,
Confession is all about forgiveness and healing. I have been taught that God does two things in the confessional, through His priest of course. The first thing is that He grants pardon or absolution. The second thing is that He bestows upon the soul special graces in order to help them to avoid committing the same sins in the future. The amount of graces received depend totally on the dispostion of the individual at the time of the confession.
Not that the church requires this practice, but I was influenced by a priest to fast before confession because he said that he does. That makes sense if you recall this passage about the deaf boy with an evil spirit. The apostles were unable to cure him.
Jesus had to cure him.
Mark 9:29 “And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.”
The Power of Prayer and Fasting….
There is great spiritual power in prayer and fasting. Addiction is a spiritual bondage that must be fought with spiritual weapons. Fasting and prayer will enable us to be empowered by the Holy Spirit and allow His anointing to break the yoke that binds us.
Why do we fast before receiving Holy Communion? We do it to prepare ourselves spiritually. To put our souls in the proper disposition in order to receive the Lord Jesus reverently and worthily. He desires to pour many graces into us in the Eucharist. We are only limited by our own willingness to receive those special and unique graces.
I think that this can also be said about sacramental confession too.
Being sincere about receiving the sacraments is so very important to God, and so should it be as equally important to us.
To make some clarification, the priest to whom I referred, fasted before hearing confessions and also before going to confession himself.
hi michael, thanks. i just felt that God shouldn’t forgive me anymore, that i have really failed in being a good person……so i was wondering if a priest would retain sins instead.
Theresa,
Don’t ever feel that way. That’s an insult to God. When you have confessed all of your sins with the best of your knowledge, made a sincere act of contrition and the priest raises his hand in absolution, THAT’S IT! You are forgiven and come out of the confessional a new person. You are a human being living on this Earth with the residue of original sin like the rest of us. God knows that we aren’t perfect. That’s why He gave to us the beautiful scarament of confession…a place to get a shower when we get spiritually dirty.
Remember when Peter asked Jesus how often he should forgive,….. seven times? What did the Lord say? No,not seven times but SEVENTY TIMES SEVEN. In other words, there should be No limit to forgiveness.
Jesus gave the apostles the power to forgive sins in His name. He did not give them the power to read minds.
The priest in the confessional is an instrument of God’s mercy. The priest is in persona Christi (a representative for Christ). Only if the person shows no willingness to give up sin does the priest retain, that is withhold absolution, as we “do not give what is holy to dogs” (Mt 7:6).
St. Faustina had a sister in her congregation (Sr. Feliksa) who doubted God’s love and forgiveness. St. Faustina told her that her lack of trust in God’s mercy, love and forgiveness deeply hurt the Lord more than anything else, including the sins that she had committed. So it is for us. God has forgiven people thousands of times, over and over again for committing the same sins, BUT souls refuse to accept God’s mercy and pardon. They also refuse to forgive themselves. They carry that guilt around wherever they go after having been forgiven in the confessional over and over again, which is completely wrong. It is an insult to God NOT to trust in His infinite love and mercy. No sin is greater than the infinite mercy and love of God.
God gives us His infinite mercy in the confessional so that we can be relieved of guilt. He knows what sin and guilt can do to the human heart. It can drive it to despair and also tear it apart. God doesn’t want anyone walking around feeling guilty over past sins that have been forgiven many times over. That’s not the God that we know, love, and serve.
Laudetur Jesus Christus!
Glad to see you back Michael! Hope all is well with you….
Hello Janine!
I’m doing very well and hope that you are too. I’ve been trying to make some converts on Facebook. I’ve actually had a bi-sexual call me a freak because of my faith.
What a compliment!
I’ve been called much worse than that.
I’ve also had some “friends” de-friend me on Facebook on account of my faith and my Catholic posts.
They may have “de-friended” me, but I have still planted the seeds of faith in the gardens of their “unbelieving” minds.
God bless, Michael