Category: Sacraments

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What’s up with confessing to a priest?

Written by Laura Kramer

We recently received the question: Why do Catholics need to confess to priests rather than to God?

 

Hm last time I check, we did need to confess to God.

 

In fact, within the first 5 minutes of Mass on Sunday the whole congregation recites together The Penitential Rite which goes like this:

 

I confess to almighty God,

and to you, my brothers and sisters,

that I have sinned through my own fault,

in my thoughts and in my words,

in what I have done,

and in what I have failed to do;

and I ask blessed Mary, ever virgin,

all the angels and saints,

and you, my brothers and sisters,

to pray for me to the Lord our God.

 

Again, during the Sacrament of Confession after I have admitted my sins I say the Act of Contrition:

 

O my God,

I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee,

and I detest all my sins,

because I dread the loss of heaven, and the pains of hell;

but most of all because they offend Thee, my God,

Who are all good and deserving of all my love.

I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace,

to confess my sins, to do penance, and to amend my life.

Amen.

 

Yes we do confess to God.

 

Now let’s talk about the role of the priest. Some make the mistake of thinking that the priest forgives sins, but a few quotes from the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) should clarify that:

 

Only God forgives sins. Since he is the Son of God, Jesus says of himself, “The Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins” and exercises this divine power: “Your sins are forgiven.” Further, by virtue of his divine authority he gives this power to men to exercise in his name. (CCC #1441)

 

In imparting to his apostles his own power to forgive sins the Lord also gives them the authority to reconcile sinners with the Church. This ecclesial dimension of their task is expressed most notably in Christ’s solemn words to Simon Peter: “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (CCC #1444)

 

When he celebrates the sacrament of Penance, the priest is fulfilling the ministry of the Good Shepherd who seeks the lost sheep, of the Good Samaritan who binds up wounds, of the Father who awaits the prodigal son and welcomes him on his return, and of the just and impartial judge whose judgment is both just and merciful. The priest is the sign and the instrument of God’s merciful love for the sinner. (CCC #1465)

 

The priest is truly instrumental in bring us back into communion with God and the Church.

 

Now sometimes when people ask this questions about confessing to a priest, I wonder what’s beneath the surface. (Yeah I was a psychology major…) Inherent in the question “Why confess to a priest?” there seems to be an aversion to priests as if to say “Why waste my breath?” What is our attitude toward priests? Are priests not our brothers? Our fathers? Our elders? Our mentors? Our pastors? Are they not here to pray for, support, guide, and teach us?

 

What’s so strange about opening up to another person, trusting him, and receiving support and prayer from him? I don’t think it’s strange at all when you think about it on a human level. Actually I think trust, support, and prayer as we strive to amend our lives is something we could all use a lot more of!

 

Haven’t been to confession in a while? Contact one of the priests on this blog! With trust, support, and prayer they will guide you through the Sacrament of Confession and bring you back into a life of grace in God’s merciful love!

 

 

 

 

 

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40 Reasons for Coming Home: Reason # 8

Reason # 8: Personal Transformation – One of the most profound things I have noticed about my life is the way that the Lord, through the Liturgy, the Sacraments, and the Scriptures has transformed my life. I am now 47 years old, but I have only been serious about my spiritual life for the last 25 of those years. I spent the first 22 years as only a nominal Catholic. But I’ve noticed that my life is really changing for the better since I decided to follow Jesus more earnestly in the Catholic Church. Through daily prayer, Mass, frequent confession, and the daily reading of Scripture my life is changing! I am less angry and less resentful. I am more serene and less anxious. My priorities are in better order. My attitudes are more biblical and more Christian. I am more forgiving and less harsh. I love truth, goodness, chastity, and God himself so much more!

I do not say this to boast. I didn’t do it so I can’t boast. Jesus did this for me. An old Gospel songs says it well: “I’m not what I want to be but I’m not what I used to be!” I have a long way to go but I know that the Lord will bring to completion the good work he has begun in me. And Jesus has done all this for me in the context of my life in the Catholic Church. I have had the Word of God preached to me; I’ve been taught the faith; I’ve been nourished with Holy Communion and forgiven in Confession. The lives of the saints have inspired me and the noble Catholic intellectual tradition has helped me, by God’s grace, to have a new mind and heart.

So here’s a good reason to come home: transformation through the life of faith in the long and noble Catholic Tradition. I’m a witness!

Here’s an old classic Catholic hymn that speaks of how the Eucharist transforms us to be more like Christ, whom we receive and adore:  O Lord I am Not Worthy

If you like Gospel music, here’s a song by Tramaine Hawkins about the personal transformation we can and should expect from our relationship with the Lord. It contains the quote from Gospel music I mentioned above. The name of the piece is “A Wonderful Change Has Come Over Me.”

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The Beauty of the Mass

The following video is a brief but beautiful tapestry of the Mass.

The video invites you to visit the website www.catholicmass.org, which contains inspriational and instructional material on the Holy Mass.  A full DVD can also be purchased, and it is a wonderful resource for those either returning to the Mass or wanting to learn more of the Sacred Liturgy.

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Discovering God in a Snowstorm

There is a heavy snow falling in Washington this March evening. Not every one likes snow but it is an amazing work of God. He takes a barren winter landscape and creates it anew. In the Book of Sirach there is a beautiful and poetic description of God and the majestic work he creates, even in the “dead” of Winter. Enjoy this excerpt from Sirach and reflect on the glory of winter.

 

God in Winter:

A word from God  drives on the north wind.

He scatters frost like so much salt;

It shines like blossoms on the thornbush.

Cold northern blasts he sends that turn the ponds to lumps of ice.

He freezes over every body of water,

And clothes each pool with a coat of mail.

He sprinkles the snow like fluttering birds.

Its shining whiteness blinds the eyes,

The mind is baffled by its steady fall. 

 Sirach 43, selected verses

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Unless….

When I was a kid, I thought of Church as something my mom made me do with lots of rituals and stuff. I never thought of it as essential for my survival. But Jesus teaches something very profound in John’s Gospel when he was talking about Holy Communion (the Eucharist). In effect he says that without Holy Communion we will starve and die spiritually. Here is what Jesus says, “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.” (John 6:53)

 

Even as a young adult I never thought of Holy Communion as essential for my life, as something that, if I didn’t receive it regularly, would cause me to die spiritually. But it makes sense doesn’t it? If we don’t eat food in our physical lives we grow weak and eventually die. It is the same with Holy Communion. Remember what happened in the Book of Exodus: the people were without food in the desert and they feared for their lives. So God gave them bread from heaven called “manna” that they collected each morning. Without eating that bread from heaven they would never have made it to the Promised Land; they would have died in the desert. It is the same with us. Without receiving Jesus, our Living Manna from heaven in Holy Communion, we will not make it to our Promised Land of Heaven! I guess it’s not just a ritual after all; it is essential for our survival.

 

Don’t miss Holy Communion! Jesus urges you to eat. A mother and father in my parish recently noticed their daughter wasn’t eating. Within a very short time they took her to the doctor, who diagnosed the problem, and now the young girl is able to eat again. Those parents would have moved  heaven and earth to make sure their daughter was able to eat. It is the same with God. Jesus urges us to eat, to receive the Holy Communion every Sunday without fail. Jesus urges us with this word: “Unless!”

 

Here is a powerful presentation of the “Jesus Bread of Life” discourse from the Movie, The Gospel of John. The movie is a worthy production and a word-for-word rendering of the Gospel of John. You can order it here: The Gospel of John.

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Why Does the Church Not Ordain Women as Priests?

Here is another question that was sent to us via e-mail:

The Catholic Church does not ordain women as priests. Why is this so and how can the Church continue in a policy that seems so unfair and at variance with the fact that most other denominations now have women ministers?

 

This question is frequently asked today and seems more urgent when, as you note, other denominations have women ministers. There is also today a stronger sense that all opportunities should be available to everyone.

 

The most immediate answer as to why the Church does not ordain to the priesthood is that the Church cannot do so. Sometimes we think today that our Church is free to do whatever she wants. But the fact is that the Church is bound to hand on what she has received. When Jesus established the priesthood, he chose from among all his many disciples (which included many prominent women) twelve men whom he named “Apostles.” This call of the Apostles is the origin of the priesthood. Jesus called only men to this office. It is hard to argue, as some do, that Jesus had to comply with the norms of his day and thus had no real choice. The fact is that Jesus broke many conventions of his time and exhibited considerable freedom in interpreting the Law. He was more than willing to engage in controversy where necessary. Jesus himself established the priesthood calling only men and the Church has no authority to overrule Jesus, Sacred Scripture, or the established Apostolic Tradition in this regard. Both John Paul II and Paul VI indicated this very clearly. Here is What Pope John Paul wrote in 1994: “Therefore, in order that all doubt may be removed regarding a matter of great importance, a matter which pertains to the Church’s divine constitution itself, in virtue of my ministry of confirming the brethren (cf. Lk 22:32) I declare that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church’s faithful.” (Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, 4).  Therefore, the Church must hand on what we have received from Christ and the Apostles even if this teaching is not currently popular or in conformity with other modern practices.

As to the question of fairness, I would point out that it is possible to observe differences in regard to roles in the Church without an indication of inequality. Whatever roles individuals fill in the Church, all are equally baptized, all are equally children of the Father, and all are equal in dignity. This is what Paul wrote in First Corinthians 12:

14Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body… 17If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be… 21The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!”

Not long ago I was interviewed on CNN in a kind of debate with another priest who dissents from Church Teaching in this matter. If you wish, you can view the exchange here:

 

 

I encourage you to use the comments section if you would like further clarification of this teaching.

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Take A Guess

How many adults do you think are preparing to join the Catholic Church in the Archdiocese of Washington this Easter?

Post your guess and check back in with me on Monday. The winner will receive the promise of my prayer for their special request.