The Rite of Confession

One favorite thing for non Catholics (and some Catholics) to attack, is the need for confession. After all, "We should go straight to God himself for only he can forgive sins"


Right?

That is not how Jesus saw it.

On the first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you." When he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father sent me, so I send you." And when he had said this, he breathed onto them and said to them "Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven, and whose sins you retain are retained." (John 20:20-23)

Reread that last line. Jesus did not say, "Tell them to go unto God and confess their sins." He told them, Whose sins YOU forgive will be forgiven.

Obviously, God is the ultimate decider on the fate of our souls, but Jesus constantly calls upon his followers (The apostles, his disciples, and in turn... us) to forgive. It is even in the Lord's prayer. It does not say, "Forgive us our trespasses and we pray you forgive those who trespass against us." Jesus taught us to say, as WE forgive those who trespass against us. He calls on US to forgive. We are all imbued with the power to forgive through the Holy Spirit.

Forgive us our trespasses as WE FORGIVE those who trespass against us. - The Lord's Prayer

Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, FORGIVE HIM. (Luke 17:3)

"Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven, and whose sins you retain are retained." (John 20:20-23)

Jesus never once preached that Forgiveness was out of our hands, he preached that we must be forgiving to those truly repentant.

So where does it say we need to go to a priest rather than directly to God?

Of course you can go directly to God. In fact, all the priest does is remind us of God's love and mercy and that if we're truly repentant we are forgiven... then he reminds us of what Jesus told the adulteress he saved from stoning. "Go and sin no more." then the priest will give penance to do to reflect on our sins, on God's forgiveness, and how we can make changes in our lives to be better.

Confession is not a get out of jail free card. You can't sin, go to confession and say "sorry", then go back to sinning knowing you'll just say sorry again the following week. Confession is about being repentant. You must be repentant and want to change your sinful ways. you must want to be a better person. We're weak, and confession gives us the chance to talk our sins out with someone who serves God, like the disciples, hear ideas on where we've gone wrong and how to fix it, and hear that God can forgive us if we are truly sorry. But it does not work if you're just there to ease your guilt.

But again you ask, why not just go straight to God? Why humiliate yourself to a priest and tell him your faults?

We should feel humiliated for our transgressions, and we need to humble ourselves to show we are truly sorry. 

In the Letter of James Chapter 5 verse 16... he says "Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another." It is about humbling ourselves and showing true humility and sorrow for the acts which hurt God. God already knows our sins. So to show humility and humbleness, we confess to a priest, who is a disciple of Jesus, who has dedicated all that he is, his life and soul to God.

We humble ourselves to this follower of Christ, and he, in the authority Jesus gave, offers forgiveness if he truly believes we are repentant... and as Jesus said... if he forgives our sins... then we are forgiven.

There is nothing wrong with praying directly to God, but there is something sacred in the rite of confession. We humble ourselves, the priest, who has studied the bible and theology and interpretations of Christ's words from the top apologists of our time and times past, will explain to us the ways we can get back onto the path of the righteous, we are given penance we must do to further heal the wounds the sin caused on our soul... and we are given a chance to start anew. There is nothing more powerful than to hear the words, "You are forgiven, go and sin no more".

Confession is biblical, we are all called to forgive, and confession to a priest is just. It is in keeping with the bible.

If he repents... forgive him.

Those whose sins you forgive, are forgiven them.

Confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another.

Forgive us our sins, as WE FORGIVE those who trespass against us.