"CONFESSING DIRECTLY TO GOD" - Alternatives to Confessing to a Priest? - Catholic Precept #2
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- Опубліковано 22 сер 2024
- Many Christians believe you don't' have to confess your sins to a priest to receive God's forgiveness. If so, what are the alternatives that carry with it the guarantee that sins are forgiven?
Fr. Bill addresses this popular argument that Confession is not necessary, and examines a passage in Scripture that may suggest an alternative, but, as always with Scripture, there is a catch that inevitably leads us back to the basic, and traditional practice of Confession.
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.
Thank you Father Nicholas for occupying a little part of the internet with credible and trustworthy leadership. You are a true pastor.
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.
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.
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
It's always a comfort to listen the Words of Jesus. Thank you father.
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" ..
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.😇😇😇😇😇😇😇
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!
Thank you so much Father for clearing that up.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
Thank You Father. I was thinking that’s what I was told in 1st grade...
Thank you Fr. Be Blessed in your work of God.
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.
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 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.
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. -- ua-cam.com/video/a9Va8IO7Ivo/v-deo.html
Rev Fr thanks very educative and insightful
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?
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.
Yes Sir as I gave testimony to the fact that our Soul has a target to Jesus crucified on the Cross
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!
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.
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.
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 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.
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.🐏
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
Thank you for this series. It is beneficial. Since my last confession, it has been 4
decades.
😕
I’m a nondenominational Christian that is seeking the truth of how to uphold everything Christ left for us to follow.
With that being said, I find it very difficult to understand how the Catholic Church operates when it comes to the confession of sins and all of the other teachings. If someone could please provide me with their understanding of how you can go to a priest and ask for the forgiveness of sins when we have a means of being able to speak to the Father through the Son by the Holy Spirit. What’s more confounding is even after being forgiven of your sins you are not guaranteed your salvation because you must undergo a spiritual purging in what is known as purgatory. Finally, to take it one step further, while your spirit dwells in purgatory you must rely on people on earth to pray for your spirit to enter heaven along with indulgences (paying your way into heaven).
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.
Reverend Sir you are right one cannot profess to be a Catholic if one deviate from Catholic practices. Indeed we need to be encouraged to adhere to what it takes to be a Catholic.
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.
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.
Praise The Lord . I am your new subscriber Fr. William my best wishes from (Holy land)Israel and India to your channel 🙏
James is maybe my favorite book, along with the Psalms. I am a very direct, plain speaking person.
Confessing to God's Holy Priests is True Humility !!!!! Amen
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.
I feel learned now. Thanks be to our God.
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
Thank you Father, Praise be JESUS and MARY...
elira67; Praising Mary is not biblical. Yes, we are to acknowledge her place, but all praise and honor belong to God the Father, to Jesus and to His Holy Spirit (God in 3 persons, the blessed Trinity). Please do not be deceived by the false teachings and doctrine of the RCC. As a former Catholic, I say these things with sincerity and sensitivity. God is pure, perfect, powerful and praiseworthy. Jesus Himself said: "No one comes to the Father/God except through Me." I encourage to think about this.
No but we must love Mary as well. We are not to praise her we are to love her as a Mother for she is our Holy Mother. All praise is reserved for God The Father but it does not say we can not love her. She is the mother of God as well as us.
@@rpgeezlouise4600 Luke 2. All generations shall call her blessed... for God has done great things for her and Holy is His Name.
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
We only have 1 hour a week assigned for a 1500+ congregation. And sometimes you can't make it to that hour.
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?
Just as how we need a doctor to heal our physical body, we need the priests for spiritual healing and forgiveness of sins.
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.ua-cam.com/users/videoa9Va8IO7Ivo/edit
Hebrews 12:14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:
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)
we must confess to our High Priest Jesus Christ
And we do so by confessing to the ministers of the Church Jesus Christ established and left behind to continue his work, the ministers of whom He declared "whose sins you forgive are forgiven" (John 20:23). To deny Confession to a Priest is to deny the Incarnation. If we deny the Incarnation, then we are not Christian.
Interesting and insightful interpretation. Thank you, Father.
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
Oh and thanks for the James bit. I didn't know about that.
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.
I need to confess I haven't been to confession for years ! Yet I attend mass weekly. 😏 Thank you Father .
Return to Confession. Christ is waiting to hear it, through His servant the priest.
Please go I did after 25 years ..you can make it easy read about it on UA-cam easy confession
Now I go and love it.
Please go to confession it's easy and simple and and they make it so good today people don't stay in confession for hours to go in and make it simple short and get out.my husband thinks it being there for 10 hours I told him no you just confess The ten commandments the ones you're broke and a few other ones on the side like gossiping fighting getting angry it's just really simple please go
Please go make it simple and fast.priest Love's it I just get to the point. Good luck
I Worship JESUS for He instituted the Seven Blessed Sacrament of His Holy Roman Catholic Church Amen
There was not church in Jesus`s time.
This is an excellent explanation!
In light of what father said in the video, I would like to also add that Jesus Himself gave His apostles the ability to forgive sins when He breathed on them the Holy Spirit, which has been handed down up to this very day.
People don’t do the research of the early church, yet want to call the Catholic Church the hoar of Babylon, and all kinds of other lies.
True that Jesus gave his apostles the injunction to forgive sin in his name, but that does not tie God's hands of mercy to forgive via sincere sorrow or confession directly to God.
One can think of the Church as a three legged stool, scripture, tradition and reason........and in the past century one cannot be blamed for thinking that the middle leg "tradition" has become very wobbly.....making the same mistakes as the Pharisees of Jesus day.
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.
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?
Faith without courage is useless! Have courage to confess sins & receive the grace of forgiveness directly from God!
Confessing "directly to God" is one thing, but when the Son of God and his Apostles commanded that we Confess our sins to one another, and gave the power to forgive sins to the Church, then Confessing "directly to God" is nothing less than approaching God on OUR terms rather than God's. In confessing to a priest, we are in fact confessing directly to Christ, who like Christ, is verbally and incarnationally declaring the forgiveness of sins, with which comes the GUARANTEE that sins are forgiven. No such guarantee is given when we go "directly to God."
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.
Confession without repentance is a joke
Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.
Acts 3:19
There is not a single passage in the Bible about confessing to a priest. Not one. It does mention confessing to one another but it does not say anything about a priest or our forgiveness depends on it. The torn veil when Jesus died eliminated the need to go to a priest to access God. We can now access God directly through Jesus.
If you are going to confess to Jesus, you must do it in a human way (otherwise the Incarnation meant nothing). Besides, does the phrase "whose sins you forgive are forgiven" (Joh 20:23) mean anything to you? Obviously that authority was given by Jesus to those who received the confession of sinners, who passed that authority on to their successors.
Time to expand your horizons beyond the Bible. The Church, with its practice of Confession to a priest, existed for 400 years prior to the Bible as you know it. Confession to a priest is not in the Bible because it does not need to be -- it was already in practice by the Church Jesus founded (note, Jesus did not establish a BIBLE, Jesus established a Church -- find me the passage where Jesus handed a manual on how to be Christian to the Apostles and called it a "Bible"). (BTW -- The Bible is as much a product of the Church as the Confession of sins).
There are several scriptures that do talk about forgiveness of sins through apostolic dispensation. I'm a bible based Christian and I can clearly see where the Catholic church developed this tradition. John 20:20-23 is pretty clear, Mathew 16:18-19 seems to support this further. I still believe we can confess to God, w/ Jesus as our mediator, but that doesn't nullify priests being able to remit sins through a tradition (sacrament) of confession. It's not anti biblical.
You have found a nearly perfect compromise!👏
Jesus Christ gave His authority and Sacraments to His apostles and their successors(Catholic Clergy). These are the keys to the kingdom of Heaven in Mt 16:18-19. It’s not a matter of what we want to do, it’s a matter of what God wants us to do.
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.”
Mt18:18 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.
Mt16:18 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.
Mt16:19 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.”
Mt28:18 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,
Mt28:20 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.”
@@fr.williamnicholas955what about confession of sins at the beginning of mass?
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.
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?
Awesome! God Bless and stay safe
I had a negative experience last time I went to confession that I have never gone again. I confess my sins directly to God. The problem is finding a non-judgemental priest
If you stopped after only one negative experience, then might I suggest that there are THOUSANDS of priests out there, not just the one you went to. Confessing "directly to God" doesn't cut it, because it reduced God to nothing more than an imaginary friend who adheres only to how we have re-created Him in our minds. When we have a "negative experience" with one priest, we need to get over ourselves and find one who is "non-judgmental" (assuming, of course, there was no good reason for the priest to respond as he did - sometimes we like to present difficult council from a shepherd as "judgmental" when it is often exactly what we need -- even Jesus called some people hypocrites, frauds and blind fools. Let's hope we are not behaving in such a way that He would say that to us.)
Hi Father just to share with you that I finally went to Confession to a priest. God made it really easy for me. The priest was compassionate and I felt great afterwards. Since then I have been going to daily Adoration, Mass and receiving Eucharist. "Thy will be done" and not mine as it turns out. I am at peace and content. Thank you for any prayer/s you might have said for me. God bless you!
Congratulations. Be sure to share that experience with another who had a similar negative experience to you. Who knows? You might be one of the ways God brings more people back to this Sacrament.
@@judithmurray6458So happy for you!
Whoa, let me get this straight. You judge an entire group of people based on ONE bad experience with one member of the group? Is that not judgmental?
Bravo!!! what a perfect explanation. Thanks for this enlightening bible referral.
Confession humbles us
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?
I have always confessed my sins to jesus
Well, ready to have your soul radically changed one step further toward God, by having incredible humility and going to a priest, which is God’s representative, and confess your sins?
We have nothing to lose, but only to gain, by going to confession. :)
A Tenn Me too, I confess my sins to Jesus through HIS priest.
@@st.michaelthearchangel7774 ,have you ever read John 20:23?
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 ..
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
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 read in the gospel of Luke
" And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, “Who is this man who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
You are correct. But you are missing the other half of that scenario.
The Pharisees and Scribes were saying this IN OPPOSITION to Jesus, for which Jesus reprimanded them. If we are contradicting Confession to a Priest with a passage that expresses opposition to Jesus by his enemies and His rebuke of them, then we are placing ourselves in pretty bad company need to re-examine how we read and interpret the Word of God (and while we're at it, get to Confession).
CONFESSING OUR SINS TO PRIEST TO RECIEVE D GODS FORGIVENESS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE TO GOD.. WHY? SOME PRIEST COMMITTED WRONGDOINGS..WHY NOT CONFESSED GOD DIRECTLY...
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.
Too many cafeteria Catholics these days :(
What does that mean? Plz explain
Outlaw Jodie Wales “Cafeteria” means they treat teachings like a cafeteria where they get to pick what they like.
It’s not just Catholics.
santamanone - totally.
Protestantism lends itself to cafeteria Christianity, since there are so many flavors, and nowadays individual congregations don't necessarily even affiliate with a greater entity (e.g. synod etc.)
I was speaking with a Jewish friend, and their faith suffers the same select-a-synagog mentality.
What can you expect, when businesses like Facebook permit members to choose from 58 different sexes? Even Baskin-Robbins can't keep up with choices like that!
If this modern world with *Instant Everything* doesn't deliver us all to Hell, I cannot imagine what more conveniently would!
The only hope I see is 2-fold: Pray constantly & Engage with the young ones often & pragmatically.
✝️
@@77thTrombone Not only Protestantism, but many catholics themselves... it's just a bigger problem.
Not to mention, most "catholics" nowadays are practically atheists or close, that when some of them become protestant they have a big improvement, because they go from "nothing" to something. And they're not even heretic for this, because they were even more before.
It's just that evangelization is needed from zero in most cases, we can't expect that "christians" are really christians if nobody bothers teaching.
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 -- ua-cam.com/video/4nPNM4MRQ8g/v-deo.html
and
ua-cam.com/video/FsmSWqJWqbA/v-deo.html
As an EX-Catholic, it helps to know the reasons in addition to the distinctions.
…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 if I confess my sins to you the priest will you in turn confess your sins to me so that we might be healed?
No. You confess your sins to the priest. The priest, also, must confess his sins to another priest. If you don't think you need to confess your sins to another person (i.e. the church's minister, i.e. the priest) you are basically denying the incarnation, which put the human element and human interaction into the process of the forgiveness of sins.
ua-cam.com/video/a9Va8IO7Ivo/v-deo.html
@@fr.williamnicholas955 Jame 5:16 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.
This does not say priest to priest it says person to person . A priest is a person first and a title second.
So when Jesus died on the cross it appears that you believe he died for some sins but not all.?
Christ died for all sin; that is, His sacrifice was completely sufficient to pay for the sins of the entire world. But forgiveness only comes to an individual when he or she repents and believes (see Mark 1:15). Until we accept (by faith) the provision of God in Christ, then we are still in our sins. Those who die in unbelief die in all their sin-they are unforgiven liars, murderers, adulterers, etc. (Revelation 21:8). Those who trust in Christ for their salvation do not die in sin; they die in Christ, with all sins forgiven. We are justified by faith (Romans 5:1); without faith, we are condemned (John 3:18). Faith in Christ forgives our sin and takes us to heaven; the lack of faith keeps us unforgiven and takes us to hell.
So to confess my sins has nothing to do with my destination but more to do with healing whether it be physical or emotional . 1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.…
hmmn sort of sounds like peter is addressing the common folk of believers and not a specific group.
I must admit that by talking to catholics and looking up what they say has encouraged me to study the scriptures more and reaffirm what my beliefs are and why they are. Salvation is not works ,it is a gift , confession is to God and there is only one mediator and that is Jesus Christ not a priest or anyone else. Hope your trust is in Jesus alone.
@@fr.williamnicholas955 Would you have some scriptures to back your position of priest to priest confession?
Also any scriptures that would indicate I should not confess directly to God ?
@@brucewmclaughlin9072 amen finally the truth..
When Christ died the Holy of Holies where God resides the curtain that separates us from God except the priest was torn from top to bottom allowing all of us to come before God in confession of our sins. We are no longer separated from God we no longer need a priest to confess to our relationship is with God creator not a human priest.
There is no Scripture that specifically states that a priest must confess to another priest, but as priests are called to the same practices as the faithful, the priest cannot, himself, go "directly to God". He confesses "directly to Christ" in Confession to a priest who stands "in persona Christi".
The only Scripture that hints at going "directly to God" can be found in God's instructions to the Hebrew people regarding the Day of Atonement, (Book of Leviticus) in which ONLY the High Priest went "directly to God" when he entered the Holy of Holies of the Temple and offered atonement for the people's sins. The people did not do this themselves, but only the High Priest. With the Incarnation, God took us to the next level in the process of forgiveness of sins, but it MUST involve the incarnational exchange of person to person confession, just as Jesus did in declaring with a human voice, heard with human ears that sins were forgiven, then giving that authority to the Church. To claim we can go "directly to God" is 1) a step backwards to pre-incarnational times, and 2) is extremely presumptuous, because we are hardly on the level of High Priest to arrogantly presume we have the dignity to go "directly to God".