Protestant Theology & Catholic Doctrines
Exposed to cover & discover the “Naked Truth“... Catholic responses to the Booklet: “Answers to my Catholic Friends” by Thomas F. Heinze … Part 10b
A Catholic reply to Protestant “[mis]- Understandings” Part 10b
This is the FINAL section of this series
Dear friends if One does NOT correctly understand the Devine Nature of God, which is necessary to “know Him,” how is such a person able to “love Him?” …And if one is able to actually “know God,“ how can such a one NOT accept in total what He himself say’s and teaches? Either the Entire Bible IS inspired, TRUE [but not always’ factual] and guided by Our God; or it is completely worthless in learning what is necessary to merit ones personal Salvation.
WHAT is absolutely essential and necessary to everyone’s ability to MERIT Salvation, is as SIMPLE as One, Two, Three… John.14: 6 “Jesus said to him, "I am the [ONLY] way, and the [ONLY] truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me….Matt.7: 13 -14 "Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
One: Do the Will of God
Two: WHY? Because it is OUR Gods’ Devine and Perfect Will
Three: How? Completely, willingly, and joyfully
[PARTS OF] …John.10 : 31 to 40 “The Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, "I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of these do you stone me?" … If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father."
My friends, I beg of you to pray daily for the graces and gifts that Only God can, and will, if we ask repeatedly and sincerely grant us, for the Gift of True Faith and with it God’s Wisdom, Knowledge and Right Understanding, because without such, our salvation is in great peril.
Isa.29: 16 ” You turn things upside down! Shall the potter be regarded as the clay; that the thing made should say of its maker, "He did not make me"; or the thing formed say of him who formed it, "He has no understanding"?
Isa.64: 8 “Yet, O LORD, thou art our Father; we are the clay, and thou art our potter; we are all the work of thy hand.”
I’m a Catholic…Forgiveness of Sin in the Bible
Assembled by Pat Miron
Sacred Scripture
FROM: agapebiblestudy.org
I. Jesus Christ Granted the Apostles His Authority to Forgive Sins
FROM: agapebiblestudy.org
I. Jesus Christ Granted the Apostles His Authority to Forgive Sins
John 20:21 - before He grants them the authority to forgive sins, Jesus says to the apostles, "as the Father sent me, so I send you." As Christ was sent by the Father to forgive sins, so Christ sends the apostles and their successors forgive sins.
John 20:22 - the Lord "breathes" on the apostles, and then gives them the power to forgive and retain sins. The only other moment in Scripture where God breathes on man is in Gen. 2:7, when the Lord "breathes" divine life into man. When this happens, a significant transformation takes place.
John 20:23 - Jesus says, "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven. If you retain the sins of any, they are retained." In order for the apostles to exercise this gift of forgiving sins, the penitents must orally confess their sins to them because the apostles are not mind readers. The text makes this very clear.
Matt. 9:8 - this verse shows that God has given the authority to forgive sins to "men." Hence, those Protestants who acknowledge that the apostles had the authority to forgive sins (which this verse demonstrates) must prove that this gift ended with the apostles. Otherwise, the apostles' successors still possess this gift. Where in Scripture is the gift of authority to forgive sins taken away from the apostles or their successors?
Matt. 9:6; Mark 2:10 - Christ forgave sins as a man (not God) to convince us that the "Son of man" has authority to forgive sins on earth.
Luke 5:24 - Luke also points out that Jesus' authority to forgive sins is as a man, not God. The Gospel writers record this to convince us that God has given this authority to men. This authority has been transferred from Christ to the apostles and their successors.
Matt. 18:18 - the apostles are given authority to bind and loose. The authority to bind and loose includes administering and removing the temporal penalties due to sin. The Jews understood this since the birth of the Church.
John 20:22-23; Matt. 18:18 - the power to remit/retain sin is also the power to remit/retain punishment due to sin. If Christ's ministers can forgive the eternal penalty of sin, they can certainly remit the temporal penalty of sin (which is called an "indulgence").
2 Cor. 2:10 - Paul forgives in the presence of Christ (some translations refer to the presences of Christ as "in persona Christi"). Some say that this may also be a reference to sins.
2 Cor. 5:18 - the ministry of reconciliation was given to the ambassadors of the Church. This ministry of reconciliation refers to the sacrament of reconciliation, also called the sacrament of confession or penance.
James 5:15-16 - in verse 15 we see that sins are forgiven by the priests in the sacrament of the sick. This is another example of man's authority to forgive sins on earth. Then in verse 16, James says “Therefore, confess our sins to one another,” in reference to the men referred to in verse 15, the priests of the Church.
1 Tim. 2:5 - Christ is the only mediator, but He was free to decide how His mediation would be applied to us. The Lord chose to use priests of God to carry out His work of forgiveness.
Lev. 5:4-6; 19:21-22 - even under the Old Covenant, God used priests to forgive and atone for the sins of others.
"Only God Can Forgive Sins"
The Logical and Scriptural Reasons for the Sacrament of Penance
The [Catholic] sacrament of Reconciliation, commonly referred to as "confession," has always been an object of great opposition for Protestants. Many of them still misunderstand the teaching. The priest does not forgive sins on his own power, as if he were God. It is never the priest who forgives the sin, but Christ using the priest to bestow forgiveness on his beloved children. Just as Jesus lets us have a share in creation (by equipping us with genitalia), so he also lets his people share in the bestowal of the forgiveness of sins. This latter blessing or power, however, Jesus did not give to everybody, but only to people ordained to the priesthood, as will be shown. The key passage to note is John 20:21-23:
Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you." And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."
The first thing to note here is that Jesus breathes on his disciples. This is the second time in all history that God breathes on man (the first time was when he gave man the breath of life, in Genesis 2:7). Surely, something significant is happening. Christ then goes on to say that if they (the Apostles) forgive the sins of people, then they are forgiven. If they do not forgive them, they are not forgiven. Here Protestants object by saying that the original Greek should be translated as "If you forgive men's sins, they have been forgiven them...." Well, I am not a Greek scholar and it is unfitting for me to say whether it should be translated this way rather than the way it has been, but I do know that the original Greek word is in a perfect tense [of the verb aphiemi], suggesting near past. But either way, it does not change the fact that Jesus is here giving his Apostles the power to forgive and retain sins. If they forgive them, then God has forgiven them. If they retain them, then God has retained them. You see that by the mere changing of tenses, the context and meaning is not altered in the least.
Many, if not all, Protestants have tried to find their way around John 20:21-23. They try to make it Jesus' words mean something like, "If God forgives their sins, then you proclaim them forgiven" or, "If you deliver the Gospel to people, then they shall be freed from their sins." However, this is not what Jesus said. He said plainly and simply: "If you forgive men's sins, they are forgiven. If not, then they are not." These are the Lord's Words, not mine. Jesus had ample opportunity to state what he said in all kinds of different ways. He did not, however.
How do we know that Jesus gave this power to his Apostles ONLY and not to everybody? To answer this question, we must first note that John's Gospel nowhere uses the term "Apostles" as a reference to the Twelve. So the omission of that term here is insignificant. At least the power was only explicitly given to the disciples that were in the upper room, that is for sure (see verse 19). We can further reason that from the context the term "them" in verse 22 is used in the same sense as it is in verse 24 where it refers to the Twelve.
One might wonder how St. Thomas, who was not present at the time Jesus conferred the sacramental power of Penance to the Apostles, received this gift. There are several theories: (1) Jesus gave it to him afterwards, but it is just not mentioned; or (2) St. Peter, who has the Keys to the Kingdom (Matthew 16:19), gave it to him.
Of course, the typical Protestant response to all of this is, "But only GOD can forgive sins!" And that is true. Of course. But the Sacrament of Penance does not deny this. We're not saying the priest forgives the sins instead of God. Rather, and AGAIN, God works through the priest. Neither do we believe that we should go to confession INSTEAD of "praying straight to God," but rather, one should do BOTH, not either/or.
Let us take a look at Matthew 9:5-8:
For which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins"-he then said to the paralytic-"Rise, take up your bed and go home." And he rose and went home. When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men.
Here we have it from the BIBLE. Look at the bold parts. Jesus says he forgives sins in his human, not his divine, capacity (wherefore he uses the term "Son of MAN" vs. "Son of God"). We then read that God had "given such authority to MEN." This proves it all right there. God gave the authority/power to absolve from and retain sins to MEN. Note it says MEN, not MAN (the Greek word used is anthropois, and that is plural). He was not referring to only Jesus.
Biblical Examples of Confession: Old Testament
In the Old Testament, we read about mandatory confession of one's sins to a priest:
Leviticus 5:5-6:
When a man is guilty in any of these [sins], he shall confess the sin he has committed, and he shall bring his guilt offering to the Lord for the sin which he has committed, a female from the flock, a lamb or a goat, for a sin offering; and the priest shall make atonement for him for his sin.
This passage implies auricular confession to a priest because the priest did not know what sacrifice to offer for atonement unless he was told the sin by the penitent.
New Testament
In the New Testament, there is a lot more that has to do with confession:
2 Corinthians 5:18-19:
“All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation“.
Note that St. Paul says his is a ministry of reconciliation; it is, therefore, not merely a message. He actually does a service in order for the people to get reconciled to God. This is only explicable by admitting that he acted as a confessor--that is, people came to him, confessed their sins, and he absolved them.
2 Corinthians 2:10-11:
What I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, to keep Satan from gaining the advantage over us; for we are not ignorant of his designs.
Wow! Here St. Paul says he has forgiven people's sins....and he even explains that this was in the name of Christ, that is, he was present in him. It was, then, not Paul himself who absolved, but Christ acting through Paul. The addendum "to keep Satan from gaining advantage over us" might beyond that actually indicate that Paul was aware of the graces that are obtained through the reception of the sacrament of Penance.
There is also an appeal to confession in 1 John 1:9: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." St. John is very plain here. He says it flat out.
James 5:14-16:
Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith will save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects.
Here we have an example of forgiveness of God through a priest in action. St. James tells us that, if we are sick, we are to call for the priests (=elders) of the church. By the prayer of that priest, the sick person's sins will be forgiven; that's what the text says plainly!! Then James goes on to say, "Confess your sins to one another." Here, however, Protestants make the mistake of lifting the whole verse out of context by insisting that it means "everybody is to confess his/her sins to anybody." Not true. Let's stick with the context. It refers to the sick person confessing his/her sins to the priest and vice versa (the priest can, after all, encourage the sick person to confess his/her sins by letting him/her know about some of his own sins). Thus, verse 16 concludes or summarizes the preceding verses.
The Bible itself, then, proves that God has given human beings the authority to absolve others from sins--not on their own authority, but as tools of God Most High.
Besides all of those biblical reasons, there are also a few reasons that quite simply appeal to logic. In his book Catholicism and Fundamentalism, Karl Keating notes five of them (pp.188-89). Let me list and explain each of them briefly.
We ought to receive the Sacrament of Penance because...
(1) It is the way Christ intended forgiveness to be sought
Jesus never engaded in doing vain acts. He would not have instituted this sacrament if he had wanted us to seek forgiveness by praying "straight to God," by simply not receiving it. Since we have seen, though, that Christ did institute this sacrament, i necessarily follows that he wants us to make practical use of it.
(2) You learn to be humble
It is always valuable to look for the reasons why people behave the way they do. Why do many people avoid confession? Because it is a humble experience to tell one's sins to a priest and be honest about one's sinfulness! Very often it is the case that people who do not want to go to confession do not go there not because they don't believe in the sacrament's theology, but rather because they're trying to escape their own sinfulness. But here we remember Christ's words: "Whoever humbles himself will be exalted" (Mt 23:12). It is, then, a very good idea to learn a lesson in humility by going to confession. The sacrament humbles us. Consequently, we shall be exalted.
It is always valuable to look for the reasons why people behave the way they do. Why do many people avoid confession? Because it is a humble experience to tell one's sins to a priest and be honest about one's sinfulness! Very often it is the case that people who do not want to go to confession do not go there not because they don't believe in the sacrament's theology, but rather because they're trying to escape their own sinfulness. But here we remember Christ's words: "Whoever humbles himself will be exalted" (Mt 23:12). It is, then, a very good idea to learn a lesson in humility by going to confession. The sacrament humbles us. Consequently, we shall be exalted.
(3) The penitent receives sacramental graces
By receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation, certain graces are obtained which, quite naturally, are not received when confession is omitted. The sacrament restores our spiritual life and, with it, pours out the gifts of the Holy Spirit on us. Who would not want to take part in such an event?
(4) You have assurance of forgiveness
We have all probably doubted now and then whether God has forgiven a particular sin. Maybe we weren't contrite enough, sincere enough, or did not have the necessary faith. This confusion does not occur when one is absolved of one's sins by a priest, because if you are not properly sorry for your sins, you would not go to confession to begin with. Furthermore, you can be sure your transgressions have been blotted out because Christ himself, speaking through the priest, has said so.
(5) You can get advice on how to avoid future transgressions
Malachi 2:7 reminds us that "the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and men should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts." After we have confessed our sins, we do not only get absolved from them, but we also obtain advice on how to behave, that is, what to do, what not to do, etc., in order to lead a spiritually good life. One can ask the priest questions about things that are unclear. Such is not an option for somebody who refuses to receive Reconciliation.
So, confession is very important for our spiritual life. The Bible teaches it, and it also follows from logic.
Jesus wants you to be as spiritually healthy as possible, and therefore he instituted this consoling and grace-giving sacrament. Now it's up to you to make use of it.
(From the St. Isidore Parish Stewardship series)
What is the history of the Sacrament of Penance?
The Rev. Clifford Howell, S.J., says it best when he states, "Did you know that the Sacrament of Penance (which we commonly refer to as "confession") was once a public affair? That seems rather shocking to our way of thinking, but it is nevertheless a fact. In the early centuries of the Church's history, people who wanted to have their sins forgiven went through an ordeal the very thought of which almost makes our hair stand on end. And though the things they had to do have now been discontinued, it is worth our while to learn something about them, because thereby we shall come to a better understanding of the Sacrament of Penance as we now have it.
It is queer how things often become known by names which indicate some point of lesser importance… So with this sacrament - we call it 'confession or penance….' And, of course, it does involve both confession and penance. But the really important thing about it is that it brings reconciliation with God. It seems rather a pity that we don't call it 'absolution' or some such name, because that is what matters most. And that is what has remained basically unchanged throughout the centuries in spite of the changes which have come about in respect of the confession and penitential parts of it.
In olden days this sacrament was used only for the forgiveness of mortal sins. In different times and places there were many variations of procedure and it would take a whole book to describe them all…. In general it may be said that if the sins to be forgiven were secret sins they could be confessed in secret; whereas if they were public sins (murder, adultery, rape, sorcery, perjury, apostasy) then they had to be confessed in public before the whole community.
The entire Christian community assembled in the church, where the Bishop…sat upon his throne; and his priests, deacons and subdeacons arranged themselves on each side of him. The sinners were led barefoot into the midst of the congregation and prostrated themselves on the ground. They avowed what they had done, and the Bishop delivered judgment as to whether pardon would be granted and what penance was to be imposed (usually a year or more). Then they were walked to the doors of the Church and had to remain outside until they finished their penance.
On the day of reconciliation [usually on Holy Thursday], the ceremony was even more solemn. Again, barefoot and in penitential garb, the penitents knelt outside the closed doors of the church…until the Bishop came to the door and all the Church prayed that they be readmitted to the body of the faithful. The Bishop brought them forward, prayed over them in thanksgiving, stretched his hands over them, imparted absolution and gave them a blessing. Then the whole community welcomed them back. Now they could go home and change from their penitential garments, have a bath, cut their hair and trim their beards, and resume their ordinary clothes. And there was great joy among all the people."
Today the Sacrament of Reconciliation is expressed quite differently, but the elements have remained the same: Remorse for our sins, confession of our sins, forgiveness, and great joy in the merciful love that God has for us.
From the Catholic Encyclopedia
(Matthew 16:19). Later He says to all the Apostles: "Amen I say to you, whatsoever you shall bind upon earth, shall be bound also in heaven; and whatsoever you shall loose upon earth, shall be loosed also in heaven" (Matthew 18:18). As to the meaning of these texts, it should be noted:
that the "binding" and "loosing" refers not to physical but to spiritual or moral bonds among which sin is certainly included; the more so because
the power here granted is unlimited — "whatsoever you shall bind, . . . whatsoever you shall loose";
whether they bind or loose, their action is ratified in heaven. In healing the palsied man Christ declared that "the Son of man has power on earth to forgive sins"; here He promises that what these men, the Apostles, bind or loose on earth, God in heaven will likewise bind or loose. (Cf. also POWER OF THE KEYS.)
But as the Council of Trent declares, Christ principally instituted the Sacrament of Penance after His Resurrection, a miracle greater than that of healing the sick. "As the Father hath sent me, I also send you. When he had said this, he breathed on them; and he said to them: Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained' (John 20:21-23). While the sense of these words is quite obvious, the following points are to be considered:
Christ here reiterates in the plainest terms — "sins", "forgive", "retain" — what He had previously stated in figurative language, "bind" and "loose", so that this text specifies and distinctly applies to sin the power of loosing and binding.
He prefaces this grant of power by declaring that the mission of the Apostles is similar to that which He had received from the Father and which He had fulfilled: "As the Father hath sent me". Now it is beyond doubt that He came into the world to destroy sin and that on various occasions He explicitly forgave sin (Matthew 9:2-8; Luke 5:20; 7:47; Revelation 1:5), hence the forgiving of sin is to be included in the mission of the Apostles.
Christ not only declared that sins were forgiven, but really and actually forgave them; hence, the Apostles are empowered not merely to announce to the sinner that his sins are forgiven but to grant him forgiveness—"whose sins you shall forgive". If their power were limited to the declaration "God pardons you", they would need a special revelation in each case to make the declaration valid.
The power is twofold — to forgive or to retain, i.e., the Apostles are not told to grant or withhold forgiveness nondiscriminately; they must act judicially, forgiving or retaining according as the sinner deserves. The exercise of this power in either form (forgiving or retaining) is not restricted: no distinction is made or even suggested between one kind of sin and another, or between one class of sinners and all the rest: Christ simply says "whose sins". The sentence pronounced by the Apostles (remission or retention) is also God's sentence — "they are forgiven . . . they are retained".
"The Lord's words: 'Receive ye the Holy Ghost, whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them, and whose sins you shall retain they are retained' (John 20:22-23), in no way refer to the Sacrament of Penance, whatever the Fathers of Trent may have been pleased to assert." (47)
According to the Council of Trent, the consensus of all the Fathers always understood that by the words of Christ just cited, the power of forgiving and retaining sins was communicated to the Apostles and their lawful successors (Sess. XIV, c. i). It is therefore Catholic doctrine that the Church from the earliest times believed in the power to forgive sins as granted by Christ to the Apostles. Such a belief in fact was clearly inculcated by the words with which Christ granted the power, and it would have been inexplicable to the early Christians if any one who professed faith in Christ had questioned the existence of that power in the Church. But if, contrariwise, we suppose that no such belief existed from the beginning, we encounter a still greater difficulty: the first mention of that power would have been regarded as an innovation both needless and intolerable; it would have shown little practical wisdom on the part of those who were endeavouring to draw men to Christ; and it would have raised a protest or led to a schism which would certainly have gone on record as plainly at least as did early divisions on matters of less importance. But no such record is found; even those who sought to limit the power itself presupposed its existence, and their very attempt at limitation put them in opposition to the prevalent Catholic belief
St. Augustine (d. 430) warns the faithful: "Let us not listen to those who deny that the Church of God has power to forgive all sins" (De agon. Christ., iii).
St. Ambrose (d. 397) rebukes the Novatianists who "professed to show reverence for the Lord by reserving to Him alone the power of forgiving sins. Greater wrong could not be done than what they do in seeking to rescind His commands and fling back the office He bestowed. . . .
The Church obeys Him in both respects, by binding sin and by loosing it; for the Lord willed that for both the power should be equal" (On Penance I.2.6). Again he teaches that this power was to be a function of the priesthood. "It seemed impossible that sins should be forgiven through penance; Christ granted this (power) to the Apostles and from the Apostles it has been transmitted to the office of priests" (On Penance II.2.12). The power to forgive extends to all sins: "God makes no distinction; He promised mercy to all and to His priests He granted the authority to pardon without any exception" (On Penance I.3.10). Against the same heretics
St. Pacian, Bishop of Barcelona (d. 390), wrote to Sympronianus, one of their leaders: "This (forgiving sins), you say, only God can do. Quite true: but what He does through His priests is the doing of His own power"
(Ep. I ad Sympron., 6 in P.L., XIII, 1057). In the East during the same period we have the testimony of St. Cyril of Alexandria (d. 447): "Men filled with the spirit of God (i.e. priests) forgive sins in two ways, either by admitting to baptism those who are worthy or by pardoning the penitent children of the Church" (In Joan., 1, 12 in P.G., LXXIV, 722).
St. John Chrysostom (d. 407) after declaring that neither angels nor archangels have received such power, and after showing that earthly rulers can bind only the bodies of men, declares that the priest's power of forgiving sins "penetrates to the soul and reaches up to heaven". Wherefore, he concludes, "it were manifest folly to condemn so great a power without which we can neither obtain heaven nor come to the fulfillment of the promises. . . . Not only when they (the priests) regenerate us (baptism), but also after our new birth, they can forgive us our sins" (On the Priesthood III.5 sq.).
St. Athanasius (d. 373): "As the man whom the priest baptizes is enlightened by the grace of the Holy Ghost, so does he who in penance confesses his sins, receive through the priest forgiveness in virtue of the grace of Christ" (Frag. contra Novat. in P.G., XXVI, 1315).
These extracts show that the Fathers recognized in penance a power and a utility quite distinct from that of baptism. Repeatedly they compare in figurative language the two means of obtaining pardon; or regarding baptism as spiritual birth, they describe penance as the remedy for the ills of the soul contracted after that birth. But a more important fact is that both in the West and in the East, the Fathers constantly appeal to the words of Christ and given them the same interpretation that was given eleven centuries later by the Council of Trent.
Confession of Sins: A Divine Institution
by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J.
During his first visit to the United States, Pope John Paul II pleaded with the bishops to do something about the drastic drop in confessions in many American dioceses.
“In the face of a widespread phenomenon of our time, namely that many of our people who are among the great numbers who receive Communion make little use of confession, we must emphasize Christ’s basic call to conversion.
“We must also stress that the personal encounter with the forgiving Jesus in the sacrament of Reconciliation is a divine means which keeps alive in our hearts and in our communities, a consciousness of sin in its perennial and tragic reality, and which actually brings forth, by the action of Jesus and the power of His Spirit, fruits of conversion in justice and holiness of life” (Pope John Paul II, Address to the Bishops of the Episcopal Conference of the United States, October 5, 1979).
Underlying this phenomenal decline in confessions is an error of factual history that must be corrected. Some nominally Catholic writers are saying that Christ did not institute the sacrament of Penance or, at least, did not require the confession of sins to a priest to receive sacramental absolution.
Books and articles are being published which claim that confession of sins to a priest is a late innovation in the Catholic Church. General absolution is becoming habitual in some places, and nineteen centuries of Catholic history are being ignored as though they did not exist.
The Institution Of Sacramental Confession
Jesus Christ instituted the sacrament of confession on Easter Sunday night. As St. John describes the event, “the doors were closed in the room where the disciples were for fear of the Jews. Jesus came and stood among them. He said to them, ‘Peace be with you,’ and showed them His hands and His side. The disciples were filled with joy when they saw the Lord. And He said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father sent me, so I am sending you.’ After saying this, He breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. For those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven. For those whose sins you retain, they are retained’” (John 20:19-23).
As the Catholic Church explains these words, Christ gave the Apostles and their successors the right to forgive sins if they so judge the penitent worthy and the corresponding right to retain sins or refrain from absolving if the sinner is not sincerely repentant.
The implications of this power of judging whether to absolve or not are at the heart of the sacrament of Penance. By these words, Christ indicated that before receiving absolution, the sinner must disclose his sins. He must confess what he did wrong.
This means that auricular confession, where the penitent speaks his sins and the priest hears his sins, is of divine origin. The Church did not invent the confession of sins. It is a divine law from which no one on earth has the right to dispense. Auricular (or audible) confession is part of divine revelation. It is an unchangeable article of the Catholic faith.
Private Confession Of Apostolic Origin
In the early Church, Christians were expected to live very holy lives. And they did. To become Christian meant to expect to become a martyr. Every pope for the first three hundred years of the Church’s history was murdered for the faith. Countless thousands shed their blood in witness to their love for Christ.
Understandably, therefore, the sacrament of Confession was not so frequently received by persons whose lives were a living martyrdom. Yet, even in the early Church, sinners were reconciled after they had confessed their sins, received absolution and performed what to us must seem like extraordinary penance for the wrong they had done.
The emphasis in those early days was on confessing mortal sins. And there were bishops who had to be reproved by the pope for excessive severity, either in demanding public confession of grave crimes or even refusing to give absolution for such sins as apostasy, adultery, fornication or willful murder.
One document issued by Pope St. Leo the Great in the middle of the fifth century, deserves to be quoted in full. He is writing to the bishops of Campania in Italy, reproving them for demanding a public confession of sins before receiving absolution in the sacrament of Penance.
“I have recently heard that some have unlawfully presumed to act contrary to a rule of Apostolic origin
. And I hereby decree that the unlawful practice be completely stopped.
“It is with regard to the reception of penance. An abuse has crept in which requires that the faithful write out their individual sins in a little book which is then to be read out loud to the public.
“All that is necessary, however, is for the sinner to manifest his conscience in a secret confession to the priests alone…It is sufficient, therefore, to have first offered one’s confession to God, and then also to the priest, who acts as an intercessor for the transgressions of the penitents” (Magna indignatione, March 6, 459).
It is a matter of history, therefore, that private, individual confession of one’s sins to a priest goes back to apostolic times. Christ Himself prescribed confession in the sacrament of Penance, and His directives were followed since the first century of the Christian era.
Church’s Infallible Teaching
Among the doctrines of revealed faith which the Church had to defend, was the precept of sacramental confession.
The Protestant leaders in the sixteenth century rejected the sacrament of Confession as divine institution. And they especially reacted against the Catholic Church’s teaching about the need for telling one’s sins to a priest. As a result, the Council of Trent issued no less than fifteen solemn definitions on the sacrament of Penance. Two of these deal specifically with the obligations to confess one’s sins to a priest. They are critically important in our ecumenical age. The following positions are declared as contrary to the Catholic faith:
“If anyone says that sacramental confession was not instituted by divine law or that it is not necessary for salvation according to the same law; or if anyone says that the method which the Catholic Church has always observed from the very beginning, and still observes, of confessing secretly to the priest alone is foreign to the institution and command of Christ, and that it is a human origin: let him be anathema.
“If anyone says that, to obtain remission of sins in the sacrament of Confession, it is not necessary according to divine law to confess each and every mortal sin that is remembered after proper and diligent examination, even secret sins, and sins against the last two commandments, and those circumstances which change the character of a sin…or finally that it is not permissible to confess venial sins: let him be anathema.”
No apology is needed for these long quotations from the Church’s irreversible teaching on the sacramental confession of sins. Nor need we apologize for one more quotation, this time from Pope Paul II. He insists that personal, private confession of sins to a priest in the sacrament of Penance, is the right of every single believer, as it is also the right of Christ, the Divine Redeemer
A Personal Encounter with Christ
“In faithfully observing the centuries-old practice of the Sacrament of Penance- the practice of individual confession with a personal act of sorrow and the intention to amend and make satisfaction—the Church is therefore defending the human soul’s individual right: man’s right to a more personal encounter with the crucified forgiving Christ, with Christ saying, through the minister of the Sacrament of Reconciliation: “Your sins are forgiven”; “Go, and do not sin again.” As is evident, this is also a right on Christ’s part with regard to every human being redeemed by Him: His right to meet each one of us in that key moment in the soul’s life constituted by the moment of conversion and forgiveness. By guarding the Sacrament of Penance, the Church expressly affirms her faith in the mystery of the Redemption as a living and life-giving reality that fits in with man’s inward truth, with human guilt and also with the desires of the human conscience” (The Redeemer of Man, 20).
John.20: 19 to 23 “ On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you." And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained”
Experience proves how valuable is confession for retaining or regaining our peace of soul. Nothing is so disturbing to the human spirit as the sense of guilt, gnawing in the depths of a person estranged from God by sin. Nothing is so restful as the sense of well-being, which comes from the awareness of God’s mercy received from the Sacrament of Penance—which in Christ’s own words is the Sacrament of Peace.
Soul: Vol. 41 - #4, July-August 1990, pp. 12-13.. Copyright © 1998 Inter Mirifica
Summation of Christ Biblical Teaching
Mark.12: 24 “Jesus said to them, "Is not this why you are wrong, that you know neither the scriptures nor the power of God?”
Friends, the sad, and to some shocking truth uncovered and exposed for what it is, reveals that Protestants neither know the Bible or the God they claim to worship. …Knowing “OF” Christ is not the same as actually knowing and understanding Christ…If, as I suspect our Protestant theologian Thomas reflects what is commonly held as an embodiment of typical Protestant religious truths; there are serious grounds to wonder how many of them will actually attain salvation following these made up, human created theologies and philosophies, intentionally made easier and simpler for reasons only they can give account of? Factually these are only Religions of myths, wrong understanding . We do not judge the motives; but clearly the actions are not in-line with; and do NOT conform to Christ own Teachings.
One wonders how many of them actually understand that God will, because a “Just and Fair” God MUST judge each of us NOT on what we choose to accept, believe or practice; rather God will judge each of us based on the opportunities to learn, to know what actually is His truth. In the end; ONLY God’s intended meaning of His teachings matters.
I have attempted to relay what Thomas himself was taught and is teaching others as “an expert” to accept as “God’s truth.” The lack of understanding of God’s Devine Nature, and what the bible actually means to teach as accomplished by the Catholic Church; who alone is empowered, guided, guarded and protected to teach the FULLNESS of God’s truth. has been revealed, is proven biblically and logically. Now each of must decide for ourselves to belief Jesus Christ; God Himself; or some mortal man’s ideas that surfaced after about 1,500 years of God’s own Catholic-beliefs. LET US PRAY for God’s Wisdom and Mercy to our Brothers and sisters in Christ. THE END
May Our god of Mercy and Love grant RIGHT Understanding; true Faith and with it; Humility; Wisdom, Knowledge and Understanding to each of us. AMEN!
Pat
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