For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.

1 Timothy 2:5

Why then do we have to confess to a priest???? The Bible tells us we are to go through none other than Jesus Christ. So are we not to believe the Bible???? I am confused....

-- Debbie (scclddhrt@netscape.com), May 19, 2003

Answers

Dear Debbie,

Indeed you are confused, as confession has nothing whatsoever to do with mediation. The priest in the sacrament of confession is not a mediator. He is a minister of God's forgiveness, using that power which was given to him by Jesus Himself, as recorded in the Bible (John 20:22-23). So are we not to believe the Bible? The work of mediation was finished on the cross. But the work of ministry goes on until the end of time. Do you baptize yourself? Marry yourself? Counsel yourself? Or do you go through ministers to receive these graces from God?

-- Paul (PaulCyp@cox.net), May 19, 2003.

But it says Jesus was given this power. Please tell me WHERE it says a priest was given this power? I am new to Catholicism so forgive my "dumb" questions. i just want to understand so i know i am getting it right.

-- Debbie (sccldhrt@netscape.com), May 19, 2003.

Dear Debbie,

I just gave you the passage where Jesus infuses the apostles with a special power (verse 22) and then defines that power (verse 23). What more do you need? It is a very straightforward passage.

-- Paul (PaulCyp@cox.net), May 19, 2003.

No, we do not baptize or marry or counsel ourselves, but the question is: Where in the Bible does it say we must use a priest for these sacraments? Does the Church not recognize Protestant baptisms? Do you suppose Mary and Joseph were living in sin because they were not married by a Catholic priest? Can we not seek counsel from our brothers and sisters?

-- J Biscuits (clavooxadado@aol.com), May 19, 2003.

But there were only 12 apostles, and Jesus picked them to be apostles. I want to know where in the Bible it says that priests were given this right? Thank you.

-- Debbie (scclddhrt@netscape.com), May 19, 2003.

J Biscuit can't see any meaning in the word ''minister.'' It has to be parsed for him/her. Debbie doesn't like the notion that any rights or powers (spiritual) belonging to Jesus He has the authority to delegate to anyone He chooses. He is the Head of the Church. The Holy Bible isn't the Head, Christ is. The Bible is our Good News, not the sole instruction manual for the Church.

A hidden danger for the faithful is to misunderstand the purposes of the Bible. It isn't sent the faithful to prove every single truth. Those who demand all the faith corroborated in written scripture will not keep the faith for very long. Without Christ's Church, the reader quickly loses the truth.

Just see how millions of ''Bible Christians'' distort the words of Holy Scripture day after day. A great many popular sects in America presume to understand everything in the Bible. They don't. They're the blind leading the blind. For THIS God gave them the Bible??? No-- He gave the Bible to His holy Church.

-- eugene c. chavez (loschavez@pacbell.net), May 19, 2003.

debbie, i understand the root of your problem... and might clear it up for you

the word you need is apostolic succession. namely after the original apostles (who became bishops of the first churches) died they left their power to forgive to the bishops (that is, their apostolic successors). the bishops and priests are decendent in the tradition of the apostles and therefore inherent the power to forgive, cast out demons, and to enact the rite of the eucharist.

-- paul (dontsendmemail@notanaddress.com), May 19, 2003.

Dear Debbie,

At least you recognize that Jesus did give selected men the power to forgive sins. The apostles were the first priests. How do we know this? Because Jesus gave them precisely the powers that priests have - forgiveness of sins, celebration of the Eucharist, and ministry of the other sacraments. It isn't a matter of showing that the apostles were priests in addition to these powers. They were priests BECAUSE OF these powers.

-- Paul (PaulCyp@cox.net), May 19, 2003.

Hello Debbie,

I became Catholic three years ago and pondered many of the same questions and were given many of the same confusing answers. First thing is to pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit and then seek out the answers. Eventually everything starts falling into place like a jigsaw puzzle. I copied the scripture below from a website I frequented alot (and still do) during my conversion. It is www.scripturecatholic.com. It reveals through scripture how Jesus gave his authority to man to forgive sins. God Bless.

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.

Gen. 2:7 - the Lord "breathes" divine life into man. This is the only other moment in Scripture where God breathes on 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 - in this verse we see that sins are forgiven by the elders in the sacrament of the sick. This is another example of man's authority to forgive sins on earth.

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.

-- Michael (pickandpen@aol.com), May 19, 2003.

Debbie, I have similar questions and am also trying to work this through.

Paul, am I to understand that it does me no good to pray to God for forgiveness?

Does forgiveness for me come from God . . . or does forgiveness for me, come only from God, through his priests?

-- Leon (vol@weblink2000.net), May 19, 2003.

Dear Debbie I see where you are coming from .. like on TV the protestant broadcasts often say something like: 'say you are sorry to God and you are forgiven all your sins!' . But first I think for that to happen there must be a truely loving relationship between you and God. How many of us can say we truely LOVE GOD? That is where the priest's ability to forgive sin is so amazing . We can go to confession as a true mortal and have God's representative put his hands on us and be forgiven, without doubt!

-- Robert (string.fiddle@paradise.net.nz), May 20, 2003.

Dear Leon,

Forgiveness, like baptism and other graces, comes to us only from God, through the channels He alone has provided. The error many Christians make is recognizing God as the source of all grace, while refusing to accept the means God has provided for receiving that grace.

-- Paul (PaulCyp@cox.net), May 20, 2003.

Sorry, I stumbled across the 5/19 discourse on forgiveness while doing some research. Wanted to comment. Not meant to offend anyone.

Read Luke 5: 19-25 (recall Pharisees did not believe Jesus is God). The Pharisees knew that forgiveness comes from God, however they did not accept Jesus as God (divine). Essentially, you don't believe that I am God and have the power to forgive sins, perhaps you will believe if I cause this lame person to walk (which is easier?).

Read Luke 11:1-4 (Commonly known as the Lord's prayer-Teaches disciples to pray-our forgiveness (from God) is linked to our forgiveness of each other.

Read 1st John 1:5-9 - Confess our sins. (confession and an attitude of repentance go hand and hand). He (Christ is faithful to forgive us).

The passage in John 20:20 was not an instruction of Christ to give judgement, but the authority to declare the only method by which sin would be forgiven and to declare the character of those whom God would accept or reject in the day of judgment.

We have direct access to God through Christ's work on the cross. Matt 27:51 recalls that the veil of the temple was rent (torn). Recall that in the old testament, only the high priest could go into the part of the temple known as the holiest of holies. (See Hebrews 10:18-22). It's good to know that you can seek God directly (what happens when you can't find a priest?).

Take Care and God Bless.

Andre'

-- Andre Artis (artisfamily@att.net), June 07, 2003.

The passage in John 20:20 was not an instruction of Christ to give judgement, but the authority to declare the only method by which sin would be forgiven and to declare the character of those whom God would accept or reject in the day of judgment.

this has got to be the most perverse personal interpretation i have ever seen applied to this section of the Bible. you take Gods word, 'i give you the keys to the kingdom of God, what you bind on earth will be bound in heaven and what you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven' and you turn that into 'i give you the power to define morality.' intrinisically you have taken a power that God clearly gives his disciples to make judgment according to his words, and you replace that by giving them the power to define morality. what a load. the definition of morality is up to God alone, whereas the enactment of that morality is up to His servants on this planet.

We have direct access to God through Christ's work on the cross. Matt 27:51 recalls that the veil of the temple was rent (torn). Recall that in the old testament, only the high priest could go into the part of the temple known as the holiest of holies. (See Hebrews 10:18-22). It's good to know that you can seek God directly (what happens when you can't find a priest?).

the tearing of the temple veil means nothing of the sort. the temple veil is representative of a far more powerful veil between earth and heaven, whereby the power of sin which corrupts all men kept all but a few from heaven. at the point of Christs death the veil was torn, allowing for those who REPENT THEIR SINS to have access to heaven.

in addressing your question about what happens if you cant find a preist... when one dies while in the act of seeking a confession for reconciliation of sins, they recieve the sacrament of reconciliation by desire, although their intention at the time must have been to see a priest at the next availability and they must have a truly contrite heart. it is likely that this person would spend some time in purgatory in penance for their sin.

-- paul (dontsendmemail@notanaddress.com), June 07, 2003.