Ch. XI Sacrament of Confession p 111-117

CHAPTER XI

THE SACRAMENT OF CONFESSION

“He said therefore to them again: Peace be to you. As the Father hath sent me, I also send you.

When he 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

Nothing Defiled can enter Heaven!^[1]

This means that all souls that enter Heaven are free from Original Sin, all Mortal Sins, all Venial Sins, and all punishment due to sin. This just punishment (atonement) for sin can be done before death by prayer or sacrifice and after death in Purgatory. Provided of course that at least the Grave and Serious sins have been forgiven. All who die before every one of their Mortal sins are forgiven will suffer the torments of Hell forever and ever and ever. Only Saints get to Heaven. Always strive for Sainthood, grow daily in Sanctity and stay in “the State of Grace”! The only other alternative literally hurts like Hell!

How are our sins forgiven?:

Baptism removes sin:

Baptism was given to take away the sin inherited from Adam (original sin) and any sins committed before Baptism (actual sins).

For sins committed after Baptism, a different sacrament is needed because Baptism can be received only once.

Christ forgave sins during His life on earth:

Since sin is an offence against God. Only God (the offended) can forgive sins. Indeed, during His life on earth, Christ (Who was sent by God the Father) forgave sins, in order to show mankind that He was God (The Son).

For example: He forgave the sins of the woman caught in adultery. John 8:1-11.

He forgave the sins of St. Mary Magdalen. Luke 7:48

He forgave sins to show His Authority. Mark 2:10

Christ gives His Church the Power to forgive sins:

Christ however, would not always be visibly on earth. He would return to The Father on Ascension Thursday. He therefore gave this power to forgive sins to the first Priests in His Church (the Apostles) when He “breathed on them” and told them “as The Father has sent Me, I send you”.

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See John 20:21-23 above. What a tremendous Gift from God - the certainty that our sins are forgiven!

Mankind’s need for forgiveness of sins and the certainty of it, did not end with the death of the last Apostle. Therefore this power to forgive sins was necessarily passed on through the Priesthood, in the Catholic Church, as God intended. As The Father sent Christ, Christ thereby sent the Apostles, who thereby sent other Priests as they were sent, who thereby sent other Priest and so on down through the Centuries, in the Catholic Church till the end of time. What Christ did they were to do also.

Of course it is through the Mercy of God that our sins are forgiven in the Sacrament of Confession. The Priest has the Power to act as God’s Representative (sent to us by God)

Christ gave His Church the Power to forgive sins. Only the Catholic Church claims to posses this Power because only The Catholic Church comes down to us from Christ and the Apostles.

CONDITIONS FOR VALIDITY:

For validity, all of the Seven Sacraments must have their right Matter, Form, Minister and Intention. For the Sacrament of Confession they are:

Matter: The sorrow the penitent has for their sin. If there is no sorrow for one of the sins, then the whole Confession is invalid. Imperfect Contrition (sorrow for sin because of fear of Hell) is sufficient when confessing our sins to a Priest.

Form: The absolution the Priest gives.

Minister: Must be a validly ordained Catholic Priest. A protestant minister does not have the Power to represent Christ and forgive our sins.

Intention: Must intended to do what the Church does - forgive sins.

Why must I confess my sins to a Catholic Priest in order to get forgiveness?!

Why can’t I confess my sins directly to God?

1. We must go to Confession to a Catholic Priest because that is the way Christ set it up.

a. We must do it His way not our way. Christ would not have established the Sacrament of Confession if He did not intend for us to use It!

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b. The Priest must hear our sins, so that he can make a judgment of our sorrow, in order to decide if he may forgive them or must retain them. For example he cannot give absolution if we refuse to give back what we have stolen; of if we refuse to avoid a sinful lifestyle, etc. If we do not have sufficient sorrow for a particular sin, which is the Matter for this Sacrament, he cannot give us absolution. If we fool him into thinking we have sufficient sorrow, then our Confession is bad and none of the sins confessed are forgiven. A bad Confession is also a Mortal Sin.

c. The Priest may give us some good advice to help us overcome future temptations to sin.

d. We demonstrate our Humility by confessing our sins to a Priest. Particularly one who knows us and our faults.

e. The thought of having to confess our sins to a Priest will help motivate us to avoid future sin, particularly when we lack Perfect Contrition.

f. The Priest will give us a Penance to do which will help reduce the punishment due to sin.

g. Frequent Confession helps us grow in Sanctity and become Saints.

h. We have the certain knowledge and peace of mind, that our sins are truly forgiven.

i. Imperfect Contrition (fear of Hell) is sufficient.

2. In an emergency, when a Priest is not available, you can and should ask God for forgiveness of your sins. If you have Perfect Contrition (sorrow for sin because they offend God Who is all Good and Whom you love), and fully intend to go to Confession to a Catholic Priest as soon as possible, then your sins are forgiven.

a. If you should die before getting a chance to go to Confession, your Mortal sins are forgiven and you can burn off the rest in Purgatory.

b. I suspect that a Perfect Contrition is rare. Likely granted to the best of the Saints. All would like for their Contrition to be Perfect and even strive for it, but we can easily fool ourselves into thinking Imperfect Contrition is Perfect. We can’t really be sure.

c. Usually a person dies the way he lives. A deathbed Perfect Contrition is likely rare.

The Great Tragedy of Non-Catholic Religions: Rejection of the Sacrament of Confession!

Satan hates this Sacrament because it removes Sin! He therefore tries to keep as many as possible from it.

a. He has inspired men to establish their own religions. Had them keep some Catholic ideas to make them more attractive. Lied to them about the Catholic Church and how to save their souls.

They reject the Sacrament of Confession as well as other Sacraments.

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b. He even tries, and is often successful, in keeping Catholics from this Sacrament. For this he uses pride, apathy, fear, sinful habits, busy lifestyle, whatever.

How can anyone Catholic or non-Catholic expect to save their souls without using The Sacraments, established by Christ for that purpose?

NOTHING DEFILED WILL ENTER HEAVEN! EVERYBODY THEREFORE MUST USE THE SACRAMENT OF CONFESSION - OFTEN!!

Was The Sacrament of Confession “invented” in 1215 A.D.?!:^[2]

Loraine Boettner, in his book “Roman Catholicism” (the anti-Catholic Bible), claims “auricular confession to a priest instead of to God” was instituted in 1215 at the Fourth Lateran Council. This is an extreme example of obvious lies fed to unsuspecting non-Catholics. Most will not bother to check it out and will accept it at face value. Even though Catholics were going to Confession for over 1000 year before the Fourth Lateran Council! How can you “invent” something that has been around for over 1000 years?!

The Fourth Lateran Council did discuss the Sacrament of Confession. Due to the lax morals at the time, the Council more specifically defined the already existing duty to confess one’s sins by saying Catholics should confess at least once a year. To issue an official decree about a sacrament is hardly the same as “inventing” that sacrament.

The Sacrament of Penance is understood by Irenaeus (A.D. 190) to go back to the beginning of the Church. Writers such as Origen (241 A.D.), Cyprian (251 AD), and Aphraates (337 A.D.) are quite clear in saying confession is to be made to a priest.

There is “only one mediator between God and man, Jesus Christ” (1 Tim. 2:5) therefore we need no Catholic Priest to have our sins forgiven!:

True, but Christ has the Authority to decide how his mediation would be applied to us. Christ is God. It is God Who is offended when we sin. He therefore has the right to decide if His forgiveness will be either personally through Him or through an agent. He did declare that the usual way would be by means of confessing our sins to a Priest. See John 20:21-23.

^[1]. “There shall not enter into it (Heaven) anything defiled (with Original or Actual Sin still on their souls)...” Apoc.21:27.

^[2]. See” Catholic Answers Tract: Forgiveness of Sins” and “Catholicism and Fundamentalism” , Ch. 15, both by Karl Keating.

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