Catechism series - Confession

Welcome to Catechism basics. Actually, I don't attempt just the basics, I go a wee bit further than that. I was thinking of writing about the Rosary but I have not completed reading the Pope's encyclical on the Rosary yet so I had to pick another topic to begin with. There are dozens of wonderful stuff to start with, I ended up with Confession.

Before we begin, what is a Sacrament? Textbook answer, A Sacrament is an outward sign instituted by Christ to give grace. There are seven sacraments but for today, we will talk about Confession.

The Sacrament of Confession. Also known as reconciliation or Penance. All three different words have different meaning but all three are involved in the same sacrament. We call it Confession because we confess our sins to a priest. We call it Penance because we take effort to convert. And lastly, we call it reconciliation because we are reconciled, joined again, to the God.

If you have your Bibles with you please read Mk 2:5-11 before continuing. Ok, now that you've read it, continue on.

Let's pretend for one that we don't know Jesus is God for a moment. He goes and says your sins are forgiven. How would you react? Now, bear in mind that you don't know this guy named Jesus at all. How would you react knowing that only God can for give sins and man can't. Then this guy comes out of nowhere and says your sins are forgiven. Pfft! Baloney, you might say. Or you're crazy. Or just like a pious, righteous Jew you might say, BLASPHEMY!!! If Jesus was present in our time, I think we might do the same if considering the fact that we didn't know Jesus is God.

Now what did I just do? I took you back in time. Fast forward to where we're at now. We know that Jesus is God. Certainly, He can forgive sins. This is not a problem for us. After all, it's in Scripture.

Knowing that only God can forgive sins, where does Confession hold it's ground?

Again, to your Bibles, read Jn 20:21-23. Verse 23 is the signal. Jesus told his disciples, "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." But really, the kicker here is verse 22. There are only two instances in Scripture where God breathes on mans. If you find a third one, let me know and we'll talk about a free dinner. Your treat of course. Seriously, these two instances are found in Gen 2:7 and Jn: 20:22. The first time God breathed, what happened? Ah, life came! The second instance, what happened? It gave the Apostles power.

And through apostolic succession, priests are given the authority to forgive sins. Actually, it's not the priest that does the forgiving. Remember this term, "Ex opere operato". This means that the Sacraments work... literally it means, "by the very fact of the action's being performed". Get your Catechism of the Catholic Church and look at article 1128. This means that the sacraments work regardless of the righteousness of the priest. On another note, the graces received from the sacraments are dependent on a recipient's disposition.

All of this is because Jesus spoke his will. I mean, let's look here. What happens when Jesus speaks? What happens when God speaks? Things happen. God's will happens. And we can trust Jesus to be true to his word. Don't believe me? Read Scripture.

So what's the point of Confession? Going back, certainly, it is God that forgives the sin, not man. So why to a priest? Well, simply because this is how Jesus wanted it. If you love Christ, you would obey his commandments. Read Mt 19:16, 17. And let me ask you this? By confessing straight to God, do you think you're really pleasing him? Arrogant a question as it may seem, ask yourself anyway.

Confession counters, pride and disobedience. By admitting that we are sinners, we take the pride away and take on humility. By approaching a priest in confession, we become obedient to God's command.

And what's so wrong with confessing? People go to psychiatrists and receive help by confessing away talking about their difficulties. It's not any different from Confession. With Confession, we not only have a physical guarantee, we have spiritual healing because of the grace of Jesus. Think of it as free healthcare for the soul.


SACRAMENT OF CONFESSION

• One of the healing sacraments
• A.K.A. Sacrament of Reconciliation, Penence, Forgiveness, Conversion
  
• It reunites us with God after separation by mortal sin. Free of charge!
  
• Outward sign: When priest raises his hands in absolution