Father Tim...what a wonderful post...i looked at some of the articles and was struck by what i think we often forget...it is what God does for us in this sacrament...it is the 1 place we are positive that we have received unconditional love again and again
Anonymous The validity of ANY sacrament does not depend on the holiness of the priest....it is what Christ does for us in the sacrament U tar all priests with the same brush...that is not fair...the percentage of offenders (as horrific as it is) is very small to the total number of priests. The priest is Christ's representative and gives me absolution...forgiveness comes from God
You go to confession to receive pardon for your sins from God, not the priest. Fortunately, that forgiveness is not dependent on the moral state of the confessor anymore than getting a good root canal is dependent on the number of cavities in your dentists mouth.
Confessing your sins to someone other than a priest can be therapeutic if one was trying to overcome one vice or another, but Christ never gave that person the authority to absolve a person of that sin. Only a priest the authority to do that. Many of those outside the church don't believe this but we believe Jesus gave that authority to the priesthood when he bestowed it on his disciples (John 20:21-23) and writings of the early church fathers confirm this.
Father Tim...what a wonderful post...i looked at some of the articles and was struck by what i think we often forget...it is what God does for us in this sacrament...it is the 1 place we are positive that we have received unconditional love again and again
ReplyDeleteWith so many priests guilty of so many foul acts, why would anyone confess to a priest?
ReplyDeleteAnonymous
ReplyDeleteThe validity of ANY sacrament does not depend on the holiness of the priest....it is what Christ does for us in the sacrament
U tar all priests with the same brush...that is not fair...the percentage of offenders (as horrific as it is) is very small to the total number of priests. The priest is Christ's representative and gives me absolution...forgiveness comes from God
You go to confession to receive pardon for your sins from God, not the priest. Fortunately, that forgiveness is not dependent on the moral state of the confessor anymore than getting a good root canal is dependent on the number of cavities in your dentists mouth.
ReplyDeleteCheers
Paul
I think it would be better to confess to somebody you trust, whether they are a priest or not.
ReplyDeleteConfessing your sins to someone other than a priest can be therapeutic if one was trying to overcome one vice or another, but Christ never gave that person the authority to absolve a person of that sin. Only a priest the authority to do that. Many of those outside the church don't believe this but we believe Jesus gave that authority to the priesthood when he bestowed it on his disciples (John 20:21-23) and writings of the early church fathers confirm this.
ReplyDeleteCheers
Paul