As I stand in line, waiting for the sacrament of Penance to be administered to me, I examine my consience, trying to remember all my sins. As I think back on them, I marvel on how such a small thing, like simply avoiding looking at a magazine or biting back a selfish, hateful, word can cause such a massive internal struggle. Trying hard not fall... and then it happens.
It my turn. I enter the cubicle, and kneel. I tell the priest how many weeks it was since my last confession, and I say my Act of Contrition. From behind the screen which obscures his face he gives me advice to help me avoid falling again. He says the holy words
"I absolve you from your sin" which clean my once-stained soul.
"God bless you," he says.
"You, too, Father," I say as I open the door.
He thanks me sincerely. He has many more people to confess that day.
I enter the church. It is quiet and still, but not empty. There is the old lady in the corner, fingering her rosary beads reverently. And then there is Jesus' Real Presence in the Eucharist, before which I kneel, and His angels which surround Him and praise Him.
I say my penance, and peace floods my soul. I thank God for His mercy and forgiveness, whom I, as a sinner, do not deserve. I exit the pew and genuflect. I leave the church, ready to begin the struggle again.
Comments
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We believe that Jesus died for all men, to redeem them.
Basically, the when Adam sinned, the gates of heaven were closed, and no man, no matter how good he was, could open them. Only Jesus Christ, both God AND Man, could do this. He sacrificed Himself for us, and the gates of heaven were opened for all men, though not all men will try to enter it. We have to earn heaven; if we commit mortal sins, and do not repent and try to make up for them, then we cannot enter heaven. The gates of heaven being opened does not automatically admit everyone into heaven.
Jesus absolves us from sin through the power he has given the priest, not by His redeeming us. This fact is illustrated by the quote from the Bible: "I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Matt. 16:19
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Scio, diligo, servo Deum.
Scio, diligo, servo Deum.
i don't get it
But didn't Jesus say that to Peter? Peter wasn't a priest; he was an Apostle.
John 1:29 says, "The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!"
And also, Colossians 1:13-14 says, "For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."
And Ephesians 1:7: "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace"
I have hated the words and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right. --The Book Thief
It does say we have
It does say we have redemption from our sins, but you have to ask for forgivness and except God as your Lord and Savior before the gates of heaven will be opened to you. Its not enough to say you believe in God and do nothing about it, you can't except Christ into your heart and act just like you did before you knew him.
And when you go to a confession your not asking the Priest to forgive you.
still trying to work this out
So you're basically saying that the priest has to approve you before you can get into heaven? Or am I still totally off?
I have hated the words and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right. --The Book Thief
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Peter was a priest, all the good apostles were. He was the first POPE! "On this rock I will build my church. "Peter" means "rock". That's why Jesus named him Peter. He's one of my favorite saints.
We're not asking for the priest's approval, we're asking for forgiveness, absolution. Jesus has given the priest the power to forgive and wipe away sins. Jesus acts through the priest.
Scio, diligo, servo Deum.
Scio, diligo, servo Deum.
Well.......the truth in love is
Actually, Jesus wasn't talking about Peter being the rock though his name does mean rock. My mom told me that Jesus was talking some faith or something that he saw in Peter. He would build his church on something else, not Peter.
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MERRY CHRISTMAS! :-) ;-)
Wed, 12/19/2007 - 18:59
In reply to Well.......the truth in love is by Emily-Smileygirl (not verified)
I beg to differ
Then what was the rock that Jesus was talking about? What did he build His church on?
All the Apostles had strong faith, especially when he told them they would have to "eat my flesh and drink my blood." It was not a parable, and dozens of people left Jesus because of it. But Peter and the apostles believed Him. Sometimes it's hard to have faith.
Scio, diligo, servo Deum.
Scio, diligo, servo Deum.
Oh yeah,
Merry Christmas! May the Christ Child bless you, keep you, and watch over you.
Scio, diligo, servo Deum.
Scio, diligo, servo Deum.
Popes are never mentioned in
Popes are never mentioned in the Bible. I know this for a fact.
But for a minute, let's say Jesus WAS a priest or pope or whatever. Just because Jesus told Peter that, why does it apply to all priests? If a parent tells one child he is to be in charge while they're at the store, does that mean that all the children are in charge? It doesn't make sense.
I have hated the words and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right. --The Book Thief
In reply to Anna...
She said: "Popes are never mentioned in the Bible. I know this for a fact."
Jesus made Peter the first pope. He didn't say " I make you my first pope", but "upon this rock I build my church." The reason for this is that Jesus often spoke in parables, and also, "pope" was not a word in His time. "Pope" come from the Latin word "papa" meaning father. Just as the father is the head of a family, the pope is the head of the church, to guide and protect it. Also, you may be forgetting that Catholics draw their faith from two sources: Scripture and Tradition. We believe in some things that are not in the Bible. (although Peter being the pope IS in the Bible)
"But for a minute, let's say Jesus WAS a priest or pope or whatever. Just because Jesus told Peter that, why does it apply to all priests? If a parent tells one child he is to be in charge while they're at the store, does that mean that all the children are in charge? It doesn't make sense."
Okay, Jesus has the threefold office of Priest, Prophet, and King.
Priest, because He sacrificed Himself for us, Prophet, or Teacher, because He teaches us, King, because He is the King of all mankind.
Now, when Jesus made Peter the pope, He knew that Peter would guide the church well. But what about after Peter died, what would happen then? A new pope was chosen, by the apostles. Nowadays is it by the cardinals. The Holy Spirit guides whichever pope is chosen in the leading of the church. The pope may be a saint or he may have a horrible life, as we have seen in history, but he will never make a wrong decision in the leading of the faithful, because the Holy Spirit guides Him.
Scio, diligo, servo Deum.
Scio, diligo, servo Deum.
I still don't get it... but
I still don't get it... but this is in direct danger of becoming an argument, and I really don't want that...
I have hated the words and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right. --The Book Thief
A question
What about people like myself who have never confessed to a priest, but rather repent in prayer to Jesus?
To put it bluntly
There's no way of being forgiven out of the sacrament of confession.
For a mortal sin, that is. When a person recieves Communion their venial sins are wiped away, but if a person goes in mortal sin to Communion they commit sacrilege.
And, of course, if a person has a mortal sin on their souls and they are truly contrite (sorry for their sins out of filial fear), and they are in a place where they cannot get to a priest (e.g., in a battlefield, or in the car on the way to confession) and they die, then their sin is forgiven.
Scio, diligo, servo Deum.
Scio, diligo, servo Deum.
yuppie
AMEN,LUCIA!
Long Live The lords and masters of the Sith !
. . .
Reading this post, and reading through all the comments was really interesting. At least you know what your talking about, and you really care about your faith and you pursue it. I'm not catholic but i am a christian, and i can honestly say i don't know very much about what i stand for. It makes me feel kind of ashamed that i say i believe in Christ and don't really know very much about him. I wish i knew as much about what i believe in as you do, and i wish i was as steady in my faith.
Thanks, Tamerah,
It's reall heartening to hear that others think I know a lot about my faith. But I still have a lot to learn.
I have to say I did some research though. Apologetics is a thing I want to get right. ;)
I learned a lot about other peoples faiths, too.
Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year!
Scio, diligo, servo Deum.
Scio, diligo, servo Deum.
Thanks
Thanks for that...it was fresh and intersting.
But do you really believe that a priest absolves you from sin and not Jesus' death?
Sarah