"It is wonderful to be able to confess our sins, and to hear as a balm the word which floods us with mercy and sends us on our way again. Only those who have known the Father's tender embrace, as the Gospel describes it in the parable of the Prodigal Son-'he embraced him and kissed him' (Lk 15,20)-only they can pass on to others the same warmth, when after receiving pardon themselves they administer it to others" (Letter of John Paul II to Priests for Holy Thursday 2001, n. 10).

(Q): My sins are so horrible, why would God forgive me?
(A): If we are truly sorry for our sins from the depths of our heart (no matter how horrible the sin might be), Christ will forgive our sins and wipe the slate clean so that we may start again. We must remember that it is Jesus' wish that we all join Him in Heaven one day, so he forgets our sins once they are confessed. Jesus does expect us to try not to commit the sin again.

(Q): Can sins be forgiven by confession to a priest?
(A): The Bible teaches us that only by confessing our sins can we achieve forgiveness from God. How do we know this? Again, the Bible tells us these facts. Let's start with the Old Testament. In II Samuel 12:13, David confesses his sins to Nathan and was given assurance from Nathan that his sins were forgiven. From the New Testament we see many verses regarding confessing sins, however, we will stick to only the verse pertaining to the authority that God gave man. Look at John 20:22-23 it states that Jesus "breathed" on them and said:

(Jn 20:22-23) And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."

God has given man the authority, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to forgive sins. It is interesting to note that there is only two places in the Bible that the term "breathe" is found as an action performed by God. The first, of course, is in the Old Testament Genesis 2:7 when God "breathes" the breath of life into man. In John 20:22, God again "breathes" the gift of life into man (the gift of Eternal Life) in that He is giving His representatives the authority to assist in purifying the souls of men, thus giving them life. Let us look at verses to support confession:

(Acts 19:18) - And many of those who were now believers came (to the Apostles) their practices.

(Matt. 18:18) Again, Jesus gives the apostles authority by stating: "Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."(2 Cor. 2:10) Paul said: "Any one whom you forgive, I also forgive. What I have forgiven, if I have forgiven any thing, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ"
(2 Cor. 5:18-20) Paul states; (read the whole verse) "All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation (the ministry of forgiving sins); that is, God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. So we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We beseech you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God."It is easy for us to say in our head "Jesus I am sorry for the sin I committed" however, this type of confession is hardly the type of confession Jesus intended for us--especially when the Bible states otherwise! To stand in front of a representative of Christ, whom God has given the authority to be His stand-in, and actually state aloud the sin, which was committed with true contrition, is not an easy thing to do--think about it? Once an individual goes to confession and actually states the sin aloud with true contrition, it is guaranteed that a relief and cleansing will immediately follow, as well as a strong sense of forgiveness--there is no doubt that you are forgiven--you know! Confession gives the penitent a fresh start to perhaps work with a strong passion to never commit the sin. Not only does confession cleans the soul, it is pleasing to God and He fills the soul with graces.Throughout the history of mankind, God has used humans to give us His messages. He gave us the prophets to instruct His people and to advise them of their many sins and offences and to tell them what they needed to do to make amends to God. He appointed priests to make scarifies to atone for the many offences committed against Him. This is how God communicates His message to man until in His wisdom, love and mercy He sent His Son, to become man to teach us in His own words, how to live a life pleasing to God. Then He became the sacrifice of atonement for the sins of man committed against His Father. Knowing our human nature and how we continue to fail God, Jesus ordained 12 men and commissioned them to continue His sacrifice (Lk. 22:19) and he gave them the power to forgive our sins (Jn 20:21-23) that we may know our sins are forgiven and that we may have His peace.
It is man's obligation to examine his life in regard to the teachings of Jesus and to acknowledge where he has failed. How else are we able to make amends if we do not first admit to our sins and failings? Then to hear the words of the priest "I absolve you..."

In the Old Testament, God prepared His people for the coming of His Son. His Son came, reconciled us with the Father and left us a church to assure and continue the reconciliation through the Sacraments of Holy Eucharist and Penance. All this so that man may know His Peace.

Catechism of the Catholic Church

1422 "Those who approach the sacrament of Penance obtain pardon from God's mercy for the offense committed against him, and are, at the same time, reconciled with the Church which they have wounded by their sins and which by charity, by example, and by prayer labors for their conversion."

 

 

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