How to Make a Good Confession-and why it MUST be in person! (Aquinas 101)

[@DistributistHound]

Once I traveled and lived for several years in Australia, at the beginning I used to go to mass to a local church however my english was not great at the beginning and I was afraid of not been able to communicate my sins to the priest, so I didn't confess for nearly 4 years until I return to my home country I regret not approaching a priest back then, engaging with a Catholic group would have made my stay fruitful spiritualy speaking however I acknowledge even during that time God was protecting me possibly through my guardian angel because I was able to escape some dangerous situation specially on the wilderness and on the sea I thank God and pray 🙏 for the priest that hear our sins

[@Resmungo]

Good call on the dialup internet sound effect. It would be helpful to hear more about the threshold where playing video games or otherwise enjoying entertainment would constitute a sin of omission.

[@GenXer82]

Even if a person physically goes to the confessional booth and chooses to be anonymous, they are separated 6 inches from the priest. No physical contact. How is that any different from being 6 miles away, at your home via a video chat/phone call?

[@RadioFreeHammerhal]

How do you approach a confession when it's been essentially a lifetime without a confession of sin? I have only done it once when receiving sacraments when I was a child. Where would I even begin as a grown man with a long list of sins, many that I couldn't even remember?

[@scottyfromtheog]

I would contact your local priest. He will be happy you want to receive the sacrament of confession and he will help you! Don’t be intimidated, it’s much easier than you think!

[@lostcharge]

Along with the other replies, I just want to mention- after we list our sins, we end saying “I’m sorry for these sins *and all the other sins of my life*”. So if you forget a serious sin, and don’t mention it, you are forgiven of it. But if you remember afterwards a serious sin not confessed, just being it up in the next confession. I’ll pray for you!

[@thisis_chavez]

❤❤

[@BobbyBobBob-d5l]

Private confession as we have it was unknown in the Church for a very long time. The early Christians had no doubt that the Lord Jesus had left with his community the power to forgive sins. What was not clear was the form that such forgiveness was to take, and it is clear that the understanding of the sacrament has evolved over centuries. So this sacrament has gone through much evolution in Church history. As The Catechism of the Catholic Church states, “Over the centuries the concrete form in which the Church has exercised this power received from the Lord has varied considerably.” In the 7th century, a major change in the form of the sacrament took place in Ireland. Irish monks who desired to free themselves from every imperfection and personal sin developed a private form of confession for themselves. Lay people living near the monasteries were attracted to this new development, and began going to the monks for devotional confessions and counseling. Irish missionaries brought with them this new practice of private confession when they left their homeland to bring the Gospel to the pagan tribes of northern Europe. Initially, several bishops and regional Church councils condemned the practice as too innovative.

[@BobbyBobBob-d5l]

@@Obedience33 Just this line is in the catechism: “Over the centuries the concrete form in which the Church has exercised this power received from the Lord has varied considerably.” The rest is common knowledge.

[@henrycook6376]

Just became Catholic this year at 53 years old, and confession is the worst part of it. I just feel silly doing it and it seems like a waste of time.

[@blazel462]

We don’t need a priest to speak with God nor to forgive on his behalf. Jesus is the only mediator. “Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin.” -Psalm 32:5 “For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus” -1 Timothy 2:5 “But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” -Matthew 6:6 “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” -Hebrews 4:16 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God.” -Luke 18:13-14

[@_kidtripp7772]

1. That is literally what happens in Confession 2. Yes, because he is fully God and fully man and therefore was the only one able to die for our sins. When ask someone to pray for us, that doesn't mean that person praying for us becomes another mediator. Same with Confession which makes less sense since the priest serves in persona christi. 3. The reward is increased sanctification. This verse has explicitly nothing to do with forgiveness. 4. Again this verse says nothing explicitly about confessing one's sins but, even then, this differs not from Confession at all because we confessing to God through the priest. 5. This takes place before the resurrection of Jesus Christ and teh. Confession is the normal way of forgiving sins. One's sins can be forgiven outside of Confession but there is no guarantee unlike in Confession, as long has one is truly sorry for their sins and has a resolution to not sin again during the confession. Finally, John 20:23 states: "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained". This cannot fit under the Protestant view of forgiveness in any way. The verse literally says if the apostles do not forgive someone, the person's sins are retained ---> not forgiven. Immediately before this verse he does the following to the apostles: "And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit." He breathes on the apostles and states, "Receive ye the Holy Spirit." This is clearly a flowing of power to the apostles to forgive sins. This is the only way the passage can be interpreted.

[@raeldc]

Prots yapping never gets tiring.

[@blazel462]

Malarky. I am Catholic, but mostly Christian btw. The Church institutionalized confession as a means of control, particularly after the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215, which mandated annual confession to priests. This centralized authority over individuals, allowing the Church to gain intimate knowledge of personal lives, enforce social norms, and suppress dissent. Confession was also tied to practices like indulgences, excommunication, and the Inquisition, using fear and moral authority to maintain power. Critics, especially during the Protestant Reformation, argued that confession was manipulated for political and financial gain, serving more to consolidate Church dominance than to foster genuine spiritual growth.

[@DistributistHound]

​@@blazel462one of the reasons why Martin Luther did his movement of reformation however the flaw was in the human part of those members of the church the validity of the doctrine remains, later on the counter reformation stated that the soulion was not on parting ways from the church but changing the hearts of the members and their legacy from within the church according to the correct doctrine

[@williamanderson7757]

@@blazel462 "I am Catholic" cap. Catholics are Christian by definition and if you were a Catholic you would especially know that. Also if you were a Catholic you would know about the Church's teaching on this and you would follow it if you were Catholic. Rejection of one infallible teaching of Catholicism is a rejection of Catholicism. You tied confession to many other practices but you forgot the one it is most tied to and is ordered towards: communion. the reason the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215 mandated that confession be done once a year is because it was also mandated at that council that Catholics receive the Eucharist once a year. Going to confession to rid of mortal sin is essential for receiving the Eucharist and thus the Church made it mandatory.