Why Confess Your Sins to a Priest? (Aquinas 101)

[@FSR431]

So many faithful can find both freedom and renewal in this sacrament. This is not an optional Grace but a true gift of salvation.

[@irishlong10]

Thank you, Father John Mark!

[@drxljrcc]

I was really thinking about confession, which I have not done for years(decades) because i am simply ashamed to even say it. But this tells me to be brave and confess. It feels like something is missing of christian faith of not confessing.

[@BeanZBoT]

Yes! Go to confession! It’s normal to feel ashamed but don’t let that stop you from going to confession. Remember that Jesus wants you to go to confession. He’s welcoming you with open arms and is so eager to forgive you your sins.

[@David77757]

shame to sin

[@patrioticacorn]

On a related note to this, it would be nice to see a video on habitual sins/ confessing the same sins frequently.

[@EX58UD]

Thank you. I will be giving my first general confession soon 🙏

[@ihs2021]

Praying with you

[@volusian95]

Thank you, father

[@williamjerome5836]

I was surprised that there was no mention of the distinction between mortal and venial sins, no mention of the temporal punishment to to sins, and no explanation of how various types of penances strengthen the spirit. it would be interesting to hear how public confession and penances were prescribed in the early Church. Granted this was a short video but I think there was time to at least mention these topics.

[@jnkelley42]

I am in RCIA. I am 38 and strayed far from God as an adult. The idea of first confession intimidating. There is a lot to go over.

[@dnmb82]

Don’t stress. The Holy Spirit will be with you to help you. I am a cradle Catholic for 65 years and I still get nervous and struggle. I make myself notes to help me keep my thoughts organized. May God bless you. My prayers are with you.

[@Waytoorizzful]

You chillin! I came into the church this Easter and when all the Catholics told me the priest has heard it all, they aren’t lying. The priest I confessed to didn’t look at me differently at all after I confessed for the first time.

[@VICE-roy]

I just turned 38 when I started RCIA. (I was raised super anti-religious.) I was super intimidated by confession as well. I cried so hard during my confession, but it was the best feeling after. I was accepted into the church this last Easter, and now I go to confession every chance I can. Even if I don't need to, it gives me a chance to ask any questions or get advice I may need. It's one of my most favorite sacraments. I hope you feel the same about it as I do. All praise and glory to Christ our Lord.

[@dnmb82]

@@VICE-roy I LOVE this! Thank you for sharing. You are 100% correct!

[@thisis_chavez]

I always pray that I become a successful Catholic Social Media Influencer to spread the teachings and Revelations of the Catholic Church and the entire Christendom. I hope and pray the Devotion to the Eucharist and the Holy Souls in Purgatory helps me.

[@timnavarrette3274]

I confess to God above.

[@dananthony6258]

I don’t believe a priest has the power to forgive our sin. I think it good for someone to confess their sins to a priest though.

[@CamiloSoares87]

❤

[@DylanKing-Dk]

Hallelujah!!! I’m favored and blessed with $60,000 every week! Now I can afford anything and also support the work of God and the church.

[@Womanoffaith44]

Oh really? Tell me more!

[@DylanKing-Dk]

This is what Ana Graciela Blackwelder does, she has changed my life.

[@DylanKing-Dk]

After raising up to 60k trading with her, I bought a new house and car here in the US and also paid for my son’s (Oscar) surgery. Glory to God.shalom.

[@History055]

I know Ana Graciela Blackwelder, and I have also had success...

[@History055]

Absolutely! I have heard stories of people who started with little or no knowledge but managed to emerge victorious thanks to Ana Graciela Blackwelder.

[@TacoTuesday4]

The best part is that you don’t need to.

[@d.o.7784]

Too many words, but no logical direct answer to the question.

[@RutilioNamaziano1]

I agree: too many words for small brains and proud souls.

[@SNS-f6g]

Because priests have the power delegated by Jesus Christ. If you go to 2 Corinthians 5, you'll also get a sense of this, because in verse 17 and 18, St. Paul says this, "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation. Behold, all things old are passed away. All things have become new. And this we have received from God, who has reconciled the world to himself in Christ and has committed unto us the ministry of reconciliation." Did you catch that? The ministry, what does that mean? The same ministry Jesus had, to reconcile sinners to God. St. Paul says, "Jesus has committed that ministry unto us." It's like St. Paul said in Galatians 2.20, "I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, "yet not I live, but Christ lives in me, "and the life I now live, "I live by the faith of the Son of God." Although the Catholic Church also teaches, just as Scripture does, that Jesus Christ is the one mediator between God and men, just as St. Paul says in 1 Timothy 2.5. Why? Because he is the only person in the universe that has the chops to reconcile us to God, right? However, there is also a powerful humbling experience when you confess your sins to a priest. God knows everything about you, but what He wants is your heart. After confession, remember God’s mercy and give yourself permission to be human, to be you, to be the kind of person who actually needs help, who needs God’s grace, and then give God the permission to meet you in your needs and to give you His grace. God bless.

[@d.o.7784]

@@SNS-f6g thank you, i appreciate it. Would that also be applicable to the Holy Spirit, since that too is coming from the Son, in addition to the Father?

[@SNS-f6g]

@@d.o.7784 Absolutely, yes ! The formula of absolution wishes peace on the sinner with the words, “May God give you pardon and peace.” These words remind us of Jesus’ words in John 20:19 and 21, “Peace be with you.” Jesus wished peace on his followers and conferred that peace on them by giving them the Holy Spirit. This is what it means in John 20: 22, “He breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’” The formula states this important role of the Holy Spirit when it says that God “sent the Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sin.” The Holy Spirit is the active agent of bringing the forgiveness of Christ to sinners. By the power of the Holy Spirit, the priest stands in the place of Christ to declare the sinner forgiven. That is why the formula of absolution uses the pronoun I. The I is Christ speaking through the human priest. If Jesus had not come to earth, there would be no forgiveness on earth, and if he had not conferred on the apostles this ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:18), we would have no forgiveness today. But we can thank God that Christ did indeed come and that he passed on his authority to the Church to reconcile sinners to God. God bless.

[@matswessling6600]

you dont have to. Jesus never said that you should confess to a priest. the church with all its prelates is a scam.

[@Gesu_Re_dei_re]

James 5:16 and Matthew 18:18 are a great starting point

[@matswessling6600]

@@Gesu_Re_dei_re says nothing about priests or church.

[@Gesu_Re_dei_re]

@@matswessling6600 so you think Jesus commands stop at the Apostles? Nothing after them?

[@matswessling6600]

@@Gesu_Re_dei_re he never give anyone the privileges of the priests or the might to the church.

[@Gesu_Re_dei_re]

@matswessling6600 what about the verse I gave you? There's also others similar to it. You think it refers to the Apostles and that's it, nothing after them?