White Knight Posted July 16, 2005 Share Posted July 16, 2005 (edited) I'm wondering about Confession, forgive me if I posted them about a year or so ago, I can't remember if I did or not. but anyway. When a person confesses about their personal sinfullness to God.. is it then still nescessary to go to one of God's Servants (A Preist) to Ask for forgiveness to show humility? Is this mandantory of the Catholic Faith? Or can you choose? Like say You Confess to God Directly through Prayer for Forgiveness, Grace, and Mercy. in Asking Him of course. Or Can you choose to go to a Preist, and Confess your Sinfullness to the Preist (God's Servant) and expect forgiveness? Or is both required? to me it seems like both would be important. Because you gotta ask out of your own mouth for Forgiveness. also gotta come from the Heart. Forgive the posting at this time its 2:37AM CST here, I'm tired. lol. Thanks to everyone Posting. [b]God Bless You. Pax Christi.[/b] Edited July 16, 2005 by White Knight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PedroX Posted July 16, 2005 Share Posted July 16, 2005 White Knight, In some ways, they are the same. The priest in the confessional is sitting in place of Christ, or rather as Christ. It is Christ, not the priest who forgives your sins in the confessional. This is why Christ gave his disciples the power to bind or loose sins. Technically, it is only neccessary to confess mortal sins sacrementally (in the confessional), but you are always welcome to confess venial sins. I find it a wonderful way to get insight into venial sin patterns as well as mortal sins. peace... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRMartin15 Posted July 16, 2005 Share Posted July 16, 2005 PerdoX i never knew that thank you. Im on my journey to become part of the Catholic Church right now. Im looking forward to becoming closer to the Lord. Thank you again and God Bless Sean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quietfire Posted July 16, 2005 Share Posted July 16, 2005 Ok, lets say you sinned. You make an act of contrition, which in my mind before I became Catholic, is the equivalent of begging God for forgiveness in the protestant sense. You vow never to do it again, yada, yada, yada. (not being rude just moving along) As a Catholic, the wonderful sacrament of confession allows us to [i]hear[/i] Christ's forgiveness and any penance given. God is amazing in knowing that we, as humans, respond more readily to sights, sounds, and tastes. He created us with senses, and uses our senses to bring us closer to Him. In the sacrament of confession, we first [i]see[/i] that we are in a holy place, we then [i]hear[/i] our own selves admitting our guilt, we [i]hear[/i] our penance, we [i]hear[/i] our absolution. We then know we are once again in a state of grace, ready to receive additional grace[i](taste)[/i] through the Holy Eucharist. In knowing that the priest in the confessional is an agent of God, we know when (through sound) we are forgiven. This is something Protestants cant grasp, since they only ask God for forgiveness alone. I myself, before conversion, could never honestly say one way or another if I was forgiven of a particular sin. I would therefore continue dwelling on that particular sin weeks, months, even years later...wondering and hoping and praying if I was forgiven. I know now that there is more to it than just that. Now I am able to hear my absolution and I know its straight from God. Its pretty amazing. Pax Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paladin D Posted July 16, 2005 Share Posted July 16, 2005 [quote name='Quietfire' date='Jul 16 2005, 12:38 PM']I myself, before conversion, could never honestly say one way or another if I was forgiven of a particular sin. I would therefore continue dwelling on that particular sin weeks, months, even years later...wondering and hoping and praying if I was forgiven. I know now that there is more to it than just that. Now I am able to hear my absolution and I know its straight from God. Its pretty amazing. Pax [right][snapback]645398[/snapback][/right] [/quote] I know exactly what you mean, the Sacrament of Reconcilation is truely an extraordinary thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Knight Posted July 16, 2005 Author Share Posted July 16, 2005 [quote name='PedroX' date='Jul 16 2005, 08:39 AM']White Knight, In some ways, they are the same. The priest in the confessional is sitting in place of Christ, or rather as Christ. It is Christ, not the priest who forgives your sins in the confessional. This is why Christ gave his disciples the power to bind or loose sins. Technically, it is only neccessary to confess mortal sins sacrementally (in the confessional), but you are always welcome to confess venial sins. I find it a wonderful way to get insight into venial sin patterns as well as mortal sins. peace... [right][snapback]645305[/snapback][/right] [/quote] Thank You man.. thats helpful. I'm currently at the point where I'm reading the Catechism, so I'm sure I'll read more about it later.. Once again Thank You. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reelguy227 Posted July 16, 2005 Share Posted July 16, 2005 [quote name='Paladin D' date='Jul 16 2005, 01:18 PM']I know exactly what you mean, the Sacrament of Reconcilation is truely an extraordinary thing. [right][snapback]645505[/snapback][/right] [/quote] Me too,I totally agree !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aloysius Posted July 16, 2005 Share Posted July 16, 2005 oi... you people and your words, you nearly gave me a heart attack I suppose common usage of the word "extraordinary" means spectacular and great... but I'm used to liturgical debates and deep theological word-percision... so I was all afraid you were saying it shouldn't be used that often! lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quietfire Posted July 17, 2005 Share Posted July 17, 2005 [quote name='Aloysius' date='Jul 16 2005, 04:57 PM']oi... you people and your words, you nearly gave me a heart attack I suppose common usage of the word "extraordinary" means spectacular and great... but I'm used to liturgical debates and deep theological word-percision... so I was all afraid you were saying it shouldn't be used that often! lol [right][snapback]645691[/snapback][/right] [/quote] he,he. Thats why I used the word 'amazing'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Knight Posted July 17, 2005 Author Share Posted July 17, 2005 I know this is off topic but what books does anyone recommend for learning more about the Catholic Faith? Catechism, what else? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noel's angel Posted July 17, 2005 Share Posted July 17, 2005 oh, this was posted somewhere else, I'll see if i can find the topic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noel's angel Posted July 17, 2005 Share Posted July 17, 2005 [url="http://www.phatmass.com/phorum/index.php?showtopic=35926"]http://www.phatmass.com/phorum/index.php?showtopic=35926[/url] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quietfire Posted July 18, 2005 Share Posted July 18, 2005 Frank Sheed is my hero. Theology for Beginners got me started, and my mission is to acquire every book written by that man. I truly love "Society and Sanity". It really helped me understand the reason why community is so important. I am reading "The Faith Explained", which is fantastic. It goes into everything in small amounts, but to the heart. You need to take it slow. Otherwise you tend to get lost in all the information out there. I started out by just going to a Catholic bookstore and buying what interested me at that moment. Now I have a nice collection of books and the folks at the bookstore dont have to retire just yet, since I seem to be keeping them in business! I have a few books by Scott Hahn but to date I havent read them yet although I most certainly plan on doing that soon(I can only read so fast, ya know.) Pick a book. Read a few chapters and then ponder on it awhile. Have fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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