When non Catholics and some Catholics who don't fully understand their faith or the sacraments hear that we confess to a priest, they can't believe their ears, "why do you confess to a priest and not directly to God, the priest cannot forgive you, only God can".
YES, ONLY God can forgive sins, and he does so THROUGH his earthly instrument, the priest, today's apostle. The priest is an ordained apostle of God, this is how God wanted it, "this is a "Catholic rule", not God's rule", as someone stated. EVERYTHING the Catholic church does is from GOD. The Catholic church doesn't make up it's own rules, that's impossible. God instituted the Catholic church, ALL of the rules, rituals, teachings, etc are from HIM. The priest himself as a human has no power whatsoever to forgive sins anymore than any other human does, only God can forgive our sins and this is done through the priest. Many people post, "There is only one mediator between God and man and that is Jesus". Yes, that is true, the problem is, it's being misinterpreted when the word confession comes up. We are all one body within the Catholic church, but we do not all have the same functions, we are not all ordained priests, we are not all ordained deacons, we are not all Eucharistic ministers. We EACH have our own duty. As a Catholic myself, when I go to confession, I'm confessing to God THROUGH the priest, because I KNOW that's how God wanted it and I KNOW that it is GOD forgiving my sins through the priest. So much focus is being put on the word priest, and it's throwing people off, because they think that the priest is the one forgiving, it is GOD forgiving. "Where's the word priest in the bible"? An apostle is the priest. The bible, trinity and pope aren't in the bible, but we KNOW they exist!
"A surface reading of I Timothy 2:5 would seem to eliminate the idea of Christians “mediating” graces to one another: “There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ.” Protestants will argue, “If Jesus is our one mediator, then Christ alone mediates grace. In saying anyone else can, Catholics are usurping and thereby denying Christ’s singular role as mediator. That’s blasphemy!”
Much to the surprise of many Protestants I have spoken to over the years, the Catholic Church actually acknowledges Christ to be our one and absolutely unique mediator who alone can reconcile us to the Father in a strict sense. In his classic, The Catholic Catechism, Fr. John Hardon explains:
… the Incarnation corresponds to mediation in the order of being, and the Redemption (remission of sin and conferral of grace) is mediation morally.
This kind of mediation is incommunicable. No one but the Savior unites in himself the divinity, which demands reconciliation, and the humanity, which needs to be reconciled.
Protestants generally agree with us on this point. However, Fr. Hardon goes on to say:
Nevertheless, lesser and subordinate mediators are not excluded. The question is what purpose they serve and in what sense do they mediate. They can help the cause of mediation in the only way that human beings (or creatures) can contribute to the work of salvation, namely, by their willing response to grace; either better disposing themselves or others for divine grace, or interceding with God to give his grace, or freely cooperating with grace when conferred.
The “lesser and subordinate mediators” is where the trouble starts. And yet, the context of I Timothy 2:5 demonstrates Fr. Hardon’s point. In the first two verses, St. Paul commands “supplications, prayers and intercessions to be made for all men...” Intercession is a synonym for mediation. Hebrews 7:24-25 refers to Jesus acting as our one mediator at the right hand of the Father and refers to him as intercessor:
But [Christ] holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues for ever. Consequently, he is able for all time to save those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
Christ is our one mediator/intercessor, yet, St. Paul commands all Christians to be intercessors/mediators. Then notice the first word in verse five: “For there is one God and one mediator…” And then in verse seven he says, “For this I was appointed a preacher and apostle.” What is an apostle if not a mediator? The very definition of apostle, according to Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, is “a delegate, messenger, one sent forth with orders.” That’s an essential part of what a mediator is. In short, St. Paul says we are all called to be mediators because Christ is the one mediator and for this reason he was called to be a mediator of God’s love and grace to the world!
Is this a contradiction? Not at all! The fact that Jesus is our one mediator does not preclude him from communicating this power by way of participation. The Bible also declares: “But you are not to be called Rabbi, for you have one teacher, (Gr. – didaskolos) and you are all brethren.” This text cannot be any clearer, yet James 3:1 and Ephesians 4:11 tell us we have many teachers (Gr. – didaskoloi) in the Church. The key is to understand that the many teachers and mediators in the body of Christ do not take away from Christ as the one teacher and mediator because they are, in a sense, Christ on this earth and they serve to establish his offices of teacher and mediator in him. As members of the body of Christ graced with a specific task by Christ they can say with St. Paul in Galatians 2:20, “It is not I, but Christ who [teaches] in me…”
And remember, we are not talking about necessity here. The Church is not claiming Christ couldn’t get the job done so he needed help. Of course not! He could do it all—and all by himself—if he wanted to. He could come down here right now and write this blog post much more effectively than I ever could. But he chooses not to do everything himself, strictly speaking. He delights in using his body to communicate his life and love to the world.
THE BODY BEAUTIFUL
Perhaps the most important image for the People of God in Scripture for understanding our topic, whether we are talking about the “mediation of all grace” with reference to the Mother of God, or the mediation of graces through the prayers and sufferings of other members of the Church, is given to us in I Corinthian 12, when St. Paul describes the Church as a body. CCC 753:
In Scripture, we find a host of interrelated images and figures through which Revelation speaks of the inexhaustible mystery of the Church. The images taken from the Old Testament are variations of a profound them: the People of God. In the New Testament, all these images find a new center because Christ has become the head of this people, which henceforth is his Body. Around this center are grouped images taken from the life of the shepherd or from cultivation of the land, from the art of building or from family life and marriage.
The Old Testament has beautiful images for the People of God. They are shown to be God’s bride (cf. Jer. 3:1-14); They are children of a God who is revealed to be their “father” (cf. Mal. 1:6), and more. But with the advent of Christ these analogies were brought to a whole new level unthinkable to the Old Testament mindset (cf. CCC 239-240).
God was revealed to be “like” a father in the Old Testament. In the New, he is revealed to be Father within the eternal relations of the godhead. Through our mystical union with Christ through baptism, we become sons and daughters of God whereby we can truly call God “Abba”—father (cf. Gal. 4:4-7). We become brothers and sisters of Christ and true sons of Mary (cf. Romans 8:14-17; John 19:27—Rev. 12:17). The concept of “bride” reaches new heights when we speak of the Church as the “bride” of Christ (cf. Eph. 5:24-32). But even more radically, “we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another” (Romans 12:5), whereby we are caught up into the very inner life of God as members of Christ’s body by grace (cf. Eph. 2:5-6), and by virtue of that fact we have been made to be “partakers of the divine nature” as II Peter 1:4 says.
It is this image of “the Body of Christ” that aids us in understanding how one member of the body can aid another in the communication of the divine life to one another without diminishing the role of "the head." For example, if I pick up a pen here on my desk would we say “the head,” or “I,” would have had nothing to do with it? “Oh no, your hand did that, Tim, not you!”
So it is with Christ and his Body. Eph. 1:22-23 goes so far as to say the Church is, “The fullness of him who fills all in all.” Thus, the Church is Christ in this world. This does not take away from Christ's unique mediation; it establishes that unique mediation. Different members of the Church mediate various graces in accordance with their respective gifts while the whole body functions to bring Christ to the world. Romans 12:4-6 says:
For as in one body we have many members, and all the members do not have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us.
And this radical union with Christ and with the other members of the Body of Christ does not cease at death. Romans 8:35-38 tells us, among other things, “neither death nor life… shall be able to separate us from the love of Christ.” Thus, those alive on earth can still benefit from—they are still connected to—the other members of the Body of Christ in heaven.
Is Christ our one, true mediator? Absolutely! And it is this same Christ who has chosen to use his Body to mediate God’s grace to the world in and through him."
Christ himself ORDAINED/INSTITUTED this sacrament for the forgiveness of sins, without it, Catholics have no ability to confess their sins and receive God's absolution. The priest is VITAL for this sacrament! Also, the torn veil, doesn't mean that God did away with priest's and all sin has been forgiven, not even close!
Because of the false doctrine of scripture alone, many will say that we don't need confession, that Christ's death on the cross rid the world completely of all sin, we're all saved. Jesus took our sins upon his body, however he also gave us free will and instituted the sacrament of confession for our FUTURE sins. Because we have free will and the freedom to make our own choices in this life, good, bad, ugly or evil, he gave us the sacrament of confession for the FORGIVENESS of these future sins. The veil is often misinterpreted by many. Without clergy, none of the sacraments can be carried out. No one is afraid to have a priest baptize their baby, again the priest is the Person of Christ, but you're apprehensive to ask for God's forgiveness by a priest??????
"A Fundamentalist Baptist friend wants to know how the Catholic Church views the curtain being torn in half as Christ expires. He says his church views it as proof that it is no longer necessary for God's people to be under an institutional Church or clergy.
Answer
Then how to explain the fact that after the curtain was torn in half--after the Resurrection--Jesus proceeded to appoint clergy and establish a Church? Christ's sacrifice and the tearing of the curtain symbolize several things:
1) The Jewish economy (the Law of Moses or the Old Covenant) has been done away with.
2) Our high priest (Jesus) has the right to enter the heavenly tabernacle.
3) We approach God through Jesus and the Christian economy rather than through the Jewish or Mosaic economy.
4) That heaven has now been opened to receive the saints, who were previously kept at Abraham's bosom.
What it doesn't imply is the demise of all rituals (or else we would not have baptism and the Eucharist) or that there will be no priests in the Law of Christ/New Covenant way of approaching God. It simply signifies the passing away of the Jewish economy.
Question: A question that is often asked by non-Catholics or even some Catholics who do not appreciate the idea of humbling themselves by confessing their sins to a priest, is "why not confess your sins directly to Jesus"! After all they say, He is the one mediator between God and man, isn’t He? Besides, they complain, confession to a priest is not Biblical.
Response: Of course, one can confess one’s sins directly to God, but if a priest is available than one should confess their sins to him because Christ so ordained it and the Church he founded has been hearing confessions for 2000 years. Did Jesus, who is the one Mediator between God and man, direct us to confess our sins to another person? Since we know that the Old Testament prepared the way for the New Testament, do we find confession of sins there? We do. For example:
Leviticus 19: 20-22: A man who committed adultery had to bring a guilt offering for himself to the door of the tent of meeting (holy place where the ark of the covenant, which contained God’s true presence was kept). But then it adds “And the priest shall make atonement for him …before the Lord for his sin…and the sin which he has committed shall be forgiven.” (see also Leviticus 5: 5-6) The priest could not make atonement if he were not aware of the man's sin. He is acting as a mediator for the repentant sinner.
The complaint might be, well that is the Old Testament, but now we have Jesus, who suffered for our sins. What does the New Testament have to say?
Matthew 3: 6 (and Mk 1: 5): “. . . they were baptized by him [John the Baptist] in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.” So he who prepared the way for Christ, listened to confessions of sin.
John the Baptist, whom Jesus called him the greatest "among them that are born of woman," preached a baptism of repentance. Mark tells us that ". . . there went out to him all the country of Judea, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. We learn in Luke's account of the Baptist that he answered many questions for the people concerning the behavior they should follow, but freely confessed that he was not the Christ (Luke 3: 16-17). He doubtless heard countless confessions of sin, but he knew where forgiveness of sin came from for when Jesus approached he declared, "Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world" (John 1: 29). Jesus than sent his disciples to baptize throughout Judea (John 3: 22) and they too, doubtless heard the confessions of many sinners as they traveled from village to village. So Jesus used his disciples and John the precursor to hear confessions of sins, but this is not the sacrament of confession, anymore than the baptism of John was the baptism of the Holy Spirit, which came after John the Baptist's time. Let's see if the New Testament shows men receiving the authority to forgive sins in God's name.
Matthew 9: 6-8: Jesus tells us that He was given authority on earth to forgive sins (a power reserved to God alone) and proves it with miraculous healings and then Scripture notes this same authority was given to “men” (plural). Is this merely a figure of speech? No, John's Gospel makes it clear Jesus intended to give this sacrament to men:
John 20: 21-23: In his very first Resurrection appearance our Lord gives this awesome power to his Apostles with the words:
“Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” How could they forgive sins if they were not confessed? They could not. This authority comes through the gift of the Holy Spirit which precedes it.
Does this remind of you what He told Peter (Mt. 16: 19) and then the other apostles (Mt. 18:18)? “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” This includes sins. Jesus allowed for us to receive spiritual consolation and counsel in this beautiful sacrament of the Church. We see this awesome power in other sacraments as well. What today we call the sacrament of the sick. Again, we look to Scripture:
James 5: 14-17: "Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; 15 and the prayer of faith will save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to one another …”
Notice the command does not say confess your sins straight to God. Notice also who they are to go to the “elders” (bishops or priests—see the Acts 14: 23; 15: 2 for example).
John 1: 9: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” The word confess has an oral/verbal or proclamation meaning. St. Paul describes his ministry as one of reconciliation of sinners:
2 Corinthians 5: 18: “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation . . .”
Conclusion: The Bible clearly shows that while God alone can forgive sins and Christ is the one Mediator between God and man, and that God uses men to bring about his reconciliation. Clearly he gave that authority to his Apostles and they in turn "layed hands" (1 Timothy 4: 14 and 5:22 show laying on of hands as an ordination to God's service) on other good men (this is the sacrament of holy orders) and hence ordained men are used by God to give assurance of forgiveness of sins (absolution) to one who is sincerely repentant, has a firm purpose of amendment (confession of sins must not be a mere ritual but rather part of a process of conversion of heart and mind) and confesses their sins (honestly). This requires great humility but then as Scripture says, "Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, who do his commands; seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the wrath of the Lord" (Zephaniah 2: 3 ); or from the New Testament Book of James:
But he gives more grace; therefore it says, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts you men of double mind. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to dejection. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you" (James 4: 6-8).
Nor is the Bible the only witness. We also have the Early Fathers of the Church, who were defenders of the faith in the early Church, often giving their blood in martyrdom for the faith they defended and serving Christ faithfully despite persecution and dangers. We see the evidence of confession of sins in one of the oldest documents from the early Church, the so-called Didache (title in Greek is Didache kyriou dia ton dodeka apostolon ethesin) which is the teaching of the Lord to the twelve Apostles, mentioned by Bishop Eusebius, the father of Church history, in Ecclesiastical History, his history of early Christianity. The Didache was divided into three parts, first the "Two Ways" (the Way of Life and Death); second, the rituals dealing with Baptism, Communion and fasting; third, a concluding chapter dealing with Ministry. Doctrinal teaching is presupposed in this document which was used to train new converts to the faith. To see the whole document, Click Here.
"Confess your sins in church, and do not go up to your prayer with an evil conscience. This is the way of life. . . . On the Lord’s Day gather together, break bread, and give thanks, after confessing your transgressions so that your sacrifice may be pure" (Didache 4:14, 14:1 [A.D. 70-90]). Protestant scholar J. B. Lightfoot translates it similarly (click here)
You shall confess your sins. You shall not go to prayer with an evil conscience. This is the way of light" (Letter of Barnabas 19 [A.D. 74]).
"For as many as are of God and of Jesus Christ are also with the bishop. And as many as shall, in the exercise of penance, return into the unity of the Church, these, too, shall belong to God, that they may live according to Jesus Christ" (Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Philadelphians 3 [A.D. 110]). Ignatius was a bishop who was martyred by the Romans about 107 A.D.
"[Regarding confession, some] flee from this work as being an exposure of themselves, or they put it off from day to day. I presume they are more mindful of modesty than of salvation, like those who contract a disease in the more shameful parts of the body and shun making themselves known to the physicians; and thus they perish along with their own bashfulness" (Tertullian, Repentance 10:1 [A.D. 203]).
"[The bishop conducting the ordination of the new bishop shall pray:] God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. . . . Pour forth now that power which comes from you, from your royal Spirit, which you gave to your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, and which he bestowed upon his holy apostles . . . and grant this your servant, whom you have chosen for the episcopate, [the power] to feed your holy flock and to serve without blame as your high priest, ministering night and day to propitiate unceasingly before your face and to offer to you the gifts of your holy Church, and by the Spirit of the high priesthood to have the authority to forgive sins, in accord with your command" (Hippolytus, Apostolic Tradition 3 [A.D. 215]). Click on the underlined text to read about the life and work of Hippolytus of Rome (170-236 A.D.)
"[A final method of forgiveness], albeit hard and laborious [is] the remission of sins through penance, when the sinner . . . does not shrink from declaring his sin to a priest of the Lord and from seeking medicine, after the manner of him who say, ‘I said, "To the Lord I will accuse myself of my iniquity"’" (Origen, Homilies on Leviticus 2:4 [A.D. 248]).
Holy Scripture contains instances when sins are not forgiven. For example, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven either in this world nor the next (Matthew 12: 31-32). It also distinguishes what is calls "mortal sins." The Evangelist and Apostle John writes, "All wrongdoing is sin, but there is a sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that" (1 John 5:16). St. Paul notes in his epistle to the Hebrews that "it is impossible for those who were once enlightened and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again through repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame" (Hebrews 6:4-6). These examples describe those with a sinful heart who are cynical or do not sincerely want to repent and change their lives, giving up great sins.
Thus, confession of sins is a ministry of reconciliation given by Jesus to his disciples for all time. We can and should confess sins directly to Jesus, but we must confess serious or mortal sin to a priest in the sacrament of Confession. This forces us to train our conscience to recognize these sins. To examine our conscience is necessary if we are to advance in holiness and become more faithful to Christ. Scripture calls us to holiness. St. Peter puts it this way, "As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; since it is written, 'You shall be holy, for I am holy.'" As the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches:
The Lord Jesus Christ, physician of our souls and bodies, who forgave the sins of the paralytic and restored him to bodily health, has willed that his Church continue, in the power of the Holy Spirit, his work of healing and salvation, even among her own members. This is the purpose of the two sacraments of healing: the sacrament of Penance and the sacrament of Anointing of the Sick. (para. 1421) It is called the sacrament of conversion because it makes sacramentally present Jesus' call to conversion, the first step in returning to the Father from whom one has strayed by sin.
It is called the sacrament of Penance, since it consecrates the Christian sinner's personal and ecclesial steps of conversion, penance, and satisfaction. (CCC 1423)
It is called the sacrament of confession, since the disclosure or confession of sins to a priest is an essential element of this sacrament. In a profound sense it is also a "confession"—acknowledgment and praise—of the holiness of God and of his mercy toward sinful man.
It is called the sacrament of forgiveness, since by the priest's sacramental absolution God grants the penitent "pardon and peace."
It is called the sacrament of Reconciliation, because it imparts to the sinner the love of God who reconciles: "Be reconciled to God." He who lives by God's merciful love is ready to respond to the Lord's call: "Go; first be reconciled to your brother." (CCC 1424)