The Genius of Confession

 

The Catholic Church can often look like a huge ball of confusion to the outsider and even to some of her followers, but when observed at a level even just below the surface, true genius can be found not only amidst the teachings, but the teachings themselves. Confession is one of these practices that is not only seeped with scripture, but also practical and instrumental in forming healthy spiritual lives.

I've been curiously approached by many of my dear friends and not so dear friends about my Catholic ideologies, confession being one of the more consistent ones. I have to say that the past few years have been less focused on my Catholic beliefs and theology and more on getting to know exactly who the beliefs were about and how they drew me closer to my Lord and Lover. So I haven't been asking why I believe what I do, but rather how these practices can help my faith reach its fullest potential. I have realized that I need to find a healthy balance of the two; I need to be able to explain clearly and believe wholeheartedly these teachings. So I've decided to blog today about Confession. 

For those who don't know, Confession is a sacrament in the Catholic church. There are seven sacraments in the Catholic church and are basically instruments of grace used to ever increase holiness and love for God. They are pretty much the Big Seven of the Catholic world. In regards to Confession, many people have issues with it. First off, many people do not consider it biblical. While this is untrue and Confession is extremely rooted in scripture, I must also add that Catholics find authority in both scripture and oral tradition as instructed in 2 Thessalonians 2:15. 

Let's start with the most apparent Bible passage that led to confession. It says in John 20:21-23, 

"So Jesus said to them again, 'Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.' 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 them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.'" (New King James)

"Again Jesus said, 'Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.' And with that he breathed on them and said, 'Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.'" (New International Version)

Let's start with the first part of the verses. According to 1 Timothy 1:15, Jesus was sent to earth to redeem and set the sinners free (or to "save" them). As the Father sent Jesus to grant forgiveness, so He commissioned His apostles to. He also breaths on them, passing on the Holy Spirit to them. Then He tells them what they forgive will be forgiven and vice versa.

The next passage, Matthew 16:19, is very similar. Peter has just correctly identified Jesus as the Messiah who will save the people, and Jesus tells him that His church will be built upon Peter. It says,

"I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

God gave His apostles the authority to tell people that their sins were forgiven. Of course, only God can forgive people's sins, but He is saying that when they forgive the sin, God recognizes it and forgives it. Because of the apostolic succession in the Catholic Church that is still valid today, Catholic priests have been ordained and commissioned to continue this instruction from Christ. Jesus was explicit about Confession. Our mission as Christians is the preach the Good News to all nations and He left us tools to do that. On a less theological note, I have described and found Confession to be like built in counseling for the Church. Jesus isn't stupid and He knows how humans work. 

Jesus knows sin and he knows satan. Sin can rot a person from the inside out especially when kept secret. The humiliation of confessing that I am a sinner even outside of a confessional doesn't sound particularly enjoyable, and the thought of confessing to a "holy" priest...yikes!

Actually it's better than telling your friends or just repenting in the comfort of one's mind or room. Stay with me here :) I know that when I let my friends know that I did something wrong, their response is never how I expect. They either think its hilarious and don't take the sin seriously, or they don't know how to respond and end up making me feel as though I have no hope in being forgiven by God. Watering down the seriousness of sin is a dangerous place to venture towards, but so is shame and condemnation. The Bible says in Romans that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus! But the Bible also says that there is grave and deadly sin in 1 John (5:16-17). This is where I will shoot down another misconception about Confession. Catholics are encouraged to confess their sins to the Lord, whether through Confession or not. It isn't mandatory. But  Catholics are required to, if having committed a deadly/mortal/grave sin, confess it to a priest. This is because these types of sin are viral and sneaky. These sins can rot people with shame and embarrassment, haunting them the rest of their lives. Christ does not desire that for His beautiful and beloved children! He offers to His children a priest who will listen to their disgusting and reviling sin and,  instead of walking away with contempt,  shows them the kindness and mercy of God, and reciprocates the forgiveness of a loving savior. I've heard many a priest say that they had already heard the worst sins imaginable after being a priest for a just a week, so don't think your sin is special :)

The beautiful thing about Confession is that priests are trained in this area so as to be as effective as possible. I'm not saying priests are perfect, one can just look at the news headlines to get a sickening idea of how hard satan hits them. I am saying that a good confession is good for the soul. James petitions believers to "confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed." Confessing is extremely scriptural! 

If Jesus thought it was important enough to teach His apostles, and if the writers of the New Testament fit it in there, I figure it is important for me to believe in. I must add that Confession really is amazing. I have felt the Holy Spirit work on my heart heavily in the confessional. I have cried and laughed in the confessional, but every time the priest says I am forgiven in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the feeling of the release of sin and burdens on my heart is indescribable. Is it hard to go in and admit before God and man that I have messed up and I can't get back on track with my own strength? Yes. It is worth the giving up of self? Yes!