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NASB | John 20:23 "If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained." |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | John 20:23 "If you forgive the sins of anyone they are forgiven [because of their faith]; if you retain the sins of anyone, they are retained [and remain unforgiven because of their unbelief]." |
Subject: Can a priest forgive sins? |
Bible Note: Several common misconceptions regarding Catholic confession of sins: The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) teaches that God alone can forgive sins and that sin “is a rupture of communion with him”. The priest therefore is not the one who is forgiving sins rather it is indeed Christ who is present in the sacrament. Catholics are free to confess their sins directly to God at any time. However, sin harms not only our relationship with God but our relationship with the Church, whose members make up the body of Christ. Jesus tells us that we are forgiven only as far as we forgive those who hurt us (MT 11:3-4) and that we should reconcile ourselves to our brother before offering a sacrifice to God (Mt 5:23-24). We must reconcile not only before God but also before the Church. The role of the priest is also to act as a spiritual advisor, giving suggestions for a plan of action to avoid sinning again. He advises penance not as a condition of forgiveness, we are forgiven with the words of absolution in the confessional, but as an act of sincerity on the part of the penitent. If we say we are sorry but continue to sin anyway, then we have never truly repented. The Catechism explains the sacrament in detail. (CCC 1440-1470 and 1113-1134) 1 Peter 2:5 is written within the context of God’s people being part of the new temple. The Mosaic Law forbade any but the priests from entering into the Temple Holy of Holies which contained the presence of God. The new temple is Christ who is the cornerstone; anyone can approach Jesus, likening to us a priestly role. Instead of the physical sacrifices made by the temple priests, we are called as a priestly people to make spiritual sacrifices. Lastly, I have found that myself among many others feel a most profound sense of peace given through the grace received during reconciliation. The act of confession is a humbling experience to have to look at my sins for what they are but it’s far from humiliating. |