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CajunRick
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Posted: Sun Jan 14th, 2007 02:16 am |
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The following question was originally posted by Dexter. I have reposted it here so it will appear in the proper topic area.
Thirdly, I still have some questions concerning the Sacrament of Confession, I do grasp that the Priest is Persona Christie in the confessional, but does the church view confession as the ONLY way a person's sin is forgiven. Do prayers directly to God for forgiveness "count"? Is the Sacrement of Confession a way to perform the penance necessary for temporal punishment.
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Juan
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Posted: Sun Jan 14th, 2007 10:15 am |
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Thirdly, I still have some questions concerning the Sacrament of Confession, I do grasp that the Priest is Persona Christie in the confessional, but does the church view confession as the ONLY way a person's sin is forgiven. Do prayers directly to God for forgiveness "count"? Is the Sacrement of Confession a way to perform the penance necessary for temporal punishment.
1. The only way a person's sin is forgiven:
That would be contrition. A person must be sorry for their sin before God will forgive their sin.
2. Do prayers directly to God for forgiveness "count"?
Yes.
We have many which we memorize called "Acts of Contrition".
ACT OF CONTRITION 1 O MY GOD, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest all my sins because I dread the loss of Heaven and the pains of Hell; but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, Who art all-good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace, to confess my sins, to do penance, and to amend my life. Amen.
AN ACT OF CONTRITION VERSION 2 Forgive me my sins, O Lord, forgive me my sins;
the sins of my youth, the sins of my age, the sins of my soul,
the sins of my body; my idle sins, my serious voluntary sins;
the sins I know, the sins I do not know; the sins I have concealed
for so long, and which are now hidden from my memory.
I am truly sorry for every sin, mortal and venial,
for all the sins of my childhood up to the present hour.
I know my sins have wounded Thy Tender Heart,
O My Savior, let me be freed from the bonds of evil through
the most bitter Passion of My Redeemer. Amen.
O My Jesus, forget and forgive what I have been. Amen.
Or we can pray spontaneously.
3. Is the Sacrement of Confession a way to perform the penance necessary for temporal punishment.
CCC#1473[The forgiveness of sin and restoration of communion with God entail the remission of the eternal punishment of sin, but temporal punishment of sin remains. While patiently bearing sufferings and trials of all kinds and, when the day comes, serenely facing death, the Christian must strive to accept this temporal punishment of sin as a grace. He should strive by works of mercy and charity, as well as by prayer and the various practices of penance, to put off completely the "old man" and to put on the "new man."85
http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p2s2c2a4.htm#1422
So, if I understand the question, the answer is no. But if I don't understand the question, the answer is yes. :?
Sincerely,
Juan
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David W. Emery
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Posted: Mon Jan 15th, 2007 01:49 am |
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Dexter, in order for you to understand the answers to your questions about the Sacrament of Penance (“Confession”) you need to know that there are two major categories of sin: mortal and venial. Mortal sins are the big ones, like murder and rape. Venial sins are less serious sins, such as nagging and impatience. You can read about the difference between these on this website.
Does the church view confession as the ONLY way a person's sin is forgiven?
No. Venial sins can be forgiven without recourse to the Sacrament of Penance. Sometimes, with certain persons and under certain circumstances, mortal sin can also be forgiven without prior recourse to the Sacrament of Penance, but this is contingent on their will to receive the Sacrament at the first opportunity. (For most non-Catholics, there is never an opportunity, so they are not bound to use the Sacrament.)
For Catholics and Orthodox, mortal sins can be forgiven only through the Sacrament of Penance unless they have no access to the Sacrament. For other Christians and all non-Christians, who do not have access to the Sacrament of Penance, forgiveness can be obtained without the Sacrament, but it is not easy.
Do prayers directly to God for forgiveness "count"?
Prayer for forgiveness directly to God is recommended in all cases. In essence, this kind of prayer is precisely what the Sacrament of Penance accomplishes: the priest, in persona Christi, hears the penitent’s confession precisely as a prayer “directly to God” and replies with the absolution (forgiveness) as “directly from God.” This is the definition of in persona Christi.
Let us discuss this in more detail. For Catholics, prayer directly to God is good because it shows repentance, and for venial sin this is sufficient for divine forgiveness. However, for a mortal sin, formal absolution in the Sacrament of Penance is normally required for forgiveness. There are a few exceptions to this rule, depending on circumstances. An example would be a situation where it is impossible for a penitent to participate in the Sacrament of Penance because no priest is available.
For most non-Catholics (incuding non-Christians), prayer directly to God is all they have. They can’t receive absolution through the Sacrament. God does not therefore condemn them, but forgives when they repent of their sins through love of God (what we call “perfect contrition”). But if they repent only out of fear of punishment (“imperfect contrition”), they are not forgiven. You can see that obtaining forgiveness would be difficult, but not impossible. In fact, many Catholics do not have perfect contrition for their sins. But in the Sacrament of Penance, one does not have to have perfect contrition to be forgiven; imperfect contrition is sufficient for absolution. Therefore, Catholics have this advantage.
Is the Sacrament of Confession a way to perform the penance necessary for temporal punishment?
Yes, because that penance is included as part of the Sacrament. And it must be carried out for the Sacrament to be effective.
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