Published in the bulletin of Holy Ghost Catholic Church in Knoxville, TN, on the 12th Sunday of Ordinary Time.
My dear Parishioners,
Peace! There are twenty-three (23) In Brief passages in the Catechism of the Catholic Church and five (5) canons in the Code of Canon Law which can help us to appreciate the Sacrament of Penance. The following is a reflection on CCC, 1485.
On Easter night, the risen Lord Jesus showed Himself to His apostles, breathing upon them saying: ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them: and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained’ (cf. John 20:22–23). This passage from Sacred Scripture is not unrelated to Matthew 16:19 where the Lord Jesus gives to Saint Peter (and his successors…) authority to bind and to loose in Heaven and on Earth. Elsewhere we are encouraged by Almighty God to confess our sins, one to another and to pray for each other that we may be saved (cf. James 5:16).
The successors of the apostles are the bishops. The successor of Saint Peter is the Bishop of Rome, the Pope. Because the bishops and the pope are not able to absolve all who need to receive the mercy of God, they have collaborators in the priests who are bound to not reveal anything learned in Confession.
The Greek word homologeo and the Hebrew word yadhah are translated into English as “confession” meaning acknowledgment, avowal, with the implication of a change of conviction or of course of conduct, placing one in harmony with others. This is not to discount the work of God’s grace in both moving us to sorrow for our sins and restoring the harmony.
Many non-Catholics object to the Sacrament of Penance, saying “I go straight to God. I don’t confess to a man.” This seems to throw out the very words of the God-man Christ Jesus who gave the apostles (and their successors the bishops and their collaborators the priests) real authority to bind and to loose, to forgive or to retain sins (cf. John 20:22–23).
While Saint James’ exhortation does not specifically name priests or restrict confession of sins to priests only, priests being bound by the “seal of Confession” whereby they are bound to NOT reveal what they have learned in the “internal forum” in the “external forum” is a safeguard which allows for both the granting of the absolution and the security of one’s reputation.
Priests themselves also need to go to Confession when they find themselves in a state of serious, mortal, grave, sin. All are in need of God’s great mercy (cf. Romans 3:23; 5:12). Blessed John Paul II is said to have gone to Confession each week, not necessarily because he was a proverbial ‘ax murderer, drug pusher, or pimp’ but because he knew and sought to live the
Lord’s Prayer “… forgive us our trespasses…” The Sacrament of Penance is a privileged way wherein Almighty God, through the ministry of His priests grants us mercy, pardon and peace, for those sins we sadly commit after Baptism.
God bless you!
Father John Arthur Orr