The power to forgive sins is a wonderful gift that God has given to priests. He first gave this gift to the apostles on the evening of the day of His Resurrection. He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive men’s sins; they are forgiven them; if you hold them bound, then they are bound.” It was at this moment that the ability to forgive sins was given to the apostles.The sacrament of penance shows how merciful and forgiving God is. No matter how bad you have sinned against him, if you are truly sorry, he will forgive you.
There are five very important things to remember to do when you go to confession. They are:
1. Ask yourself how you have offended God.
2. Be truly sorry for your sins.
3. Make up your mind not to sin again.
4. Tell your sins to the priest.
5. Do the penance the priest gives you.
Sorrow for your sins is the most important part of confession. The words the priest uses to forgive a sinner are, “I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”
2 comments:
Wow, what a great find for information on confession. I think that the list of important things they say to remember is an excellent approach to confession. Too many people today seem to take confession as an easy way out; just confessing something to ‘relieve’ you of the sin, instead of truly thinking about what you did. I think the same thing applies to apologies also, just saying that you are sorry without spending any time to think about what you saying sorry for, and making the decision not to do it again. Any words said in an apology or confession with out any thought or meaning behind them are empty. The only thing that sticks out to me of those five statements, though, is number three; because, I couldn't honestly say or promise that I would never sin again.
I think your article on Penance was a good entry regarding confession. Since the church is so old, it was really the first outlet for people to confess their sins in a organized way. This type of confession is what most forms follow today. Though most catholics are suppost to go to confession every couple weeks, they do not realize how much they take for granted and maybe do not truly repent. Your article outlines what they should remember.
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