Confession Making a Comeback

[catholic_heart]

Such an odd story to find in the Wall Street Journal, of all places, but this is very interestingWhat are your folks thoughts on confessing sins to another? It is clearly commended in Scripture, James 5:16, as a healing rite. This passage in particular, as well as the authority given by Christ to the Apostles to forgive sins and hold them bound,

Comments

[catholic_heart]

Even if you're not Catholic, you can still go to a Catholic confession. The good thing is that priest will never utter your sins to anyone ever. That is perhaps the most sacred vow which a priest takes. And in the past few decades priests have become very adept at offering really meaningful and sincere spiritual guidance in the confessional. That won't be your experience every time, and I've not always come away from confession with the kind of guidance I was looking for (though it's never been bad advice), but most times the guidance is deeply personal and spiritual and very intuitive. In all Catholic confessionals that I am aware of, you have the option of face to face confession, where you can really personally engage the priest, or confessing behind a veil, if that will help you to be more open and honest.

If you find a pastor anywhere that you trust, Catholic or Protestant, it is their job and their responsibility to guide you through your spiritual struggles. They are not simply the person who preaches on Sunday and proclaims the Word, but they are the shepherds of the flock, and you are their sheep. Hear the voice of the shepherd, and I cannot commend you strongly enough to the healing that comes from unloading your burden of sin. Scripture doesn't give us this command to burden us, but rather to liberate us. It is, as St. James says in his epistle, for our healing.

[michechick83]

"Even if you're not Catholic, you can still go to a Catholic confession." Thanks, that answers a question I've had. Confession is one of the things that has drawn me to Catholicism. Part of me does feel apprehensive about it, so I don't know that I'm ready yet.

And to answer your original question, I absolutely believe in confessing our sins to another. My problem is, I have no friends whom I feel I can really trust at this time. And my current Protestant pastor is not an option. Thank God, I still see my Christian marriage counselor, so she's my only one for now.

[mintogrubb]

I cane here to read what others had said on the subject, Michael.
it somehow did not seem surprising that you had also written on the subject.

As a Protestant, I can see that the Bible says 'confess your sins to one another'. Yet this is fraught with problems. is the other person someone who knows you well enough to give good advice? Do they know their Bible well enough to share Christ and His love with the one who has confessed? will they treat it in confidence?

It seems to me that the Catholic tradition is an attempt to address these issues. For me, it's about going to a Christian whom I respect for their own walk with God. being open with them as a means to opening up to god in my own life, if that makes any sense.

for me, as I said in my own OP on the subject, there are people on this community that I regard as mature Christians who help me every bit as much as my own elders at my own church.