Reconciliation (Overview)

In this presentation we will look at

from an Apologetics approach:
3. Why Confession is not a Catholic “invention”

5. Why Catholics too believe that it is blasphemy to claim the

power to forgive sins, only God can forgive sins.

7. The Biblical authority by for priests in the Sacrament of

Reconciliation

12. Sin – the nature of it and types

15. Along with what the Early Church Fathers wrote and thought
about Confession

6. Why it is not enough to confess your sins privately

Knowledge – a
ripple effect
Confession – Not A Catholic Invention

• The Fall “Lets go where it all started…”But

of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst
of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not
eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye
die.” Genesis 3:3
• Adam & Eve lost their divine life – sin
snuffs out the divine/supernatural life
• The gift of divine life is greater than the
gift of physical life
 Confession – Not A Catholic Invention
The Mystery of Confession
• 1. The First Sin: the Fall – Historical/Eschatological
• 2. The Lord speaks: “Where are you?” (Gen 3:9)
(opportunity for mercy)
• 3. Adam’s Confession: “I ate” (Gen 3:12) (opportunity
for an Act of Contrition)
• 4. Eve’s Confession: “I ate” (Gen 3:13) (more honest)
• 5. The Book of Revelation: Call to Sinners to
“Repent”
• a. Necessity of Repentance
• b. Readmission to Paradise (Rev 2:5-7)
 Original Sin
• Christians believe that "the world has been
established and kept in being by the
Creator's love; has fallen into slavery to sin
but has been set free by Christ, crucified
and risen to break the power of the evil
one. Catechism of the Catholic Church 421
 Psalmists on Sins
• Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my
transgressions: according to thy mercy
remember thou me for thy goodness' sake, O
Lord Psalm 25
• Happy the sinner whose fault is
removed who sin is forgiven…When I
kept silent about my sin, my body wasted
away…I was groaning all day long. Psalm 32
• We have sinned like our ancestors; we have
done wrong and are guilty. Psalm 106
 Atonement
• “Then whoever is guilty in any of these cases
shall confess the sin he has incurred, and as
his sin offering for the sin he has committed
he shall bring to the Lord a female animal
from the flock, a ewe lamb or a she-goat. The
priest shall then make atonement for
his sin. "If, however, he cannot afford an
animal of the flock, he shall bring to the Lord
as the sin offering for his sin two turtledoves
or two pigeons, one for a sin offering and the
other for a holocaust. He shall bring them to
the priest, who shall offer the one for the sin
offering first.”
Leviticus Chapter 5: 5-8
 Confess the Wrong
• "Tell the Israelites: If a man (or a
woman) commits a fault against his
fellow man and wrongs him, thus
breaking faith with the Lord, he shall
confess the wrong he has done, restore
his ill-gotten goods in full, and in
addition give one fifth of their value to
the one he has wronged.”
Numbers 5:6-7
Confession is not a Catholic Invention

• Began at Garden of Eden

• Was evident throughout OT Genesis 3, Leviticus 4,
Numbers 5,

• Elements of our confession – including

confessing, penance, reconciliation,
atonement
• Awareness of sins. Genesis 3, Leviticus 4, Numbers 5,
Psalms 25,32, 106, 1 Kings 13, Lamentations 4:13, Nehemiah 9:37
 Only God Can Forgive Sins
• Who can forgive sins but God alone? Mark 2:7
• Father, hallowed be thy name…forgive us our
sins Luke 11:2, 4
• One church has set up a priestly system by
which the sinner comes to them for
forgiveness, not to God. In this system, even
God cannot forgive a sin if the priest refuses to
forgive it.
• How can Catholics have the sacrament of
reconciliation when only God alone can
forgive sins?
 Only God Can Forgive Sins
• Yes – that is exactly what we believe!
• The answer to the Catholic Confession is
two-fold:
• A. what method does the Bible teach about
confessing sins
• B. what authority does one have to forgive
sins
Jesus, The Son of God Has Authority to Forgive Sins

Jesus says “which is

easier to forgive sins
or for the paralytic to
rise?”
Jesus Selects His Disciples
Matthew 4:18: As he walked
by the Sea of Galilee, he saw
two brothers, Simon who is
called Peter and Andrew his
brother, casting a net into the
sea; for they were fishermen.
And he said to them, "Follow
me, and I will make you
fishers of men." Immediately
they left their nets and
followed him.
 Christ Death & Resurrection
• The Paschal mystery has two aspects: by his death, Christ
liberates us from sin: by his Resurrection, he opens for us the
way to a new life. This new life is above all justification
that reinstates us in God's grace, "so that as Christ was
raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might
walk in newness of life.“
• Justification consists in both victory over the death
caused by sin and a new participation in grace. It
brings about filial adoption so that men become Christ's
brethren, as Jesus himself called his disciples after his
Resurrection: "Go and tell my brethren." We are brethren not
by nature, but by the gift of grace, because that adoptive
filiationgains us a real share in the life of the only Son, which
was fully revealed in his Resurrection 654 CCC
Jesus Institutes the Sacrament and Thus
Gives the Apostles The Authority
• Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father
has sent me, I am sending you." And with that he
breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy
Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven
them; whose sins you retain are retained.“
John 20: 21-23
• Question - How did the Father send Jesus? With full
power & authority.
• Question – How can you know if a sin is
forgiven or retained if it is not confessed?
• The Authority did not reside just with
original Apostles – there were no protests
when their successors practiced forgiveness of
sins
 The Power to Forgive Sins Resides
in the Office not the Individual
• 1444 In imparting to his apostles his own power to
forgive sins the Lord also gives them the authority to
reconcile sinners with the Church. This ecclesial
dimension of their task is expressed most notably in
Christ's solemn words to Simon Peter: "I will give
you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever
you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and
whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in
heaven.”"The office of binding and loosing which
was given to Peter was also assigned to the
college of the apostles united to its head.“
 The Power of the Office can be
conferred to another person
• St. Paul appears to be passing his office
along to Timothy (1 Tim 6:20; 2 Tim 1:6,
13-14, 2:1-2, 4:1-6). See, for example:

2 Timothy 2:1-2 (RSV) You then, my

son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ
Jesus, [2] and what you have heard from
me before many witnesses entrust to
faithful men who will be able to teach
others also.
 Luke 24:36-50
• And he said to them, "Thus it is written that
the Messiah would suffer and rise from the
dead on the third day and that repentance,
for the forgiveness of sins, would be
preached in his name to all the nations,
beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses
of these things. And (behold) I am sending
the promise of my Father upon you; but
stay in the city until you are clothed
with power from on high.”
 The Apostle is sent out
• 1440 Sin is before all else an offense against God, a rupture of communion with
him. At the same time it damages communion with the Church. For this reason
conversion entails both God's forgiveness and reconciliation with the Church,
which are expressed and accomplished liturgically by the sacrament
of Penance and Reconciliation.
Only God forgives sin
• 1441 Only God forgives sins. Since he is the Son of God, Jesus says of himself,
"The Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins" and exercises this
divine power: "Your sins are forgiven.”Further, by virtue of his divine authority
he gives this power to men to exercise in his name.
• 1442 Christ has willed that in her prayer and life and action his whole Church
should be the sign and instrument of the forgiveness and reconciliation that he
acquired for us at the price of his blood. But he entrusted the exercise of
the power of absolution to the apostolic ministry which he charged
with the "ministry of reconciliation.”The apostle is sent out "on
behalf of Christ" with "God making his appeal" through him and
pleading: "Be reconciled to God.“
 In persona Christi
• In the bishops, therefore, for whom priests
are assistants, Our Lord Jesus Christ, the
Supreme High Priest, is present in the midst
of those who believe…
• …it is clear that, by means of the imposition
of hands and the words of consecration, the
grace of the Holy Spirit is so conferred,(20*)
and the sacred character so impressed,(21*)
that bishops in an eminent and visible way
sustain the roles of Christ Himself as
Teacher, Shepherd and High Priest, and that
they act in His person
Lumen Gentium Dogmatic
Constitution of the Church
 A New Era
• THE SACRAMENTAL ECONOMY
• 1076 The Church was made manifest to the world on the day
of Pentecost by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The gift of
the Spirit ushers in a new era in the "dispensation of the
mystery" the age of the Church, during which Christ
manifests, makes present, and communicates his
work of salvation through the liturgy of his Church,
"until he comes.” In this age of the Church Christ now lives
and acts in and with his Church, in a new way appropriate to
this new age. He acts through the sacraments in what the
common Tradition of the East and the West calls "the
sacramental economy"; this is the communication (or
"dispensation") of the fruits of Christ's Paschal mystery in the
celebration of the Church's "sacramental" liturgy.
 Why Confess to a Priest?
• Is anyone among you suffering? He should
pray. Is anyone in good spirits? He should
sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? 6
He should summon the presbyters of
the church, and they should pray over him
and anoint (him) with oil in the name of
the Lord, and the prayer of faith will save
the sick person, and the Lord will raise
him up. If he has committed any sins,
he will be forgiven. James 5: 13-19
Why Confess Sins Privately to Priest?
• A. Jesus instructed us to do so
• B. You have a certainty of forgiveness
• C. Sacramental graces are obtained that
strengthen us spiritually
• D. Penance –an external sign of internal
conversion
• E. Talking to someone can help us sort out and
destroy scruples, anxieties, doubt that comes
from ourselves or the devil
• F. helps overcome self-deception, and
rationalization of sins
• G. Get spiritual direction in avoiding future sins
Why Confess Sins Privately to Priest?

• H .Accountability to someone other than

ourselves
• I. Unload our spiritual and emotional
“baggage” to another human being who is
non-judgmental and relates to us with a
compassionate heart
• J. Confidential listener – bound by the seal
 The Three Models of Penance
• The Therapeutic Model – spiritual remedy
for healing the wounds of sin
• The Judicial Model – sinner is forgiven,
the guilt is pardoned and the eternal
punishment assigned to serious sins is
remitted
• The Relational Model – reconciles the
alienated sinner with God and the
community
 Confession is a Sacrament
• The Latin Word Sacramentum – oath,
sacred, hidden or mysterious
• Two Parts of a Sacrament
• a . Form: words –”And I absolve you…
• b. Matter: actions – freedom of the
penitent. “The priest cannot make the
penitents acknowledge their guilt or force
them to resolve not to sin again” (THE
UNTAPPED POWER OF THE SACRAMENT OF
PENANCE)
 Confession is a Sacrament
• Sacraments of Healing – Confession heals
like the Anointing of the Sick and the
Eucharist
• The Sacraments are “Necessary for
Salvation”
• a. Healing
• b. Transformation
• c. Participation in the Divine Nature (cf. CCC
460) what Adam & Eve lost & what mortal sin
does to a soul
 Reconciling Sinners
• The Mystery of Sin: In order to
understand the sacraments of healing, we
first need to understand what is sin and
how it wounds us. What is mortal sin?
What is venial sin? Where are these taught
in Scripture, and how can we avoid them?
 Sins
• Is all sin the same????? No!
• "If anyone sees his brother sinning, if the sin is
not deadly, he should pray to God and he will
give him life. This is only for those whose sin is
not deadly. There is such a thing as deadly
sin, about which I do not say that you
should pray. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is
sin that is not deadly." (1 John 5:16-17). Thus St.
John distinguishes between mortal and venial
sin.
• Jesus also warns us that "Anyone who does
not remain in me will be thrown out like a
branch and wither; people will gather them and
throw them into a fire and they will be burned"
(John 15:6).
 Mortal Sin
• So what kind of Sins are Mortal?
• In order for a sin to be mortal, it must meet three
conditions:
• Mortal sin is a sin of grave matter
• Mortal sin is committed with full knowledge of
the sinner
• Mortal sin is committed with deliberate
consent of the sinner

• This means that mortal sins cannot be done

"accidentally." A person who commits a mortal sin is
one who knows that their sin is wrong, but still
deliberately commits the sin anyway. This means that
mortal sins are "premeditated" by the sinner and thus
are truly a rejection of God’s law and love.
 Reconciliation with the Church
• 1443 During his public life Jesus not only forgave sins,
but also made plain the effect of this forgiveness: he
reintegrated forgiven sinners into the
community of the People of God from which
sin had alienated or even excluded them. A
remarkable sign of this is the fact that Jesus receives
sinners at his table, a gesture that expresses in an
astonishing way both God's forgiveness and the return
to the bosom of the People of God.

• 1445 The words bind and loose mean: whomever you

exclude from your communion, will be excluded from
communion with God; whomever you receive
anew into your communion, God will welcome
back into his. Reconciliation with the Church is
inseparable from reconciliation with God.
Early Church Fathers
 Early Church fathers
• Origen, a prolific theologian in the third-century
Church, wrote:
The layman who falls into sin cannot by himself wash
away his fault. He must have recourse to the levite; he
needs the priest. At times, he applies to one even
greater: he needs the pontiff’s help, that he may obtain
the forgiveness of sins (Hom. in Numeros 10, 1).
• St. Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, also writing in the
third century, said:
I entreat you, brethren, that each one should confess
his own sin while he who has sinned is still in this
world, while his confession may be received, while his
satisfaction and absolution given the priest are still
pleasing to the Lord (De lapsis 28, 29).
 Early Church Fathers
• In the fourth century, St. Ambrose,
bishop of Milan, wrote:
Sins are forgiven through the Holy Ghost.
Certainly, but men lend him their
ministry. . . . They forgive sin, not in their
own name, but in the name of the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Ghost (De Spiritu
Sancto iii, 137).
 Early Church Fathers
• "The Church has received the keys of the
kingdom so that sins may be forgiven
through Christ's blood and the Holy Spirit's
actions" (St. Augustine).
• (Sermon to Catechumens on the Creed 7:15,
8:16 [A.D. 395])
•
St. Augustine (d. 430) warns the faithful:
"Let us not listen to those who deny that the
Church of God has power to forgive all sins"
(De agon. Christ., iii). . . .
 Early Church Fathers
• For those who sought to escape the obligation
of confession it was natural enough to assert
that repentance was the affair of the soul alone
with its Maker, and that no intermediary was
needed. It is this pretext that St. Augustine
sweeps aside in one of his sermons: "Let no
one say I do penance secretly; I perform
it in the sight of God, and He who is to
pardon me knows that in my heart I
repent". Whereupon St. Augustine asks:
"Was it then said to no purpose, 'What
you shall loose upon earth shall be
loosed in heaven?' Was it for nothing
that the keys were given to the Church?"
(Sermo cccxcii, n. 3, in P.L., XXXIX, 1711). . . .