Common Sense of the Sacrament of Confession

The Gospel of St. John have this sacred text : [Jesus] said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." And when he had said, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained." (John 20:21-23)

Image taken from : http://www.fatherjames.org/2013/03/02/the-sacrament-of-confession/

Now, why peace? Let us understand that peace is the sweet fruit of the presence of the Holy Spirit in a person, in a group, or in a community where God dwells. "Peace is the tranquility (coolness) of order." - St. Agustine.

God is the only person who can give peace and in this he had assigned persons who will become his instrument of peace to others. Then the Holy Spirit now who is active in his agents is the grace that sanctifies us, enables us to be at peace with God and at war with the devil.

Grace and sin cannot be mixed together same as God and devil cannot be a peace with each other.

And our Lord Jesus Christ who "will save his people from their sins" (Matt. 1:21), sent by the Father to us, is now the one who sends persons for us who were recipient of the breath of our God which is the Holy Spirit, the giver of life, the same Spirit who gave life to mankind (Gen. 2:7).

It is very fitting to have the Lord the Holy Spirit in us for he effects the restoring power of Jesus Christ who restores the life to mankind that was destroyed when our first parents had fallen into sin and death.

Jesus Christ now sends his disciples and he gives them the Holy Spirit. So these disciples have the Holy Spirit in their very own person.

For Jesus Christ was risen from the dead and sooner or later will go to the Father in heaven, there must be people who will continue to forgive sins, on behalf of the person of Jesus Christ who is the only one who can forgive sins. Jesus Christ had (of course) the Holy Spirit from the beginning (of course) and so now he breathed on them the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of the Father and the Son, who will be with his agents of sanctifying grace in restoring grace and forgiving sins.

Jesus Christ forgives people he encountered in his life, and in this, healing was brought to them. He also knew the people's thought and what was in their hearts even without saying them to him.

Now it makes perfect sense in the words of Jesus Christ : "Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained."

How can the disciples forgive the sins of the people if they do not know their sins? How can they bestow the forgiveness of God to them if the people will not let their hearts out? To the ministers of Jesus Christ? How can the ministers of God forgive the sins of the people if they will not hear the sins of them? How can they retain (that is, not bestowing absolution) the sins of the people if they will not know the sins of them?

Well, the people will confess it to them, to the agents of forgiveness.

When you confess, you must let your heart out. You must show your heart to God who is working in his agents, who were living agents of the Holy Spirit. Because although God knows what is inside your mind and heart, and Jesus Christ knew before more than 2,000 years ago the people's mind and heart when he had forgiven their sins, let us remember that the forgiveness was personal, that is, it was Jesus Christ in his very own person who met another person who needs healing and forgiveness. It is personal when God personally forgives the people who came to him way back 2,000 years ago.

Now, since Jesus Christ is not here anymore in his very own person, that is, the Jesus Christ who eats, wakes up in the morning, washes the dishes, doing carpentry stuffs, preaching here and there, scolding his disciples, and et cetera, there must be persons who will embody him or he must effect on these persons in order to forgive sins even though his not here in his very own person.

Let us not deceive ourselves. Self justification that God already forgiven your sins even without the Sacrament of Confession is a lie and arrogance and pride.

Confess your sins to the priest. Be solid in your resolution not to sin (mortal sins) again.

(P.S. : If want clarifications or enlightenment, just ask. Or pray to the Holy Spirit.)

Ite inflammate omnia!

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam!


Mary Hao

from http://aboveaglassoficedtea.blogspot.com/