Catholics-how often do you go to confession?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Never. I think the last time I went I was in high school.

This. I don't need a priest to communicate with God.

Maybe not but you definitely need a priest in order to receive the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation.

So, a priest has the power to keep God's forgiveness from you?

No, I don't think that's how it works. The priest has the power to grant God's forgiveness, as Jesus conveyed that power to his disciples at the Last Supper. God can still forgive you, but you're sort of rolling the dice there. I think C.S. Lewis's The Great Divorce is a really interesting though piece on post-death forgiveness of sins. Obviously, he wasn't a Catholic, but I think his work is not inconsistent with Catholic teachings.

Se below, if you're Catholic you need a priest for forgiveness

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DW is catholic and really wants me to attend mass, thinks its good for our marriage. I'm a get-along kinda guy, so I go along. Since I think it's hooey, but would never tell DW, I like to make confession a game. I use funny voices and tell crazy stories. Pretty sure father doesn't know it's me. Only one time he chastised me for not taking it seriously, I think the other times he bought it. I've been a reformed Irish bank robber, a black market nitrous oxide dealer, a coffee shop manager who uses the store for crazy after-hours sex parties...

I assume DW doesn't know about this. You may think it's a hoot, but to her, it's a mortal sin which will mean you will be separated from her in the afterlife.

Also, suggest not using your many accents during other church activities. The priest might catch on.

Question -- do any of your characters return to confession with new sins, or does each one come one time only?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Never. I think the last time I went I was in high school.

This. I don't need a priest to communicate with God.

Maybe not but you definitely need a priest in order to receive the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation.

So, a priest has the power to keep God's forgiveness from you?

No, I don't think that's how it works. The priest has the power to grant God's forgiveness, as Jesus conveyed that power to his disciples at the Last Supper. God can still forgive you, but you're sort of rolling the dice there. I think C.S. Lewis's The Great Divorce is a really interesting though piece on post-death forgiveness of sins. Obviously, he wasn't a Catholic, but I think his work is not inconsistent with Catholic teachings.

Se below, if you're Catholic you need a priest for forgiveness

I am Catholic, and I still think you're a little incorrect. The quote that you or another poster posted just says that if you die unrepentent you are going to hell. But let's say you committed a sin the day before you are hit by a truck. You are very repentant, but haven't had a chance to go to confession. Are you still going straight to hell? I think not. I don't think there's anything in Catholic dogma that says that God himself does not have the power to forgive. By not going to confession, you're just giving up a golden opportunity to get a clean slate and avoid going to St. Peter with a super long list of things that you are repentant for, but never got around to repenting for during your time on earth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DW is catholic and really wants me to attend mass, thinks its good for our marriage. I'm a get-along kinda guy, so I go along. Since I think it's hooey, but would never tell DW, I like to make confession a game. I use funny voices and tell crazy stories. Pretty sure father doesn't know it's me. Only one time he chastised me for not taking it seriously, I think the other times he bought it. I've been a reformed Irish bank robber, a black market nitrous oxide dealer, a coffee shop manager who uses the store for crazy after-hours sex parties...

I assume DW doesn't know about this. You may think it's a hoot, but to her, it's a mortal sin which will mean you will be separated from her in the afterlife.

Also, suggest not using your many accents during other church activities. The priest might catch on.

Question -- do any of your characters return to confession with new sins, or does each one come one time only?

Yeah, this is so disrespectful. Do you also hide bacon in your Jewish friend's sandwiches? Spike the drinks of your Muslim and Jewish friends drinks with alcohol? Swing by religious ceremonies just to mock them? Please don't waste the time of the priests. Just be honest with your wife.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Never. I think the last time I went I was in high school.

This. I don't need a priest to communicate with God.

Maybe not but you definitely need a priest in order to receive the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation.

So, a priest has the power to keep God's forgiveness from you?

No, I don't think that's how it works. The priest has the power to grant God's forgiveness, as Jesus conveyed that power to his disciples at the Last Supper. God can still forgive you, but you're sort of rolling the dice there. I think C.S. Lewis's The Great Divorce is a really interesting though piece on post-death forgiveness of sins. Obviously, he wasn't a Catholic, but I think his work is not inconsistent with Catholic teachings.

Se below, if you're Catholic you need a priest for forgiveness

I am Catholic, and I still think you're a little incorrect. The quote that you or another poster posted just says that if you die unrepentent you are going to hell. But let's say you committed a sin the day before you are hit by a truck. You are very repentant, but haven't had a chance to go to confession. Are you still going straight to hell? I think not. I don't think there's anything in Catholic dogma that says that God himself does not have the power to forgive. By not going to confession, you're just giving up a golden opportunity to get a clean slate and avoid going to St. Peter with a super long list of things that you are repentant for, but never got around to repenting for during your time on earth.

Such people don't go straight to Heaven.

"All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven. The Church gives the name purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned" (CCC 1030–1).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DW is catholic and really wants me to attend mass, thinks its good for our marriage. I'm a get-along kinda guy, so I go along. Since I think it's hooey, but would never tell DW, I like to make confession a game. I use funny voices and tell crazy stories. Pretty sure father doesn't know it's me. Only one time he chastised me for not taking it seriously, I think the other times he bought it. I've been a reformed Irish bank robber, a black market nitrous oxide dealer, a coffee shop manager who uses the store for crazy after-hours sex parties...

You'll be able to tell your jokes and use your funny accents when you spend all eternity in Hell. I'm sure the demons who torture you will find you tremendously amusing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DW is catholic and really wants me to attend mass, thinks its good for our marriage. I'm a get-along kinda guy, so I go along. Since I think it's hooey, but would never tell DW, I like to make confession a game. I use funny voices and tell crazy stories. Pretty sure father doesn't know it's me. Only one time he chastised me for not taking it seriously, I think the other times he bought it. I've been a reformed Irish bank robber, a black market nitrous oxide dealer, a coffee shop manager who uses the store for crazy after-hours sex parties...

I assume DW doesn't know about this. You may think it's a hoot, but to her, it's a mortal sin which will mean you will be separated from her in the afterlife.

Also, suggest not using your many accents during other church activities. The priest might catch on.

Question -- do any of your characters return to confession with new sins, or does each one come one time only?

Yeah, this is so disrespectful. Do you also hide bacon in your Jewish friend's sandwiches? Spike the drinks of your Muslim and Jewish friends drinks with alcohol? Swing by religious ceremonies just to mock them? Please don't waste the time of the priests. Just be honest with your wife.

Whoops -- meant to say Mormon there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Never. I think the last time I went I was in high school.

This. I don't need a priest to communicate with God.

Maybe not but you definitely need a priest in order to receive the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation.

So, a priest has the power to keep God's forgiveness from you?

No, I don't think that's how it works. The priest has the power to grant God's forgiveness, as Jesus conveyed that power to his disciples at the Last Supper. God can still forgive you, but you're sort of rolling the dice there. I think C.S. Lewis's The Great Divorce is a really interesting though piece on post-death forgiveness of sins. Obviously, he wasn't a Catholic, but I think his work is not inconsistent with Catholic teachings.

Se below, if you're Catholic you need a priest for forgiveness

I am Catholic, and I still think you're a little incorrect. The quote that you or another poster posted just says that if you die unrepentent you are going to hell. But let's say you committed a sin the day before you are hit by a truck. You are very repentant, but haven't had a chance to go to confession. Are you still going straight to hell? I think not. I don't think there's anything in Catholic dogma that says that God himself does not have the power to forgive. By not going to confession, you're just giving up a golden opportunity to get a clean slate and avoid going to St. Peter with a super long list of things that you are repentant for, but never got around to repenting for during your time on earth.

Such people don't go straight to Heaven.

"All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven. The Church gives the name purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned" (CCC 1030–1).

It feels the same, it just doesn't last as long.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DW is catholic and really wants me to attend mass, thinks its good for our marriage. I'm a get-along kinda guy, so I go along. Since I think it's hooey, but would never tell DW, I like to make confession a game. I use funny voices and tell crazy stories. Pretty sure father doesn't know it's me. Only one time he chastised me for not taking it seriously, I think the other times he bought it. I've been a reformed Irish bank robber, a black market nitrous oxide dealer, a coffee shop manager who uses the store for crazy after-hours sex parties...

You'll be able to tell your jokes and use your funny accents when you spend all eternity in Hell. I'm sure the demons who torture you will find you tremendously amusing.

Even if you don't believe in demons and hell, it's not a very nice way to treat people here on earth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Never. I think the last time I went I was in high school.

This. I don't need a priest to communicate with God.

It's not about communicating with God. There is accountability in confessing and comfort in being absolved. It is very easy for us to rationalize that what we say and do is not really wrong or hurtful. Examining your consencience and being contrite enough to confess openly is humbling. Plus you get the counsel of a priest and the grace to make changes in your life. Why go it alone if you don't have to?

Give me a break. You're not even confessing to the person you wronged.

That person deserves an apology, not necessarily a confession. I cannot make you believe the religious aspect of this if you are determined not to value it, but those of us who do understand that the priest alone is given the ability by Christ to absolve sin and impart grace on an individual making a sincere confession. I can feel bad and apologize and vow to not do it again but it is only through the priest's absolution that I KNOW I am forgiven in God's eyes and I have made things right without my penance.

Can you show any Biblical evidence for the belief that Christ gave priests alone the ability to absolve sin?

Actually, you can't. This is a doctrine of men, not Biblically supported doctrine. Why do you follow the Roman Catholic church's teaching on this if it is at odds with Scripture?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Never. I think the last time I went I was in high school.

This. I don't need a priest to communicate with God.

Maybe not but you definitely need a priest in order to receive the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation.

So, a priest has the power to keep God's forgiveness from you?

No, I don't think that's how it works. The priest has the power to grant God's forgiveness, as Jesus conveyed that power to his disciples at the Last Supper. God can still forgive you, but you're sort of rolling the dice there. I think C.S. Lewis's The Great Divorce is a really interesting though piece on post-death forgiveness of sins. Obviously, he wasn't a Catholic, but I think his work is not inconsistent with Catholic teachings.

Se below, if you're Catholic you need a priest for forgiveness

I am Catholic, and I still think you're a little incorrect. The quote that you or another poster posted just says that if you die unrepentent you are going to hell. But let's say you committed a sin the day before you are hit by a truck. You are very repentant, but haven't had a chance to go to confession. Are you still going straight to hell? I think not. I don't think there's anything in Catholic dogma that says that God himself does not have the power to forgive. By not going to confession, you're just giving up a golden opportunity to get a clean slate and avoid going to St. Peter with a super long list of things that you are repentant for, but never got around to repenting for during your time on earth.

Such people don't go straight to Heaven.

"All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven. The Church gives the name purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned" (CCC 1030–1).
This Catholic doctrine cannot be found in the Bible. Why do you believe it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Never. I think the last time I went I was in high school.

This. I don't need a priest to communicate with God.

Maybe not but you definitely need a priest in order to receive the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation.

So, a priest has the power to keep God's forgiveness from you?

No, I don't think that's how it works. The priest has the power to grant God's forgiveness, as Jesus conveyed that power to his disciples at the Last Supper. God can still forgive you, but you're sort of rolling the dice there. I think C.S. Lewis's The Great Divorce is a really interesting though piece on post-death forgiveness of sins. Obviously, he wasn't a Catholic, but I think his work is not inconsistent with Catholic teachings.

Se below, if you're Catholic you need a priest for forgiveness

I am Catholic, and I still think you're a little incorrect. The quote that you or another poster posted just says that if you die unrepentent you are going to hell. But let's say you committed a sin the day before you are hit by a truck. You are very repentant, but haven't had a chance to go to confession. Are you still going straight to hell? I think not. I don't think there's anything in Catholic dogma that says that God himself does not have the power to forgive. By not going to confession, you're just giving up a golden opportunity to get a clean slate and avoid going to St. Peter with a super long list of things that you are repentant for, but never got around to repenting for during your time on earth.

Such people don't go straight to Heaven.

"All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven. The Church gives the name purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned" (CCC 1030–1).
This Catholic doctrine cannot be found in the Bible. Why do you believe it?

because pp is Catholic and Catholics go by the rules of the church, not by biblical interpretations

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Never. I think the last time I went I was in high school.

This. I don't need a priest to communicate with God.

Maybe not but you definitely need a priest in order to receive the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation.

So, a priest has the power to keep God's forgiveness from you?

No, YOU have the power to keep God's forgiveness FROM YOURSELF by not going to the Priest and confessing your mortal sins.

Catholic catechism is very clear on this (CCC 1033):

To die in mortal sin without repenting and accepting God's merciful love means remaining separated from him for ever by our own free choice. This state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed is called "hell."

God forgives and absolves. A priest does not. He can, but does not need to.

Try scripture instead of Catholic propaganda.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Never. I think the last time I went I was in high school.

This. I don't need a priest to communicate with God.

Maybe not but you definitely need a priest in order to receive the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation.

So, a priest has the power to keep God's forgiveness from you?

No, YOU have the power to keep God's forgiveness FROM YOURSELF by not going to the Priest and confessing your mortal sins.

Catholic catechism is very clear on this (CCC 1033):

To die in mortal sin without repenting and accepting God's merciful love means remaining separated from him for ever by our own free choice. This state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed is called "hell."

God forgives and absolves. A priest does not. He can, but does not need to.

Try scripture instead of Catholic propaganda.

It's not propaganda if you're Catholic - it's your true religious belief

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Never. I think the last time I went I was in high school.

This. I don't need a priest to communicate with God.

It's not about communicating with God. There is accountability in confessing and comfort in being absolved. It is very easy for us to rationalize that what we say and do is not really wrong or hurtful. Examining your consencience and being contrite enough to confess openly is humbling. Plus you get the counsel of a priest and the grace to make changes in your life. Why go it alone if you don't have to?

Give me a break. You're not even confessing to the person you wronged.

That person deserves an apology, not necessarily a confession. I cannot make you believe the religious aspect of this if you are determined not to value it, but those of us who do understand that the priest alone is given the ability by Christ to absolve sin and impart grace on an individual making a sincere confession. I can feel bad and apologize and vow to not do it again but it is only through the priest's absolution that I KNOW I am forgiven in God's eyes and I have made things right without my penance.

Can you show any Biblical evidence for the belief that Christ gave priests alone the ability to absolve sin?

Actually, you can't. This is a doctrine of men, not Biblically supported doctrine. Why do you follow the Roman Catholic church's teaching on this if it is at odds with Scripture?

John 20:22-23 Jesus and the apostles

"And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone's sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven."