[phatus maximus]

Greetings...a respectful observation...if one is behind a screen I fail to see the "difficulty" in confessing one's sins? To me speaking anonymously to a priest would be much easier than to ask the Lord God Almighty directly in prayer for forgiveness. I can't hide anything from him, but in a confessional I can speak to whatever I want to (Granted I would know that I am hiding sins from God--see the effect here?). Ultimately in both cases it is God who I am confessing to and to try to hide anything from him is unwise...Clearly the most important tenet is to confess of the sins we commit and do our absolute best to avoid sinful behavior in the future.

Blessings in Christ!

[Desdemona]

if one is behind a screen I fail to see the "difficulty" in confessing one's sins?

Depending on the sin, it's harder than you might think. Sinful habits are hard to break. Putting it into words helps the beginning of breaking the cycle.

To me speaking anonymously to a priest would be much easier than to ask the Lord God Almighty directly in prayer for forgiveness.

That's part of the point.

Ultimately in both cases it is God who I am confessing to and to try to hide anything from him is unwise...

Which is why purposefully omitted sins are not forgiven until they are said - as well as the sin of omitting them. If you forget, that's different, it was not a willful omition.

Clearly the most important tenet is to confess of the sins we commit and do our absolute best to avoid sinful behavior in the future.

And to be sorrowful for our sins. That's a little tidbit people tend to forget.

[mike182d]

Greetings...a respectful observation...if one is behind a screen I fail to see the "difficulty" in confessing one's sins? To me speaking anonymously to a priest would be much easier than to ask the Lord God Almighty directly in prayer for forgiveness.

If the screen bothers you, you can always sit across from the priest and confess face to face. In fact, if you do that enough, the priest will get to know you, removing your anonymity and increasing your culpability.

Confession is what you make it. :-)

Personally, if people think its easier to confess their sins to Almighty God, Lord of heaven and earth - the omnipotent Being who they have directly offended without just cause - instead of confessing to a fallible, mortal man, I seriously question their understaning of the nature of their sin, its gravity, or even their understanding of God's Being. If I had killed a king's son, I would find it much easier to tell one of his servants than the king himself. Unless of course I was either a) not afraid of the king's power or b) didn't think my sin was that bad.