Bless me, Father: Pope leads by example, goes to confession (with video)

cns ^ | March 28, 2014 | Carol Glatz

[NYer]

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Leading a penitential liturgy in St. Peter's Basilica, Pope Francis surprised his liturgical adviser by going to confession during the service.

After an examination of conscience March 28, the pope and 61 priests moved into confessionals or to chairs set up against the walls to offer the sacrament to individual penitents.

However, as Msgr. Guido Marini, master of papal liturgical ceremonies, was showing which confessional the pope would be using to hear confessions, the pope pointed to another confessional nearby, indicating that he himself was going to first confess.

A priest steps out of his confessional to observe Pope Francis going to confession during a penitential liturgy in St. Peter's Basilica March 28. (CNS/Paul Haring)

The pope, dressed in a simple white alb and purple stole, spent about three minutes kneeling before the priest's open confessional and received absolution. The priest also clasped the pope's hands and kissed his simple silver ring.

Pope Francis then went to another confessional and spent about 40 minutes hearing confessions.

In his homily, the pope said following God's call to conversion is not supposed to happen only during Lent, but is a lifetime commitment. He also spoke about two key characteristics of Christian life: putting on a "new self, created in God's way" and living in and sharing God's love.

Renewal in Christ comes with baptism, which frees people from sin and welcomes them as children of God and members of Christ and his church, he said.

"This new life lets us see the world with different eyes without being distracted anymore by the things that don't matter and that can't last for long," he said.

Shedding sinful behaviors and focusing on the essential become a daily commitment so that a life "deformed by sin" can become a life "illuminated by grace" from God.

When hearts are renewed and "created in God's way," good behavior follows, he said, for example: "always speaking the truth and steering clear of all lies; no stealing, but rather, sharing what one has with others, especially with those in need; not giving in to anger, rancor and revenge, but being meek, magnanimous and ready to forgive; not taking part in malicious gossip that ruins the good name of people, but looking mainly for the good side in everyone."

The second aspect of Christian life is living in God's eternal love, the pope said. God never tires of looking out for his children, both those who have lost their way and those who have remained faithful by his side.

Jesus, in fact, calls on everyone to imitate this same merciful love and become "credible disciples of Christ in the world," he said.

God's love cannot be held inside, "it's open by its very nature, it spreads and is fruitful, it always generates new love," he said.

In that missionary spirit, the penitential liturgy opened an initiative called "24 Hours for the Lord," sponsored by the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization.

The council asked dioceses around the world to have at least one parish open all day and night March 28, so that anyone could go to confession and take part in eucharistic adoration. It's part of the pope's focus on celebrating God's mercy and power of forgiveness.

Young people belonging to different parishes and different movements in Rome were to be out on the streets during the night, inviting their peers to go into the churches to pray, to confess or just to talk to a priest.

In his homily, Pope Francis praised the initiative and those who would be hitting the streets to share the joy of God's mercy and invite others to discover a deeper relationship with Christ.

"Tell them that our father is waiting for us, our father forgives us, and even more, he celebrates," the pope said.

Even with all of one's sins and mistakes, God, "instead of scolding us, he celebrates," the pope said. "And you have to tell this, tell this to lots of people today" so they can experience God's mercy and love.

[NYer]

I just happen to bypass the middleman, so to speak. LOL!

Then you have no way of knowing whether or not your sins are forgiven. That is why our Lord entrusted it to the Apostles and those who came after them.

"And when he had said this, he breathed on [them], and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; [and] whose soever [sins] ye retain, they are retained." - John 20:22-23

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church - "The confessor is not the master of God's forgiveness, but its servant. The minister of this sacrament should unite himself to the intention and charity of Christ. [Cf. PO 13.] He should have a proven knowledge of Christian behavior, experience of human affairs, respect and sensitivity toward the one who has fallen; he must love the truth, be faithful to the Magisterium of the Church, and lead the penitent with patience toward healing and full maturity. He must pray and do penance for his penitent, entrusting him to the Lord's mercy."

[posterchild]

Is there precedent for this? Have other popes gone to confession or is Francesco I the first?

[Salvation]

John Paul II went to Confession weekly.

[NYer]

Is there precedent for this? Have other popes gone to confession or is Francesco I the first?

All popes go to confession because, like you and me, they too are sinners. What sets this particular incident apart is that he chose to do so in full view of those waiting to have their confessions heard. IOW, he set the example. Another extraordinary example of humility occurred with Pope JPII. See the link at my post #7.

[doc1019]

Because a priest says so? The Bible tells me that if I confess my sins to Jesus they will be forgiven.

During my waking hours, I pray to Jesus every time I realize I have sinned. At night, before I go to sleep, I spend time asking Jesus for forgiveness for all the sins I have committed during the day. I go to sleep every night knowing I am forgiven and if Jesus decides to take me to heaven during the night, I know I go with a clear conscience and a forgiven soul.

And no priest needed.

[2ndDivisionVet]

You won’t confuse it with a present-day action film, but I like it.

[posterchild]

Thank you both. I hadn’t realized this.

[NYer]

The Bible tells me that if I confess my sins to Jesus they will be forgiven.

The Bible says to go through a mediator.

"And when he had said this, he breathed on [them], and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; [and] whose soever [sins] ye retain, they are retained." - John 20:22-23

[doc1019]

1Timothy 2v5:”For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.

[fatima]

Nice to see you back 2ndDivisionVet (((((Hugs)))))

[NYer]

1Timothy 2v5:”For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.

And Jesus, the mediator, entrusted to his Apostles the responsibility to hear confession, as stated in John 20:22-23. Scripture is quite clear.

[doc1019]

In John 20:22-23 Jesus first invested the disciples with the power of the Holy Spirit, and immediately conveyed the ability to either forgive sins or not. This simply means that they were being empowered to bring people into the Church. Any time we “bring someone to the Lord” by saying the sinner’s prayer with them, we are exercising the same power.

This is not an issue of confessing to a priest and doing whatever penance He determines to receive forgiveness. 1 John 1:9 says we can confess our sins directly to the Lord and are immediately forgiven without prejudice. No third party is necessary to accomplish this.

[Heart-Rest]

doc1019 in post 15:   "I just happen to bypass the middleman, so to speak. LOL!"

doc1019 in post 25:   "The Bible tells me that if I confess my sins to Jesus they will be forgiven."

doc1019 in post 32:   "1 John 1:9 says we can confess our sins directly to the Lord and are immediately forgiven without prejudice. No third party is necessary to accomplish this. "

= = = = = = = = = = = = =

For very good reasons, God chooses middlemen and middlewomen to do so very many things through God's kind and gracious delegation processes.

For example, God could easily have just said, "Let there be a Bible!", and a complete Bible would immediately appear, with every single word in it, but, instead, God chose to use weak and humble "middlemen" sinners to write every single word in His Bible that you and I can read today.

God also could have just said, "Let there be doc1019!", and there you would have been also, but, instead, God chose to use a "middleman" and a "middlewoman" (your Dad and Mom) to work with Him to bring you here.

It is always and everywhere much better to accept God's holy, sovereign, omniscient choices than to reject them.   (And God's Bible does tell you how God set that "confession" process up -- see post #21.    That also provides another way for people to receive guidance concerning some specific sins they might be struggling with right now, from a "spiritual-director priest", who can sort of provide a specifically directed "mini-sermon" to help them out with what they are dealing with at the present time in their own personal lives.)

By the way, Catholics also confess our sins directly to Jesus, and ask his forgiveness and direct guidance, but why would we want to reject the "Sacrament of Reconciliation" God deliberately chose to set up for us for our own good, any more than we would want to reject the Bible God chose to have written and set up for us completely by middlemen for our own good, even though He could just as easily have merely spoken all those Biblical words directly to our hearts and minds, without using any middlemen at all?

Here is what 1 John 1:9 actually says:

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.   1 John 1:9

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

(Notice the real truth that there is absolutely nothing whatsoever in that text that actually tells you how to do that "confessing" -- you are completely making those ideas up in your own mind that it means just confessing directly to Jesus at various times of the day, with no one else -- no third party -- ever involved, which it obviously does NOT say anywhere in that text, and the sacramental mechanism Jesus defined for doing that confession is actually specified in those other texts in the Bible which were already shared with you.)

[RichInOC]

“Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. It has been a day since my last confession. I wanted to Stooge-slap someone yesterday...”

[NYer]

Lol..you made my morning.

[.45 Long Colt]

Forgiveness Through a Priest
http://www.bereanbeacon.org/article/sorted/01_On_Catholicism/Forgiveness_through_a_priest.pdf

Don’t let the traditions of popery bind your conscience. Come to Christ and find rest and true liberty.

“If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”
—John 8:36

“Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.”
—Colossians 2:8

[NYer]

Auricular confession that is obligatory does not even have an old tradition to commend it. Ignaz von Dollinger, one of the most respected Roman Catholic historians in Germany declared that the sacrament of penance was unknown in the West for one thousand one hundred years and never known in the East.

Dollinger was excommunicated in 1871. As for his declaration, that too is false.

"God never threatens the repentant, rather He pardons the penitent. You will say that it is God alone who can do this. True enough, but it is likewise true that He does it through his priests, who exercise His power." - St. Pacianus of Barcelona (4th century A.D.)

[onedoug]

It better be good in light of the story posted above this one.

[Biggirl]

Do not be surprised when it gets closer to when Blessed Pope John Paul II is declared a saint in about a month’s time, that article will “travel” online more.

[Shark24]

Good one. Now one for you. We had a confirmation teen become pregnant. She still wanted to be confirmed and after meeting with our Pastor, he allowed her to continue. When we had the Reconciliation service, she came to me and nervously stated she did not remember the date she got pregnant to confess to the Priest! I smiled and told her to just speak from her heart. She came out of the confessional with a beautiful glow. Good news is baby was born healthy and she and the dad should be getting married soon.
P.S. Before I knew she was pregnant, I (really was the Holy Spirit) gave her small class group the assignment to make a poster about the Church’s position on abortion. She did a beautiful job of taking the Catechism words into a simple message for the class.