Dear Fr. Jonathan, I realize that this video is 4 years old but I just found it, when I needed it the most. Thank you for the idea of pursuing the Virtue. I believe that it will change my life. And I need that change so much. I've been hurting so much, and for so long, just me and God.
My frustration as a religious Ed teacher -that we did not have priests who preached like this to the parents of my students. May the God continue to teach us through your homilies.
Well, praise God, that is an opportunity for you! For when you properly catechize the children, they will share their catechesis with their parents and draw them to follow on the path to sanctity!
🕊🙏✝️❤❤✝️🙏🕊 Since returning to the Catholic church a little over a year a a half ago after being AWOL over 40 years, I am a cradle Catholic who fell out of the crib shortly after becoming a teenager when I "knew everything ", I go to reconciliation at least the first Saturday of every month, sometimes more, yet I feel like most of the time I only make it past step 2. This has been most helpful. Thank you Fr. I'll definitely be making some adjustments.
Went to confession Sunday and the priest had me examine my surroundings that need to change. Hearing this is a confirmation. We need more priest preaching truth and helping us grow.
Hello Tony. I would like you to consider the true teachings of the Church instituted by Christ concerning the sacrament of Reconciliation. In James 5:16, God, through Sacred Scripture, commands us to "confess our sins to one another." Notice, Scripture does not say confess your sins straight to God and only to God...it says confess your sins to one another. In Matthew, chapter 9, verse 6, Jesus tells us that He was given authority on earth to forgive sins. And then Scripture proceeds to tell us, in verse 8, that this authority was given to "men"...plural. In John 20, verses 21-23, what is the 1st thing Jesus says to the gathered disciples on the night of His resurrection? "Jesus said to them, 'Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.'" How did the Father send Jesus? Well, we just saw in Mt 9 that the Father sent Jesus with the authority on earth to forgive sins. Now, Jesus sends out His disciples as the Father has sent Him...so, what authority must Jesus be sending His disciples out with? The authority on earth to forgive sins. And, just in case they didn't get it, verses 22-23 say this, "And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.'" Why would Jesus give the Apostles the power to forgive or to retain sins if He wasn't expecting folks to confess their sins to them? And how could they forgive or retain sins if no one was confessing their sins to them? The Bible tells us to confess our sins to one another. It also tells us that God gave men the authority on Earth to forgive sins. Jesus sends out His disciples with the authority on earth to forgive sins. When Catholics confess our sins to a priest, we are simply following the plan laid down by Jesus Christ. He forgives sins through the priest...it is God's power, but He exercises that power through the ministry of the priest. I pray you come back home to the Church you were a part of for 35 years.
Hello, it is great to see your reply, Tony. I come in charity as do you, but I also see that if there is no other resource on matters of the Christian faith other than Sacred Scripture, you will not see the Catholic Church's point of view. I am happy that we agree on the 3 truths you point out above. And I will also agree with you with the following: 2Tim. 3 Verses 16 to 17 [16] All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: [17] That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. However, nowhere does the Bible say it is the "only" source for sound doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction. To our knowledge, Jesus never wrote anything down (other than in the sand when he rebuked the stone throwers), but He left explicit instructions with his apostles to carry on the traditions He instilled while here on Earth. And these Sacred Traditions coinciding later with Sacred Scripture established the foundations of the Church. I left the Catholic Church as a young pip squeak (19 yrs old), and returned several years later after going to other Non-denominational churches, so I've been in your shoes, albeit maybe not as well-versed on scripture as you seem to be. I laud you for your zeal and have to tell you that I am working on my faith's journey continuously. I've been in the pew, in the sanctuary, and back to the altar again. I'm by no means a finished product, but I know the beauty of the deep Catholic faith has opened my eyes to the wonders of God and all He has to offer. Please, I know you may think of me as a lost sheep by adhering to the authority of the Church as well as scripture, but my experience in the last 2 years has shown me they go hand in hand. Thanks for reading this short rehash of my background, and I pray this dialogue is a blessing for both of us. 😊
Tony, it is my pleasure, and I am always game for talking about matters of the faith. We both have in common a desire to be with Father God when our time is up here, and choosing salvation is always the most paramount choice anyone can make in their life. Ultimately, friendship with God is the deciding factor of whether we share heaven with Him, the Son, the Holy Ghost, and the angels and saints. But there has always been conflict on how that is achieved, then Jesus came and showed us. I am sorry you were unsuccessful in getting real answers to important faith questions; there are good (even great) priests in the Church (like this Father Jonathan Meyer) as well as bad priests. I've heard it said that Jesus established a perfect church, until the first human joined (Peter?). There are so many resources with the advent of the Internet where some of your questions can be answered skillfully and correctly by astute Catholic apologists and theologians. I can see that you have a humble soul, and you are searching for the truth. I believe if your heart is sincere, it will lead you to the truth (Psalm 42 1 As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.)
Tony, my last post was in reply to only the first paragraph of you mentioning you had questions about scripture that was not being answered fully in a way that was helpful to you. I have read your latest postings, and I have a question for you. Do you believe God the Father has created every human soul out of love and for each to know and love Him?
Ok, is that still His intention? Or does He want us flailing in the dark hoping to come across a self-proclaimed prophet who can point us into their direction; a direction that can be one of thousands of offshoots of the original faith?
Please, you are absolutely true. The chatholic church needs a deeper teaching of our faith. The mere ethics of attending a mass is not taught and implemented. There should be more priest like you to to teach the chatholic faith. Thank you for your time and effort, father.
No you simply go to Jesus . Hebrews 4:15-16 there was no priesthood to go to to confess your sins for the first 1100 years . The concept of confession to a priest / man standing in for Christ is just not found in scripture .
This might help those who are confused as to why Catholics confess to a priest. According to scripture, Jesus Himself instituted the practice. "Jesus told the apostles, 'As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.’ And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained’" (John 20:21-23). The whole article is at www.catholic.com/tract/the-forgiveness-of-sins
@@drcardinalli Strange that the sacrament of confession to a priest was brought into the church in 1100 AD and there is absolutely no reference to a priest to confess to in the entire new testament. There is no reference in the entire new testament that says anything close to confessing your sins to someone who takes the place of Jesus! There are no priests in office in the new testament . Hebrews 4:15-16 points out who you go to in prayer for Everything. Now you might ask yourself why would an apostle retain the sins of others ? It appears the translation of the forgive and retain is not what we would assume it to be.Catholic answers should be read side by side with nondenominational teaching as you need balance not bias.
@@bobloblawb2593 Hi Bob. Go ahead and look at the article. It will give you some historical information to challenge the date you keep repeating. Follow up the sources it recommends and research them on your own. It is also good to expand the sources you draw from. Check out some early biblical translations yourself. I will try to post that John passage next. PS. I recommended a Catholic Answers article to you because I am already pretty certain you read lots of nondenominational sources, but you don't show a lot of familiarity with Catholic teaching. I was trying to offer you balance, not bias.
Father here in Rockhampton diocese Australia in Queensland we do not have priests who preach like this. They do not believe in confession at all. So the parishioners too believe the same. Pls pray for our priests who want to be like protestants.
Father Meyer, Thankyou for theses sermons, they are wonderful, you are so right, we shouldn’t just confess but, to be truly transformed. Thankyou Jesus for confession I pray to be truly transformed so that I may become the saint God wants of me. Thank you for. Meyer for explaining this the way you did.
Wow, I have Never heard a homily like this on the Sacrament of Confession! I learned so much from this one homily than I have Ever learned in all my many years of being a cradle Catholic! You have given us an invaluable lesson on how to be finally Free from the Bondage of sin! You are saving souls ! God bless you dear Fr.Jonathan Meyer ! May Our Lady, mediatrix of all graces, wrap you in her mantle of love, strength, courage, fortitude and all the graces she wishes to shower upon you for bringing souls to her son. JMJ
AND WOW👍🏻👍🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻 I am currently working on my next confession and this was super helpful and actually makes me want to go and want to do it better🙏🏻🙏🏻
So amazingly simple and yet so amazingly profound. This is exactly what I needed right now. I still find confession really difficult and nerve-wracking after about 2 years of being back in the church properly. But this will really help especially the list . Thank you
Thank you so much for this tutorial on how confession is supposed to be transformative. I have recently returned to the Catholic faith and want to make my confession and its been over 25 years since my last one.
We need more priests to spread out the right reason why we should confess our sins but to change our ways. I really love to hear your preach, I’m Catholic until I die because it’s the truth church of Christ, a true Christian will know with faith will know this. Theres 3 reasons that Jesus gave us from his time here on earth. 1- he gave the keys to Peter when Peter was the first one to recognized that Jesus was the messiah. 2- he teach them how to pray the our father, gives this day our daily bread who forgives our sins, now you look at Catholics and what do we do? Confess ourselves to be prepared to take our holy communion which represents the body and blood of our Lord Jesus the bread of eternal life, he said himself at the last supper who ever eats this bread will have eternal life. I just go bananas when I hear so called Christians, evangelics and Protestants all against our church that they don’t believe in what we do and don’t agree of Honoring our Lady the Mother of our savior? To me it seems that they don’t worship God period?? It is so clear wake up people?? And 3- our Heavenly Mother the mother of our God the one chosen by our Heavenly Father since beginning of her conception to have his son which is himself to be among us here in this world so we could see who God really is? Angel Gabriel said to Mary that all generations to come would have to Honor her. But unfortunately most of our Christians brothers don’t really understand the holy scriptures the blessed sacraments and I guess they don’t pay attention to the movie of Jesus of Nazareth from beginning to the end it’s so sad 😢. But remember who ever rejects our Lady they already rejecting God without knowing because our Lady she’s full of grace and blessed among all woman and the queen of heaven and earth why? So simple Jesus his the king of all nations he was going to be the last siting on the throne of king David so ask yourself? Who’s Mary? The mother of our Jesus the king of Jews the king of all nations so this makes so clearly that his mother she’s the queen of Heaven and earth. If you still don’t believe my brothers and sisters than you need to learn on those times that you had to have a king and a queen study more just don’t try to memorize the Bible and you have no clue what it means and you're not doing anything to repent yourself and to do act of charity instead of preaching to others and change our Catholics with less faith unfortunately to change the truth church to go to these fake church’s. So I thank daily our Heavenly Father for giving me the opportunity of being born Portuguese like this I know well and respect our lady of Fatima( well not just our lady of Fatima ) our lady period. And for being Catholic so like this I know where is my savior in the blessed sacrament, keep doing this amazing job father Amen🙏
Thanks brother and I thank the Lord for getting me out from mortal sin because unfortunately the devil got me confused and I was going to wrong places and doing drugs but I asked God one night if this was a sin the way I was living as a gay guy than give me strength to fight this battle and he answered my prayers thanks be to God 🙏 .
Joe can you look at what you wrote and find all of those beliefs in scripture? I don't think you can . and don’t agree of Honoring our Lady the Mother of our savior? We the non Catholics honor Mary for who and what she was, but we do not pray to her ,nor do we see her as more than what the scriptures tell us. To me it seems that they don’t worship God period?? I will assume you have not been to a lot of different denominational churches as they vary greatly. The Roman Catholic church at the end of my block is filled with older people and there is little life to any service , should I judge all Roman Catholic churches by this one example? our Heavenly Mother Won't find that in scripture. Angel Gabriel said to Mary that all generations to come would have to Honor her. Nope, he did not. . But remember who ever rejects our Lady they already rejecting God without knowing because our Lady she’s full of grace and blessed among all woman and the queen of heaven and earth why? Mary is not the queen of heaven . Rejecting Mary has little to do with rejecting God . Jesus died for all of your sins , Mary did not. Mary brought Jesus into the world and that is all the scriptures say that she did. his mother she’s the queen of Heaven and earth. Nope, the only queen of heaven found in scripture is found in Jeremiah and it is talking about a pagan deity. don’t try to memorize the Bible and you have no clue what it means and you're not doing anything to repent yourself and to do act of charity instead of preaching to others and change our Catholics with less faith unfortunately to change the truth church to go to these fake church’s. How do you know? Are you by chance judging with a bit of bias? get out your bible , the one you said not to memorize , and find out what name Jesus chose for the church. Right there in Matt 16: St.Ignatius decided that a name would help but Jesus never called His church by a name nor did the apostles . So I thank daily our Heavenly Father for giving me the opportunity of being born Portuguese like this I know well and respect our lady of Fatima( well not just our lady of Fatima ) our lady period. Fatima and Guadalupe apparitions teach things contrary to scripture so why would you say you have respect for the lady of Fatima ? Could it have anything to do with reading God's word and comparing what the scriptures say to what the apparition at Fatima and Guadalupe have to say.??
@@bobloblawb2593 Bob, I don't have to. It's like asking an American to check the Constitution to see if everything he believes and does is written in it, otherwise he would not be a legitimate American. That's never the claim that can be made about the Constitution nor of the Bible which we wrote, compiled and published with absolute authority. We have the historic documents that confirms our claims. Protestants, on the other hand, can not justify "Sola Scriptura" or "Faith Alone" from Scriptures. God bless.
well my brother I know where’s my Jesus our savior is at the blessed sacrament and that’s all I can say my faith will never change because I know his there you have no clue what I went threw in my life and I asked him and our Heavenly mother by praying and they heard my prayers and helped me escape from all the evil stuff that I was doing unfortunately as a coward I was at the time knowing that God really exists and I was just living day lee for myself but not for God. But to answer your question about the mother of our savior? Who are you? A sinner just like all of us, so you can’t have the authority to look at our Heavenly Mother and put her down like the way you are? Like you above her that’s insane? But I’ll be praying for you my brother for being blind to the truth. I guess the faith it’s not for everyone that’s why our Lady ( the mother of God) she says very few will go to haven, because since her conception the world hated her and her son Jesus that’s why her immaculate heart and our secrete heart of Jesus are very heart because men they still rejecting her son present at the blessed sacrament just like he is in heaven, but it will be a time that Jesus her son will come again to revenge against all of those who rejected her massages and him 🙏
Love your fervent preaching that DOES promote Transformation / taking action. Definitely NOT lukewarm / for those who can't be bothered to change...Aren't they "close enough to perfect" anyways? haha IMO, we need to return to the Latin mass which has HEAVY emphasis on looking at / reflecting on where we stand before God...it is pretty humbling! Please watch Dr. Taylor Marshall's video on Reasons to attend Latin Mass...Love it! I have been a few times to a Monastery near me, but have yet to get my family (except one son who does scouts there). Also go to Exorcist Fr. Ripperger's web site...I owe him lots of penance for all the talks of his I have listened to!
It's pitiful that so many Catholics on here are over the moon by this homily. This is standard, Catholic teaching and it's a crying shame that so many have been let down by their priests and parishes. I'm over here nodding, yes, yes, no surprise here, while so many comments are about how they've never heard such wonderful advice. I have been extremely fortunate that this type of knowledge has been instilled in me since before my first Holy Communion, and I pray for more good, holy priests. Find yourselves a traditional Catholic church and you may be blessed with homilies like this weekly. Look up Father James Wathen's website for sermons when he was living as well as Father Gavin Bitzer at Our Lady of the Pillar in Louisville, KY. Both are true, holy, Catholic priests who don't mince words when it comes to their duty of saving souls. God bless you all and Merry Christmas!
The Virgin Mother, asks us to meditate daily on Christ's sacrifice for sinners, that we in imitation will sacrifice for the salvation of our soul , the "souls in most need of Christ's mercy" as well as for those souls under purgation. Free audio Scriptural rosary apps are available. The Joe Meineke app is very popular. Practice fasting from your known defects in virtue. Fr. Ripperger, also on RUclips (Sensus Fidelium) has a couple of talks on building virtues. Fr. Gallagher's books and talks online on Ignatian discernment of spirits are also very helpful in understanding the battlefield inside our mind (world, flesh and the devil).
Very nice homily. I find confession very difficult. And I haven't been for a long long time which really worries me but I just can't seem to actually go. I even went and sat in a pew one day when it was confession time but couldn't go. I used to go often then one priest kept talking to me in the confessional and it was about 10 minutes before I came out. I was so embarrassed . the other people waiting must have thought I was confessing to a murder or something but it wasn't anything near that. So that's put me off confession but I worry about it. 😒🙈
@tony They do go to Christ, the priest's acts as the tool for absolution. The sacrament of confessing is powerful. Confession with repentance forgives. Satan, who will act as prosecutor par excellence at judgement time, will not be able to scream these sins against you.
@tony others have referenced the scriptures in these threads. I'm not going to spoon feed you. Believe what you like but please don't deceive people or lead them astray. Christ mentioned something about millstones around necks for those who cause little ones (ie. those new or still weak in the faith) to stumble. Take your evangelical protestant hubris back to your happy-clappy "four walls and a sermon church." You serve no purpose on Catholic forums. Forgive me a lowly sinner.
Father, this helped me SO MUCH...although I go to confession often, examining my conscience more than ever these days..I'm praying for the increase in virtue but never "visualized" myself or made a plan to effect the virtue thus overcoming my defects, guess I was waiting for God to "transform" me without having to participate in a more active way...We are so blessed to have these TRUE teachings such as this spread throughout the Church Militant..
Some don't go to confession simply because they're ashamed and embarrassed of their particular sins, especially the sexual ones. It is difficult confessing things like this in front of another human, even a priest doing his job.
my first confession wen i was 8yrs young was to a rc priest (studying at a nearby rc school at the same time) fast forward more than 12 years after this same priest is now the chaplain of a memorial park wer my grandmam was buried. one time he together w/ a young man (my age) assisting, held mass for a death anniversary of grandmam. fastforward 5 years news came about of his death wen we requested mass at the gravesite. lo and behold the young man with him is his truly his son from his laundrywoman. attested by a close uncle, a lay minister who knew supposedly this priest. blew out our minds!
Hebrews 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are-yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. No priest is ever mentioned in the new testament scriptures , whereby anyone that goes to him to confess their sins will be forgiven by the priest who stands in for Jesus. . Confession as a sacrament , started in the church about 1100 AD There is no need for a priest to hear your confessions when God is there for you . 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
@@coachchris548 Interesting question. You somehow have got the teaching that the Catholic church has the ultimate authority to interpret, make or change doctrine . Read the verse stated and then find in the new testament any indication that a priest is to stand in place of Jesus to hear confessions of sin? The priest who offered sacrifices for sins is old testament and the new testament church has only one priest who has made the ultimate sacrifice once and for all . 1 John 2:1,2 There is no reference to confession of sins to anyone but God in all of the new testament. Wonder why that is?
@@bobloblawb2593 Bob, From Holy Scriptures we are clearly taught about the power given to the Church by Christ to forgive sins, starting with the Old Testament as expressed in: JEREMIAH 31: 31-34 31 'Look, the days are coming, Yahweh declares, when I shall make a NEW COVENANT with the House of Israel (and the House of Judah), 32 but not like the covenant I made with their ancestors the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of Egypt, a covenant which they broke, even though I was their Master, Yahweh declares. 33 No, this is the covenant I shall make with the House of Israel when those days have come, Yahweh declares. WITHIN them I shall plant MY LAW, writing it on THEIR HEARTS. Then I shall be their God and they will be my people. 34 There will be no further need for everyone to teach neighbour or brother, saying, "Learn to know Yahweh!" No, they will all know me, from the least to the greatest, Yahweh declares, since I SHALL FORGIVE THEIR GUILT and NEVER more CALL THEIR SIN TO MIND.' As a catholic, when I go to confession I know with certainty that God has forgiven me through the ministry of His priest when he says: I absolve you in the name of The Father, and of the Son and The Holy Spirit. Then, the grace provided in that Sacrament of Reconciliation, gives me the peace and strength to know it and avoid sinning again. In the New Testament you are able to see when and where Jesus gives the power of forgiving sins, through the Ministry of Reconciliation, to His Church, starting with the Apostles and continuing with their successors throughout the ages. ●JOHN 20:19-23 19. When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ 20. After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21. Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ 22. When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘RECEIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT. 23. If you FORGIVE the sins of any, they are FORGIVEN them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’ The Apostle James confirms the practice of confession of sins. ●JAMES 5:14-16 14. Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. 16. Therefore CONFESS your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. -St. Paul confirms the reception of the power to forgive sins from Christ: ●2 CORINTHIANS 5, 18-19 18. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and GAVE US the MINISTRY of RECONCILIATION; 19. that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and ENTRUSTING TO US the message of RECONCILIATION. It is therefore a clear Catholic doctrine that the Church, from the earliest times of its existence, believed in the power to forgive sins as granted by Christ to the Apostles and passed on to their successors. Such a belief in fact was inculcated by the words with which Christ granted the power, and it would have been inexplicable to the early Christians if any one who professed faith in Christ had questioned the existence of that power in the Church. But if, on the contrary, we suppose that no such belief existed from the beginning, we encounter a still greater difficulty: the first mention of that power would have been regarded as an innovation both needless and intolerable; it would have shown little practical wisdom on the part of those who were endeavouring to draw men to Christ; and it would have raised a protest or led to a schism which would certainly have gone on record as plainly at least as did early divisions on matters of less importance. But NO such record is ever found; even those who sought to limit the power itself presupposed its existence, and their very attempt at limitation put them in opposition to the prevalent Catholic belief, as expressed by Paul in: Moreover, if confession had been instituted by the Church it would be possible to demonstrate the DATE of its institution. No such demonstration can be made. All the historical testimonies imply that it is an institution which goes back to Divine ordinance. The Didache ( 98-120) says: "Sunday, when we meet, proceed to the fraction of the bread, then give thanks, after having confessed your sins, so you'd have offered a pure sacrifice." (Didache, Nº 14). Regarding the format, the start of individual private confession as practiced by Irish priest led to the widespread establishment of such practice throughout the Universal Church in the 12th. Century. Furthermore, The Fourth Lateran Council (1215) defined the already existing duty of confession more closely by prescribing yearly confessions. Thanks for your interest! May God bless your discernment.
@@joecastillo8798 After all that, all I can say is , I do not see any reference by the apostles or any believers going to someone other than Jesus to confess their sins to. Jesus is our high priest and there is no office of priest in the new testament. Sin, confession ,sacrifice ,priest, is all old testament and in the new it is repent ,be baptized ,and confess your sins to Jesus who died once and for all to take away the sacrifice with His own blood being spilled for us. There is no need for someone to stand in the place of Christ to confess to. 2 Cor 5: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. reconciliation the restoration of friendly relations. the action of making one view or belief compatible with another. So our reconciliation efforts are not to do with sin as God is shown here to be dealing with sin through Christ.
@@bobloblawb2593 Bob, As you know, "Sola Scriptura" is not taught by Jesus or His Apostles. In fact, not everything is written in the Bible, John reminds you of that. However, there is ONE thing, written several times, which Jesus said, but you and the more than 68,000 protestant churches and sects choose to ignore. Why is that?
The problem i see is when people confess their sins to a sinful priest , how do you expect people to change ?! No priest can change a persons heart , only Jesus can forgive sin and change a heart . Religion is futile it is only steeped in tradition rituals , idols and false symbols !
Dear Fr. Jonathan, I realize that this video is 4 years old but I just found it, when I needed it the most. Thank you for the idea of pursuing the Virtue. I believe that it will change my life. And I need that change so much. I've been hurting so much, and for so long, just me and God.
My frustration as a religious Ed teacher -that we did not have priests who preached like this to the parents of my students. May the God continue to teach us through your homilies.
Well, praise God, that is an opportunity for you! For when you properly catechize the children, they will share their catechesis with their parents and draw them to follow on the path to sanctity!
We need parish priests like you who truly care too. 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
🕊🙏✝️❤❤✝️🙏🕊 Since returning to the Catholic church a little over a year a a half ago after being AWOL over 40 years, I am a cradle Catholic who fell out of the crib shortly after becoming a teenager when I "knew everything ", I go to reconciliation at least the first Saturday of every month, sometimes more, yet I feel like most of the time I only make it past step 2. This has been most helpful. Thank you Fr. I'll definitely be making some adjustments.
Love the crying babies in the background!
"If the church ain't cryin', it's dyin'!"
Went to confession Sunday and the priest had me examine my surroundings that need to change. Hearing this is a confirmation. We need more priest preaching truth and helping us grow.
Hello Tony. I would like you to consider the true teachings of the Church instituted by Christ concerning the sacrament of Reconciliation. In James 5:16, God, through Sacred Scripture, commands us to "confess our sins to one another." Notice, Scripture does not say confess your sins straight to God and only to God...it says confess your sins to one another.
In Matthew, chapter 9, verse 6, Jesus tells us that He was given authority on earth to forgive sins. And then Scripture proceeds to tell us, in verse 8, that this authority was given to "men"...plural.
In John 20, verses 21-23, what is the 1st thing Jesus says to the gathered disciples on the night of His resurrection? "Jesus said to them, 'Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.'" How did the Father send Jesus? Well, we just saw in Mt 9 that the Father sent Jesus with the authority on earth to forgive sins. Now, Jesus sends out His disciples as the Father has sent Him...so, what authority must Jesus be sending His disciples out with? The authority on earth to forgive sins. And, just in case they didn't get it, verses 22-23 say this, "And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.'"
Why would Jesus give the Apostles the power to forgive or to retain sins if He wasn't expecting folks to confess their sins to them? And how could they forgive or retain sins if no one was confessing their sins to them?
The Bible tells us to confess our sins to one another. It also tells us that God gave men the authority on Earth to forgive sins. Jesus sends out His disciples with the authority on earth to forgive sins. When Catholics confess our sins to a priest, we are simply following the plan laid down by Jesus Christ. He forgives sins through the priest...it is God's power, but He exercises that power through the ministry of the priest.
I pray you come back home to the Church you were a part of for 35 years.
Hello, it is great to see your reply, Tony. I come in charity as do you, but I also see that if there is no other resource on matters of the Christian faith other than Sacred Scripture, you will not see the Catholic Church's point of view. I am happy that we agree on the 3 truths you point out above. And I will also agree with you with the following:
2Tim. 3 Verses 16 to 17
[16] All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: [17] That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
However, nowhere does the Bible say it is the "only" source for sound doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction. To our knowledge, Jesus never wrote anything down (other than in the sand when he rebuked the stone throwers), but He left explicit instructions with his apostles to carry on the traditions He instilled while here on Earth. And these Sacred Traditions coinciding later with Sacred Scripture established the foundations of the Church.
I left the Catholic Church as a young pip squeak (19 yrs old), and returned several years later after going to other Non-denominational churches, so I've been in your shoes, albeit maybe not as well-versed on scripture as you seem to be.
I laud you for your zeal and have to tell you that I am working on my faith's journey continuously. I've been in the pew, in the sanctuary, and back to the altar again. I'm by no means a finished product, but I know the beauty of the deep Catholic faith has opened my eyes to the wonders of God and all He has to offer. Please, I know you may think of me as a lost sheep by adhering to the authority of the Church as well as scripture, but my experience in the last 2 years has shown me they go hand in hand.
Thanks for reading this short rehash of my background, and I pray this dialogue is a blessing for both of us. 😊
Tony, it is my pleasure, and I am always game for talking about matters of the faith. We both have in common a desire to be with Father God when our time is up here, and choosing salvation is always the most paramount choice anyone can make in their life. Ultimately, friendship with God is the deciding factor of whether we share heaven with Him, the Son, the Holy Ghost, and the angels and saints. But there has always been conflict on how that is achieved, then Jesus came and showed us.
I am sorry you were unsuccessful in getting real answers to important faith questions; there are good (even great) priests in the Church (like this Father Jonathan Meyer) as well as bad priests. I've heard it said that Jesus established a perfect church, until the first human joined (Peter?). There are so many resources with the advent of the Internet where some of your questions can be answered skillfully and correctly by astute Catholic apologists and theologians.
I can see that you have a humble soul, and you are searching for the truth. I believe if your heart is sincere, it will lead you to the truth (Psalm 42 1
As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.)
Tony, my last post was in reply to only the first paragraph of you mentioning you had questions about scripture that was not being answered fully in a way that was helpful to you.
I have read your latest postings, and I have a question for you. Do you believe God the Father has created every human soul out of love and for each to know and love Him?
Ok, is that still His intention? Or does He want us flailing in the dark hoping to come across a self-proclaimed prophet who can point us into their direction; a direction that can be one of thousands of offshoots of the original faith?
Please, you are absolutely true. The chatholic church needs a deeper teaching of our faith. The mere ethics of attending a mass is not taught and implemented. There should be more priest like you to to teach the chatholic faith. Thank you for your time and effort, father.
Thank You Father for this excellent teaching on how to make a good confession!
I will listen to this over and over again as well as forward it to others...so very practical. Thank you Father. God bless you.
Plain and simple.. I must go to confession.
me, too.
No you simply go to Jesus . Hebrews 4:15-16 there was no priesthood to go to to confess your sins for the first 1100 years . The concept of confession to a priest / man standing in for Christ is just not found in scripture .
This might help those who are confused as to why Catholics confess to a priest. According to scripture, Jesus Himself instituted the practice.
"Jesus told the apostles, 'As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.’ And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained’" (John 20:21-23).
The whole article is at www.catholic.com/tract/the-forgiveness-of-sins
@@drcardinalli Strange that the sacrament of confession to a priest was brought into the church in 1100 AD and there is absolutely no reference to a priest to confess to in the entire new testament. There is no reference in the entire new testament that says anything close to confessing your sins to someone who takes the place of Jesus! There are no priests in office in the new testament . Hebrews 4:15-16 points out who you go to in prayer for Everything. Now you might ask yourself why would an apostle retain the sins of others ? It appears the translation of the forgive and retain is not what we would assume it to be.Catholic answers should be read side by side with nondenominational teaching as you need balance not bias.
@@bobloblawb2593 Hi Bob. Go ahead and look at the article. It will give you some historical information to challenge the date you keep repeating. Follow up the sources it recommends and research them on your own. It is also good to expand the sources you draw from. Check out some early biblical translations yourself. I will try to post that John passage next.
PS. I recommended a Catholic Answers article to you because I am already pretty certain you read lots of nondenominational sources, but you don't show a lot of familiarity with Catholic teaching. I was trying to offer you balance, not bias.
Father here in Rockhampton diocese Australia in Queensland we do not have priests who preach like this. They do not believe in confession at all. So the parishioners too believe the same. Pls pray for our priests who want to be like protestants.
@Merlyn Damianose
Merlyn,
Call your Diocese office and let them know of your concerns.
God bless.
This was amazing! I wish I was taught that when I was in my late teens early 20’s. Pray for me, all. I will be using this format next month.
God Bless!
Father Meyer, Thankyou for theses sermons, they are wonderful, you are so right, we shouldn’t just confess but, to be truly transformed. Thankyou Jesus for confession I pray to be truly transformed so that I may become the saint God wants of me. Thank you for. Meyer for explaining this the way you did.
We do not hear homilies such as this in Central Florida. Thank you for being on RUclips.
of course its in youtube but if its not he will make u sleep or fingering your touch screen keypad
Thanks for sharing. God bless.
Our Traditional Catholic priests have so much more to offer than the "accompanyment" variety
Christ conquers
Christ reigns
Christ commands
Wow, I have Never heard a homily like this on the Sacrament of Confession! I learned so much from this one homily than I have Ever learned in all my many years of being a cradle Catholic! You have given us an invaluable lesson on how to be finally Free from the Bondage of sin! You are saving souls ! God bless you dear Fr.Jonathan Meyer ! May Our Lady, mediatrix of all graces, wrap you in her mantle of love, strength, courage, fortitude and all the graces she wishes to shower upon you for bringing souls to her son. JMJ
Thank you for a practical concrete homily! You’re a great teacher, Fr. Meyer!
AND WOW👍🏻👍🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻 I am currently working on my next confession and this was super helpful and actually makes me want to go and want to do it better🙏🏻🙏🏻
Hallelujah! I so needed to hear this homily today!
You are an awesome Priest I wish we had a priest like you at my parish we need more priest like you may GOD bless you and keep you safe
The priest of all churches must speak this at least once a year to the people, so they know this things.
How about reading the Bible for yourself why rely on a Priest ?
Thank you Father! My wife and I are praying that more priests provide information like this.
So amazingly simple and yet so amazingly profound. This is exactly what I needed right now. I still find confession really difficult and nerve-wracking after about 2 years of being back in the church properly. But this will really help especially the list . Thank you
Makes a real difference in how I can make much needed lasting changes in my daily life ... thank you
Thank you so much for this tutorial on how confession is supposed to be transformative. I have recently returned to the Catholic faith and want to make my confession and its been over 25 years since my last one.
Amazing
Thank you! This was VERY helpful!!
Extremely helpful. Thank you and God Bless You.
Perfect timing. (I had just prayed about something related to this...)
We need more priests to spread out the right reason why we should confess our sins but to change our ways. I really love to hear your preach, I’m Catholic until I die because it’s the truth church of Christ, a true Christian will know with faith will know this. Theres 3 reasons that Jesus gave us from his time here on earth. 1- he gave the keys to Peter when Peter was the first one to recognized that Jesus was the messiah. 2- he teach them how to pray the our father, gives this day our daily bread who forgives our sins, now you look at Catholics and what do we do? Confess ourselves to be prepared to take our holy communion which represents the body and blood of our Lord Jesus the bread of eternal life, he said himself at the last supper who ever eats this bread will have eternal life. I just go bananas when I hear so called Christians, evangelics and Protestants all against our church that they don’t believe in what we do and don’t agree of Honoring our Lady the Mother of our savior? To me it seems that they don’t worship God period?? It is so clear wake up people?? And 3- our Heavenly Mother the mother of our God the one chosen by our Heavenly Father since beginning of her conception to have his son which is himself to be among us here in this world so we could see who God really is? Angel Gabriel said to Mary that all generations to come would have to Honor her. But unfortunately most of our Christians brothers don’t really understand the holy scriptures the blessed sacraments and I guess they don’t pay attention to the movie of Jesus of Nazareth from beginning to the end it’s so sad 😢. But remember who ever rejects our Lady they already rejecting God without knowing because our Lady she’s full of grace and blessed among all woman and the queen of heaven and earth why? So simple Jesus his the king of all nations he was going to be the last siting on the throne of king David so ask yourself? Who’s Mary? The mother of our Jesus the king of Jews the king of all nations so this makes so clearly that his mother she’s the queen of Heaven and earth. If you still don’t believe my brothers and sisters than you need to learn on those times that you had to have a king and a queen study more just don’t try to memorize the Bible and you have no clue what it means and you're not doing anything to repent yourself and to do act of charity instead of preaching to others and change our Catholics with less faith unfortunately to change the truth church to go to these fake church’s. So I thank daily our Heavenly Father for giving me the opportunity of being born Portuguese like this I know well and respect our lady of Fatima( well not just our lady of Fatima ) our lady period. And for being Catholic so like this I know where is my savior in the blessed sacrament, keep doing this amazing job father Amen🙏
Amen!
Many blessings for being faithful to the true Faith.
Thanks brother and I thank the Lord for getting me out from mortal sin because unfortunately the devil got me confused and I was going to wrong places and doing drugs but I asked God one night if this was a sin the way I was living as a gay guy than give me strength to fight this battle and he answered my prayers thanks be to God 🙏 .
Joe can you look at what you wrote and find all of those beliefs in scripture?
I don't think you can .
and don’t agree of Honoring our Lady the Mother of our savior?
We the non Catholics honor Mary for who and what she was, but we do not pray to her ,nor do we see her as more than what the scriptures tell us.
To me it seems that they don’t worship God period??
I will assume you have not been to a lot of different denominational churches as they vary greatly. The Roman Catholic church at the end of my block is filled with older people and there is little life to any service , should I judge all Roman Catholic churches by this one example?
our Heavenly Mother
Won't find that in scripture.
Angel Gabriel said to Mary that all generations to come would have to Honor her.
Nope, he did not.
. But remember who ever rejects our Lady they already rejecting God without knowing because our Lady she’s full of grace and blessed among all woman and the queen of heaven and earth why?
Mary is not the queen of heaven . Rejecting Mary has little to do with rejecting God . Jesus died for all of your sins , Mary did not. Mary brought Jesus into the world and that is all the scriptures say that she did.
his mother she’s the queen of Heaven and earth.
Nope, the only queen of heaven found in scripture is found in Jeremiah and it is talking about a pagan deity.
don’t try to memorize the Bible and you have no clue what it means and you're not doing anything to repent yourself and to do act of charity instead of preaching to others and change our Catholics with less faith unfortunately to change the truth church to go to these fake church’s.
How do you know? Are you by chance judging with a bit of bias? get out your bible , the one you said not to memorize , and find out what name Jesus chose for the church. Right there in Matt 16: St.Ignatius decided that a name would help but Jesus never called His church by a name nor did the apostles .
So I thank daily our Heavenly Father for giving me the opportunity of being born Portuguese like this I know well and respect our lady of Fatima( well not just our lady of Fatima ) our lady period.
Fatima and Guadalupe apparitions teach things contrary to scripture so why would you say you have respect for the lady of Fatima ?
Could it have anything to do with reading God's word and comparing what the scriptures say to what the apparition at Fatima and Guadalupe have to say.??
@@bobloblawb2593
Bob,
I don't have to.
It's like asking an American to check the Constitution to see if everything he believes and does is written in it, otherwise he would not be a legitimate American. That's never the claim that can be made about the Constitution nor of the Bible which we wrote, compiled and published with absolute authority. We have the historic documents that confirms our claims.
Protestants, on the other hand, can not justify "Sola Scriptura" or "Faith Alone" from Scriptures.
God bless.
well my brother I know where’s my Jesus our savior is at the blessed sacrament and that’s all I can say my faith will never change because I know his there you have no clue what I went threw in my life and I asked him and our Heavenly mother by praying and they heard my prayers and helped me escape from all the evil stuff that I was doing unfortunately as a coward I was at the time knowing that God really exists and I was just living day lee for myself but not for God. But to answer your question about the mother of our savior? Who are you? A sinner just like all of us, so you can’t have the authority to look at our Heavenly Mother and put her down like the way you are? Like you above her that’s insane? But I’ll be praying for you my brother for being blind to the truth. I guess the faith it’s not for everyone that’s why our Lady ( the mother of God) she says very few will go to haven, because since her conception the world hated her and her son Jesus that’s why her immaculate heart and our secrete heart of Jesus are very heart because men they still rejecting her son present at the blessed sacrament just like he is in heaven, but it will be a time that Jesus her son will come again to revenge against all of those who rejected her massages and him 🙏
Christus Vincit
Christus Regnat
Christus Imperat
Love your fervent preaching that DOES promote Transformation / taking action. Definitely NOT lukewarm / for those who can't be bothered to change...Aren't they "close enough to perfect" anyways? haha IMO, we need to return to the Latin mass which has HEAVY emphasis on looking at / reflecting on where we stand before God...it is pretty humbling! Please watch Dr. Taylor Marshall's video on Reasons to attend Latin Mass...Love it! I have been a few times to a Monastery near me, but have yet to get my family (except one son who does scouts there). Also go to Exorcist Fr. Ripperger's web site...I owe him lots of penance for all the talks of his I have listened to!
I have written the steps down so I can Confess well and move forward in my love of God love and prayers Lynette Australia .
It's pitiful that so many Catholics on here are over the moon by this homily. This is standard, Catholic teaching and it's a crying shame that so many have been let down by their priests and parishes. I'm over here nodding, yes, yes, no surprise here, while so many comments are about how they've never heard such wonderful advice. I have been extremely fortunate that this type of knowledge has been instilled in me since before my first Holy Communion, and I pray for more good, holy priests. Find yourselves a traditional Catholic church and you may be blessed with homilies like this weekly. Look up Father James Wathen's website for sermons when he was living as well as Father Gavin Bitzer at Our Lady of the Pillar in Louisville, KY. Both are true, holy, Catholic priests who don't mince words when it comes to their duty of saving souls. God bless you all and Merry Christmas!
@3:40 Love those shoes on the far-right altarboy! He's going to have to confess that.
Christus Regnat
Christus Regnat
Christus Imperat
The Virgin Mother, asks us to meditate daily on Christ's sacrifice for sinners, that we in imitation will sacrifice for the salvation of our soul , the "souls in most need of Christ's mercy" as well as for those souls under purgation.
Free audio Scriptural rosary apps are available. The Joe Meineke app is very popular.
Practice fasting from your known defects in virtue.
Fr. Ripperger, also on RUclips (Sensus Fidelium) has a couple of talks on building virtues.
Fr. Gallagher's books and talks online on Ignatian discernment of spirits are also very helpful in understanding the battlefield inside our mind (world, flesh and the devil).
Very nice homily. I find confession very difficult. And I haven't been for a long long time which really worries me but I just can't seem to actually go. I even went and sat in a pew one day when it was confession time but couldn't go. I used to go often then one priest kept talking to me in the confessional and it was about 10 minutes before I came out. I was so embarrassed . the other people waiting must have thought I was confessing to a murder or something but it wasn't anything near that. So that's put me off confession but I worry about it. 😒🙈
@tony They do go to Christ, the priest's acts as the tool for absolution. The sacrament of confessing is powerful. Confession with repentance forgives. Satan, who will act as prosecutor par excellence at judgement time, will not be able to scream these sins against you.
@tony others have referenced the scriptures in these threads. I'm not going to spoon feed you. Believe what you like but please don't deceive people or lead them astray. Christ mentioned something about millstones around necks for those who cause little ones (ie. those new or still weak in the faith) to stumble. Take your evangelical protestant hubris back to your happy-clappy "four walls and a sermon church." You serve no purpose on Catholic forums. Forgive me a lowly sinner.
@tony I'll pray for you then that you truly learn the word of God as Christ intended. I mean this sincerely.
@tony not to mention you can't be taught because of your apparent arrogance and lack of discernment.
Father, this helped me SO MUCH...although I go to confession often, examining my conscience more than ever these days..I'm praying for the increase in virtue but never "visualized" myself or made a plan to effect the virtue thus overcoming my defects, guess I was waiting for God to "transform" me without having to participate in a more active way...We are so blessed to have these TRUE teachings such as this spread throughout the Church Militant..
😊
Some don't go to confession simply because they're ashamed and embarrassed of their particular sins, especially the sexual ones. It is difficult confessing things like this in front of another human, even a priest doing his job.
This Father: Common people!! Tell me the juicy stuff!! I'm bored lol
He sounds like Steven Crowder to me.
my first confession wen i was 8yrs young was to a rc priest (studying at a nearby rc school at the same time) fast forward more than 12 years after this same priest is now the chaplain of a memorial park wer my grandmam was buried. one time he together w/ a young man (my age) assisting, held mass for a death anniversary of grandmam. fastforward 5 years news came about of his death wen we requested mass at the gravesite. lo and behold the young man with him is his truly his son from his laundrywoman. attested by a close uncle, a lay minister who knew supposedly this priest. blew out our minds!
Hebrews 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are-yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
No priest is ever mentioned in the new testament scriptures , whereby anyone that goes to him to confess their sins will be forgiven by the priest who stands in for Jesus. . Confession as a sacrament , started in the church about 1100 AD There is no need for a priest to hear your confessions when God is there for you . 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Under whose authority do you speak.
@@coachchris548 Interesting question. You somehow have got the teaching that the Catholic church has the ultimate authority to interpret, make or change doctrine . Read the verse stated and then find in the new testament any indication that a priest is to stand in place of Jesus to hear confessions of sin? The priest who offered sacrifices for sins is old testament and the new testament church has only one priest who has made the ultimate sacrifice once and for all . 1 John 2:1,2 There is no reference to confession of sins to anyone but God in all of the new testament. Wonder why that is?
@@bobloblawb2593
Bob,
From Holy Scriptures we are clearly taught about the power given to the Church by Christ to forgive sins, starting with the Old Testament as expressed in:
JEREMIAH 31: 31-34
31 'Look, the days are coming, Yahweh declares, when I shall make a NEW COVENANT with the House of Israel (and the House of Judah),
32 but not like the covenant I made with their ancestors the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of Egypt, a covenant which they broke, even though I was their Master, Yahweh declares.
33 No, this is the covenant I shall make with the House of Israel when those days have come, Yahweh declares. WITHIN them I shall plant MY LAW, writing it on THEIR HEARTS. Then I shall be their God and they will be my people.
34 There will be no further need for everyone to teach neighbour or brother, saying, "Learn to know Yahweh!" No, they will all know me, from the least to the greatest, Yahweh declares, since I SHALL FORGIVE THEIR GUILT and NEVER more CALL THEIR SIN TO MIND.'
As a catholic, when I go to confession I know with certainty that God has forgiven me through the ministry of His priest when he says: I absolve you in the name of The Father, and of the Son and The Holy Spirit. Then, the grace provided in that Sacrament of Reconciliation, gives me the peace and strength to know it and avoid sinning again.
In the New Testament you are able to see when and where Jesus gives the power of forgiving sins, through the Ministry of Reconciliation, to His Church, starting with the Apostles and continuing with their successors throughout the ages.
●JOHN 20:19-23
19. When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’
20. After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
21. Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’
22. When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘RECEIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT.
23. If you FORGIVE the sins of any, they are FORGIVEN them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’
The Apostle James confirms the practice of confession of sins.
●JAMES 5:14-16
14. Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord.
15. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven.
16. Therefore CONFESS your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
-St. Paul confirms the reception of the power to forgive sins from Christ:
●2 CORINTHIANS 5, 18-19
18. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and GAVE US the MINISTRY of RECONCILIATION;
19. that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and ENTRUSTING TO US the message of RECONCILIATION.
It is therefore a clear Catholic doctrine that the Church, from the earliest times of its existence, believed in the power to forgive sins as granted by Christ to the Apostles and passed on to their successors. Such a belief in fact was inculcated by the words with which Christ granted the power, and it would have been inexplicable to the early Christians if any one who professed faith in Christ had questioned the existence of that power in the Church. But if, on the contrary, we suppose that no such belief existed from the beginning, we encounter a still greater difficulty: the first mention of that power would have been regarded as an innovation both needless and intolerable; it would have shown little practical wisdom on the part of those who were endeavouring to draw men to Christ; and it would have raised a protest or led to a schism which would certainly have gone on record as plainly at least as did early divisions on matters of less importance. But NO such record is ever found; even those who sought to limit the power itself presupposed its existence, and their very attempt at limitation put them in opposition to the prevalent Catholic belief, as expressed by Paul in:
Moreover, if confession had been instituted by the Church it would be possible to demonstrate the DATE of its institution. No such demonstration can be made. All the historical testimonies imply that it is an institution which goes back to Divine ordinance.
The Didache ( 98-120) says: "Sunday, when we meet, proceed to the fraction of the bread, then give thanks, after having confessed your sins, so you'd have offered a pure sacrifice."
(Didache, Nº 14).
Regarding the format, the start of individual private confession as practiced by Irish priest led to the widespread establishment of such practice throughout the Universal Church in the 12th. Century.
Furthermore, The Fourth Lateran Council (1215) defined the already existing duty of confession more closely by prescribing yearly confessions.
Thanks for your interest!
May God bless your discernment.
@@joecastillo8798 After all that, all I can say is , I do not see any reference by the apostles or any believers going to someone other than Jesus to confess their sins to. Jesus is our high priest and there is no office of priest in the new testament. Sin, confession ,sacrifice ,priest, is all old testament and in the new it is repent ,be baptized ,and confess your sins to Jesus who died once and for all to take away the sacrifice with His own blood being spilled for us. There is no need for someone to stand in the place of Christ to confess to.
2 Cor 5: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
reconciliation
the restoration of friendly relations.
the action of making one view or belief compatible with another.
So our reconciliation efforts are not to do with sin as God is shown here to be dealing with sin through Christ.
@@bobloblawb2593
Bob,
As you know, "Sola Scriptura" is not taught by Jesus or His Apostles. In fact, not everything is written in the Bible, John reminds you of that.
However, there is ONE thing, written several times, which Jesus said, but you and the more than 68,000 protestant churches and sects choose to ignore. Why is that?
The problem i see is when people confess their sins to a sinful priest , how do you expect people to change ?! No priest can change a persons heart , only Jesus can forgive sin and change a heart . Religion is futile it is only steeped in tradition rituals , idols and false symbols !