"These things they will do because they have not known the Father nor me." St. John, 16:3.
It happened on a train speeding west from Kansas City. My question was calm and quiet until we came to the subject of confession. Then he blurted out the common objection: "Only God can forgive sin. You know, Father, you are not God. No doubt you are a better man than I am, but you are still human. I have as much power to forgive sin as any other man."
My answer was: "Suppose your own brother would commit a cold blooded murder here in Kansas. And suppose he was condemned to hang for his crime. Could you pardon him?"
"I should say not."
"Could the governor pardon him?" I went on.
My friend hesitated before he gave this answer: "Sure, he could. He's the governor. He has that power."
"But didn't you say," I objected, "that you could forgive a crime just as much as any other man?"
"Yes," he replied, "but this is different. As a man, the governor can't pardon a murderer. But as Governor of Kansas he can. That is a power of his office."
I went on to exp}ain that this same difference holds in forgiving sin. As a mere man the priest has no more power than anybody else. As the agent of God he has received from the Almighty the power to forgive sin.
As God Christ forgave sin. As God He gave that power to others. Twice before His resurrection Christ gave the power of pardoning. In St. Matthew, 16:19, we read: "And I will give thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Two chapters later our Lord repeats the same grant in the same words.
But later He tells them in words that cannot be questioned: "Receive the Holy Spirit; whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained." St. Matthew, 20:23. From that moment the Apostles and their successors, the bishops and priests of the Catholic Church, have forgiven sins. Confession was not invented a year or a hundred years or twelve centuries later. From the very first Easter the leaders of Christ's Church had that power.
The early Church had many regulations regarding confession. These rules are still in force. Confession must be made to a "duly authorized priest." This means that a priest must have authority from the bishop of the diocese. However, in case of necessity as in danger of death, any priest may absolve any sinner anywhere of any sin.
In addition to being ordained and having authority the confessor must have knowledge and prudence. The priest is better prepared than any other to guide and direct the individual soul. With his years of study of philosophy and theology and related subjects, he has one of the best professional educations in the world. He knows the Bible; he knows psychology; he knows history; he knows the law of God; he knows the horror of sin, and he knows the weakness of human nature; he has a complete, scientific knowledge of faith and morals. Over and above all this he has the Christgiven power to forgive sin through Jesus Christ.
Furthermore, the priest is personally interested. Ordinarily he does not know and does not want to know who the sinner is. But that priest is responsible before God for that soul. What the priest says or doesn't say, even the way he says it, may decide the salvation of a soul. That is a tremendous responsibility, which Mother Church protects in every possible way.
Outstanding among these protections is what we call "the seal of confession." The lips of the priest are sealed forever. Although one should not do it, just suppose a man came to confession and told the priest: "Father, I'm John Smith and I murdered three people yesterday." The priest would not be allowed to betray that sinner in the slightest way, by word or sign or any other means. Even at the risk of death or the threat of death, the lips of the priest are sealed forever. And the courts respect this professional secrecy.
It has been the glory and story of the Catholic confessional that at no time has a priest betrayed a person who confessed. Some priests, like St. John Nepomucene, suffered cruel death rather than reveal what a certain sinner had told them in confession. By the "seal of confession" your sins are sealed forever in the heart of the priest, which in turn is sealed forever in the limitless heart of God.
But suppose your parish priest knows you. And suppose you have some shameful, delicate sin to confess. What does he think of you? I'll tell you what he thinks of you: He is proud of you. Not because you committed the sin, but because you have the faith and courage and trust to tell that sin..
Occasionally you will meet a confessor who is sharp and short in his advice and directions. He may even give you a spiritual spanking. He should be kind. However, aside from the fact that the priest is still human and subject to impatience, weariness, jangled nerves and even unkindness, he often speaks sternly with the sole desire of awakening the soul before him to realize the horror of sin and the beauty of following Christ.
The priest in the confessional is a judge. You are the accused and you are the accuser. A judge must follow the law.
The priest is a teacher; he must tell you what is right and what is wrong; he must tell you what you may do and what you may not do.
The priest is a physician. He has the power and duty of healing the wounds of your sins. Put yourself trustingly in his hands.
The priest is a father. He helps you make up for your sins in this life to avoid punishment hereafter.
People make little and even make fun of confession. To them might be applied the words of Christ: "These things they will do because they have not known the Father nor me." Such do not know the mercy of God. We do. We have shared that mercy through the agent of God, the priest. Amen.
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Adapted from Talks on the Sacraments
by Fr. Arthur Tonne,OFM (© 1947)
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