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Refutation of Excuses of Those who Don’t Come to Confession Homily Saturday, September 15, and Sunday, September 16, 2007, 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time, C Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish, Emmett; Sacred Heart Parish, Yale
(Outline only)
I. Introduction A. John Chrysostom: "Priests have received a power which God has given neither to angels nor to archangels. It was said to them: ‘Whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever you shall loose, shall be loosed.’ Temporal rulers have indeed the power of binding; but they can only bind the body. Priests, in contrast, can bind with a bond which pertains to the soul itself and transcends the very heavens. Did [God] not give them all the powers of heaven? ‘Whose sins you shall forgive,’ he says, ‘they are forgiven them; whose sins you shall retain, they are retained.’ What greater power is there than this? The Father has given all judgment to the Son. And now I see the Son placing all this power in the hands of men [Matt. 10:40; John 20:21–23]. They are raised to this dignity as if they were already gathered up to heaven" (The Priesthood 3:5 [A.D. 387]). B. Reasons why people don’t go to confession 1. This sacrament is rooted in the mission God gave to Christ in his capacity as the Son of man on earth to go and forgive sins (cf. Matt. 9:6). 2. Thus, the crowds who witnessed this new power "glorified God, who had given such authority to men" (Matt. 9:8; note the plural "men"). II. Refutation of Three Excuses A. It makes me feel guilty/bad when they go to confession… or despair, I’m a disasters 1. The opposite: if you’re honest and true, then your conscience is cleaned 2. Sins are truly taken away B. I confess to God alone 1. The prodigal son didn’t confess just to God; he didn’t even confess to God; he confessed to his Father. 2. The Didache: “Confess your sins in church, and do not go up to your prayer with an evil conscience. This is the way of life. . . . On the Lord’s Day gather together, break bread, and give thanks, after confessing your transgressions so that your sacrifice may be pure” (Didache 4:14, 14:1 [A.D. 70]). 3. "Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven" (Matt. 18:18). 4. Ambrose of Milan "For those to whom [the right of binding and loosing] has been given, it is plain that either both are allowed, or it is clear that neither is allowed. Both are allowed to the Church, neither is allowed to heresy. For this right has been granted to priests only" (Penance 1:1 [A.D. 388]). III. It’s not in the scriptures A. John 20:20-23, to the Apostles: “He whose sins you forgive, are forgiven them; and he whose sins you retain, are retained” B. Echo of this here: 2 Cor 5:18-20: “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God, was reconciled the world to himself, not counting his trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. So we are ambassadors for Christ, God making this appeal through us. We beseech you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” C. It’s NOT in the scriptures to NOT confess 1. King David confessed to Nathan after he slept with Barsheeba 2. Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, for lying and laundering, and he struck them dead for not confessing Acts 5 IV. Conclusion A. Recapitulation B. Exhortation
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