I prefer to use the word confession for some reason, so I will use that word rather than what most people are using which is reconciliation. I am very out of date with these kinds of things. I want to draw your attention to it and why Catholic practise it. Many Protestant disagree with it. And I did too when I was a Protestant. The thing is God was very gracious to me, because He granted me a grace to show me God is truly present in the priest during confession. When the priest absolves your sins, he is doing it through the grace God has given to all His priest. It is not the priest that absolves you from your sins, it is Jesus that is working in him, and through him.

Before I could join the Catholic Church there was no way around it, I had to say my confession before I was allowed to be confirmed into the Catholic Church. When I finished my confession, the priest then spoke the words of absolution. I felt and saw the grace called sanctification and it was so strong! Pouring out of the priest mouth and onto me. There was no way I could deny it.

Another thing that really impressed me was, the particular church I use to go to; the one that I grew up in; I never heard the word sanctification before, it was a new word for me. Yet while the priest spoke, the exact word came to me and I knew what it meant. The priest didn’t say the word, it was the Holy Spirit that said it. I have had other experiences from God teaching me that He is truly present in a priest while he is listening to our confessions. I don’t understand why Protestants find it so difficult to believe?  They know that Jesus lives in all born again Christians. why wouldn’t He live in a priest especially while the priest is conducting a service on God’s behalf? It is not the priest ability to free us from our sins, it is a grace that God has given to them for our benefit. It is very similar to the belief that Jesus has given us His authority to heal the sick, cast out devils and so on in His name.

I really wish Protestants would read of the countless testimonies that Catholics have reported over the centuries. I believe most Protestant would see Catholics beliefs with new eyes. There are always sceptics that can’t believe in anything, but if you are one with God you do sense His Spirit present when people of God are giving their testimonies of their experiences of Him. Because the Spirit of Truth comes from God and can be sensed by people who can discern Him.

Ask God When You Are in Doubt

I firmly believe what God says to a Protestants and Catholics are sometimes different things, because God knows what you are open too and can handle. And He does not force new teachings on you if you are not willing to learn from Him. You can always ask God to open your eyes so that you can understand truths that you don’t understand or have not yet been introduced to. You can guarantee, like all of us, we don’t know as much as we think we do. We in fact know so little about God and His ways. We are always learning new secrets about God.

I believe without a doubt in heaven we will keep learning for the whole of eternity, and it would be such a joy to learn about how wonderful God is. Jesus said ‘seek and you shall find.’ I don’t think many Christians really seek out the truth in real earnest that much, we are so sure we know it all. We are all too proud to listen to what God is saying through people that we consider ourselves superior too. God shares His secrets to the humble. He raises the lowly and humbles the proud. We must pray for humility all the time, if we want to recognise what God is saying in people. Some of us are blocking God’s will for ever happening, because we are so sure we are right and everybody else is wrong. I believe Protestants and Catholic both have something to give one another, because God does talk to both of us. Always has.

Reasons for Going to Confession

James 1:5. If you need wisdom ask our generous God, and He will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.

My mother had a vision once. She was a Catholic from birth, but she didn’t understand the reason why Catholics had to go to confession. Her argument was if we repent of our sins and believe that Jesus has paid the price for our sins on the cross, why should we have to go to confession? It is basically what Protestants believe. She asked God and Jesus appeared to her and He was not angry with her for asking Him, nor was He upset of her ignorance. He was smiling at her and said ‘it is because you don’t believe, that you need to go to confession.’

Let’s be honest how many Christians can honestly say they believe with all their hearts God forgives all their sins. Despite the fact we believe Jesus died for us, our faith levels are not always perfect. We have to deal with Satan for one thing, trying to convince us constantly that God doesn’t love us and He will not forgive that sin. The one that we worry about the most, the one that keeps coming back and haunting us. That is why Jesus said to my mother you need to go to confession, because you don’t believe I love you enough to forgive you.

After you go to confession you do feel like a load has been lifted off your shoulders and sometimes you experiences a miracle for going, because God is so please that you have confess a sin that was particularly hard for you. God does bless us when we go to confession. It is also very humbling to tell a priest about your sins. There are sins you don’t want to tell anybody especially to a priest. I know one priest complain to me, about priest having to go to confession because they have to go to one another to confess their sins. In other words he was saying it is much harder for them, because they know one another and have to work with one another.