"CONFESSING DIRECTLY TO GOD" - Alternatives to Confessing to a Priest? - Catholic Precept #2 

Thank you Father Nicholas for occupying a little part of the internet with credible and trustworthy leadership. You are a true pastor.

I'm not a great catholic, I have much room for improvement, but I know for a fact somewhere in the gospels it says Jesus breathed on the apostles, giving them the power to forgive sins. I'm sure Jesus, who is God, didn't do this expecting it to end there. Like I said, I'm no brain scientist, but it's clear to me Jesus expected this gift to continue for as long as man exist on earth.

It's always a comfort to listen the Words of Jesus. Thank you father.

Confession is good for the soul . A great sacrament of the church.

I know when I have sinned because my deed accuses me and I am not at peace...

I'm truly extremely heartbroken now that I cannot have confession in person right now... terrified but praying to God that my sins will be forgiven in these terrifying times now.

Father Nathan, I came across this homily of yours I saved in 2019. Still beautiful and impactful. Sometimes The Father puts things in my path that I need to pay attention to. This is a reminder of his great goodness and mercy. Thank you. Prayers for your good health and happiness. Today I attend Light of the world Church.

Yes ,that is true . But what if the church does not provide much opportunity to go to confession ? In my parish ,there is no opportunity, we have a ' travelling' priest that goes from parish to parish , we can only celebrate communion every 14 days . This is all by lack of priests , which makes the churches become empty. So I also am not a perfect catholic ,but I love my Lord very much and I put my trust in Him . I am convinced ,as my Father knows what is in my heart, He will forgive my sins. Peace to all , from Belgium ❤❤🇧🇪🙏🙏

I haven’t been to confession in too long , its just been that long I I’m scared to go back , I recently got a thought to open a random page in the bible(I haven’t opened a bible since I was about 13/14 I’m 23 now) and the verse I stumbled on was so powerful to me, I want to get back to god but I’m struggling with everything in life and the weight of the world is pulling me in and holding me down

Very good video. I just went to confession after 10 years of being away from the church. I wish I would’ve done it sooner. And I can’t help but share with my friends and family that are away from the Church. But I first ask God to help me, to open the door. If it doesn’t feel right then I stop.

There was a time when I resisted going to confession. Several years ago I got real sick and almost died. It changed me. I no longer have a fear of confession. It is a wonderful sacrament that I go to willingly about once a month because it offers so much grace. I want salvation.

Thank you Father I feel so strengthened in my faith.😇😇😇😇😇😇😇

As Bill W. would say, unless one has admitted one's faults out loud to another human being, one's spiritual house cleaning remains largely theoretical.

Thank you so much Father for clearing that up.

For some people, Confessing to God through our Lord Jesus Christ, when they are really and truly serious about it can be much more personal and a lot more difficult. Great video Father Nicholas!

So clear! I always knew about apostolic succession. You went beyond. Thank you Father for making it so clear why we need to confess to a priest.

I love the Sacrament of Confession. As Jesus said to Saint Faustina, "know this, that the priest is just a screen and it I. Myself, who is waiting for you, and it is I, Myself, who will act in your soul. For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world. Jesus, I trust in you.

I’m a nondenominational Christian that is seeking the truth of how to uphold everything Christ left for us to follow. With that being said, I find it very difficult to understand how the Catholic Church operates when it comes to the confession of sins and all of the other teachings. If someone could please provide me with their understanding of how you can go to a priest and ask for the forgiveness of sins when we have a means of being able to speak to the Father through the Son by the Holy Spirit. What’s more confounding is even after being forgiven of your sins you are not guaranteed your salvation because you must undergo a spiritual purging in what is known as purgatory. Finally, to take it one step further, while your spirit dwells in purgatory you must rely on people on earth to pray for your spirit to enter heaven along with indulgences (paying your way into heaven).

James is probably my favorite book in the Bible. James was not afraid to speak the truth. He kept it short but sweet. I think why so many Protestant denominations leave out James is because of views on works and faith and confession. They see it as too Catholic I guess, but it says part of Scripture, Catholic or not. Before I converted to Catholic, I never heard a preacher ever even mention James. No matter what Church that I attended.

The problem with requiring confession to a priest is that the priest will limit his availability to a few hours on a few specified days, which may not, indeed usually does not, fit the confessor's schedule, whereas God is always available.

Please pray for me . I am fighting with my depression please do pray for me

So as a Protestant, I have no problem with someone confessing to a priest as we are supposed to confess to others (although I don't think you always have to confess to another person for the following reasons) . I do have a problem with a person _having_ to confess to a priest specifically. Every believer in Christ as Lord and Saviour is indwelt with the Holy Spirit. When the veil was torn at Jesus' death, the divide between people and God was broken and we no longer need a priest as middle man between God and us. All believers are themselves temples of the Holy Spirit, and the kingdom of God is a kingdom of priests. A person in vocational ministry is not closer to God in any way. So I think we can confess to a priest, to a brother or sister in faith, or to God directly, following the guidance of the Holy Spirit as to which we should do. Thanks for this video and your perspective, I like to learn about what other Christians believe.

Thank you Fr. Be Blessed in your work of God.

Wow this was great. And unfortunately my husband pointed out something I said, and then I hear JAMES 1:26. I feel like this video was laid in my lap. It has been since Easter the last time I went to confession. I know where I am headed this weekend. Thank you Fr.

I endeavour to go to confession once a week where possible. Thank you, Fr. It's lovely to see a priest in his proper apparel. I wish more of you dressed like this even in the open; so many souls would be saved that way. Pax.

After 42 years I went to confession. Stubbornness and pride kept me from going. In the past I have confessed sins directly to God. If I’m truly honest with myself, I didn’t go to the priest because of my ego and shame. Humbling myself I went to seek forgiveness. We know God is with us and He forgives us because He loves us, but we can’t physically touch or see Him. We have only ourselves to hold us accountable and sin no more. We are fleshy and weak. The act of confession to the priest or one another holds us accountable if we’re truly sorry for the sins. I had not seen these videos before but I appreciate they are available for those that are not able to get to the church.

if you go to confession properly you will be in the state of grace for a while then your actions will be deemed good, it is most important ! it is only in a state of grace that we can be in God's grace !

The Bible tells us in 1 John 1:8-9 But if we confess our sins to God, he will keep his promise and do what is right: he will forgive us our sins and purify us from all our wrongdoing. Through faith or believe in God's Word is my guarantee that my sins are/were forgiven. Hebrews 11:1 To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see. Hebrews 11:6 No one can please God without faith, for whoever comes to God must have faith that God exists and rewards those who seek him. Psalms 103:12 12 As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our sins from us.

Confessing to God's Holy Priests is True Humility !!!!! Amen

Pray an act of perfect contrition everyday

The Sacrament of Confession heals our souls. Jesus pours out a torrent of graces on us through this sacrament of His mercy. Through the words of the priest Jesus counsels us, comforts us and forgives us. I will be ever grateful for Jesus' Divine Mercy.

So many arguments , excuses and attempts to interpret ( or misinterpret) scripture in order avoid confessing our sins to a priest. This is scandalous ! Are people so ignorant of Jesus' words in Matthew 18:18 ? Dear Rev. Fr. one of your homilies gave me so much confidence and the grace to make my confession, which I am determined to make a regular habit of. Thank you so much and God bless you for the very simple and inspiring sermons.

2 Corinthians 5:18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation.

Praise The Lord . I am your new subscriber Fr. William my best wishes from (Holy land)Israel and India to your channel 🙏

Yes Sir as I gave testimony to the fact that our Soul has a target to Jesus crucified on the Cross

I am just returning to faith after 35 or more years of living totally in the world. I haven't taken confession in over 30 years, any suggestions on doing my first confession in decades? I don't remember every sin but I know I have broken every commandment in one way or another.

I was a catholic, and I still remember instruction that confessors should , before going to the priest, first confess their sins to God in repentance, where God Himself undo our sins, so that when we kneel before the priest, we just might end up getting his counseling, which is salient.

I confessed my sins to a priest today and felt relieved. However, in between confessions I pray to God through Jesus for our sins with the help of the Holy Ghost to allow us the ability of the perfect penance just in case we die in our sleep with an unknown mortal sin.

I went to Catholic schools since I was nine years old. The priests and nuns were wonderful, I was aloud to be left by my mom at the convent, due to we had just left Cuba and were trauma from leaving our family behind. Without Mary accepting The Holy Spirit there would be no Jesus. Mary is as important as Jesus who is God incarnate. I certainly do not judge for fear of being judged nor do I like if someone says something about my mom so let’s respect God’s mother.

Thank you Father, Praise be JESUS and MARY...

Thank you ever so much Fr. William for your much detailed and informative explanation about confessing our sins to a priest to receive God's forgiveness. It is really sad to know that more and more Catholics shy away from obeying this one of the most vital Sacred Sacraments. More so being disobeyed by those whom they called themselves as non practicing Catholics. There is no such thing as practicing nor non practicing. It's either you are a devoted and a dedicated Catholic or you are not. (No judgment here, just observations). For the most part, those who don't adhere to the Sacrament of Confession lack the complete understanding of its valuable meaning. There are so many factors contributing to this lack of understanding. 1.) Fear of Confidentiality - Most are still doubtful about the oath of secrecy that their sins would not be divulged. They still believe that when they confess their sins to the priest that the same priest would tell others about their sins. 2.) Lack of knowledge about the whole concept of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. In Hosea 4:6, it says, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." And so it is. There is no excuse for ignorance especially now with our technological world where you can always search and found out for yourself or the easiest and simplest way is just ask your priest. 3.) Feeling of Embarrassment. This I do understand but when one completely realized from this Sacrament of Healing the rewards of being free by absolution, it is a glorious feeling knowing that whatever it is that is pricking your conscience is gone and that you know that you do have the love of God and His mercy all along, you would not have missed this for the world. 4.) Unpleasant previous personal experienced. This is an individual situation which I believe can be resolved by continuous praying, fasting and eventually would lead to an awareness of the importance of confession to the priest. 5.) Pride. This is one character trait that most of us have one way or another. There is a feeling of 'for lack of a better word,' ignorance because of self righteousness attitude and thinking that the priest is just another person and why should they go to them and confess their sins. They have to quite understand that priests are God's Shepherds, Holy Men, Anointed Holy Men and not just ordinary human beings. Again, Hosea 4:6. So many misunderstandings about this topic and one can only renew their outlook about it through their own will if they so desired. No one is forced to do anything, that is against to one's will, a betrayal to oneself. All in all, at the end, we all have to answer to only one Source and hopefully we are all ready when that time comes. Having said these, I do go for monthly confession and that for me should be more than that. Why? We are all human beings, we are all sinners and there's never a moment that we have to think that we never sin so we do not need to go for confession to a priest. Through the priest we received pardon and be reborn, renewed and purified. Thank you once again Fr.William and may the blessings of the Lord be upon you now and forevermore.

We only have 1 hour a week assigned for a 1500+ congregation. And sometimes you can't make it to that hour.

Extremely well explained Father. My attitude is that we confess our sins/ admit our sinfulness directly to God on a daily basis, but I believe that I need to confess my sins to My Priest to receive absolution from an Authourotive Religious Figure. I feel better admitting my sins to a Priest in addition to asking God’s forgiveness every night. That is just my mindset. Neville J.

Thank you so much for your information. View the person who consume spirits over limited level can't be representative of God. They themselves may have wrong doing without declare. So myself confess likely to whom I trust and mostly I confess directly to God. But there are many good priest around the world.

This is an excellent explanation! In light of what father said in the video, I would like to also add that Jesus Himself gave His apostles the ability to forgive sins when He breathed on them the Holy Spirit, which has been handed down up to this very day. People don’t do the research of the early church, yet want to call the Catholic Church the hoar of Babylon, and all kinds of other lies.

Reverend Sir you are right one cannot profess to be a Catholic if one deviate from Catholic practices. Indeed we need to be encouraged to adhere to what it takes to be a Catholic.

I can't believe he calls confessing to Jesus an alternative . We all have intercession directly with divine persons through the saving grace of Jesus death and rising from the grave. Thanks to this ,we have direct access to the Father.

Interesting and insightful interpretation. Thank you, Father.

I need to confess I haven't been to confession for years ! Yet I attend mass weekly. 😏 Thank you Father .

Confession humbles us

Fr. Nicholas, I’ve been in total quarantine since last March. God forbid anything should happen to me, and the Lord calls me home without being able to have a priest hear my confession? Have been viewing daily Mass since March and doing my spiritual communion. But still concerned. Am sure am not the only senior under this circumstance because of Covid-19. Please keep me in your prayers Fr.. God bless you. Truly enjoyed this video. Thank you.

When you can not go to confession, because of outside problems rather than religious reasons, confessing directly to God is the only solution. It is the only solution until you can get to confession and receive physical absolution from the priest.

Oh and thanks for the James bit. I didn't know about that.

Just as how we need a doctor to heal our physical body, we need the priests for spiritual healing and forgiveness of sins.

Confession without repentance is a joke Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord. Acts 3:19

Hebrews 12:14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:

Bravo!!! what a perfect explanation. Thanks for this enlightening bible referral.

God, please forgive me for my sins for watching adult websites online and smoking weed please forgive me god and jesus, Amen

The New Testament also says that all believers are priests of the New Covenant. That now instead of having to go through human intermediaries as we did in times past that there is only one intermediary between God and man. The man Christ Jesus. That is why the Temple Curtain that separated the Holy of Holies from all but the High Priest once a year was rent in 2 from top to bottom (From Heaven to Earth) to show that now every man through Christ was acceptable to the Father through Christ Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit. I understand that men continue to want to insert themselves between man and God but what God has done let no man presume to undo. So is a priest of the New covenant enabled by the sacrifice of Christ and empowered and marked by the Holy Spirit by the will of the Father a lesser priest than one that an institution of man has raised up?

According to my Bible in Psalms 32:6 Now I say that each believer should confess his sins to God when he is aware of them, while there is time to be forgiven. Judgment will not touch him if he does.

Still doesn’t clear up the channel of having to go through a priest to have him upchannel my confessions to Jesus. Where in the Bible does it say that I have to go to a priest? No trying to be smart. Just seeking answers

I love Catholic logic

The letter to The Romans says there is one mediator between God and man the man Christ Jesus. How does the Catholic church reconcile that verse with the idea if priestly confession.

Years ago, maybe 25, I heard a Catholic Priest say "If you save a soul, you save your own". I never heard that saying before. I then discussed what the priest had said years ago to a former Catholic friend who is now a devout "protestant" (I'm still trying to get him back). When I told my friend what the priest said, my friend who is a lawyer said, "no way". I disagreed with him because I felt the Priest was correct, but I had no "persuasive authority" to support what I was told" "If you save a soul, you save your own". Now, after watching this video, I know the priest from years ago was correct. He cited St. James as authority. BTW, I can see how there is confusion in the understanding by what St. James wrote but I believe in the plain meaning of statements and it seems to me there would be less importance if what St. James wrote did not apply to the person doing the "saving act" of bringing a person back to the grace of God.

We can make an act of Perfect Contrition out of the Love of God and our sins are forgiven. I know this applies supposedly to when we can't see a priest but to me it shouldn't be conditional.

I read in the gospel of Luke " And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, “Who is this man who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

Also for confessions St Matthew 9:1to 8 /St John 20:21-23 /2 Corinthians 5:18 - 20

Too many cafeteria Catholics these days :(

One of the reasons people don't go to confession as much as they should are limited times that churches have them, I.e. One hurried hour before the Saturday evening Mass. I wonder why more priests don't have them say, 30 minutes before daily or Sunday Mass. Also, I know priests are terribly busy, yet Confessions don't seem to be heard either on Holy Thursdsy or Holy Saturday. Why is this? The his isn't an excuse for not going, but I believe if more priests did this and announced it from the pulpit it may change as its not emphasized as much.

I'm a newly baptized 55 year old with a 38 year old bad smoking habit......I guess this is going to be really annoying to my dear Priest . Please pray for me .

John 14:6 makes it pretty clear that Christ is the way, I don't see anywhere in that verse where Jesus says “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through a priest."

If churches expected every Catholic to go to Confession, then they would allot more than 1 hour a week for it. For example, most parishes only have 30 - 60 mins on Friday and Saturday each week for Confession time where there are 1000's of members!!!! Each confession lasts 15-30 mins!!

People do like to pick and choose what the Church teaches. It's all or nothing...

I had a negative experience last time I went to confession that I have never gone again. I confess my sins directly to God. The problem is finding a non-judgemental priest

Well yes James is right , I feel zero devotion when I don t control my tongue .i feel uneasy to confess over and over again this sin. But I never recieve communion if I don t confess,Never.because a priest explained and showed me in the new testament that it will have a reverse effect on me and hurt me. Indeed

I dont see the debate between Paul in Ephesians, "Saved by Grace thru Faith, & not by our works " & Book of James, "Faith w/ out works is dead". Its very clear that were saved by The Grace of God thru Faith in Jesus & a result of our Faith is works or fruit otherwise our faith is stagnant, Faith is a gift from God so we dont hide it but we live it in Thanksgiving to God by The Holy Name of The King of Kings & Lord of Lords Christ Jesus. He is our mediator between us & The Father, The Shepard & Overseer of our souls

My husband is Catholic and goes to confession and maybe feels better for a few days if lucky a couple of weeks . We have 11 children living of whom he supports none . He moved out 6 years ago and is complaining and unhappy. I feed him allow him to come read his daily readings here yet hes always got issues with everyone except himself ! If confession to a priest is right then why is he never happy?? His anger turns people off there's nothing attractive about that attitude!!

The way iread it is you confess to God when you are examining your conscience,then you confess to the priest but your sorrow being directed to God,

I enjoy deleting the EOC list from my smartphone after my penance.

Martin Luther considered excluding the Book of James from the Protestant "canon" because he considered it an "Epistle of straw". Truth is, there's no right way to do something wrong and anything easy is rarely worth it.

Also Protestant churches offer Confession and in my church (Lutheran) we have confession of sin and general absolution in the liturgy. But for Catholics it seems like a virtue to go to confession often and for Protestants it is a virtue not to go to confession often...It's not good at all if we constantly fall in the same sin.

I understand the psycologicole need to confess my sins to a priest. But I don't get the "have to".

...the bible plainly states...."who can forgive sins but GOD ALONE"! that is why this roman catholic teaching of confessing sins to a priest is so damnable. The only justifiable reason a roman catholic ........has to confess his sins to a priest is NOT because of a demand that God places on a believer but because it is a DEMAND by the roman catholic church as stated in their own catechism of the catholic church and in their code of canon law.......how sad the truth of this has not been given to roman catholic believers! Where in the bible does it say that a priest has been given the power of a mediator or otherwise, to forgive sins? Nowhere to be found in the bible. Jesus is our Great High Priest, He is the one we should make our appeal to God.

I grew up a catholic, but now often attend another church , we always confess our sins to God , the Bible says thats ok ...

This is a question I wrestle with as a Protestant. I’ve never experienced anyone confessing sins to one another in the church family. I believe we are missing out by not doing this and it’s encouraging if we can practice this. It greatly saddens me that I don’t see see this lived out. It definitely makes me wonder if there really is a need for a priest but then how can we get past the fear of not trusting in the priest?

SEEK THE TRUTH PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW AND UNDERSTAND THAT CONFESSION IS A SACREMENT! PEOPLE DO NOT KNOW THE IMPORTANCE AND THE EFFECT OF CONFESSION! ONCE EVERYONE UNDERSTANDS THAT CONFESSION IS A SACRAMENT THEY WILL UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF CONFESSION! JUST LIKE BAPTISM, COMMUNION, MARRIAGE, ETC.

The church needs to redo how the sacrament is celebrated and look to the past before the time Irish secluded monks in effect gave us confession as we know it today.

If our faults are not spoken aloud to another human being, our spiritual house cleaning remains largely theoretical.

I Worship JESUS for He instituted the Seven Blessed Sacrament of His Holy Roman Catholic Church Amen

I have twist on that topic.. what happens ( as did to me) when the priest says " I cannot offer you absolution" I am involved with a man. What then ? I guess my soul is lost since I cannot have absolution..

I am catholic, but when i had my baby i wanted a church that has a sunday school so my son can get used to other children. So i went to a baptiste church that wasn't far from where i live. One day the pastor asked what was the catholic church teaching about the Eucharist? I told him and he said no the catholic church believe is like killing Jesus again because they say iit become the body and blood. I wasn't sure if he was right and all the pandemic has strengthened my faith because i saw many videos on RU-vid explaining the Catholic faith. Happy new 2021

What about a man who confesses directly to God, because as a young man in a confessional the priest's conduct was lewd?

Good explanation.... 🙏

I like confession because I know that I'm talking to God and Jesus are there . Through the priest I get Godly suggestions, and then food for thought. I just pray I can start going back to church and confession plus mass.

It isn't at all clear that people generally are afraid to judge others. On the contrary, judgement of others is much more common than refraining from judgement, though we are epressly required not to judge.

I love Penance Because this Are so liberating in a Godly way to Confess our Sins ! Holy Jesus Truly Saves Amen

St. James ... Pray for us to Our Almighty Father

Exactly! I can always hear your prayers.

…15 And the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick. The Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he 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 man has great power to prevail. 17 Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.… So if I confess my sins to you the priest will you in turn confess your sins to me so that we might be healed?

My sins...where do i begin?