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Show lj TE3TMT PJECTIPS I : . ; - TO CATHOLIC MOTPES, : J4. ..f 4444444444444-ft4f f'"'t La B. Why do Catholics confess their sins to a priest? Ed. Because it is the only way in which sins committed after baptism can be remitted. La B. Why do you say the "only-way?" "only-way?" Ed. Because Christ said to his apostles, apos-tles, and through them to the ministers minis-ters of his church. "Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven, and whatsoever ye shall .loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven." (Matth. xviii, 18.) Again. Christ thus addressed His disciples: dis-ciples: "As the Father hath sent Me, I also send you Receive ye the Holy Ghost; whose sins ye shall forgive, they are forgiven them, and whose sins ye shall retain, they are retained. re-tained. (John xx. 21.) . Now, from these texts it follows that, after this commission to remit or retain sins had been given to the ministers min-isters of the church, sins could not be forgiven except through their ministry. They had not only the power to remit sine, but also the power to retain sine that is, to refuse to remit, and Christ assured them that what they refused to remit would not be remitted in Heaven. In the above commission God binds Himself to ratify( the action of His ministers acting in His name. He could I which the sinner could be reconciled to Him, but He has willed to appoint the method indicated in the above commission.. commis-sion.. It is not for sinners to impeach His wisdom or goodness. They should be grateful that He left any method. They should bow with rrofound submission sub-mission to His will, and .make use of the means He has left us whereby we may be reconciled to Him. La B. But how doe3 this prove the necessity of confession? Ed. The power of remitting or retaining re-taining requires him who possesses it to pass a judgment. To pass a judgment judg-ment the judge must know the subject sub-ject matter on which the judgment is to be passed. This subject matter is j the sins of the sinner. He cannot know these sins unless the sinner confesses them. Hence the necessity of confession. confes-sion. La B. Is there any eviderice in the Scriptures for confession? Ed. Certainly, Both in the Old and New Testaments. It'is expressly commanded com-manded by God in the following words: j "And the Lord spake unto Moses, say- 1 ing," spe-ak unto the children of Israel, when a man or a woman shall commit com-mit any sin that men commit, to do a trespass against the Lord, and that person be guilty: Then they shall conies con-ies their sin which they have done. (Numbers v, 5-6.) "And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said unto David, the Lord also hath 1 put away thy sin." (II Samuel, 12-13.) Here David confessed to Nathan according ac-cording to the precept of Moses, and God forgave him. "Be not ashamed to confess thy sins, but submit not thyself to every man for sin. (Ecclesiasticus iv, 31. La B. But Ecclesiasticus is an apocryphal apo-cryphal book. It is not inspired Scripture and not to be found in the Protestant Bible. Ed. True, it is not in the Protestant Bible, and that constitutes one of the great defects of the Protestant Bible. All the Christians in the world, except the Protestants, recognize this book as (a part of the Scriptures. They recognized recog-nized it from the beginning. What right had the reformers to reject a book that was recognized by all Christian antiquity? None whatever. But why do you say It is not inspired? La B. Because the reformers rejected reject-ed it. Ed. Were the reformers infallible? La B. No. Ed. Then they might have rejected an inspired book? La B. Certainly, they may have i erred. , Ed. Then their rejection of the book means nothing. La B. But it was not in the Jewish canon. 1 Ed. Pray how could it be in the Jewish canon when it was written centuries cen-turies 1 after the Jewish canon was formed by Esdras or Ezra? But enough of this for the present; we will have much to say on the Eible when we come to that subject. La B. But the text you have quoted says: "Submit ; not thyself to every man for sin." Ed. That is one of the reasons why Catholics do not go gadding about and telling, or pretending to tell, their sins to every man. They confess their sins only to some men, that is, to the I priests, who alone have, received the commission to hear and remit them. La B. Are there any other Scripture texts on this subject? Ed. Certainly. "And many that believed be-lieved came, and confessed and showed their deeds." (Acts 19-18.) "If we confess con-fess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins, and to cleanse ua from all unrighteousness." (I John 1-9.) "And there went out unto him all the land of Judea. and they of Jerusalem, confessing their sins." (Mark 1-5.) La B. ' If confession is so clearly proved from Scripture, why is it that Catholics alone believe it, and that all Protestants reject it? Ed. My, dear sir, that is one of the questions which the philosopher Herbert Her-bert Spencer would refer to as the unknowable, un-knowable, or as Lord Dundreary would say: "It is a conundrum that no fellow fel-low can find out." But it Is not true that all Protestants reject confession. It Js held in the Augsburg confession that "particular absolution ought to be retained in confession; that this absolution ab-solution is a true sacrament; that the power of the keys remits sins in the sight cf God.". , In the Common Prayer Book of the Church of England it is ordained that when a minister visits a sick person, "the latter should be moved to make a special confession of his sins, if he feels his conscience troubled with any weighty matter." In the Discipline" of the Methodist. Church, edition of 1833, New York, you can find regulations for Band Societies. The questions that must be put at every meeting are these: "1st.- What sins have you committed since our last meeting? 4th. What have you thought, said, or done,, of which you doubt whether it be a sin or not? j It would be useless 'to quote the early Fathers of the Church to you, as they are of no wesght in your mind. But we will conclude by quoting the words of one whom you respect. You say "Martin Luther was God's chosen instrument' in-strument' to separate darkness from light." If this be your opinion, the words of Luther should convince you of the truth of what he says. Hear. ! then, his words: 1 "The augu.n and holy Sacrame'nt of Penance, that abundant source of grace, is the only means which" the divine di-vine mercy selected to pour grace and consolation into the heart of the sinner, sin-ner, when the Keys were given to St. Peter, the representative of the whole Christian Church, Christ saying to him: 'Whatsoever you. shall bind upon earth.' etc. (Luther,' vol. I. page B", Jena, addition.) I "We most willingly admit that Penan Pen-an ?e, with the power of absolving, or the power of the keys, is a sacrament, becau3e it is founded on the promise of Christ, and grants the remission of sins in His name. (Ibid, vol. 8, page 382.) La. B. But Luther was a Papi?t when he said that. Ed. Not so fast, my dear eir. lie said that in 1546, near thirty years af-I af-I ter he became an instrument of God, 1 as you call him. Again: "In order to prevent any one from accusing me of being opposed to good works, I declare that we ought seriously to be contrite, and to go to confession. "It follows consequently t".at auricular auric-ular confession only extends to positive posi-tive sins, which from- time to tlm awake and disturb the conscience, for If it were necessary to confess every sin without exception, we shouid be obliged every moment to go to confession. con-fession. Nevertheless, it tends very much to Christian perfection to confes3 even our lees we'gfcty sins, especially if our conscience does not reproach us with moral sins. (Luther, vol-l, page ?il.) j "I esteem' auricular confession, as most precious and most salutary. Ah; What would be the affliction of the J Christian if there were no auricular . j confession; how great, therefore, should j be his gratitude to God for having handed it down to us. Auricular ccn- fession is an abundant treasury of graces, wherein God preserves for us, and offersi for us, perpetually. His merry and the remission of all our sins." "There are two powerful motives to make us love confession. The first is the Holy Cross; that is to say, the shame and confusion which a man feels I in disclosing his sins', in accusing and I humbling himself before another man. ? j Neither fasting nor prayer nor Indulgences Indul-gences nor pilgrimages nor sufferings , are so salutary as this shame and con- . fusion, which annihilate -und humble the man so profoundly; that is to ay, which render him so susceptible of . grace. The second motive which should make us lovo confession is the noble and brilliant promise ' of " Jesus Christ, in (St. Matthew, chap. xvi. versa 1!, and chap xviii, verse 18). Amen- I say unto you, whatsoever you shall bind upon earth, shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever you shall loose upon earth shall be loosed in heaven. And in (St. John, chap, xx 23): 'Whose sins you shall forgive, they are for- . given.' (Luther, vol 1. page 512). I Vnn- sir if cnneiflpr T.llth)T- an. It ! instrument in the hands of God, to I throw light upon the world, ponder I well the eloquent words we have quot- I ed, and you will conclude that the in- I stitution of Penance? and Confession is not a proper subject for your Irreverent Irrev-erent ridicule. . " . j La B. There are some other objections objec-tions I have to make to confession. I Ed. Very well, sir; you shall have 1 an opportunity, as we will continue the subject next week. There are many Catholic mechanics who associate with you and men like you in their daily labors. Some of them are criminally ignorant of the doctrines of their Church, and owing 1 to that ignorance they are sometimes- unable to meet and explode the vari- ous sophistries which their fellow Protestant Prot-estant workmen raise against their religion. re-ligion. This has probably beers your experience, and when you imagined yau had triumphed over their creed, you had simpiy triumphed ovey their Ignorance, and your success depended not so much on what you knew, a3 on j what they did not know. It was doubtless doubt-less these imaginary triumphs that led , you to think yoa could convert a Cath- 1 olic priest, which, by the way, is the melancholy, delusion I find in your long letter. ' f |
