Confession (Wikipedia)
Abdul
simply copied the article, entitled "Confession" from Wikipedia
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confession). Glancing at the article's
"Revision history" page, I see that a number of changes have been
made, but my decision here is to simply recopy the latest version,
which follows, though I've omitted some minor elements and added
numbers to the sections and subsections. Given the length of the
article, I will not add quotation marks.
Confession
>From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Confession of sins is an integral part of the Christian faith and
practice. The meaning is essentially the same as the criminal one -
to admit one's own guilt. Confession of one's sins, or at least of
one's sinfulness, is seen by most churches as a pre-requisite for
becoming a Christian.
Contents
1 Confession in different churches
1.1 Roman Catholicism
1.2 Manuals of confession in the Middle Ages
1.3 Eastern Orthodoxy and Eastern Catholicism
1.4 Anglicanism
1.5 Protestantism
2 Confession of faith
1 Confession in different churches
1.1 Roman Catholicism
In Catholic teaching, the Catholic sacrament of Reconciliation
(commonly called confession or penance) is the method given by Christ
to the Catholic Church by which individual men and women may confess
sins committed after baptism and have them absolved by a priest. (It is
not necessary to confess sins committed before baptism, as baptism
itself is considered to remove the guilt of sins.) This sacrament is
known by many names, including penance, reconciliation, and confession
(Catechism of the Catholic Church, Sections 1423-1442). However,
because confession is only one aspect of the sacrament, it is no longer
officially called "confession." Official Church publications always
refer to the sacrament as "Penance and Reconciliation," or shorten it
to "penance" or "reconciliation." However, most lay Catholics continue
to use the term "confession" in reference to the sacrament. In
addition, Traditional Catholics tend to dislike the term "sacrament of
reconciliation".
Catholics believe that no priest, as an individual man, however pious
or learned, has power to forgive sins. This power belongs to God alone;
however, God can and does exercise it through the Catholic priesthood.
Catholics believe God exercises the power of forgiveness by means of
the sacrament of reconciliation.
The basic form of confession has not changed for centuries, although at
one time confessions were made publicly. Colloquially speaking, the
role of the priest is of a judge and jury; in theological terms, he
acts in persona Christi and receives from the Church the power of
jurisdiction over the penitent. The penitent must confess mortal sins
in order to restore his/her connection to God's grace and not to merit
Hell. The sinner may confess venial sins. The intent of this sacrament
is to provide healing for the soul as well as to regain the grace of
God, lost by sin. The Council of Trent (Session Fourteen, Chapter I)
quoted John 20:22-23 as the primary Scriptural proof for the doctrine
concerning this sacrament, but Catholics also consider Matthew 9:2-8
and 1 Corinthians 11:27 to be among the Scriptural bases for the
sacrament.
Absolution in the Roman rite takes this form:
God the Father of mercies, through the death and resurrection of his
Son, has reconciled the world to himself and sent the Holy Spirit among
us for the forgiveness of sins; through the ministry of the Church may
God give you pardon and peace, and I absolve you from your sins in the
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
The essential words, however, are " "ego te absolvo" or "I absolve
you."
Prior to the Second Vatican Council the priest would always absolve the
penitent in Latin. The penitent must make an act of contrition, a
prayer acknowledging his/her faults before God. It typically commences:
O my God, I am heartily sorry... Reconciliation is considered necessary
before receiving the sacrament of Eucharist for the first time. The
Catholic Church teaches that the Sacrament of Reconciliation is the
only ordinary way in which a person can receive forgiveness for mortal
sins committed after baptism. However, perfect contrition (a sorrow
motivated by love of God rather than of fear of punishment) is an
extraordinary way of removing the guilt of mortal sin before or without
confession (if there is no opportunity of confessing to a priest). Such
contrition would include the intention of confessing. For the
absolution to be valid, some form of contrition must be felt, even
imperfect contrition (sorrow arising from a less pure motive, such as
fear of Hell), which is not, by itself, sufficient to remove the guilt
of sin.
A mortal sin must be about a serious matter, have been committed with
full consent, and be known to be wrong. Other sins would be classed as
venial; confession of venial sins is strongly recommended but not
obligatory, and is said to strengthen the penitent against temptation
to mortal sin. Serious matters for a mortal sin, according to Catholic
teaching, include murder, blasphemy, fornication, the use of artificial
contraception, or missing Mass without a good reason on a Sunday or a
holy day of obligation. It is a widely held belief of the faith that if
a person guilty of mortal sin dies without either receiving the
sacrament or experiencing perfect contrition with the intention of
confessing to a priest, he/she will receive eternal damnation.
In order for the sacrament to be valid the penitent must do more than
simply confess his known mortal sins to a priest. He must a) be truly
sorry for each of the mortal sins he committed, b) have a firm
intention never to commit them again, and c) perform the penance
imposed by the priest. Also, in addition to confessing the types of
mortal sins committed, the penitent must disclose how many times each
sin was committed, to the best of his/her ability.
The Code of Canon Law requires all Catholics to confess mortal sins at
least once a year, although frequent reception of the sacrament is
recommended. Traditionally many receive the sacrament during the
liturgical seasons of Lent or Advent. In reality many Catholics confess
far less or more than is required; of all parts of the faith it is
perhaps among the most common to be neglected.
For Catholic priests, the confidentiality of all statements made by
penitents during the course of confession is absolute. This strict
confidentiality is known as the Seal of the Confessional. According to
the Code of Canon Law, 983 §1, "The sacramental seal is inviolable;
therefore it is absolutely forbidden for a confessor to betray in any
way a penitent in words or in any manner and for any reason." Priests
may not reveal what they have learned during confession to anyone, even
under the threat of their own death or that of others. (This is unique
to the Seal of the Confessional. Many other forms of confidentiality,
including in most states attorney-client privilege, allow ethical
breaches of the confidence to save the life of another.) For a priest
to break that confidentiality would lead to an latae sententiae
(automatic) excommunication reserved to the Holy See (Code of Canon
Law, 1388 §1). In a criminal matter, a priest may encourage or require
the penitent to surrender to authorities and may withhold absolution if
the penitent refuses to do so. However, this is the extent of the
leverage he wields; he may not directly or indirectly disclose the
matter to civil authorities himself.
There are limited cases where portions of a confession may be revealed
to others, but always with the penitent's permission and always without
actually revealing the penitent's identity. This is the case, for
example, with unusually serious offenses, as some excommunicable
offenses are reserved to the bishop or even to the Holy See, and their
permission to grant absolution would first have to be obtained.
Civil authorities in the United States are usually respectful of this
confidentiality. However, several years ago an ambitious attorney in
Portland, Oregon, secretly recorded a confession without the knowledge
of the priest or the penitent involved. This lead to official protests
by then local Archbishop Francis George and the Vatican. The tape has
since been sealed, and the Federal Court has since ruled that the
taping was in violation of the 4th Amendment, and ordered an injunction
against any further tapings.
1.2 Manuals of confession in the Middle Ages
In the Middle Ages the manuals of confession constituted a literary
genre. These manuals were guidebooks on how to obtain the maximum
benefits from the sacrament. There were two kinds of manuals: those
addressed to the faithful, so that they could prepare a good
confession, and those addressed to the priests, who had to make sure
that no sins were left unmentioned and the confession was as thorough
as possible. The priest had to ask questions, being careful not to
suggest sins that perhaps the faithful had not thought of and give them
ideas. Manuals were written in Latin and in the vernacular. See
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/projects/arroyo/manuels.htm (in French)
about manuals of confession in medieval Spain.
1.3 Eastern Orthodoxy and Eastern Catholicism
Within the Eastern Orthodox Church it is understood that the Mystery of
confession and repentance has more to do with the spiritual development
of the individual and much less to do with purification. Sin is not
seen as a stain on the soul, but rather a mistake that needs
correction. In general, the Orthodox Christian chooses an individual to
trust as his or her spiritual guide. In most cases this is the parish
priest but may, in fact, be any individual, male or female, who has
received permission from a bishop to hear confessions. This person is
often referred to as ones spiritual father or mother. Once chosen, the
individual turns to his spiritual guide for advice on his or her
spiritual development, confessing sins, and asking advice. Orthodox
Christians tend to confess only to this individual and the intimacy
created by this bond makes the spiritual guide the most qualified in
dealing with the person, so much so, that no one can override what a
spiritual guide tells his or her charges. In general practice, after
one confesses to ones spiritual guide the parish priest (Who may or may
not have heard the confession but canonically should have) covers the
head of the person with his Epitrachilion (Stole) and reads the prayers
of repentance, asking God to forgive the transgression of the
individual. It is highly possible that the person confesses his sins to
his spiritual guide on a regular basis but only seeks out the priest to
read the prayer before communing.
In Eastern Catholicism, the spiritual director (usually termed a
"geron" after the Greek word for "old man") may be privy to something
resembling a confession, and is protected by the same seal as would be
any priest hearing a confession. However, one must still confess their
sins to the priest before recieving the prayers of absolution.
1.4 Anglicanism
The Anglican sacrament of confession and absolution is usually a
component part of corporate worship, particularly at services of the
Holy Eucharist. The form involves an exhortation to repentance by the
priest, a period of silent prayer during which believers may confess
their sins, and the pronouncement of absolution by the priest,
generally accompanied by the sign of the cross. Private, or aural
confession is also practiced by Anglicans either through the venue of
the traditional confessional, or more frequently in a private meeting
with the priest. This practice permits a period of counselling and
suggestions of acts of penance. Following the confession of sins and
the discussion of remedies, the priest makes the pronouncement of
absolution.
1.5 Protestantism
Protestant churches believe that that no intermediary is necessary
between the Christian and God in order to be absolved from sins.
Protestants however, confess their sins in private prayer before God,
believing this suffices to gain God's pardon. However confession to
another is often encouraged when a wrong has been done to a person as
well as to God. Confession is then made to the person wronged, and is
part of the reconciliation process. In cases where sin has resulted in
the exclusion of a person from church membership due to unrepentance,
public confession is often a pre-requisite to readmission. The sinner
confesses to the church his or her repentance and is received back into
fellowship. In neither case is there any required format to the
confessions, except for the steps taken in Matthew 18:15-20.
Lutheran churches also offer private confession with a Pastor. However,
ever since the 18th century it is very rarely used. A more frequent
practice is the corporate confession of sins at the beginning of a
worship service. In his 1529 Catechisms, Martin Luther praised private
confession (before a pastor or a fellow Christian) for the sake of
absolution, that is, for the sake of the forgiveness of sins bestowed
in an audible, concrete way. The Lutheran reformers held that a
complete enumaration of sins is impossible (see Psalm 19:12) and that
one's confidence is not to be based on the sincerity of one's
contrition nor on one's compliance with the works of satisfaction
imposed by the priest. In fact, works of satisfaction, as taught by the
medieval Church, were rejected. Faith, that is, trust in Christ's
complete active and passive satisfaction is what receives the
forgiveness and salvation won by him and imparted to the confessor by
the word of absolution.
In the Church of Sweden (Lutheran), the sacramental confession before a
priest is a sacramental rite, and has a proper place in the Swedish
massbook.
2 Confession of faith
Confession is also used by many churches in the sense of a statement of
faith. The word is used in many Bible translations to mean admit one's
faith publicly (e.g. Epistle to the Romans, chapter 10 verse 9).
The Confession of a church may therefore be used to mean its public
statement of faith or doctrine. A church or group that belongs to a
Confessing Movement strives to adhere to its public confessions
strictly.
The term confessio (from Latin) is sometimes used to describe a public
defense of one's faith or life, e.g. the Confessio of St. Patrick,
written around 450AD.
Abdul
Catholicism) above refers to the Sacrament of Reconciliation as
detailed in "the Catechism of the Catholic Church ... Part Two (The
Celebration of the Christian Mystery), Section Two
(the Seven Sacraments of the Church), Chapter Two (The Sacraments of
Healing), Article 4 (The Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation), I
through VI (Sections 1423-1449). This is drawn from the United States
Conference of Catholic Bishops' website (http://www.usccb.org), Office
for the
Catechism."
I. What Is This Sacrament Called?
1423
It is called the sacrament of conversion because it makes sacramentally
present Jesus' call to conversion, the first step in returning to the
Father from whom one has strayed by sin.
It is called the sacrament of Penance, since it consecrates the
Christian sinner's personal and ecclesial steps of conversion, penance,
and satisfaction.
1424
It is called the sacrament of confession, since the disclosure or
confession of sins to a priest is an essential element of this
sacrament. In a profound sense it is also a
"confession"-acknowledgment and praise-of the holiness of God and
of his mercy toward sinful man.
It is called the sacrament of forgiveness, since by the priest's
sacramental absolution God grants the penitent "pardon and peace."
It is called the sacrament of Reconciliation, because it imparts to the
sinner the love of God who reconciles: "Be reconciled to God." He who
lives by God's merciful love is ready to respond to the Lord's call:
"Go; first be reconciled to your brother."
II. Why a Sacrament of Reconciliation after Baptism?
1425
"You were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name
of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God." One must
appreciate the magnitude of the gift God has given us in the sacraments
of Christian initiation in order to grasp the degree to which sin is
excluded for him who has "put on Christ." But the apostle John also
says: "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is
not in us." And the Lord himself taught us to pray: "Forgive us our
trespasses," linking our forgiveness of one another's offenses to the
forgiveness of our sins that God will grant us.
1426
Conversion to Christ, the new birth of Baptism, the gift of the Holy
Spirit and the Body and Blood of Christ received as food have made us
"holy and without blemish," just as the Church herself, the Bride of
Christ, is "holy and without blemish." Nevertheless the new life
received in Christian initiation has not abolished the frailty and
weakness of human nature, nor the inclination to sin that tradition
calls concupiscence, which remains in the baptized such that with the
help of the grace of Christ they may prove themselves in the struggle
of Christian life. This is the struggle of conversion directed toward
holiness and eternal life to which the Lord never ceases to call us.
III. The Conversion of the Baptized
1427
Jesus calls to conversion. This call is an essential part of the
proclamation of the kingdom: "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of
God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel." In the Church's
preaching this call is addressed first to those who do not yet know
Christ and his Gospel. Also, Baptism is the principal place for the
first and fundamental conversion. It is by faith in the Gospel and by
Baptism that one renounces evil and gains salvation, that is, the
forgiveness of all sins and the gift of new life.
1428
Christ's call to conversion continues to resound in the lives of
Christians. This second conversion is an uninterrupted task for the
whole Church who, "clasping sinners to her bosom, [is] at once holy and
always in need of purification, [and] follows constantly the path of
penance and renewal." This endeavor of conversion is not just a human
work. It is the movement of a "contrite heart," drawn and moved by
grace to respond to the merciful love of God who loved us first.
1429
St. Peter's conversion after he had denied his master three times bears
witness to this. Jesus' look of infinite mercy drew tears of repentance
from Peter and, after the Lord's resurrection, a threefold affirmation
of love for him. The second conversion also has a communitarian
dimension, as is clear in the Lord's call to a whole Church: "Repent!"
St. Ambrose says of the two conversions that, in the Church, "there are
water and tears: the water of Baptism and the tears of repentance."
IV. Interior Penance
1430
Jesus' call to conversion and penance, like that of the prophets before
him, does not aim first at outward works, "sackcloth and ashes,"
fasting and mortification, but at the conversion of the heart, interior
conversion. Without this, such penances remain sterile and false;
however, interior conversion urges expression in visible signs,
gestures and works of penance.
1431
Interior repentance is a radical reorientation of our whole life, a
return, a conversion to God with all our heart, an end of sin, a
turning away from evil, with repugnance toward the evil actions we have
committed. At the same time it entails the desire and resolution to
change one's life, with hope in God's mercy and trust in the help of
his grace. This conversion of heart is accompanied by a salutary pain
and sadness which the Fathers called animi cruciatus (affliction of
spirit) and compunctio cordis (repentance of heart).
1432
The human heart is heavy and hardened. God must give man a new heart.
Conversion is first of all a work of the grace of God who makes our
hearts return to him: "Restore us to thyself, O LORD, that we may be
restored!" God gives us the strength to begin anew. It is in
discovering the greatness of God's love that our heart is shaken by the
horror and weight of sin and begins to fear offending God by sin and
being separated from him. The human heart is converted by looking upon
him whom our sins have pierced:
Let us fix our eyes on Christ's blood and understand how precious it is
to his Father, for, poured out for our salvation, it has brought to the
whole world the grace of repentance.
1433
Since Easter, the Holy Spirit has proved "the world wrong about sin,"
i.e., proved that the world has not believed in him whom the Father has
sent. But this same Spirit who brings sin to light is also the Consoler
who gives the human heart grace for repentance and conversion.
V. The Many Forms of Penance in Christian Life
1434
The interior penance of the Christian can be expressed in many and
various ways. Scripture and the Fathers insist above all on three
forms, fasting, prayer, and almsgiving, which express conversion in
relation to oneself, to God, and to others. Alongside the radical
purification brought about by Baptism or martyrdom they cite as means
of obtaining forgiveness of sins: efforts at reconciliation with one's
neighbor, tears of repentance, concern for the salvation of one's
neighbor, the intercession of the saints, and the practice of charity
"which covers a multitude of sins."
1435
Conversion is accomplished in daily life by gestures of reconciliation,
concern for the poor, the exercise and defense of justice and right, by
the admission of faults to one's brethren, fraternal correction,
revision of life, examination of conscience, spiritual direction,
acceptance of suffering, endurance of persecution for the sake of
righteousness. Taking up one's cross each day and following Jesus is
the surest way of penance.
1436
Eucharist and Penance. Daily conversion and penance find their source
and nourishment in the Eucharist, for in it is made present the
sacrifice of Christ which has reconciled us with God. Through the
Eucharist those who live from the life of Christ are fed and
strengthened. "It is a remedy to free us from our daily faults and to
preserve us from mortal sins."
1437
Reading Sacred Scripture, praying the Liturgy of the Hours and the Our
Father-every sincere act of worship or devotion revives the spirit of
conversion and repentance within us and contributes to the forgiveness
of our sins.
1438
The seasons and days of penance in the course of the liturgical year
(Lent, and each Friday in memory of the death of the Lord) are intense
moments of the Church's penitential practice. These times are
particularly appropriate for spiritual exercises, penitential
liturgies, pilgrimages as signs of penance, voluntary self-denial such
as fasting and almsgiving, and fraternal sharing (charitable and
missionary works).
1439
The process of conversion and repentance was described by Jesus in the
parable of the prodigal son, the center of which is the merciful
father: the fascination of illusory freedom, the abandonment of the
father's house; the extreme misery in which the son finds himself after
squandering his fortune; his deep humiliation at finding himself
obliged to feed swine, and still worse, at wanting to feed on the husks
the pigs ate; his reflection on all he has lost; his repentance and
decision to declare himself guilty before his father; the journey back;
the father's generous welcome; the father's joy-all these are
characteristic of the process of conversion. The beautiful robe, the
ring, and the festive banquet are symbols of that new life-pure,
worthy, and joyful-of anyone who returns to God and to the bosom of
his family, which is the Church. Only the heart of Christ who knows the
depths of his Father's love could reveal to us the abyss of his mercy
in so simple and beautiful a way.
VI. The Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation
1440
Sin is before all else an offense against God, a rupture of communion
with him. At the same time it damages communion with the Church. For
this reason conversion entails both God's forgiveness and
reconciliation with the Church, which are expressed and accomplished
liturgically by the sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation.
Only God forgives sin
1441
Only God forgives sins. Since he is the Son of God, Jesus says of
himself, "The Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins" and
exercises this divine power: "Your sins are forgiven." Further, by
virtue of his divine authority he gives this power to men to exercise
in his name.
1442
Christ has willed that in her prayer and life and action his whole
Church should be the sign and instrument of the forgiveness and
reconciliation that he acquired for us at the price of his blood. But
he entrusted the exercise of the power of absolution to the apostolic
ministry which he charged with the "ministry of reconciliation." The
apostle is sent out "on behalf of Christ" with "God making his appeal"
through him and pleading: "Be reconciled to God."
Reconciliation with the Church
1443
During his public life Jesus not only forgave sins, but also made plain
the effect of this forgiveness: he reintegrated forgiven sinners into
the community of the People of God from which sin had alienated or even
excluded them. A remarkable sign of this is the fact that Jesus
receives sinners at his table, a gesture that expresses in an
astonishing way both God's forgiveness and the return to the bosom of
the People of God.
1444
In imparting to his apostles his own power to forgive sins the Lord
also gives them the authority to reconcile sinners with the Church.
This ecclesial dimension of their task is expressed most notably in
Christ's solemn words to Simon Peter: "I will give you the keys of the
kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in
heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
"The office of binding and loosing which was given to Peter was also
assigned to the college of the apostles united to its head."
1445
The words bind and loose mean: whomever you exclude from your
communion, will be excluded from communion with God; whomever you
receive anew into your communion, God will welcome back into his.
Reconciliation with the Church is inseparable from reconciliation with
God.
The sacrament of forgiveness
1446
Christ instituted the sacrament of Penance for all sinful members of
his Church: above all for those who, since Baptism, have fallen into
grave sin, and have thus lost their baptismal grace and wounded
ecclesial communion. It is to them that the sacrament of Penance offers
a new possibility to convert and to recover the grace of justification.
The Fathers of the Church present this sacrament as "the second plank
[of salvation] after the shipwreck which is the loss of grace."
1447
Over the centuries the concrete form in which the Church has exercised
this power received from the Lord has varied considerably. During the
first centuries the reconciliation of Christians who had committed
particularly grave sins after their Baptism (for example, idolatry,
murder, or adultery) was tied to a very rigorous discipline, according
to which penitents had to do public penance for their sins, often for
years, before receiving reconciliation. To this "order of penitents"
(which concerned only certain grave sins), one was only rarely admitted
and in certain regions only once in a lifetime. During the seventh
century Irish missionaries, inspired by the Eastern monastic tradition,
took to continental Europe the "private" practice of penance, which
does not require public and prolonged completion of penitential works
before reconciliation with the Church. From that time on, the sacrament
has been performed in secret between penitent and priest. This new
practice envisioned the possibility of repetition and so opened the way
to a regular frequenting of this sacrament. It allowed the forgiveness
of grave sins and venial sins to be integrated into one sacramental
celebration. In its main lines this is the form of penance that the
Church has practiced down to our day.
1448
Beneath the changes in discipline and celebration that this sacrament
has undergone over the centuries, the same fundamental structure is to
be discerned. It comprises two equally essential elements: on the one
hand, the acts of the man who undergoes conversion through the action
of the Holy Spirit: namely, contrition, confession, and satisfaction;
on the other, God's action through the intervention of the Church. The
Church, who through the bishop and his priests forgives sins in the
name of Jesus Christ and determines the manner of satisfaction, also
prays for the sinner and does penance with him. Thus the sinner is
healed and re-established in ecclesial communion.
1449
The formula of absolution used in the Latin Church expresses the
essential elements of this sacrament: the Father of mercies is the
source of all forgiveness. He effects the reconciliation of sinners
through the Passover of his Son and the gift of his Spirit, through the
prayer and ministry of the Church:
God, the Father of mercies,
through the death and the resurrection of his Son
Abdul
On the most holy sacraments of penance and extreme unction, Chapter One
(On the necessity, and on the institution of the Sacrament of Penance),
which is drawn from John, Chapter 20:22-23. This is drawn from Hanover
College's Department of History website (http://history.hanover.edu),
Hanover Historical Texts Project, Early Modern Europe, The Catholic
Reformation. The second quote comes from the USCCB website, New
American Bible, John 20:22-23
(http://www.usccb.org/nab/bible/john/john20.htm#v22).
"But the Lord then principally instituted the sacrament of penance,
when, being raised from the dead, He breathed upon His disciples,
saying Receive ye the Holy Ghost, whose sins you shall forgive, they
are forgiven them, and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained."
"And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,
'Receive the holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,
and whose sins you retain are retained.'"
Abdul
Bible, Matthew 9:2-8
(http://www.usccb.org/nab/bible/matthew/matthew9.htm#v2) and 1
Corinthians 11:27
(http://www.usccb.org/nab/bible/1corinthians/1corinthians11.htm#v27).
"And there people brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher.
When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, 'Courage, child,
your sins are forgiven.' At that, some of the scribes said to
themselves, 'This man is blaspheming.' Jesus knew what they were
thinking, and said, 'Why do you harbor evil thoughts? Which is easier,
to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise and walk'? But that
you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive
sins' -- he then said to the paralytic, 'Rise, pick up your stretcher,
and go home.' He rose and went home. When the crowds saw this they
were struck with awe and glorified God who had given such authority to
human beings."
"Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord
unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord."
Abdul
Bible, Matthew 18:15-20
(http://www.usccb.org/nab/bible/matthew/matthew18.htm#v15).
"If your brother sins (against you), go and tell him his fault
between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over
your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two others along with
you, so that 'every fact may be established on the testimony of two or
three witnesses.' If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church.
If he refuses to listen even to the church, then treat him as you would
a Gentile or a tax collector. Amen, 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. Again, (amen,) I say to you, if two of you agree
on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted
to them by my heavenly Father. For where two or three are gathered
together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."
Abdul
(http://www.usccb.org/nab/bible/romans/romans10.htm#v9).
"For, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe
in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."