Christianity is one of the oldest religions of the world. There is a unique concept that is recognized amongst the Catholic Christians. The English word confession is derived from the Latin word ‘confiteor’ meaning to acknowledge a sin or a fault. In this article we make an attempt to understand this unique practice.

The Confession Box

You must have seen a confession box in many churches. The church allows the men and women to make confession of any sin that they have committed. When they confess the sin they feel better and relieved. If you are taking up Christianity and getting baptized then you can practice the confession. It is a regular practice among the Christians across the world. People of all age and class practice confession.

The Confession Prayer

The practice of confession in Christianity is old and has been practiced for a long time. Estimates suggest that confession existed as early as the 6th Century. The person making the confession sits in a chair and talks to the priest who sits on the other side of the confession box. Both the parties cannot see each other as they confess.

Catholic Confession Box

If the person confessing needs an advice then it is given by the priest. The priest has to listen to all that people have to say and ensure that they are relieved of the burden they are suffering from.

Many people often do things that they actually don’t want to do and are forced into it. It can be crime and it can be something that is not so serious too. It may or may not be that serious as it claims to be. The priest is just responsible for listening to the story that a follower of the religion has to tell.

The catholic church believes that only God can forgive sinners. God reserves the right to decide if one should go to heaven or hell. The church also says that the priest has been bestowed the right by God to either forgive or not to forgive the sinner.

Role of The Priest

The priest can listen to the graveness of the sin and accordingly decide what the person should do in order to get salvation. The process of confession has not changed in thousands of years. However, there is a record that in ancient times the confessions could be made publicly too. This practice has been stopped completely now.

The person making the confession is called the penitent. He or she confesses with the belief that when they confess to God. God will decide the magnitude of the crime committed and accordingly decide what the person can do to make up for the sin committed.

The Psychological Aspect

The doctors will also tell you that when you confess the crime that you have committed you will feel relieved that you could share the burden with someone at least. This is indeed a huge relief. You will see many famous paintings that were made by great artists on the concept of confession.

Some deeds are so powerful with respect to their impact on the mind that you cannot undo them easily. Sometimes when you share these deeds with the representative of the Church you feel very light. A theft by a person who is hungry and without any money, death of a person due to accident in which the penitent was  involved, not caring for a parent or a sibling when they needed you are just some examples of actions that may have a strong impact on the mind of a person. 

The burden of a negative action can be lessened by opting for making a confession in a church. This can help lift the burden. While improving the quality of life of a person who is a penitent it allows a person to give back a positive deed to the society.

Catholic Confession vs Other Religions

All the religions of the world teach people to be honest and to face consequences of their deeds fearlessly. Even in Hindu religion there is a concept that deeds have to be paid for and this cycle is known as the law of karma whereby one has to account for deeds done.

In Christianity it is given more importance than other religions as it is openly accepted and has been made a part of the church’s daily activities. Every day the priest in a given time ensures that he listens to the confession of the people and solves their problems. The sins that you commit in this life will stay with you for many more lives if you do not confess it and take actions to resolve their consequences.

We wish that this article will help the readers to understand the concept of the practice of confession in Christianity. Just keep an open heart and mind as you confess. No one will judge you for your confessions. Just do it for your own peace of mind and a better life. Many people who have been confessing on a regular basis do claim that confession can make them feel really better.

Is Online Confession Valid?

In the current era where most services are available online, there was a beginning of online confessions too and there was a popular app available with iTunes, but later on this was rejected by the Church. Perhaps the reason was that confession is an extremely personal and sensitive matter so it is better to keep in person to person or face to face rather than just make it casual by going online.

Finally..

Some people start confession in a very young age. You can also confess about the heart break that you have caused to someone or that someone has caused you. Some people cannot share their feelings with others. This is exactly why they must confess their feelings and let them out somewhere. When you do that you will feel much better and relieved.

This will also give you the strength to fight the problem. For example you have a family member who is suffering from a dreaded disease. You are being strong and taking care of the person. You do not have anyone to whom you can discuss the pain you are in. You can come to the confession box and cry your heart to get solace and empathy. So it is not necessary that you confess on sins in a church. You can confess negative emotions and sorrows too.

When you know that your pain us shared with someone it will automatically reduce and you will feel better and stronger. The practice of confession in Christianity is deep and must be followed whole heartedly with complete devotion. Before actually benefiting from it you must understand the essence and the actual importance of the process of confession.