"It was our Lord's idea, Catholics didnt make it up. Our Lord said to his Apostles, 'whos sins you shall forgive they are forgiven , whos sins you shall retain they are retained'".Our Lord gave this authority to bind and to loose, to Peter and the Apostles. Through the Succession, through Ordination using the imposition of hands (Accipe Spiritum Sanctum), He gave this power to our Priests. The granting of the power to absolve sin is put with unmistakable clearness in St. John's Gospel: "He breathed upon them and said, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whose sins ye shall forgive they are forgiven them; and whose sins ye shall retain, they are retained" (20:22-23).One has to take this power of our Priests seriously. One should recognise that Priests are different from other People because God wants them to be. They are given powers that they could never hope to have on their own. The power they have is not for themselves but for the benefit of the Faithful. A Priest will spend hours in the Confessional litening to peoples sins and giving forgiveness for them (absolution), in a way that is very clear and emphatic...its a one on one ministry. Its the way our Lord ministered to people.He wanted His Church to minister to people in a personal and sacramental way. So when a Priest offers this, he is not offiering his forgiveness, it is Christs forgiveness being given."Source = Fr. Vincent Serpa, C.A.L. 11/19/08: 27:00 to 30:30 Subscribe in a reader

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