A man suspected to be the brain behind many heinous crimes(rape,stealing,abuse of minors) committed in a city was arrested and arraigned in a court for prosecution…..However,few days before he was arraigned,he sincerely repented,had contrition and went to the parish priest for a confession….After hearing his confession,the priest absolved him of his sins,using the following formula:
“ 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”.
At the courtroom,the suspect was questioned severally by a lawyer…..unfortunately,every effort made to get him say the truth ended in vain…..The priest who heard his confession was summoned the next day as a witness...to reveal what he heard from the suspect...He was persuaded to disclose what he heard from the suspect at the confessional but he blatantly refused.He made it categorically clear that he cannot divulge what he heard at the confessional…...He choose to die than divulge the suspect’s confession…...the priest was tortured severally but he stood by his decision….he became a victim,...just like Christ suffered and died for us sinners….He made Himself a sinner that we may be reconciled with God…… the priest received a punishment only meant for the guilty ….
In the formula of absolution stated above,it is wise to note these;...the formula started with the invocation of the mercy of God the father….a Father who” desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth”(1 timothy 2:4)....a Father who dearly loves even the most notorious sinner….one who never wish the death of a wicked man rather that he may repent and live (Ezekiel 18:22)...A Father who at the fullness of time sent His only begotten Son to suffer,die and resurrect to redeem those who have offended Him..….He came to save us while we were still sinners….His love over us sinners is unimaginable and beyond human comprehension ….His ways are different from ours:
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD”.(Isaiah 55:8)....God the Father sent the Holy one(Christ) among us for the forgiveness of every sin except the sin against the Holy Spirit(Mark 3:29).
The formula continued…..”Through the ministry of the Church” ….a ministry instituted and established by Christ Himself…..when he said…”Whose soever sins you remit, they are remitted to them; and whose soever sins you retain, they are retained”.(John 20:23)...a ministry built on a solid foundation..”I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it”(Matthew 16:18)......
The formula continues...May God give you pardon and peace and I,...........(the priest who has been anointed to be a mediator between men and God and empowered through the sacred ordination to the ministerial priesthood and who is nothing but an instrument God uses to dispense His grace of mercy,peace and pardon).... absolve you from your sins
in the name of the Father, and of the Son, + and of the Holy Spirit”......Not in the name of the priest...not in the name of any saint...not in the name of the Church...but all in the name of the Divine Trinity…..FATHER,SON AND HOLY SPIRIT…
The priest acts in the person of Christ,mediating between men and God..He is an alter Christus(another Christ)...He has no power to forgive sins outside the one granted him by Christ the perfect mediator…..He is privileged to hear only what God alone is supposed to hear...And this is because God willed that he does that….As such,he is bound in conscience never to reveal nor divulge whatever he heard at the confessional…...At the confessional,he does the work of Christ and just like Christ will always show mercy and forgiveness to a sinner...and will never divulge his or her sins to anybody,... ...The priest in the name of Christ grants pardon and peace and will never divulge what he heard at the confessional …..
At mass celebration and precisely during consecration,the priest often raise the Eucharist saying :
”Take this, all of you, and eat of it,for THIS IS MY BODY,which will be given up for you…..and Take this, all of you, and drink from it,for THIS IS THE CHALICE OF MY BLOOD,the Blood of the new and eternal covenant,which will be poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.Do this in memory of me”........
In this words of consecration, and as an alter Christus the priest gives himself as a victim of sacrifice and truly he is ...…..for, he could as well say:...this the body of Christ or this is the blood of Christ….but he said:...”This is my body”,”This is my blood”......Here , the priest acts in the person of Christ in the Eucharistic sacrifice so also he acts as Christ in the Sacrament of penance or reconciliation...he stands in the person of Christ to offer pardon and peace to those who sincerely approach God for forgiveness and mercy at the confessional…….and because the Priest is human,(full of frailties) yet does the work only meant for Christ,...the Church in her wisdom enacted a law that guides a priest in carrying out this Divine function…”The sacramental seal”or what is often referred to as the Seal of Confession (or Seal of the Confessional) …..this is the absolute duty of priests not to disclose anything that they learn from penitents during the course of the Sacrament of Penance (confession)....If a Priest violates this law,he is subject to Excommunication…
Lately,many Christians and catholics who are one way or another a victim of one crime or another seem to question the rationale behind the Priest inability to divulge what was muted to him at the confessional…..I humbly advice such Christians to desist from such act….Recently I read the insults reigned on a cardinal who vowed never to divulge what a suspect ( Pedophile Priest) muted to him at the confessional…..No amount of pressure can ever persuade any priest to divulge a confessional secret….Those sins confessed die with the priest who heard them …..And nobody can force the Church to change this Sacred,Holy and Divine act…..The earlier Cafeteria Catholics know this,the better for them….. You don't give out what is not yours….Sin of a Christian confessed to a priest is only meant for God and it's never the right of a priest to divulge….so if you want to know what he or she confessed to a priest….go to God…..Go and ask Christ to tell you ….Priests are nothing but instruments, ball pens in the hand of God
Oh how great is the priest! . . . If he realized what he is, he would die . . . God obeys him: he utters a few words and the Lord descends from Heaven at his voice, to be contained within a small host. Without the sacrament of Holy Orders, we would not have the Lord. Who put him there in that tabernacle? The priest. Who welcomed your soul at the beginning of life? The priest. Who feeds your soul and gives it strength for the journey? The priest. Who will prepare it to appear before God, bathing it one last time in the blood of Jesus Christ? The priest -- always the priest. And if the soul should happen to die (as a result of sin) who will raise it up, who will restore its calm and peace? Again the priest. After God, the priest is everything! Only in heaven will he fully realize what he is (St. John Vianney). TP...wish you you a Gracefield Lenton season
Rev Fr. Alexander U Okere
