How does a Catholic repent? - Catholics ONLY

[BigChrisfilm]

What does a Catholic have to do to repent of his sins?

[stray bullet]

What does a Catholic have to do to repent of his sins?

Have faith in Jesus Christ and ask God for forgiveness.

If you have questions about Catholicism, then please start topics in One Bread, One Body.

If you are wanting to debate, just make your opening statement in the OP on how you disagree with something, so we know what you'd like discussed.

[a_ntv]

GT is a forum of General Theology and not a forum about CC. Please move this and similar thread on OBOB

Also GT is for a christian debate, not ONLY for protestant vs catholic threads, that can easily became boring.

[Benedicta00]

What does a Catholic have to do to repent of his sins?
Be moved by grace to repent and to go to confession. A Catholic or anyone for that matter can not repent unless God affords them the grace to. Once they do respond to God’s call, then a Catholic will go to confession right away.

[JesusIsMyBoaz]

As a former Catholic, I found confession very freeing to my soul. I knew that only God forgives my sins, but talking to the Priest about my sin gave me the comfort and advice to change my behavior and try to stop repeating those sins. I got spiritual advice through confession. Of course, this was after I became a born again Christian, but before I decided to let go of my Catholicism.

I have not believed in the need for confession to a Priest since childhood, and I haven't done the penitence as dictating by the priest. But as stated above, I received something from the act of confession to a Priest.

[LivingWordUnity]

300. What is interior penance?
1430-1433
1490
It is the movement of a “contrite heart” (Psalm 51:19) drawn by divine grace to respond to the merciful love of God. This entails sorrow for and abhorrence of sins committed, a firm purpose not to sin again in the future and trust in the help of God. It is nourished by hope in divine mercy.

301. What forms does penance take in the Christian life?
1434-1439
Penance can be expressed in many and various ways but above all in fasting, prayer, and almsgiving. These and many other forms of penance can be practiced in the daily life of a Christian, particularly during the time of Lent and on the penitential day of Friday.

302. What are the essential elements of the sacrament of Reconciliation?
1440-1449
The essential elements are two: the acts of the penitent who comes to repentance through the action of the Holy Spirit, and the absolution of the priest who in the name of Christ grants forgiveness and determines the ways of making satisfaction.

303. What are the acts of the penitent?
1450-1460
1487-1492
They are: a careful examination of conscience; contrition (or repentance), which is perfect when it is motivated by love of God and imperfect if it rests on other motives and which includes the determination not to sin again; confession, which consists in the telling of one’s sins to the priest; and satisfaction or the carrying out of certain acts of penance which the confessor imposes upon the penitent to repair the damage caused by sin.
Source:
Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church

[Isaiah 53]

How does a Protestant repent?

[Catholic Christian]

I have a feeling this has to do with the Forgiveness of Sins, so let me address "Confession". First, some scripture:

John 20:19–23 "On the evening of that day.. ..Jesus said to [the apostles] again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you... ..If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."

There it is: The authority to forgive sins in the name of Christ given to the JUST apostles. This authority was handed down through Apostolic Succession. Notice how in verse 21 Jesus says, "As the Father has sent me, so I send you." In other words, Jesus is giving his apostles the same authority that he received from his Father. Now what authority did Jesus receive from God the Father? We see earlier, in Mark 2:10, that he had the authority to forgive sins. Jesus brought the power of forgiveness from heaven to earth. So now, in John 20:21, he is giving that same authority to his apostles. Very Biblical.

It is also noteworthy to remember that Catholics are not the only ones who believe this. The Eastern Orthodox believe it too, and the Catholic Church recognizes the validity of the Eastern Orthodox sacrament. It is only in the last 500 years out of the 2000 year history of Christianity that this truth was rejected by protestants. Protestants, or "non-denominational" if you prefer, are the only ones who reject this, and they represent less than 20% of all Christians.

During his life, Christ forgave sins, as in the case of the woman caught in adultery (John 8:1–11) and the woman who anointed his feet (Luke 7:48). He exercised this power in his human capacity as the Messiah or Son of man, telling us, "the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins" (Matt. 9:6), which is why the Gospel writer himself explains that God "had given such authority to men" (Matt. 9:8). Since he would not always be with the Church visibly, Christ gave this power to other men so the Church, which is the continuation of his presence throughout time (Matt. 28:20), would be able to offer forgiveness to future generations. He gave his power to the apostles, and it was a power that could be passed on to their successors and agents, since the apostles wouldn’t always be on earth either, but people would still be sinning.

For more scripture verses, go here:
http://www.catholic.com/library/Forgiveness_of_Sins.asp

[Athanasias]

What does a Catholic have to do to repent of his sins?

First of all he must be truly sorry(Have contrition or perfect contrition) in his heart for offending God and his Church and he must confess this to God and be willing to try to never do those again with the help of Gods grace and he must have faith that God will forgive his sins by the power of Christs Cross and resurrection.


That is the basics of repentance for all sins;

Now the rest depends on the type of sins one commits. Are they mortal or venial? If they are venial then all they would have to do is what is mentioned above.

If they are mortal sins then they must do what is mentioned above and seek a priest to confess to for the sacrament of reconciliation.

I hope that helps.

God bless you :liturgy:

In Jesus through Mary,
Athanasias

[ThomasAbel70]

Make a perfect act of Contrition to God.

Then, do what Jesus taught others He healed...

Matthew 8:4
And Jesus said to him, "See that you tell no one; but go, show yourself to the priest and present the offering that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."

[plmarquette]

go and sin no more , lest some thing worse come upon you .....

[plmarquette]

1 John 1.9 in a little 3 compartmental room in the back left part of the church... analogous to altar call, revival .....