FULLY CATHOLIC

Catholics confess sins to priests because this is how God wants it to be.  Looking through the bible you will see that this is how God wanted things to be in order for us to receive his forgiveness.  For instance, in James 5:16, the word of God commands us to confess our sins to one another. Note it does not say to confess our sins directly to God nor does it say to confess your sins to God alone; it says confess your sins to one another.

Today's gospel reading is one of my favorite passages as it is filled with drama and it says a lot to us. This passage where Jesus heals the paralyzed man and is taken from Mark's gospel, chapter 2, and it occurs right after Jesus had cured a leper. You may recall that Jesus sternly ordered him not to say anything to anyone about his cure. The Bible tells us that the man went away and started talking about what had happened freely to everyone he met. Mark continues that when Jesus got back to Capernaum, word got around that he was there, and that so many people gathered that there was no room even in front of the door. He was preaching the word to them.

Right on the heels of the feast of the Epiphany, the Holy Roman Catholic Church celebrates the baptism of Jesus, when as the Word of God from Matthew’s gospel, chapter 3: 16 – 17 testifies that after Jesus was baptised, the heavens were opened and the Spirit of God descended on him like a dove, then the voice of God thundered saying, “This is my Son, the Beloved, in whom I am well pleased.” As I pondered on the gospel reading, I could not help but think of my own baptism when I was adopted as a son of the Most High God through Jesus his beloved SON.

Today the Holy Roman Catholic Church celebrates the feast of the Epiphany. This is the feast that celebrates the manifestation of Christ the divine to the Gentiles who are represented by the wise men. This feast normally brings the Christmas season to a close.