Quintessence of Religious Doctrines - Malankarasyriac Voice

32On the Holy Confession 63 64Quintessence of Religious Doctrinesboth preventive and curative agents with regard to sins. Toexplicate, the priests have to be the friends and fathers ofthe faithful. So in this aspect they have to advise the membersof the Ecclesia in a cordial and loving manner, on the prosand cons of the confession. They should prescribe penancesthat are not too heavy yokes, lest, the faithful complains ofharshness. If the vicars fail on the above duties, not onlythey themselves but the sheep also would be lost.2. It is quite befitting and true to the tradition to bless them in thename of our Lord after performing penitential prayer for them.Ref: Lev. 5:5, 6. When a person is guilty he must confessthe sin and as a penalty for his sin he must bring tothe Lord a female sheep or goat as an offering. Thepriest shall offer the sacrifice for the man’s sin.(G.N.B.)CommentHere again, the emphasis is that the remission of sins iseffected not by the priests themselves but by Lord JesusHimself. This becomes evident from the prayers said by thepriests of the S.O.C. after they give the blessing of gracefollowing confession.3. Those who solicit confession must let know all their sins and thestate of their conscience to the priest to facilitate him to make atrue and fair adjudging necessary for the discharging of his aboveduties.Ref: (a) Deut. 26:3-10. Go to the priest in charge at that timeand say to him, “I now acknowledge to the Lord myGod that I have entered the land that he promisedour ancestors to give us”. “The priest will take thebasket from you and place it before the altar of theLord your God . Then, in the Lord’s presence, youwill recite these words: “My ancestor was awandering Aramean, who took his family to Egyptto live. They were few in number when they wentthere. But they became a large and powerful nation.The Egyptians treated us harshly and forced us towork as slaves. Then we cried out for help to theLord, the God of our ancestors He heard us and sawour suffering, hardship and misery. By his greatpower and strength he rescued us from Egypt. Heworked miracles and wonders and caused terrifyingthings to happen. He brought us here and gave usthis rich and fertile land. So now I bring to the Lordthe first part of the harvest that he has given me.Then set the basket down in the Lord’s presenceand worship there. (G.N.B.)(b) Ps. 111:1. With all my heart I will thank the Lord inthe assembly of his people. (G.N.B.)(c) Mt. 3:6. They confessed their sins and he baptisedthem in the Jordan. (G.N.B.)(d) Mt. 8:4. Jesus said to him, “Listen! Don’t tell anyone,but go straight to the priest and let him examineyou; then, in order to prove to everyone that youare cured, offer the sacrifice that Moses ordered.”(G.N.B.)(e) Acts. 19:18. Many of the believers came publiclyadmitting and revealing what they have done.(G.N.B.)(f) Jas. 5:16. So then, confess your sins to one anotherand pray for one another so that you will be healed.The prayer of a good person has a powerful effect.(G.N.B.)(g) Num. 5:6, 7. When any one is unfaithful to the Lordand commits wrong against someone, he mustconfess his sin. (G.N.B.)(h) Lev. 23:26. The tenth day of the seventh month whenthe annual ritual is to be performed to take away thesins of the people. (G.N.B.)(i) Prov. 18:13. It is stupid and embarrassing to give ananswer before you listen. (L.B.)CommentThe faithful who seek confession shall divulge all theintentions of the covert and overt sins perpetrated by them,