WHY DO I HAVE TO CONFESS MY SINS TO A PRIEST?

Any forgiving I have done has been for your sakes, and, before Christ, to prevent Satan -- whose guile we know too well -- from outwitting us."(2 Corinthians 2:10-11)
We confess our sins to a priest simply because Jesus said so. He gave the apostles authority to forgive sins in His name. (Jn 20:23) God, of course, does all the forgiving and all the healing, teaching, counseling, feeding, etc. Everything good is done by God's power, but He often works through people, members of the body of Christ, and He has decided to use people as His instruments in teaching, feeding, counseling, etc., and even in forgiving. We are open to God using a person to feed us but when it comes to forgiveness, we are reluctant to involve other people and think we should talk to God alone. But God commands: "Declare your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may find healing." (Jas 5:16)
So, Biblically, we are to confess our sins not only to God but also to other human beings. But why a priest? A priest represents the family of God, our community, the local body of Christ. We confess our sins to a representative of the Christian family because our sins hurt others in the family, and to be reconciled fully we must ask forgiveness not only of God Whom we have disobeyed and those immediately affected by our sins but also of the church family hurt by our sins. It's impossible to apologize to each and every one, but at least we can talk to a representative of the family and ask forgiveness. Unless we confess our sins to a priest, we feel like there's something missing because there is something missing: reconciliation with the church family.

The Bible teaches us to Confess our sins to Priest

As proven using quotations from the 1611 King James version of the Bible, a famous Protestant translation.
Many non-Catholics say that confession to a priest is not taught in the Bible. They say that to be forgiven of even mortal sin, all one need to do is believe in Jesus, or at the most, to confess those sins directly to God. But this position which holds that confession to a priest is not necessary for forgiveness of mortal sins committed after baptism contradicts what is taught in the Bible.

The Old Law required confession of sins to a priestFirst, in the Old Testament, if one committed a sin, he couldn't just confess the sin to God and be done with it. No, he had to go to the priest. This is taught throughout the book of Leviticus, the third book of the Old Testament. Here is one good example of this:
Leviticus 5:1: And if a soul sin, and hear the voice of swearing, and is a witness, whether he hath seen or known of it; if he do not utter it, then he shall bear his iniquity. 2: Or if a soul touch any unclean thing, whether it be a carcase of an unclean beast, or a carcase of unclean cattle, or the carcase of unclean creeping things, and if it be hidden from him; he also shall be unclean, and guilty. 3: Or if he touch the uncleanness of man, whatsoever uncleanness it be that a man shall be defiled withal, and it be hid from him; when he knoweth of it, then he shall be guilty. 4: Or if a soul swear, pronouncing with his lips to do evil, or to do good, whatsoever it be that a man shall pronounce with an oath, and it be hid from him; when he knoweth of it, then he shall be guilty in one of these. 5: And it shall be, when he shall be guilty in one of these things, that he shall confess that he hath sinned in that thing: 6: And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the LORD for his sin which he hath sinned, a female from the flock, a lamb or a kid of the goats, for a sin offering; and the priest shall make an atonement for him concerning his sin. 7: And if he be not able to bring a lamb, then he shall bring for his trespass, which he hath committed, two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, unto the LORD; one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering. 8: And he shall bring them unto the priest, who shall offer that which is for the sin offering first, and wring off his head from his neck, but shall not divide it asunder: 9: And he shall sprinkle of the blood of the sin offering upon the side of the altar; and the rest of the blood shall be wrung out at the bottom of the altar: it is a sin offering. 10: And he shall offer the second for a burnt offering, according to the manner: and the priest shall make an atonement for him for his sin which he hath sinned, and it shall be forgiven him.
In this passage we see that the priest's role was indispensible in the forgiveness of sin. This is taught throughout Leviticus and throughout the other foundational books of the Old Testament. Here is another example:
Leviticus 19:21: And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the LORD, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, even a ram for a trespass offering. 22: And the priest shall make an atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering before the LORD for his sin which he hath done: and the sin which he hath done shall be forgiven him.
Not only did a person have to go to the priest to be forgiven of sin, as these and other passages make clear, but also to become clean. Jesus makes reference to this in the following verse from the New Tesatment:
Luke 5:13: And he put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will: be thou clean. And immediately the leprosy departed from him. 14: And he charged him to tell no man: but go, and shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing, according as Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.
In the Old Testament, people would become unclean after having done certain things which God said made a person unclean. To become clean, the priest would have to be involved.
Leviticus 12:6: And when the days of her purifying are fulfilled, for a son, or for a daughter, she shall bring a lamb of the first year for a burnt offering, and a young pigeon, or a turtledove, for a sin offering, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, unto the priest: 7: Who shall offer it before the LORD, and make an atonement for her; and she shall be cleansed from the issue of her blood. This is the law for her that hath born a male or a female. 8: And if she be not able to bring a lamb, then she shall bring two turtles, or two young pigeons; the one for the burnt offering, and the other for a sin offering: and the priest shall make an atonement for her, and she shall be clean.
Leviticus 13:27: And the priest shall look upon him the seventh day: and if it be spread much abroad in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is the plague of leprosy.
Leviticus 14:11: And the priest that maketh him clean shall present the man that is to be made clean, and those things, before the LORD, at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation:
Leviticus 14:19: And the priest shall offer the sin offering, and make an atonement for him that is to be cleansed from his uncleanness; and afterward he shall kill the burnt offering: 20: And the priest shall offer the burnt offering and the meat offering upon the altar: and the priest shall make an atonement for him, and he shall be clean.
Leviticus 14:31: Even such as he is able to get, the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, with the meat offering: and the priest shall make an atonement for him that is to be cleansed before the LORD.
These points from the Old Testament demonstrate how God works and how He has worked throughout salvation history. God had priests. God set up a priesthood. God forgives and reconciled through priests. People had to go to the priests to be forgiven.
In Numbers 3, we see a reference to a special line of priests, who alone are able to handle this ministry.
Numbers 3:10: And thou shalt appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall wait on their priest's office: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.
Numbers 3:3: also says that priests hands were consecrated, but that has been removed from the Protestant Bible.

We also see a specific reference to the necessity of confession of sin.In Numbers 5:6: Speak unto the children of Israel, When a man or woman shall commit any sin that men commit, to do a trespass against the LORD, and that person be guilty;
7: Then they shall confess their sin which they have done: and he shall recompense his trespass with the principal thereof, and add unto it the fifth part thereof, and give it unto him against whom he hath trespassed.
The rest of the chapter contains instructions, which involve priests at every turn. For example:
Numbers 5:14: And the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be defiled: or if the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be not defiled: 15: Then shall the man bring his wife unto the priest, and he shall bring her offering for her, the tenth part of an ephah of barley meal; he shall pour no oil upon it, nor put frankincense thereon; for it is an offering of jealousy, an offering of memorial, bringing iniquity to remembrance. 16: And the priest shall bring her near, and set her before the LORD:
In this verse we see a clear example of confession as well as the intercession of priests. In Numbers 6:11, in the very next chapter we see that if a man becomes defiled by a certain action, “11: And the priest shall offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, and make an atonement for him,”
In Numbers 15, we again see that sins are forgiven through the priests.
Number 15:22: And if ye have erred, and not observed all these commandments, which the LORD hath spoken unto Moses, 23: Even all that the LORD hath commanded you by the hand of Moses, from the day that the LORD commanded Moses, and henceforward among your generations; 24: Then it shall be, if ought be committed by ignorance without the knowledge of the congregation, that all the congregation shall offer one young bullock for a burnt offering, for a sweet savour unto the LORD, with his meat offering, and his drink offering, according to the manner, and one kid of the goats for a sin offering. 25: And the priest shall make an atonement for all the congregation of the children of Israel, and it shall be forgiven them;
This is also repeated in Number 15:28.
We read also in Exodus about the office of priests and that priests wear special garments.Exodus 28:1: And take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office, even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron's sons. 2: And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty. 3: And thou shalt speak unto all that are wise hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron's garments to consecrate him, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office.
We read about this in Leviticus as well.
Leviticus 16:32: And the priest, whom he shall anoint, and whom he shall consecrate to minister in the priest's office in his father's stead, shall make the atonement, and shall put on the linen clothes, even the holy garments:
We also read about special feast days, or holy days of obligation, which were to be observed.
Leviticus 23:4: These are the feasts of the LORD, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons.
In Deuteronomy 17:9 and 24:8, we also read about the necessity to follow the instructions of the priests. In Deuteronomy 26:1-5, we read about offering the first fruits through the priests. There is no doubt that God established it so that men were forgiven, reconciled and made clean through the ministry of the priests.
That was how God worked in the Old Law, now what about in the New Law?In Matthew 5:17: Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. 18: For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
Jesus came not to destroy the Law and the prophets, but to fulfill. There is no doubt that the New Law surpasses the old. It surpasses it so much that it makes it obsolete. Jesus accomplished all the figures and prophesies in the Old Law, and made it perfect, rendering the old thereby void. But the New Law has similarities to the Old Law, being its fulfillment.
For example, in the Old Testament there were twelve tribes with twelve tribal leaders. Likewise, in the New Testament, Jesus has twelve Apostles.
Another example would be how Jesus inherits the throne of David, as we read in Luke 1:32 and Acts 2:30. Jesus and His spiritual kingdom, which is the Church, fulfill what was prefigured in the earthly kingdom of the Davidic monarchy. Another example would be how in the Old Testament a father passed his blessing on to his son through the laying on of hands. In Deuteronomy 34:9 we see that spiritual authority is passed on to Joshua through the laying on of hands. Likewise, in the New Testament priests were ordained through the laying on of hands, as we read in 2 Timonthy 1:6. So the point is that while Jesus’ kingdom and New Law surpass and make void the old, the New Law nevertheless fulfills, perfects and corresponds to the Old Law in many ways. So just as there was definitely a priesthood in the Old Testament, there is a priesthood in the New Testament. The Apostles were made priests and bishops by Jesus Christ, and just as the priests were involved in the process of the covering or forgiveness of sin in the Old Testament, Jesus gave priests the power to forgive sins in the New Testament.
John 20:21: Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. 22: And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: 23: Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.
Jesus says that whose so ever sins the Apostles forgive, they are forgiven, and whose soever sins they retain (do not forgive), they are retained (not forgiven). Nothing could be more clear. The only way the Apostles could be expected to know which sins to forgive and which sins to retain is obviously if they heard a confession of those sins. This passage proves that Jesus instituted confession to priests.
Even though the meaning of the passage is obvious, there is another point that must be noted in this regard.
Matthew 9:6: But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. 7: And he arose, and departed to his house. 8: But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men.
This passage notes that the Son of Man hath power on earth to forgive sin and the multitudes marvelled how God had given such authority and power to men. Jesus is both God and man, but notice that this passage emphasizes that he had the authority as the Son of Man to forgive sins. Since Jesus had authority to forgive sins as the Son of Man, as is also made clear in Matthew 28, when Jesus says that He has been given all power in heaven and in earth, then He can transfer that authority to forgive sins to others. Look at this verse again:
John 20:21: Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.
Just as Jesus was sent as the Son of Man with power on earth to forgive sins, He sends His Apostles to dispense His forgiveness to others. That’s why St. Paul, who was made apriest and bishop in the Church, says this:
2 Corinthians 5:18: And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
19: To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
20: Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.
Jesus sends His Apostles to be the ministers of His reconciliation and His forgiveness as this passage makes clear. That is why the Church has taught that priests, in hearing confessions, stand in the place of Christ. They are not a barrier to Christ, but an avenue, a conduit of His reconciliation, just as St. Paul says “we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God”
So that’s why right after sending His Apostles in John 20:21, as His Father has sent Him, Jesus gives them the power to forgive and retain sins. All of this proves without any doubt that Jesus instituted confession to priests for the forgiveness of sins.
As a further demonstration of this fact, we see that the Apostles were given the power to bind and to loose.
Matthew 16:18: Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
This has application to the forgiveness of sins and to the fact that Jesus dispensed this authority to valid bishops and priests in His one true Church. But this authority must be used under the unique authority of the keys which were given alone to St. Peter in Matthew 16:18-20.
1 John 1:9: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Notice that the passage says if we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. It does not say He will forgive us whether or not we forgive our sins, or so long as we believe. In James 5, we also see a refernce to confessing sins, priests and the forgiveness of sins.
James 5: 14: Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: 15: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. 16: Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
This passage is a classic proof for the Catholic sacrament of Extreme Unction, a priestly anointing and rite, which, if properly received in danger of death strengthens man in the final combat of life and forgives him his sin.
In this passage if James 5 we read that you should “confess your faults to one another”. That instruction comes directly after making reference to calling for the elders or priests of the Church, showing once again the necessity of confession and priests and the link between the two.
All of this shows that the New Testament teaches that confession to a priest is necessary for serious (mortal) sins committed after baptism. That is why the Catholic Church, the one true Church of Jesus Christ, has taught this for 2000 years.

Jesus would be a Priest.

Psalms 110:4  The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind: "You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek."


Hebrews 5:5-6 So Christ also did not take upon himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him, "You are my Son; today I have become your Father." 6 And he says in another place, "You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek."


Hebrews 6:20 where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.


Hebrews 7:14-17 for it is clear that our Lord descended from Judah, and in regard to that tribe Moses said nothing about priests. 15 And what we have said is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears, 16 one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life. 17 For it is declared: "You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek."

Jesus, "the Anointed One, the ruler," would come the first time as "the Anointed One" after "sixty-two 'sevens.'" Jesus would come the second time as "the Anointed One, the ruler," after "seven 'sevens.'"


Daniel 9:24-26 "Seventy 'sevens' are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy. 25 "Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven 'sevens,' and sixty-two 'sevens.' It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble. 26 After the sixty-two 'sevens,' the Anointed One will be cut off and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed.

Matthew 2:1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem


Matthew 2:16When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi.

why do catholics have a Priest when there is a High Priest Jesus ?

Although Jesus Christ is the sole mediator between God and man, there are many subordinate mediators who are good and acceptable to God our Savior. Because God is our Father and we are His children, God invites us to participate in Christ's role as mediator. God allows us to participate in His work, not because He needs our help, but because He loves us and wants to exalt us in His Son. It is like the father who lets his child join him in carrying the groceries in the house. The father does not need help, but he invites the child to assist to raise up the child in dignity and love.
I ask that supplications, prayers, petitions, and thanksgivings be offered for everyone, for kings and for all in authority, that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life in all devotion and dignity. This is good and pleasing to God our savior, who wills everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth. For there is one God. There is also one mediator between God and the human race, Christ Jesus, himself human (1 Tim 2:1-5)
Come to him, a living stone, rejected by human beings but chosen and precious in the sight of God, and, like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (1 Pet 2:4-5)
And all this is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and given us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting their trespasses against them and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. So we are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who did not know sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him. Working together, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. (2 Cor 5:18-6:1)
Is anyone among you sick? He should summon the presbyters of the church, and they should pray over him and anoint (him) with oil in the name of the Lord, and the prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful. (James 5:14-16)

The parish Priest is ordained as a priest unto the priestly people of God, and so delegated by the Bishop as Chief Shepherd/Pastor of the Diocese, all under Jesus Christ the Great High Priest.

A High Priest is the priest above the other priests; if there are no other priests, then there could be no High Priest. The fact that are priests makes him the High Priest. The New Testament also mentions the priests of The Church.

The three offices of the Old Testament priesthood are: (1). high priest – Aaron (Ex. 28:1); (2). Ministerial priests – Aaron’s sons (Ex. 19:6; 28:1); and (3). Universal priests – Israel (Ex. 19:6). The New Testament priesthood also has three offices: (1) High Priest – Jesus Christ (Heb. 3:1); (2) Ministerial priests – the ordained bishops and priests (Rom. 15:16; 1 Tim. 3:1,8; 5:17; Titus 1:7); and (3) Universal priests - all the baptized (1 Pet. 2:5,9; Rev. 1:6).

We will look at both, the Old Testament and the New Testament.
We know God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow...
Exodus 19:6 "but you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation."
...therefore, priests yesterday, priests today, priests tomorrow.
God teaches Moses how to pass on the rights of priesthood and leadership. He appointed Josue to succeed Moses with the ceremony of THE LAYING ON OF HANDS.
Numbers 27:18-20, "Yahweh answered Moses, "Take Joshua, son of Nun, a man in whom the Spirit dwells, and lay your hands on him. Then bring him before Eleazar, the priest, and the whole community, to instruct him in their presence and to give him a share of your authority, so that the whole community of the sons of Israel may obey him.
Deutoronomy 34:9, "But Joshua, son of Nun, was full of the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands upon him. The children of Israel obeyed him and did as Yahweh had commanded Moses."
We see this ceremony repeated in the NT numerous times. These are some of them:

Acts 6:6, "They presented these men to the apostles who first prayed over them and then laid hands upon them."
Acts 8:17, "So Peter and John laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit."
Acts 9:17, "So Ananias left and went to the house. He laid his hands upon Saul and said, 'Saul, my brother, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here, has sent me to you so that you may receive your sight and be filled with Holy Spirit'."
1 Thimoty 4:14, "Do not neglect the spiritual gift conferred on you with prophetic words when the elders laid their hands upon you."
Clearly we see in the NT how the new priests are ordained... just like in the OT!
Paul confirms the Church has priests...
Philippians 1:1, "From Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to the saints in Philippi, with their bishops and deacons.
In the OT God tells us that there will be new priests because He made void the covenant of the Levi priests.

Malachi 2:8 "But you, says Yahweh of hosts, have strayed from my way, and moreover caused many to stumble because of your teaching. You have broken my covenant with Levi."
Once again Paul confirms it...
Hebrew 7:11-12, "The institutions of the chosen people are founded upon the Levitical priesthood, but with it they could not attain what is perfect and permanent. If that were possible, why would there be need of another priest after the order of Melchizedek instead of Aaron's? If there is a change in the priesthood, the Law also has to be changed. Thus the Levitical priesthood will be replaced by the everlasting priesthood of the order of Melchisedech."

God had prophesied through Isaiah that He would give castrated men (celibate priests) a new name, a new place, a new and everlasting name; that strangers would worship God in a NEW HOUSE, an altar of SACRIFICE that will be pleasing to God, a HOUSE OF PRAYER, and NEW PRIESTS for ALL THE NATIONS:
Isaiah 56:4-8, "For this is what Yahweh says: To the castrated men who keep my sabbaths, who choose to do what pleases me and remain faithful to my covenant: I will give them in my house and within its walls, a memorial and a name that are worth more than sons and daughters; I will give them a name that will never die away or be forgotten. Yahweh says to the foreigners who join him, serving him and loving his name, keeping his sabbath unprofaned and remaining faithful to his covenant: I will bring them to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. I will accept on my altar their burnt offerings and sacrifices, for my house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations. Thus says the Lord God, Yahweh, who gathers the exiles of Israel: There are others I will gather besides those already gathered."
Haggai 2:9, "Great shall be the glory of this LAST HOUSE of God with humility."
The Catholic Church is God's Last House, founded by Jesus in the first century, a house filled with Priests.

Jesus would not be a priest according to the Old Covenant because he did not have a Levitical geneology. Yes the priesthood according to the order of Melchizedek refers perfectly to Jesus, but it also refers to NT priests. While I hear what you are saying about eventual death, your logic is flawed.
There are two issues concerning being a "priest forever." The first is the term limits applied to Levitical priests. There ministry began at 30 and ended at 50 (Num 4:3, 43). There was no such age restriction in force during pre-Levitical times. In other words they exercised their priesthood for as long as they lived. This is true of Jesus and priests in the NT.

Concerning infirmities and eventual death, Jesus died! Of course he rose and ascended to heaven, and inturn opened up the possibility of everlasting life to us all. I'm not saying all priests necessarily go to heaven, but they are represented as living in heaven (Rev. 4:4, 5:14; 11:16, 14:3, 19:4). So you can't argue NT priests would not qualify.
As far as sacrificial priesthood in the NT, Bishops and elders have to fall into that category in order to be ministers of the Gospel and Christ's Church. Otherwise they wouldn't be "teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you" (Mt 28:20a) Regardless whether you believe in the real presence or not Jesus offered a sacrifice of bread and wine, like Melchizedek at the last supper (Mt 26:26-28; Mark. 14:22,24; Luke 22;19-20). Jesus told them to do the same and necessary said they should offer the same sacrifice (however you understand it). Paul affirms this and directly correlates it to sacrifice.

The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because the loaf of bread is one, we, though many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf. Look at Israel according to the flesh; are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar? So what am I saying? That meat sacrificed to idols is anything? Or that an idol is anything? No, I mean that what they sacrifice, (they sacrifice) to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to become participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and also the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and of the table of demons. (1 Cor 10:16-21)
Making a distinction between the ministerial or universal priesthood is an issue I don't have time to talk about right now. Regardless, the NT testament mentions a sacrificial priesthood.

How do the Priests get this special "Power?"

Of course the forgiveness comes from God. But in he case of the Sacraments such as "absolution" (forgiving) the Priest receives the power through the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit provides this special gift through the process of "succession." That means there is an unbroken line of Bishops laying hands on priests which can me traced directly back to the Last Supper. It is directly because of the commission at the Last Supper on the Apostles, who laid hands on Bishops who laid hands on priests who were appointed bishops who laid hands on priests etc..., that the priests of today who are in an unbroken lineage to that day have this unique role.


In the Old Testament we see prophets passing on power to their successors by the laying on of hands and anointing. For example:
Joshua son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, because Moses had laid his hands on him (Deut 31:1-
You [Elijah] shall anoint Elisha son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah as prophet in your place (1 Kg 19:16)
...Samuel took a horn of oil, and anointed him in the presence of his brothers and then spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. (1 Sam 16:13)
So the LORD said to Moses, "Gather for me seventy of the elders of Israel ... bring them to the tent of meeting, and have them take their place there with you. I will come down and talk with you there; and I will take some of the spirit that is on you and put it on them; and they shall bear the burden of the people along with you so that you will not bear it all by yourself....and he gathered seventy elders of the people, and placed them all around the tent. Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders; and when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied." (Num 11:16 -25)
Catholics believe these were a foreshadowing of Christ's ministry. In the New Testament:
After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. (Lk 10:1)
Jesus said..."As the Father has sent me, even so I send you." And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." (John 20:21-23)
Perhaps an important thing to note is that Thomas was not present at this time - but he did receive the gift. This suggests that perhaps Peter (who was given the keys to the kingdom) gave it to him. Jesus said to Peter "whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven" (Mat 16:19)
These apostles prayed over the next generation of apostles. Some of them became Bishops. The Bishops in turn prayed over the newly ordained priests. Every priest from the beginning of the Church right back to Peter was prayed over in the same way. And hence Catholics feel that from generation to generation this Grace has been passed on.