Why not simply confess to God directly?
It is not enough to confess to God? I don't see why I should tell my sins to a priest.
I congratulate you for confessing to God! We all should confess to God, recognize our faults and humbly admit we are sinners in His presence. In so doing, we praise His infinite mercy! "Do not be ashamed to confess your sins" (Si 4: 31).
Saint John has written: "But if we acknowledge our sins, He who is just can be trusted to forgive our sins and cleanse us from every wrong. If we say: We have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word finds no place in us" (1 Jn 1: 9-10).
The saints of both the Old and the New Testament confessed their sins. Let us recall king David, the prophets, Saint Paul, Saint Augustine, Charles de Foucauld, all the famous converts.
I am glad you confess to God!
You add: "I don't see why I should tell my sins to a priest." You echo the words of so many present-day Catholics. They do not know why they should confess to a priest.
To confess to a priest is indeed to confess to God! The priest stands for God. He was endowed with the power to forgive. That is declared in Holy Scripture and faith tells us that.
Our religion is a religion based on revelation, a revelation accomplished through Jesus Christ, Son of God. It is not a man-made religion. We are not the makers of it. Fortunately!
I say fortunately, because man could not have invented all the graces God has in store for us. We would not have been able to create all those ways of salvation. We could not have even imagined all those gifts that God's love bestows on us. But, the sacrament of penance is indeed one of God's favors, a means of salvation and holiness, a gift of God's love!
How foolish of us! How shortsighted and blind we are! We think of ourselves in a narrow-minded and mean religion.
The Lord came for the sake of love. He forgave the adulterous woman, Zacchaeus, the good thief, Peter... Now that He has returned to His Father, He ruled that His priests would continue His presence on earth and absolve in His name. Even though they themselves are sinners!
After His resurrection, He appeared to His disciples and said: "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive men's sins, they are forgiven them; if you hold them bound, they are held bound" (Jn 20: 23). This is one of the Gospel's most marvellous news (John Paul II)!
By accomplishing this merciful mission, the Church continues to forgive in the name of Jesus.
We are sure then of God's forgiveness when a priest's hand gives us absolution. We should be ever so thankful to the Lord for giving us a visible and sure sign of His pardon. "No matter what our consciences may charge us with...; God is greater than our hearts" (1 Jn 3: 20).
Let us kindle our faith, take an attitude of humility and confess out of love!
John Paul II said to priests: "No matter how hard it may be, dedicate yourselves to administering the sacrament of reconciliation.". The Pope insists on individual and auricular confession as the normal form of the sacrament of penance. This form is not subject to change.
"Both complete individual confession and absolution make up the sole, ordinary way for a believer to reconcile with God and the Church after deliberately committing a grave sin" (Canon 960).
"Let any person, conscious of having committed a grave sin, not request Holy Communion without first receiving the sacrament of penance. In an urgent case and if confession to a priest is impossible, let him first make an act of perfect contrition" (John Paul II).
"A grave sin is a mortal sin", says the Pope. "Any sin is mortal which concerns a grave matter and is committed with full knowledge and consent."
The Pope used the occasion to say that the use of indulgences is another sign of authentic Catholicism.
The sacrament of reconciliation frequently received remains an important and necessary element of our spiritual growth.
The new ritual for this sacrament emphasizes its relation to the whole community. It stresses the importance of God's Word that enlightens our life. It calls for joy. It suggests a room set apart for reconciliation.
I recommend reading John Paul II's apostolic exhortation on Reconciliation and Penance. You will find it enlightening.