A Confession Question

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Hello. I have a question regarding the Sacrament of Reconciliation, but first a bit of background is needed:

It has been since mid-October that I went to Confession or received Communion. I decided many times to go to an Orthodox Divine Liturgy rather than a Catholic Mass. I do not regret this, knowing that as a confirmed Catholic missing the Sunday Liturgy without proper excuse (such as severe illness or travelling) is taught to be a sin. There are however sins for which I deeply regret. I thought about going to one of the Orthodox priests I know and asking him if I could confess, but I know that the typical Orthodox policy on Catholics receiving the sacraments from an Orthodox priest is that such Catholics are only permitted to receive the needed sacrament if they have no church of their own near and are in dire need.

I am not sorry for skipping my “Sunday Obligation” to visit an Orthodox parish. I am not sorry for rejecting the Papal claims. I am sorry for other things though, and know that I need Confession because as wonderful as the Jesus Prayer is, it is not enough.

So, my question is: given the above, would I be able to receive properly the Sacrament of Reconciliation? Thank you.

Oh PS: I was selected to be my younger brother’s godfather, as I am the only even nominally Catholic person my family knows who could be trusted to fulfill the role. I performed my duties, and had a good many discussions with him, introducing him to the Baptist Protestant understanding, Catholic understanding and Orthodox understanding on various issues. He agree\s with and affirms consistently the Catholic position, knowing it is όλα καλά to disagree with “bubby.”

Christus resurrexit! Χριστός ἀνέστη!
 
Rather than asking this question here, I think you should speak to an orthodox Latin Rite Catholic priest and an Eastern Orthodox priest and ask them. You might try to find out if you can convert and how you would go about doing that. If you feel called to the Eastern Orthodox church, you should pray about that calling and submit yourself to God’s Will.

Also, there is no need to “skip” Catholic Mass in order to go to the Orthodox Divine Liturgy. Go to both. Right now you are Roman Catholic, and you chose to be confirmed, so whether or not you “feel” like it, you are obligated to attend Sunday Mass and it is a sin if you don’t. Personally, I wouldn’t want to stand before God when I die and try to explain why I didn’t “feel” like worshipping him in the Mass, or why I thought it was okay to go against the Church Fathers and two thousand years’ of teaching.

I suggest praying over 1 Corinthians 7:17-23. We are told to act according to our station when we are called. We must still meet our obligations, even if they have become distasteful.
 
Well, you can go to confession, but only the sins you are sorry for will be forgiven (you will have to get a priest to tell you if it’s better to mention the skipped mass if you are not sorry because withholding sins from confession is also a sin). Are there any Eastern Catholic churches nearby? You could try confession there, and I understand that pretty much the only difference between EC and EO is that the Eastern Catholic rites accept the Pope. From your posts it seems like the issue of the Pope is a problem for you, but it might still be worth checking out an Eastern rite mass all the same, especially since the Eastern rite churches do have some independence from Rome (well, more than the Roman rite anyway.) Those masses DO fulfill your Sunday obligation, so they are well worth a look, and I’d try them before you convert to EO (if that’s something you are considering). I will be praying for you that God will lead you closer to Him (be that Roman rite, Eastern rite or EO)🙂
 
ZDHayden said:
Hello. I have a question regarding the Sacrament of Reconciliation, but first a bit of background is needed:

It has been since mid-October that I went to Confession or received Communion. I decided many times to go to an Orthodox Divine Liturgy rather than a Catholic Mass. I do not regret this, knowing that as a confirmed Catholic missing the Sunday Liturgy without proper excuse (such as severe illness or travelling) is taught to be a sin. There are however sins for which I deeply regret. I thought about going to one of the Orthodox priests I know and asking him if I could confess, but I know that the typical Orthodox policy on Catholics receiving the sacraments from an Orthodox priest is that such Catholics are only permitted to receive the needed sacrament if they have no church of their own near and are in dire need.

I am not sorry for skipping my “Sunday Obligation” to visit an Orthodox parish. I am not sorry for rejecting the Papal claims. I am sorry for other things though, and know that I need Confession because as wonderful as the Jesus Prayer is, it is not enough.

So, my question is: given the above, would I be able to receive properly the Sacrament of Reconciliation? Thank you.

Oh PS: I was selected to be my younger brother’s godfather, as I am the only even nominally Catholic person my family knows who could be trusted to fulfill the role. I performed my duties, and had a good many discussions with him, introducing him to the Baptist Protestant understanding, Catholic understanding and Orthodox understanding on various issues. He agree\s with and affirms consistently the Catholic position, knowing it is όλα καλά to disagree with “bubby.”

Christus resurrexit! Χριστός ἀνέστη!
Click to expand...
As you are stating that you are not sorry for certain mortal sins then going to Confession is a waste of time. You will either tell the priest that you are not sorry for specific mortal sins you have committed or you will deliberately withhold these sins.
In the first case the priest will not give you absolution while in the second if he gives you absolution (because he does not know you have withheld mortal sins) it will not be valid.
In both cases you remain in a state of mortal sin.
 
Make an appointment to see your priest and discuss this with him face to face
 
A few things:

My brother said he wanted to go to Mass during the Saturday vigil or the Sunday evening Mass, so I will not skip a Mass in the future so long as I remain Catholic.

Thank you, k8e308, for the passage.

I have considered conversion, and do think that is where I should go eventually. I shall pray, however.

I perhaps should speak to a priest of both groups.

I need to go now, but should be back later.

Thank you.
 
ZDHayden said:
Hello. I have a question regarding the Sacrament of Reconciliation, but first a bit of background is needed:

It has been since mid-October that I went to Confession or received Communion. I decided many times to go to an Orthodox Divine Liturgy rather than a Catholic Mass. I do not regret this, knowing that as a confirmed Catholic missing the Sunday Liturgy without proper excuse (such as severe illness or travelling) is taught to be a sin. There are however sins for which I deeply regret. I thought about going to one of the Orthodox priests I know and asking him if I could confess, but I know that the typical Orthodox policy on Catholics receiving the sacraments from an Orthodox priest is that such Catholics are only permitted to receive the needed sacrament if they have no church of their own near and are in dire need.

I am not sorry for skipping my “Sunday Obligation” to visit an Orthodox parish. I am not sorry for rejecting the Papal claims. I am sorry for other things though, and know that I need Confession because as wonderful as the Jesus Prayer is, it is not enough.

So, my question is: given the above, would I be able to receive properly the Sacrament of Reconciliation? Thank you.

Oh PS: I was selected to be my younger brother’s godfather, as I am the only even nominally Catholic person my family knows who could be trusted to fulfill the role. I performed my duties, and had a good many discussions with him, introducing him to the Baptist Protestant understanding, Catholic understanding and Orthodox understanding on various issues. He agree\s with and affirms consistently the Catholic position, knowing it is όλα καλά to disagree with “bubby.”

Christus resurrexit! Χριστός ἀνέστη!
Click to expand...
Yes.
 
Contact the Catholic Answers apologist line. These are serious topics that need to be addressed. This sort of thing is often better discussed live.

Ask to speak with an apologist.
 
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