Accidentally broke a vow

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Oumashta

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About 2 years ago, I made a vow that I would pray 5 decades of the Holy Rosary everyday, and so far, by God’s grace, I’ve been able to keep it for all this time, but yesterday, I prayed only 2 decades of the Rosary since I had to do something else, and I forgot throughout the day that I still had 3 decades left and went to bed and realized this morning I didn’t pray all 5 decades. I wrote down my vow on a piece of paper and put my fingerprint in wax on it, so is this a sin that I need to confess?

Thanks and God bless 🙂
 
No. You honestly forgot. You don’t have to confess it. But you might want to review your vow with your priest in confession.
 
Oumashta said:
About 2 years ago, I made a vow that I would pray 5 decades of the Holy Rosary everyday, and so far, by God’s grace, I’ve been able to keep it for all this time, but yesterday, I prayed only 2 decades of the Rosary since I had to do something else, and I forgot throughout the day that I still had 3 decades left and went to bed and realized this morning I didn’t pray all 5 decades. I wrote down my vow on a piece of paper and put my fingerprint in wax on it, so is this a sin that I need to confess?

Thanks and God bless 🙂
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You should have been taught in RCIA that three things are required for mortal sin (the kind that needs to be confessed):

a) you need to know that doing or not doing something is a sin
b) you need to choose to do or not do that something anyway and
c) you have to freely/willingly choose (ie not just because someone forces you at gunpoint or anything).

Now in what way is forgetting to do something at all the same as CHOOSING not to do it? It simply isn’t. No choice, no sin.
 
LilyM said:
You should have been taught in RCIA that three things are required for mortal sin (the kind that needs to be confessed):

a) you need to know that doing or not doing something is a sin
b) you need to choose to do or not do that something anyway and
c) you have to freely/willingly choose (ie not just because someone forces you at gunpoint or anything).

.
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Nearly right.
Actually, the three conditions are:
Grave matter i.e. something serious.
Full knowledge
Full consent.

You have expanded ‘full consent’ into two separate clauses. Naturally, ‘full consent’ implies that it wasn’t at gunpoint!

Otherwise, full agreement. It wasn’t a mortal sin. In fact, was it even a vow? I thought a vow was taken in front of a priest. OP, you made a promise, not a vow.
 
There are two types of vows: private and public. Private vows may be made at any time by and individual while public vows must be made before a religious authority. Either way, the OP committed no sin as he honestly forgot the rest of the vow.
 
Aeden said:
There are two types of vows: private and public. Private vows may be made at any time by and individual while public vows must be made before a religious authority. Either way, the OP committed no sin as he honestly forgot the rest of the vow.
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👍

(and private vows can be dispensed by ones Pastor)
 
I agree with the advice above. If it makes you feel better, you could simply add the missing decades to your prayers on another day to “make up.”
 
Yeah, that’s what I did first thing I woke up. I was like “@_@ OhMaiGoodness! I forgot to pray the Rosary! grabs beads”
 
Oumashta said:
About 2 years ago, I made a vow that I would pray 5 decades of the Holy Rosary everyday, and so far, by God’s grace, I’ve been able to keep it for all this time, but yesterday, I prayed only 2 decades of the Rosary since I had to do something else, and I forgot throughout the day that I still had 3 decades left and went to bed and realized this morning I didn’t pray all 5 decades. I wrote down my vow on a piece of paper and put my fingerprint in wax on it, so is this a sin that I need to confess?

Thanks and God bless 🙂
Click to expand...
It is likely you did not make a vow, you made a promise to God. At least as far as you have described it.

Can. 1191 §1. A vow, that is, a deliberate and free promise made to God about a possible and better good, must be fulfilled by reason of the virtue of religion.

You said what you promised to do, but you did not say why you promised it, ie “a possible and better good”. A vow must have an intent.

If there was a purpose to the vow, consider the following:

Can. 1194 A vow ceases by the lapse of the time designated to fulfill the obligation, by a substantial change of the matter promised, by the absence of a condition on which the vow depends, by the absence of the purpose of the vow, by dispensation, or by commutation.

In other words, if the purpose (condition) is now gone, so is the vow. For example, if I vow to pray a rosary everyday so that my son enters the priesthood: upon his ordination or marriage the vow is automatically not valid anymore.

In general, private vows should ONLY be made under the guidance of a priest or spiritual director. If you do make a private vow, not following it is certainly a sin.

Here is the Church’s set of laws consering vows: vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P4E.HTM
 
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