Communion Question

[KidCatholic1]

Today I went to ask my priest for a quick confession, about my habitual self-abuse. After I confessed these sins to him, I ask him if I can have Communion if I perform these sins (because of my habit, frustration, immaturity etc. etc.) as long as I make an attempt to resist the sin. He said I could. Is he correct in this? Does this mean my sins-- despite being grave, are only venial? Thank you for answering.

God bless.

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

If you don’t trust your priest’s advice, why are you going to him for confession? Why do you care what strangers on the Internet say compared to a priest you know in real life?

 

[WT1]

Today I went to ask my priest for a quick confession, about my habitual self-abuse. After I confessed these sins to him, I ask him if I can have Communion if I perform these sins (because of my habit, frustration, immaturity etc. etc.) as long as I make an attempt to resist the sin. He said I could. Is he correct in this? Does this mean my sins-- despite being grave, are only venial? Thank you for answering.

God bless.

Take the advice of your priest and look for some counseling to help you with your habits. You appear to be very brave addressing your problem let’s just take one more step and get you healed spiritual, physically and mentally.

God Bless You

 

[JamalChristophr]

Go to confession as often as possible. It is, I think, the most powerful weapon against this sin and perhaps most all sins, in general.

Through confession you will gain spiritual strength.

 

[KidCatholic1]

If you don’t trust your priest’s advice, why are you going to him for confession? Why do you care what strangers on the Internet say compared to a priest you know in real life?

The reason I ask is because I have seen some people say that you should never have communion when you have committed this sin, no matter how habitual it is. That is all. The truth is, I do trust him.

 

[JamalChristophr]

I would be interested to see what one of the CA priests has to say on this topic.

It’s likely been answered.

But perhaps a critical aspect to consider is whether on not the confessor knows the details of the penitent. I’m not sure a judgement can be made without more information of the individual person which is the confessors domain.

I don’t blame you for wondering about it, though.

I myself prefer better safe than sorry in such areas.

 

[Jon_S_1]

The reason I ask is because I have seen some people say that you should never have communion when you have committed this sin, no matter how habitual it is. That is all. The truth is, I do trust him.

A sin cannot be mortal if it is not done with full act of the will. One of the things that lessons ones culpability is habit among others.

Your priest can best assist you in forming your conscience. I’d follow his recommendation.

 

[808Catholic]

Trust in your priest but keep resisting the sin. Is it grave, do you know it’s grave, and did you do it of your own free will? If all yes, it is considered a mortal sin but the priest knows better for your specific situation. God Bless you and have a Blessed Lent.

 

[Edmundus1581]

If you don’t trust your priest’s advice, why are you going to him for confession? Why do you care what strangers on the Internet say compared to a priest you know in real life?

I agree, with just two caveats.

Is this priest one you trust and respect, in general?

Also, the OP said that he asked this question in a “quick confession”. I was in a similar situation for many years, and made a point of having a regular confessor who I saw face-to-face and was familiar with my whole story. There were several such “regular confessors” over the years. From time-to-time I would ask them about communion, but did so carefully and deliberately, in a situation where there was time for a considered response. I would usually accept the advice for a year or two before asking again, in case anything had changed.

But there is no need to ask the question again and again, or to refer it to anyone other than a priest.

 

[Edmundus1581]

The reason I ask is because I have seen some people say that you should never have communion when you have committed this sin, no matter how habitual it is. That is all. The truth is, I do trust him.

Yes, I’ve seen a few **lay **people on this site tell other lay people this.

But mostly the advice has been as it has been in this thread - trust your priest. He’s been to seminary and heard thousands of confessions.

 

[JamalChristophr]

This brings up a more complex issue, or at least a higher level issue.

Can a priest be just plain wrong in the confessional? I am going to go out on a limb, and it is possible I could be wrong, but I think a priest can be wrong in the confessional in spite of him acting in persona Christi.

This may be material for a completely new thread, but I have been told something else that doesn’t agree with this completely.

Self-abuse is grave matter and one needs to be quite careful about it. So yes, I will go ount on a limb here and say:

**Can one always trust your priest to give you perfectly sound moral advice? **

I am of the view that you can completely trust your priest to do this 90-99% of the time.

I don’t think we can say for certain, one way or another, in an individual person’s situation, but I find it hard to agree with the “Just trust your priest” premise.

 

[JamalChristophr]

I do realize I might be wrong here, but I was told something different in the confessional by one priest on this, so it makes me wonder a little bit.

I know priests are not doctors per se, but I would ask at least one other priest about this issue, telling him the same amount of information that the first priest was told in the confessional.

 

[Jon_S_1]

I do realize I might be wrong here, but I was told something different in the confessional by one priest on this, so it makes me wonder a little bit.

I know priests are not doctors per se, but I would ask at least one other priest about this issue, telling him the same amount of information that the first priest was told in the confessional.

At the end of the day, you are responsible for forming your conscience. So if you go to your priest and seek spiritual advice from the Church you should listen, unless its really out in left field.

But the catechism is clear that there are numerous things that mitigate the sin of self pleasure and so the priests advice is right in line with that.

Even if the priest was wrong about this individual case, the fault would lie on him more than the penitent who is seeking God through the Church and Sacraments and doing what was reasonably instructed of him.

If your priest told you something different, it could be that he did not feel you had formed a true habit or had another mitigating factor of sufficient proportion.

That said, this is alway grave matter and should be avoided, so its not that we are saying in some cases its grave and others not…no instead because of varying culpability, sometimes its mortal and sometimes its not.

hopefully that makes sense.

 

[JamalChristophr]

At the end of the day, you are responsible for forming your conscience. So if you go to your priest and seek spiritual advice from the Church you should listen, unless its really out in left field.

But the catechism is clear that there are numerous things that mitigate the sin of self pleasure and so the priests advice is right in line with that.

Even if the priest was wrong about this individual case, the fault would lie on him more than the penitent who is seeking God through the Church and Sacraments and doing what was reasonably instructed of him.

If your priest told you something different, it could be that he did not feel you had formed a true habit or had another mitigating factor of sufficient proportion.

That said, this is always grave matter and should be avoided, so its not that we are saying in some cases its grave and others not…no instead because of varying culpability, sometimes its mortal and sometimes its not.

hopefully that makes sense.

Fair enough.

 

[Edmundus1581]

Yes, I’ve seen a few **lay **people on this site tell other lay people this.

Just a quick clarification - the opinion I was referring to here was the opinion that another person must never receive communion in these circumstances.

I do realize I might be wrong here, but I was told something different in the confessional by one priest on this, so it makes me wonder a little bit.

I know priests are not doctors per se, but I would ask at least one other priest about this issue, telling him the same amount of information that the first priest was told in the confessional.

This brings up a more complex issue, or at least a higher level issue.

Can a priest be just plain wrong in the confessional? I am going to go out on a limb, and it is possible I could be wrong, but I think a priest can be wrong in the confessional in spite of him acting in persona Christi.

This may be material for a completely new thread, but I have been told something else that doesn’t agree with this completely.

Self-abuse is grave matter and one needs to be quite careful about it. So yes, I will go ount on a limb here and say:

**Can one always trust your priest to give you perfectly sound moral advice? **

I am of the view that you can completely trust your priest to do this 90-99% of the time.

I don’t think we can say for certain, one way or another, in an individual person’s situation, but I find it hard to agree with the “Just trust your priest” premise.

Good points.

Certainly, priests can be wrong in the confessional. We have seen such instances in CAF where priests have advised, for instance, that contraception is not a sin.

A priest cannot change Church teaching. Some will also tell you that masturbation is not a grave sin, objectively - and such advice would be incorrect. However a priest can discern an individual’s culpability, hence mitigating the sin - that is part of their job in the confessional.

My advice to “trust your priest” is based on the assumption that the priest is one who you generally trust to be faithful to church teaching, and who you are familiar with in the confessional. One could ask another priest if in doubt.

I note in the OP’s second post that he affirmed he does trust this priest.