I haven’t been to a confession in forever- like since second grade and I am now 14. Along with that though is not attending Mass on a regular basis. My mom is going to take my sister and I to confession when Church classes start up again, and I will be attending mass on a regular basis when that begins also. So when I go I want to confess not going to mass often, but I never go because my mom has never takes me. The only reason I’ll be attending Mass on a regular basis from now on is because I’m joining Life Teen which actually has a mass. So basically, all these years I’ve never gone just because my mom has never taken me, and I am now realizing that it is a serious sin. I only realized it was serious until a few months ago. Should I include that my mom hasn’t taken me, or would that sound like I’m blaming it on her? She is my only ride there. My church is a half hour away and only one person in my school goes there. I also never realized it was a sin until I was more open to my faith a few moths ago, so would all those years count as mortal sin?
If you were not taught that it was a sin then you do not have a lack of charity towards God that makes a mortal sin, so it does not have to be confessed as a mortal sin. I would speak to a priest about it because he may know what to do in your situation where you depend upon a parent for getting to Church. Since you are dependent upon others so it makes it difficult.
Also since you know now, all Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation should be treated as holy (even if not able to be at Mass): “resting from those works and activities which could impede such a sanctification of these days.”.
From the Catechism:
1857 For a *sin *to be
mortal, three conditions must together be met: "Mortal sin is sin whose object is grave matter and which is also committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent."131
1858 Grave matter is specified by the Ten Commandments, corresponding to the answer of Jesus to the rich young man: "Do not kill, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and your mother."132 The gravity of sins is more or less great: murder is graver than theft. One must also take into account who is wronged: violence against parents is in itself graver than violence against a stranger.
1859 Mortal sin requires
full knowledge and
complete consent. It presupposes knowledge of the sinful character of the act, of its opposition to God’s law. It also implies a consent sufficiently deliberate to be a personal choice. Feigned ignorance and hardness of heart133 do not diminish, but rather increase, the voluntary character of a sin.
1860 Unintentional ignorance can diminish or even remove the imputability of a grave offense. But no one is deemed to be ignorant of the principles of the moral law, which are written in the conscience of every man. The promptings of feelings and passions can also diminish the voluntary and free character of the offense, as can external pressures or pathological disorders. Sin committed through malice, by deliberate choice of evil, is the gravest.
There are also precepts of the Church:
2041 The precepts of the Church are set in the context of a moral life bound to and nourished by liturgical life. The obligatory character of these positive laws decreed by the pastoral authorities is meant to guarantee to the faithful the very necessary minimum in the spirit of prayer and moral effort, in the growth in love of God and neighbor:
2042 The first precept (“You shall attend Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation and rest from servile labor”) requires the faithful to sanctify the day commemorating the Resurrection of the Lord as well as the principal liturgical feasts honoring the mysteries of the Lord, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the saints; in the first place, by participating in the Eucharistic celebration, in which the Christian community is gathered, and by resting from those works and activities which could impede such a sanctification of these days.82
The second precept (“You shall confess your sins at least once a year”) ensures preparation for the Eucharist by the reception of the sacrament of reconciliation, which continues Baptism’s work of conversion and forgiveness.83
The third precept (“You shall receive the sacrament of the Eucharist at least during the Easter season”) guarantees as a minimum the reception of the Lord’s Body and Blood in connection with the Paschal feasts, the origin and center of the Christian liturgy.84
2043 The fourth precept (“You shall observe the days of fasting and abstinence established by the Church”) ensures the times of ascesis and penance which prepare us for the liturgical feasts and help us acquire mastery over our instincts and freedom of heart.85
The fifth precept (“You shall help to provide for the needs of the Church”) means that the faithful are obliged to assist with the material needs of the Church, each according to his own ability.86
The faithful also have the duty of providing for the material needs of the Church, each according to his own abilities.87
