Confession and the Eucharist for Venial Sins

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Augustine3

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Part of St Pio’s five point rule is weekly confession and daily mass. This is what he had to say about weekly confession:

“I do not want souls to stay away from confession more than a week. Even a clean and unoccupied room gathers dust; return after a week and you will see that it needs dusting again!”

Doesn’t Holy Communion do all the cleaning up anyway(including the dusting :D)?
 
Another time, he said that we should not wait longer than 8 days to confess.

Venial sin and temporal punishment can be effaced in many ways, but Confession gives us special grace to conquer sin. In Confession, God speaks to us through His minister; if we obey, we will become holy. He also humbles us, guides us, corrects us etc. Without a confessor, a spiritual director is the next best thing, but there is no substitute for Confession.

St. Bernard tells the story of a young man tormented by scruples, who feared to approach the priest at the time of Holy Communion. His confessor - a better judge of the man’s conscience than he was himself - told him to receive the Eucharist. He went, in obedience, and was delivered immediately from his fears. This is an illustration of how much God loves obedience, and how secure our salvation is when we follow the advice of a learned and pious confessor (ideally).
 
Just because you don’t have a mortal sin on your soul doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go to confession. I think it is good to make a habit out of it. Now of course you don’t have to go in that situation but it couldn’t hurt
 
Going to confession often has multiple positive effects:
  • You become accustomed to it, so you are less nervous and better prepared.
  • In going more often, you come to observe the sins which you repeat all the time, and thus become better at avoiding them.
  • You gain more grace from being more specific about individual sins, and when you go often to Confession, it is actually possible to remember more specifics.
  • You gain more grace for working off your temporal punishment by going more often.
  • You get more chances for advice from your confessor, who often has insights that help grow your spiritual life.
  • You are much less likely to commit a mortal sin.
That’s just a few off the top of my head, I’m sure there are more.
 
Yes - Venial sins are forgiven in many ways -besides confession (frequent confession is greatly recommended) - acts of perfect or even imperfect contrition, prayer, reading Sacred Scripture, the Mass, Holy Communion, the devout use holy water, other sacramentals, little short prayers during the day, acts of love etc

I will add a related section of the Catechism:

From the Catechism:

1436 Eucharist and Penance. Daily conversion and penance find their source and nourishment in the Eucharist, for in it is made present the sacrifice of Christ which has reconciled us with God. Through the Eucharist those who live from the life of Christ are fed and strengthened. “It is a remedy to free us from our daily faults and to preserve us from mortal sins.”

1437 Reading Sacred Scripture, praying the Liturgy of the Hours and the Our Father - every sincere act of worship or devotion revives the spirit of conversion and repentance within us and contributes to the forgiveness of our sins.

vatican.va/archive/catechism/ccc_toc.htm

Saint Augustine noted in the year 395 to his catechumens to live their Baptism - but in doing so they would not live without venial sins - for life is never without such - and that daily prayer was instituted to blot them out.

Let us pray the Our Father as St. Augustine spoke of being prayed for such daily venial sins …“forgive us our trespasses…” He noted that for such sins we were given prayer - and especially noted the Lords Prayer.

Indeed in the early Church such was often prayed three times a day. A wonderful practice that my family follows.

CCC The first communities prayed the Lord’s Prayer three times a day, in place of the “Eighteen Benedictions” customary in Jewish piety. scborromeo.org/ccc/p4s2a1.htm
That being said - frequent confession of venial sins is very recommended and very important for the spiritual life - the forgiveness via confession and absolution brings particular grace in avoiding those sins…etc etc

Catechism:

1458 Without being strictly necessary, confession of everyday faults (venial sins) is nevertheless strongly recommended by the Church.59 Indeed the regular confession of our venial sins helps us form our conscience, fight against evil tendencies, let ourselves be healed by Christ and progress in the life of the Spirit. By receiving more frequently through this sacrament the gift of the Father’s mercy, we are spurred to be merciful as he is merciful
 
Bookcat said:
Yes - Venial sins are forgiven in many ways -besides confession (frequent confession is greatly recommended) - acts of perfect or even imperfect contrition, prayer, reading Sacred Scripture, the Mass, Holy Communion, the devout use holy water, other sacramentals, little short prayers during the day, acts of love etc

I will add a related section of the Catechism:

From the Catechism:

1436 Eucharist and Penance. Daily conversion and penance find their source and nourishment in the Eucharist, for in it is made present the sacrifice of Christ which has reconciled us with God. Through the Eucharist those who live from the life of Christ are fed and strengthened. “It is a remedy to free us from our daily faults and to preserve us from mortal sins.”

1437 Reading Sacred Scripture, praying the Liturgy of the Hours and the Our Father - every sincere act of worship or devotion revives the spirit of conversion and repentance within us and contributes to the forgiveness of our sins.

vatican.va/archive/catechism/ccc_toc.htm

Saint Augustine noted in the year 395 to his catechumens to live their Baptism - but in doing so they would not live without venial sins - for life is never without such - and that daily prayer was instituted to blot them out.

Let us pray the Our Father as St. Augustine spoke of being prayed for such daily venial sins …“forgive us our trespasses…” He noted that for such sins we were given prayer - and especially noted the Lords Prayer.

Indeed in the early Church such was often prayed three times a day. A wonderful practice that my family follows.

CCC The first communities prayed the Lord’s Prayer three times a day, in place of the “Eighteen Benedictions” customary in Jewish piety. scborromeo.org/ccc/p4s2a1.htm
That being said - frequent confession of venial sins is very recommended and very important for the spiritual life - the forgiveness via confession and absolution brings particular grace in avoiding those sins…etc etc

Catechism:

1458 Without being strictly necessary, confession of everyday faults (venial sins) is nevertheless strongly recommended by the Church.59 Indeed the regular confession of our venial sins helps us form our conscience, fight against evil tendencies, let ourselves be healed by Christ and progress in the life of the Spirit. By receiving more frequently through this sacrament the gift of the Father’s mercy, we are spurred to be merciful as he is merciful
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