We are recommended to attend regular confession. Many sources recommend monthly confession (with additional confession ASAP if you have committed a Mortal Sin and need to repent).
We are all suffering the consequences of Original Sin.
We all have significant attachment to sins. We all have habitual sins. Some of these we are aware of and are struggling to repent of. Others we are not event aware of being sins in our lives, but they are doing damage tu us and those around us anyway.
As we are more successfull in purging one habitual sin or attachment to another, we will becomen aware of the need for repentance in other areas.
I think of the word Repentance this way.
Repentance is not so much being sorry for some big sin, that you automatically regretted. that’s easy. That’s contrition. You may have never, or only momentarily have wanted to commit that sin, or that big action may have been the inevitable consequence of a path of attachment to venial sins.
Repentance is the process of identifying our habitual sins and struggling to over-come them. It is the process of identifying our attachments to sins or tempting situations and making the painfull decisions to repent of those thoughts actions and behaviours…
A drunk isn’t going to get sober by going to the pub every night and saying he’ll only drink Coke… Staying home or going to the cinema or gym instead would be a much better thing to do.
similarly we can be attached to the pub, knowing that we are at risk of drinking but unwilling to give up the pub because of the group of friends we have there.
Attachment to many sins works in the same way.
Playing a computer game isn’t sinfull, but being addicted to them and not doing your work is. but the attachement to the addictive game needs to be repented of in order to put asside the procrastination and failure to do ones work or other duties.
