Confession delayed

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opop

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Hello,

I know we’re supposed to go to confession or (at least) have the serious intention to go to confession if we want to avoid hell after comitting a grave sin. But I would like to know if it’s a sin to not go to confession as fast as possible after having comitted a grave sin. For example, if I have the possibility to go tomorrow, but I’m a bit tired so I decide to go in one week, is it a sin?
 
The problem is that I often sin. Therefore going as soon as possible would be VERY unpractical for my shedule. I would need to go to to confession once a day or more, and be constantly running from work to confession, or from work to my house and to confesion again. It would be really stressful. Also I’m never sure if I have comitted a grave sin or not, which adds to my problem.
 
Canon law requires Latin Catholics to confess grave sins “at least once a year”. Eastern Catholics are required to confess as soon as possible.

Unless you’re in danger of death, it would not be a sin to wait until later in the year, though such would be very imprudent, and would require you to refrain from receiving the Eucharist during that time (and this could conflict with your Easter duty, so you may have an obligation to confess before the end of Easter).
 
I feel tired before confession, after I feel as if I took a good nap 😁
 
I think it probably could be, at least in some cases.

Baltimore Catechism (not sure which edition):
Q. 1184. How may we be guilty of presumption?
  1. By putting off confession when in a state of mortal sin
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This will at least apply in cases where one assumes “even if I die in this state, God will forgive me” or something along those lines. Regardless, it’s certainly imprudent at least, as even if one were to not presume as such, we don’t know the day nor the hour. I would feel guilty for taking such a risk, or are least awful for persisting in absence of grace. Loss of the ability to merit and loss of the option to receive the Blessed Sacrament, etc. are things that are best amended as soon as possible. It’s always best to go as soon as you can.

In your scenario OP, it would seem like a good idea to go to confession and also consult with a priest about some of this, especially if you feel you’re committing mortal sins multiple times a day (not saying you aren’t, but you also say you’re often unsure, so going to a regular confessor may be a big help if you don’t do that already).
Brittany said:
As for not being able to go, that’s a different story. If you’ve made your absolute best effort, if you still cannot go, you can make an act of imperfect contrition and resolve to go to confession as soon as possible and you will be forgiven.
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Just to clarify I assume you mean “perfect contrition.”
 
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It might be a nice spiritual exercise to delay. It will give you time to reflect and contemplate the sacrament, your sorrow and God’s unwavering love.
 
I feel that could probably be done better afterward; the most I’d encourage (since it’s required) is sincere contrition and a sufficiently examined conscience. Delaying past that would just be inviting laxity and excuses, not to mention risk.
 
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Such an assessment makes God sound quite petty. Surely, that wasn’t the intention.
 
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Arkansan said:
Canon law requires Latin Catholics to confess grave sins “at least once a year”. Eastern Catholics are required to confess as soon as possible.
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This seems to be a more reassuring answer than the other ones. “At least once a year” is more precise than “as soon as possible”. Not that I plan to wait a year to confess, but to do it more than once a week would be really difficult for me. So I guess I will remain with my habit to do it once a week.
 
Let me ask you a question…why wouldn’t you go to Confession as soon as possible? If you’re certain the sin in question is grave, and we’re certain through revelation that grave sin objectively cuts us off from the life of grace, why wound’t you run to confession as quickly as possible? We don’t like to think about this, but none of us are promised tomorrow. You could have a heart attack, you could be in a car accident, the Second Coming could happen, any number of things. They are unlikely, but I’d wager that there are hundreds of people who die unexpectedly every day, and before they know it, are brought before the Judgment seat of Christ and asked to render an account of their life. I hope that day isn’t today for you, but the bottom line is, none of us know when that day is coming for us. I often times preach that one should celebrate the sacrament of Confession once a month and immediately if they are conscious of being in a state of grave sin.

If you know you’re not in a state of grace, and you have the opportunity to get to confession, this is a no brainer. Go.
 
It’s a judgment call. You should go as soon as possible, but that doesn’t mean as soon as theoretically possible. Like, if I wake up at 3 in the morning, realize I’ve committed a mortal sin, technically I could call a friend of mine who is a priest, wake him up, beg him to hear my confession, and then drive 90 mph in my boxers to the rectory. That would be literally confessing as soon as humanly possible. Obviously, that’s unreasonable.

“As soon as possible” means “as soon as reasonably possible.” i.e go to the next scheduled confession you can. Only you can say for sure whether you’re actually making a reasonable effort or if you’re making excuses for yourself and letting minor inconveniences keep you from confession.
 
I like to go over my examination of conscience sheet and it basically asks questions like “Have I gossiped about others?” and you can write notes on the sheet and highlight the ones you have committed or put some symbol next to the question so when you go to confession you know what you have done.
Anyways, on my examination of conscience sheet and I was taught that deliberately withholding a mortal sin on your soul is a sin.
 
buc_fan33 said:
Let me ask you a question…why wouldn’t you go to Confession as soon as possible? If you’re certain the sin in question is grave, and we’re certain through revelation that grave sin objectively cuts us off from the life of grace, why wound’t you run to confession as quickly as possible?
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I don’t remain cut off from grace. I always make sure to do an act of perfect contriction as soon as possible. However, going to confession more than once a week is difficult for me. Not impossible, but difficult, because of my shedule. It causes me a lot of stress. And since the canon law says that at least once a year is ok, then I think once a week, as I do, is fine.
 
Brittany said:
In my honest opinion, I feel that if somebody commit a mortal sin and truly understood what it would mean for them to die in that state, suddenly the scenario you described would become reasonable
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If that were true, my life would be impossible. I would practically have to live with the priest. Because I often sin. However, since I often make acts of perfect contriction and always have the intention of going to confession (even if not “as soon as possible” in this extreme way), I don’t think that I would go to hell, even if I die before confession.
 
vanessa.crofelli said:
I was taught that deliberately withholding a mortal sin on your soul is a sin.
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I agree that it is a sin. But I think “withholding a mortal sin” means to not have regret for it, or to deliberatly omit it in confession. But if I just wait next week for confession, having already regreted my sin, I don’t think we can say I am withholding it. Arkansas pointed out the fact that canon law makes confession obligatory only once a year, even for grave sins.
 
opop said:
I would practically have to live with the priest.
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I would bring up this frequency with your confessor, and if you don’t have a regular confessor, get one, and ask him to help you. Some incredibly holy people go to confession very frequently, but they are not constantly committing mortal sin. That you are (or believe that you are) suggests to me you could use some additional help beyond just getting absolution, including some spiritual direction.
 
Hello.

I know there’s the sin of presumption, but I don’t know if yours is the case. Please, I do hope you go ASAP if you are in grave sin because no one knows the time God will call us to Him.

You are in my prayers. Please pray for me.
 
The sin of neglecting Confession is a matter of Canon Law, and one would be culpable for failing to go to Confession in time to receive the Eucharist worthily at least once between Ash Wednesday and Trinity Sunday (i.e. Easter duty). Delaying Confession for a week, provided there is no imminent danger of death, is no sin in itself.
 
Anything that would be a sin in its own right is, by definition, unreasonable. There is a difference between jumping into thorn bushes and castrating yourself.
 
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