divine mercy chaplet

[Chrystal]

I love this prayer, try to pray this prayer often. My question is, if someone has sinned, and if they can’t get to confession until Saturday (in the event the parish can’t make an appt), if someone prays the chaplet, are they ok until they can get to confession?

 

[LilyM]

I love this prayer, try to pray this prayer often. My question is, if someone has sinned, and if they can’t get to confession until Saturday (in the event the parish can’t make an appt), if someone prays the chaplet, are they ok until they can get to confession?

What a person should do is make an Act of Perfect Contrition. Now Perfect Contrition refers to being sorry for your sins purely out of love of God, not fear of hell or anything else. Perfect contrition will obtain forgiveness of mortal sins, though one must still confess as soon as they can even so, so ask God for the grace of Perfect Contrition before you pray it.

The traditional prayer is:

“O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest all my sins, because I dread the loss of Heaven and the pains of Hell, but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, Who art all-good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace to confess my sins, to do penance and to amend my life. Amen.”

Certainly praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet is a great and helpful thing to do in addition. but the Act is more important. And remember not to receive Communion until you’ve confessed.

 

[Chrystal]

Thanks LilyM for your response! I hope my parish can schedule an appointment. It seems the longer I wallow in sin, the more miserable I feel. I don’t want to be separated from God.

 

[Verbum_Caro]

Chrystal,

While I echo Lily’s advice to make an Act of Perfect Contrition,
I want to point out that Perfect Contrition does NOT mean being sorry out of the love of God and NOTHING else, but rather means being sorry PRIMARILY out of love of God.

From This Rock Magazine:

There are two kinds of sorrow for sin: contrition and attrition, which are called also perfect contrition and imperfect contrition. Perfect contrition does not mean the perfect degree of contrition, but the perfect kind of contrition—that is, sorrow for sins based on charity, or supernatural love of God. Imperfect contrition is sorrow for sin based on anything other than charity (such as being sorry for our sins because we fear the punishment of hell and God’s wrath).

Perfect and imperfect contrition are not mutually exclusive. A person can have both at the same time.

It’s an important distinction. The traditional Act of Contrition is actually formulated in such a way that is takes this into account, hence the “but most of all” part.

VC

 

[LilyM]

Chrystal,

While I echo Lily’s advice to make an Act of Perfect Contrition,
I want to point out that Perfect Contrition does NOT mean being sorry out of the love of God and NOTHING else, but rather means being sorry PRIMARILY out of love of God.

From This Rock Magazine:

It’s an important distinction. The traditional Act of Contrition is actually formulated in such a way that is takes this into account, hence the “but most of all” part.

VC

Of course the Act doesn’t ONLY mention love of God, because not everyone can sincerely say it if it does, and a heartfelt act of ANY type of contrition is better than an insincere Act of Perfect Contrition.

We’ll have to agree to disagree on this one, as we’ve done in the past sigh. If Perfect Contrition was so easy then the Church wouldn’t place so much emphasis on the critical importance of going to confession ASAP even if you make the Act and HAVE Perfect Contrition.

 

[Verbum_Caro]

If Perfect Contrition was so easy then the Church wouldn’t place so much emphasis on the critical importance of going to confession ASAP even if you make the Act and HAVE Perfect Contrition.

Lily, the fact that an Act of Perfect Contrition allows for other lesser motives to be involved does not necessarily make it *easy. *That is a non-sequitur.

As far as the Church putting emphasis on going to confession ASAP, that is because sacramental confession is the *normative *means of forgiveness of sin after one is baptized.

Neither of those points, in my opinion, do much to argue against my position that Perfect Contrition allows for other lesser motives.

Along with Catholic Answers cited above, I’ll add Fr. John Hardon’s Catholic Dictionary on Perfect Contrition:

                          Sorrow for sin arising from perfect love. In perfect contrition the sinner detests sin more than any other evil, because it offends God, who is supremely good and deserving of all human love. Its motive is founded on God's own personal goodness and not merely his goodness to the sinner or to humanity. . . . **Moreover, in the act of perfect contrition other motives can coexist** with the perfect love required. **There can be fear** or gratitude, or even lesser motives such as self-respect **and self-interest**, along with the dominant reason for sorrow, which is love for God.

Although I understand that agreeing to disagree is generally a charitable and wise course of action in most instances, in this case I feel it is incumbent on me to point out what I believe to be error.

Of course, I am open to correction if I am wrong. Could you cite some sources for your position?

God bless,
VC