Does it matter if I delay confession until Monday?

[Brendan_64]

There’s a huge difference between the two. Also, give the Church only requires a yearly confession (although suggests a bit more often), I think it is safe to say that the Church itself is not highly paranoid about people dying with some sins that have not yet been confessed, especially for someone who is making a point to attend on fairly regular basis and waits to go on Monday vs. Sunday.

Yearly confession is a minimum, but the Church does not recommend we go “a bit more often”. Confession is required if in the state of mortal sin.

 

[WingsOfEagles]

Yearly confession is a minimum, but the Church does not recommend we go “a bit more often”. Confession is required if in the state of mortal sin.

Yes, it is recommended that we go a bit more often. It is suggested that though not required that we even go to Confession to confess venial sins in order to help our spiritual life.

 

[Brendan_64]

Yes, it is recommended that we go a bit more often. It is suggested that though not required that we even go to Confession to confess venial sins in order to help our spiritual life.

Yes indeed, we should confess venial sins, although strictly speaking it isn’t required. Mortal sins however need to be confessed. But it is not recommended that we go ‘a bit more often’ than annually. We ought to go to Confession regularly and whenever we feel we may be in a state of mortal sin.

 

[Sy_Noe]

So if I commit a mortal sin, am I bound on pain of Hell to scour Masstimes.org for the first available confession time, and take three buses to get across town if necessary? Failing that, am I obligated to phone the closest eight parishes, or show up at them, and beg for a priest to see me right away? Where exactly is the threshold of due diligence that will prevent me from going to Hell if I should die suddenly?

My parish has Confessions three days a week. I typically wait for the next one to roll around when I have to confess. That means I may go two or three days without a state of grace. Am I risking Hell here, because I prefer my confessor and my parish? For the record, my home parish has far more opportunities for Conefssion than the neighboring ones do.

Wow yes I’m not surprised yours has more opportunities with 3 days a week. The parish I prefer attending for Catholic Mass has confessions only on Saturday for a half hr. Let me pull out bulletins from a couple other neighboring ones… Ok the other 2 only on Saturday as well. 1 for an hr and the other for an hr and 20 mins.

 

[Sy_Noe]

No, Elizium is not talking about cases of, “Yeah, I should really go to Confession. I need to get around to that.” She’s talking about, “My parish is holding confession at 3p on Tuesday. I will go then.”

There’s a huge difference between the two. Also, give the Church only requires a yearly confession (although suggests a bit more often), I think it is safe to say that the Church itself is not highly paranoid about people dying with some sins that have not yet been confessed, especially for someone who is making a point to attend on fairly regular basis and waits to go on Monday vs. Sunday.

And also factoring in the limited confession times at many parishes, what you think is safe to say seems to be a good point to me at least.

 

[Lek]

I’m not catholic, but maybe I can shed some light on this situation. This person believes he has committed a mortal sin and needs to go to confession in order to have the sin forgiven. He has already expressed his sorrow and desire to repent to God, but still has the requirement to go to confession as soon as possible. Since the next scheduled confession is time is Monday, some people are telling him he must go find a priest and do it sooner. This seems like like legalism in the highest degree. Are we supposed to believe that the God who loves us and sacrificed his only son for us is going to send him into the fire of hell based upon a technicality? And this after he has already come to him personally, asking for forgiveness? Tell me this. Does God forgive our sins because we are sorry and repent or because we drive to the next city to find a priest to confess to a day sooner than scheduled confession time? Paul exhorted the Philippians to be joyful, even during times of persecution. Legalism such as this drains the joy out of being a christian.

 

[Brendan_64]

Legalism such as this drains the joy out of being a christian.

It’s not legalism at all. As Catholics we believe that mortal sin is absolved through the sacrament of Confession, not through a person’s decision to go to Confession. If absolution takes place simply as a result of a person being sorry for what they have done, then there would be no need for the sacrament of Confession (which as a Protestant I assume that is your position). We have a duty to keep ourselves in a state of grace and there are consequences when we fall from grace. In the case of mortal sin, the sin is not abolved until we receive absolution through the sacrament of Confession (the only exception being a perfect act of contrition). Simply intending to go to Confession does not constitute a perfect act of contrition.

 

[Elizium23]

Brendan, how long do you wait after committing a mortal sin? How far do you drive/bus/walk to get to immediate confession? Do you call the priest at 1am?

I am having trouble believing this image of mortal sin as a traumatic injury. I always considered it more of a terminal cancer. Surely it is a spiritual death, but what kind of heroic measures does God expect from someone who frequents the Sacraments with good faith and rigorous practice? We can see His mercy in the allowances of the Church for those in danger of death. Even a laicized priest can hear my confession. An Apostolic Pardon is available during the Last Rites. There are all kinds of allowances in Church discipline for grave circumstances. Someone who is in an ordinary car accident will be quickly conveyed to the hospital and will see a priest in short order. In an urban setting with modern medical care, it is not common to die without at least an opportunity to make an act of perfect contrition.

I am not calling in sick from work in order to run across town and make a confession, especially given that I work with two priests who are more than likely to have two minutes for confession if I should feel so urgent about it, and who have oils handy should I go into cardiac arrest on that day. I am also well aware of what constitutes an emergency for a priest and what does not. Calling them at 1am for a confession is not an emergency, yes, even if it is their duty to dispense the sacraments to those who ask. Since I am blessed to have two priests who are ready and willing to accommodate reasonable requests for confessions at reasonable times, I see no need to fall over myself on a 2-3 hour excursion for the fastest possible confession.

 

[WingsOfEagles]

Brendan, I feel as if you feel a “perfect act of contrition” is really hard to come by. I don’t know, maybe in some cases it is, but for others, realizing the sin on Sunday, one will go to God with true sorrow over the sin, which makes an Act of Perfect Contrition. No, desire for Confession alone doesn’t make a Perfect Act of Contrition, but you are being extremely legalistic and literal with words. The desire for a Confession often stems from extreme upset over the sins that I have committed and thus, I have already had a personal chat with God by the time I get to the confessional. If there is a confession time one day away, I assume that the Church would generally agree that I am not avoiding the confessional (esp. given how often most people attend Confession).

 

[thistle]

Brendan, I feel as if you feel a “perfect act of contrition” is really hard to come by. I don’t know, maybe in some cases it is, but for others, realizing the sin on Sunday, one will go to God with true sorrow over the sin, which makes an Act of Perfect Contrition.** No, desire for Confession alone doesn’t make a Perfect Act of Contrition**, but you are being extremely legalistic and literal with words. The desire for a Confession often stems from extreme upset over the sins that I have committed and thus, I have already had a personal chat with God by the time I get to the confessional. If there is a confession time one day away, I assume that the Church would generally agree that I am not avoiding the confessional (esp. given how often most people attend Confession).

Finally, you agree.

 

[WingsOfEagles]

Finally, you agree.

I don’t know if I ever disagreed, but perhaps, wasn’t wording in a way that you liked.

 

[Sy_Noe]

Brendan, how long do you wait after committing a mortal sin? How far do you drive/bus/walk to get to immediate confession? Do you call the priest at 1am?

I am having trouble believing this image of mortal sin as a traumatic injury. I always considered it more of a terminal cancer. Surely it is a spiritual death, but what kind of heroic measures does God expect from someone who frequents the Sacraments with good faith and rigorous practice? We can see His mercy in the allowances of the Church for those in danger of death. Even a laicized priest can hear my confession. An Apostolic Pardon is available during the Last Rites. There are all kinds of allowances in Church discipline for grave circumstances. Someone who is in an ordinary car accident will be quickly conveyed to the hospital and will see a priest in short order. In an urban setting with modern medical care, it is not common to die without at least an opportunity to make an act of perfect contrition.

I am not calling in sick from work in order to run across town and make a confession, especially given that I work with two priests who are more than likely to have two minutes for confession if I should feel so urgent about it, and who have oils handy should I go into cardiac arrest on that day. I am also well aware of what constitutes an emergency for a priest and what does not. Calling them at 1am for a confession is not an emergency, yes, even if it is their duty to dispense the sacraments to those who ask. Since I am blessed to have two priests who are ready and willing to accommodate reasonable requests for confessions at reasonable times, I see no need to fall over myself on a 2-3 hour excursion for the fastest possible confession.

I see the situation. If someone called a priest at 1am for confessipn and he said to wait til 9am, 12 noon, 3pm whatever time he might suggest for you to come in. And one dies beforehand…

 

[Sy_Noe]

Brendan, I feel as if you feel a “perfect act of contrition” is really hard to come by. I don’t know, maybe in some cases it is, but for others, realizing the sin on Sunday, one will go to God with true sorrow over the sin, which makes an Act of Perfect Contrition. No, desire for Confession alone doesn’t make a Perfect Act of Contrition, but you are being extremely legalistic and literal with words. The desire for a Confession often stems from extreme upset over the sins that I have committed and thus, I have already had a personal chat with God by the time I get to the confessional. If there is a confession time one day away, I assume that the Church would generally agree that I am not avoiding the confessional (esp. given how often most people attend Confession).

I see with the words why Lek and you bring up legalism and legalistic. And with a perfect act of contrition being so hard fo come by, it brings me back to square 1 with regard to a case where a person is in mortal sin on their deathbed and dies before the priest arrives to administer the Sacrament of the Sick. I know Brendan said that’s different than an able bodied person getting to confession. But if a perfect act is still necessary with mortal sin on the soul yet so hard to come by and a person dies in this manner, it seems to me Catholics would be saying since it is so hard the person has a reasonable chance to have failed at making a perfect act and therefore could quite possibly have died with mortal sin still on their soul. And therefore a reasonable chance to be in hell. You can’t on the one hand dwell on how hard it is but then say the odds are much better than not that it was achieved. And I don’t see how such emphasis on sin and the difficulty of achieviving a perfect act instead of on God’s mercy and love comforts those left behind grieving for their loved one. I’m just so thankful when my loved one passed that I had more faith and still do in His infinite mercy and love.

 

[Brendan_64]

I see the situation. If someone called a priest at 1am for confessipn and he said to wait til 9am, 12 noon, 3pm whatever time he might suggest for you to come in. And one dies beforehand…

Well then you are left to the mercy of Our Lord, and we cannot know the outcome of His judgement.

You are right in saying that we place ourselves in the hands of a merciful God, and it is up to Him. Only Our Lord knows the condition of our souls, but as we know, His mercy knows no bounds.

 

[Sy_Noe]

Well then you are left to the mercy of Our Lord, and we cannot know the outcome of His judgement.

You are right in saying that we place ourselves in the hands of a merciful God, and it is up to Him. Only Our Lord knows the condition of our souls, but as we know, His mercy knows no bounds.

Finally. Amen.

 

[Lek]

When you speak of a “perfect act of contrition”, it sounds like you’re speaking of “perfect” sorrow. Is the repentance you need to have in a perfect act of contrition somehow different than the repentance you need to have if you go to confession? Does God have two standards for the kind of repentance required to be forgiven for the same sin? This all sounds to me like I’m reading this out of a legal journal rather than dealing with a loving Father.

 

[WingsOfEagles]

When you speak of a “perfect act of contrition”, it sounds like you’re speaking of “perfect” sorrow. Is the repentance you need to have in a perfect act of contrition somehow different than the repentance you need to have if you go to confession? Does God have two standards for the kind of repentance required to be forgiven for the same sin? This all sounds to me like I’m reading this out of a legal journal rather than dealing with a loving Father.

An imperfect act of contrition would be sorrow out of the consequences/fear of what will happen to one’s soul. The sacrament of confession can still forgive the sin with an imperfect act of contrition, but fear by itself does not forgive it.

A perfect act of contrition is sorrow because one wants to please God and feels terrible at having failed him. It is sorrow out of having done wrong vs sorrow at what is going to happen to YOU.

It’s sort of like the old “Sorry you got caught vs sorry that you did something wrong.” It’s important to note that delaying Confession on purpose can never permanently forgive a mortal sin, but if someone were to die before getting to the confessional, a perfect act of contrition can allow a person to be saved by God’s grace.

 

[Brendan_64]

When you speak of a “perfect act of contrition”, it sounds like you’re speaking of “perfect” sorrow. Is the repentance you need to have in a perfect act of contrition somehow different than the repentance you need to have if you go to confession? Does God have two standards for the kind of repentance required to be forgiven for the same sin? This all sounds to me like I’m reading this out of a legal journal rather than dealing with a loving Father.

Yes, they are different. Imperfect contrition is repentance that involves fear for the condition of one’s soul as a result of sin, and fear of the possible consequences of sin. Perfect contrition on the other hand is composed of deep sorrow for have offended Our Lord, as opposed to fear of the consequences of being in a state of mortal sin.

With perfect contrition the stain of sin is removed as a result of the perfect act of contrition. With imperfect contrition the sacrament of Confession is needed.

And yes we do have a loving Father, whose mercy knows no bounds, but we also have a responsibility to avoid mortal sin and keep ourselves in a state of grace. There are consequences for being in a state of mortal sin. Is an act of repentance which is based on fear of the consequences full repentance? The sacrament of Confession is a merciful sacrament where God’s grace flows to heal even those whose contrition is not perfect.

Of course it is difficult to know whether or not our own contrition is perfect or imperfect, so that is why the Church instructs that we go to Confession to confess mortal sins. Venial sins do not require the sacrament of Confession, but it is strongly recommended that we also go to Confession to confess these.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains it better than I have.

vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p2s2c2a4.htm

 

[MarianCatholic]

Wow, the responses received at this thread is stunning!
However, I went to confession today and man Im so so happy that we are blessed with this beautiful sacrament in our church.
I know it makes us stressed out when we are in need for confession, but isn’t that the whole point really? To make an effort to choose our Lord even if its challenging at times?.

When we fall we will go confess our sins and start over fresh
It’s so beautiful every time I hear the absolution from the father.
And the fantastic feeling afterwards as I know I’ve been forgiven for all my sins.
I feel the fatherly love from God in a very special way when I commune after confession.

He never give up on me, but keep on calling me to sainthood.
The only thing for me is to answer the calling and I hope I’ll succeed from now on.

Thanks again for all replies

Yours in Jesus and Mary

• MarianCatholic

 

[AHapka]

Also, give the Church only requires a yearly confession

Not totally true. We are required to confess serious sin once a year. If you don’t commit any serious sin, then you aren’t required to go.

That being said, I am perfectly willing to concede that those who don’t go to confession probably commit at least one serious sin a year. Therefore, in practice, it pretty much applies to nearly everyone.