IMHO, not sure this was a good excuse. You were instructed to stay off FB from the time you got home. You should NOT have been looking, period. Is “curiosity” a reason to disregard the penance, even for a minute…? It doesn’t sound like it was something that had to be addressed immediately (like news about someone being on their deathbed, for instance).I’m not addicted. The reason I checked the message was because it came from somebody in a ministry I’m involved in. I was told to expect a message about what we will be doing next, over the next couple of weeks.
As far as I know, failure to follow Father’s instructions for penance is not a mortal sin.… Did my initial failure count as a mortal sin? …
I wasn’t trying to justify doing it, just that I don’t have an addiction. I knew it wasn’t good, that’s why I became super anxious afterwards and ended up restarting the time. I had to have my phone near me, seriously, I did. That’s not an excuse; I frequently get things through my phone that do require an instant reply. My phone is linked to Facebook, so as I was reading a book, I caught the blue flash on the top of my screen. I grabbed my phone to get rid of it. That flash raises my anxiety (not much, but it still it really distracts me) so I wanted it gone. I saw who it was from and was going to wait but then got worried that the person would expect an immediate reply. So I quickly checked.IMHO, not sure this was a good excuse. You were instructed to stay off FB from the time you got home. You should NOT have been looking, period. Is “curiosity” a reason to disregard the penance, even for a minute…? It doesn’t sound like it was something that had to be addressed immediately (like news about someone being on their deathbed, for instance).
Facebook friends will carry on without you when you do not reply immediately.… I saw who it was from and was going to wait but then got worried that the person would expect an immediate reply. So I quickly checked.