Going to Confession

[pcg2]

Is it a sin to “postpone” going to confession until the next possible regularly-scheduled appointment time, when you could all-the-while just make an appointment earlier with a priest?

I mortally sinned on Sunday, and confessions are not until Saturday. Should I have made an appointment with a priest earlier, or is it okay to just wait until Saturday?

Thank you for your responses

 

[Ponyguy]

Your soul, YOU decide.

How long does eternity last? (Clue: It’s a hell of a long time.)

You want to bet a few days against eternity with your soul at stake?

 

[teachccd]

Is it a sin to “postpone” going to confession until the next possible regularly-scheduled appointment time, when you could all-the-while just make an appointment earlier with a priest?

I mortally sinned on Sunday, and confessions are not until Saturday. Should I have made an appointment with a priest earlier, or is it okay to just wait until Saturday?

Thank you for your responses

If you are fairly sure that you committed a mortal sin (grave matter, full knowledge, and full consent) then you should seek confession as soon as you can. It would be a good idea to make an act of contrition and if you cannot make an appointment then you should go on the next Saturday. If you pray an act of perfect contrition ( a prayer that shows God that you repent of your sin because of your intense love for Him and not just because you dread hell) then your mortal sin is forgiven as long as you get to confession as soon as you can. You must abstain from the Eucharist until you have been absolved.

When in the state of mortal sin one would find it unnecessary to regard “postponing” your confession a sin since your soul is in the worst possible state. If one were to die in the state of unrepented mortal sin then he or she would remain in that state of eternal separation from God which is hell.

Last, but not least, is the fact that many who think that they are in mortal sin are not due to a number of factors. Check with your confessor so that if you do fall into this sin again you can have a better discernment of its consequences. God bless you …teachccd

 

[Scoobyshme]

Is it a sin to “postpone” going to confession until the next possible regularly-scheduled appointment time, when you could all-the-while just make an appointment earlier with a priest?

I mortally sinned on Sunday, and confessions are not until Saturday. Should I have made an appointment with a priest earlier, or is it okay to just wait until Saturday?

Thank you for your responses

No, it’s not a sin. Say an Act of Contrition, though, ASAP.

The other posters are correct. Why gamble that you won’t have a fatal accident or something between now and then? I wouldn’t be able to sleep well that long, waiting! I would go ASAP!

 

[Zatzat]

Your soul, YOU decide.

How long does eternity last? (Clue: It’s a hell of a long time.)

You want to bet a few days against eternity with your soul at stake?

Wouldn’t that be considered a technicality? Would God really condemn a man to hell for eternity because he died 6 days before the confession he’d intended on going?

 

[St_Francis]

Wouldn’t that be considered a technicality? Would God really condemn a man to hell for eternity because he died 6 days before the confession he’d intended on going?

Yes, if the state of the man’s soul was such that it was dead (which might or might not be the case in any particular instance).

Look at it this way: we each deserve Hell. We are extremely fortunate that God has arranged, through the suffering and death of His Son, that there is even the possibility of our going to a place other than Hell. Christ taught us what we need to know to attain Heaven, and we need to follow those teachings as closely as we can.

Think about when parents “give” their high school–aged child a car. The parents tell the child that he can use the car as long as… he pays for the insurance, he keeps gas in the car, he keeps to his curfew. So he gets a great privilege, but he has to be responsible enough to keep it.

Heaven is not a right to which we are entitled; it is a privilege given out of love.

PS Nice question, Zatzat

 

[Zatzat]

Yes, if the state of the man’s soul was such that it was dead (which might or might not be the case in any particular instance).

Look at it this way: we each deserve Hell. We are extremely fortunate that God has arranged, through the suffering and death of His Son, that there is even the possibility of our going to a place other than Hell. Christ taught us what we need to know to attain Heaven, and we need to follow those teachings as closely as we can.

Think about when parents “give” their high school–aged child a car. The parents tell the child that he can use the car as long as… he pays for the insurance, he keeps gas in the car, he keeps to his curfew. So he gets a great privilege, but he has to be responsible enough to keep it.

Heaven is not a right to which we are entitled; it is a privilege given out of love.

PS Nice question, Zatzat

Seems awfully cruel to me…that God concerns himself with technicalities.

 

[Scoobyshme]

Seems awfully cruel to me…that God concerns himself with technicalities.

Life’s all about choices and consequences. If that man didn’t love Jesus enough to go to Confession ASAP, then obviously he didn’t love Him with “all his heart, soul, and strength,” did he? To play loose and fast with the rules is to gamble our immortal souls. That’s love of self, not love of God. It requires humility and love of God to go to Confession and confess your sins to another man (priest). To delay it is to tell God it’s not really all that important that you get things right with Him. You’ll do it when it’s “convenient” for you.

Truth is not a “technicality.” It’s like saying to your wife, “Yeah, I had sex with another woman, but I don’t love her. I love you. You’re just complaining because, technically, that’s adultery. Don’t get all caught up on technicallities, okay?”

 

[Zatzat]

Life’s all about choices and consequences. If that man didn’t love Jesus enough to go to Confession ASAP, then obviously he didn’t love Him with “all his heart, soul, and strength,” did he? To play loose and fast with the rules is to gamble our immortal souls. That’s love of self, not love of God. It requires humility and love of God to go to Confession and confess your sins to another man (priest). To delay it is to tell God it’s not really all that important that you get things right with Him. You’ll do it when it’s “convenient” for you.

Truth is not a “technicality.” It’s like saying to your wife, “Yeah, I had sex with another woman, but I don’t love her. I love you. You’re just complaining because, technically, that’s adultery. Don’t get all caught up on technicallities, okay?”

We agree to disagree.

 

[Scoobyshme]

We agree to disagree.

Absolutely. See how nice we can be when we disagree?