Help! I committed a mortal sin!

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Arandomkid

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Hi, recently I have committed a mortal sin. I have been catholic my whole life, but recently I have felt a calling towards the church more than ever. However, my parents, are not that catholic. Recently I have committed a mortal sin (stated above), and I really want to go to confession. However, since my parents aren’t really that faithful, it’s a hard topic to bring up. I once told them I wanted to go to confession, and I got the answer “it says you should go once a year(looking at a forum) your fine.” So what should I do? I pray the rosary every night, and pray normally, but I just don’t know what to do!
 
If you absolutely can’t get to Confession, even by taking a bus or getting some other trusted adult to drive you, then make a good act of contrition to God and repent in your heart and don’t do the sin again, then go to Confession at your earliest opportunity.

However, you shouldn’t receive Communion until you go to confession. If your parents try to make you go to Communion, tell them you need to go to Confession first.
 
As the Catechism states, “Only God Forgives Sin.”

Jesus gave the authority to the apostles and their successors to forgive sin, but this doesn’t exclude God’s forgiveness.

When you become aware of your sin, turn to God and ask Him for forgiveness.

Go to confession when you can, but never, never give into despair, which is where the devil wants you.

Jim
 
God does not expect the impossible. If parents keep you from Church or confession through no fault of your own, it is not your fault. Go when you can.
 
Do you go to Mass? If you do, simply ask Father after Mass if he will hear your confession.

What about going to Youth Group? Ask your youth minister to arrange for Father to hear your confession during Youth Group meeting.

Ask the priest if he can meet you on your school lunch hour.

There are many ways, get creative!!
 
Tis_Bearself said:
However, you shouldn’t receive Communion until you go to confession. If your parents try to make you go to Communion, tell them you need to go to Confession first.
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That is not necessarily so and you really have no good reason to assert it so strongly.
It is but your opinion.

I can tell you from direct experience that many priests would not offer your advice under the given circumstances.

One does not need to make superhuman or publicly embarrassing efforts to get to confession before Communion after having made a perfect act of contrition.
One only has to promise God to get to confession as soon as reasonably possible.
One will be in a state of grace under these conditions and there is nothing sacrilegious about receiving Communion unless the alleged “mortal sin” is publicly known.

However, if it is not publicly awkward to avoid Communion until Confession that would be preferable.

In any case, going forward our young poster needs to visit the presbytery and have a chat with his priest re these matters and follow his instructions not ours. Or simply discuss this in his next Confession.
 
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Links supporting this? Or references? This goes against every understanding I have of receiving the Eucharist and confession.
 
The Catechism on Confession.
What specifically do you have difficulty with?
 
“1457 According to the Church’s command, "after having attained the age of discretion, each of the faithful is bound by an obligation faithfully to confess serious sins at least once a year."56 Anyone who is aware of having committed a mortal sin must not receive Holy Communion, even if he experiences deep contrition, without having first received sacramental absolution, unless he has a grave reason for receiving Communion and there is no possibility of going to confession.57 Children must go to the sacrament of Penance before receiving Holy Communion for the first time.58“

Well this has always been my understanding. And what you’ve said seems to contradict that.
 
  1. I’m not really seeing how telling his parents he needs/ wants to go to confession is a “superhuman or publicly embarrassing” effort.
  2. When someone repeats two separate times that they think they committed a mortal sin, at the very least they need to talk to a priest. If one of those “many priests” you mention determines that either the sin isn’t mortal or chooses to give some other individualized advice for the specific person/ situation, then that’s the best resolution. I’m certainly not going to tell a young person who thinks they are in mortal sin to just make an act of perfect contrition and then feel free to skip the confession part. As Jan said, that goes against everything I was ever taught about confession when one thinks one is in mortal sin and can reasonably get to a church - which is apparently happening from time to time in this case, or there would not be an issue with communion in the first place.
 
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But then lay people by definition are not trained in the theology behind the Catechism so it should not come as a surprise that we can be wrong on the finer points and in difficult cases.
That is why posters should always get advice from a live priest on such issues not from CAF.
Nor should untrained CAF members weigh in too assertively with their personal views when advising newbies.

But for your own ongoing education, if you cannot accept my trained commentary on the CCC then please accept Fr Hardon’s and that of trained priests:
http://www.ewtn.com/v/experts/showmessage_print.asp?number=370862

This is a prudential matter where wise people may well differ. Hence the advice to talk to a live priest. There do seem to be possible grave reasons that could be in play - the attitude of the parents for example.

Enquirers should not be given the impression that this is a principled determination admitting of no prudential exceptions. That simply is not the case.
 
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Have you explained that the once a year is the minimum and not the requested?

If you can go to Church, are there any Masses offered where they give confession before the Mass?
 
Makes sense. Thanks for the link. It’s not that I’m quick to doubt your words, but anyone can be anything on the internet and links to authoritative information can help settle a disagreement quickly.
 
From the above source:
Finally, note the Fr. Hardon says that despite this restoration to justice by an act of perfect contrition that “a Catholic is obliged to confess his or her grave sins at the earliest opportunity and may not, in normal circumstances, receive Communion before he or she has been absolved by a priest…” In the abnormal circumstances of having “a grave reason to receive communion and having no opportunity to go to confession” (canon 916), only then may a Catholic, having made a perfect act of contrition, receive Communion. The lack of a moral certainty that one has made such an act would mean that one is still in mortal sin and may not, under any circumstances, even grave ones, go to Communion.
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How is it “a grave reason to receive Communion” in this case? The OP is not in danger of death based on the post, nor is he going off to war or anything.

You’re making a mountain out of a molehill.

Also, CAF doesn’t pretend to be anything but an opinion board. Lay people offer opinions here all the time and when they need correction, a priest or canon law expert is free to correct them. Given that we even see the priests on here disagreeing with each other on various issues, I don’t see any need for lay people to sit down and be quiet. To do so would stifle discussion. YMMV.
 
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I’ll admit it is a little known “sub clause” in the CCC but well known to Confessors.
It is usually applied to the scrupulous to stop them obsessively seeking confession at all hours of the day and night (even daily) so they can receive their daily Communion.
Better that they be advised to make a perfect act of contrition, go to Communion and stick to their regular once fortnightly confessional routine. And always trust the directives of their trained confessor.
 
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