Help: Must I Go?

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Dempsey1919

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I’ve just looked at a pornographic site - only for a minute or so. I didn’t sin against chastity with myself and I wasn’t aroused. I don’t even know why I did it.

Do I need to go to confession before I can receive the Eucharist at Mass this Sunday?

Also, when do you know whether it is necessary to go to confession? Do you go when you think that you’ve committed a sin just to be sure?

Thanks for your help.
 
Dempsey1919 said:
I’ve just looked at a pornographic site - only for a minute or so. I didn’t sin against chastity with myself and I wasn’t aroused. I don’t even know why I did it.

Do I need to go to confession before I can receive the Eucharist at Mass this Sunday?

Also, when do you know whether it is necessary to go to confession? Do you go when you think that you’ve committed a sin just to be sure?

Thanks for your help.
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Depends. If you went into the site, willingly and with full knowledge that it was a sin, but decided to do it anyway, this could be a mortal sin. If however, you went into the site and took a look, but as soon as you became aware of what you were doing, you left, it would not be a grave sin. Either way, confession clears up both cases.

A friend of mine, who is a priest told me that when he was in the seminary, he was told that looking at the naked female anatomy for more than 30 seconds, mandated confession. 😃

Jim
 
Thanks for the reply Jim.

Based on what you’ve said, I think it would be best to go to confession as I could not in good conscience recieve Our Lord this Sunday.

This incident has really made me realise how much life is like a battle; everyday we must fight against sin and resist temptation. I wouldn’t have even thought about going on the site had an acquantance not mentioned it to me today. Just goes to show how much you need to be on guard against this type of thing.
 
JimR-OCDS said:
Depends. If you went into the site, willingly and with full knowledge that it was a sin, but decided to do it anyway, this could be a mortal sin. If however, you went into the site and took a look, but as soon as you became aware of what you were doing, you left, it would not be a grave sin. Either way, confession clears up both cases.

A friend of mine, who is a priest told me that when he was in the seminary, he was told that looking at the naked female anatomy for more than 30 seconds, mandated confession. 😃

Jim
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What happens if you accidentally click on a site? :eek:
 
Dempsey1919 said:
This incident has really made me realise how much life is like a battle; everyday we must fight against sin and resist temptation. I wouldn’t have even thought about going on the site had an acquantance not mentioned it to me today. Just goes to show how much you need to be on guard against this type of thing.
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Amen to that, Dempsey! I find that going to regular confession, even if I haven’t committed any mortal sin, really helps me to fight the temptations so evident in our culture.
 
JoeSchmeau said:
Amen to that, Dempsey! I find that going to regular confession, even if I haven’t committed any mortal sin, really helps me to fight the temptations so evident in our culture.
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You are right. Confession is not just about repenting for our sins but also asking graces from God to change us.
 
BarbaraTherese said:
To accidentally click on a site is not at all sinful…however once one has accidentally clicked onto the site is another matter.
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Like…???

And then you can’t close the window, and there are a million other pop-ups. 😦

And the name was the same as a magazine I was looking up. :mad:
 
Sailor: Right click on the bottom tool bar where the site is listed, click close, and it is gone. I have also accidently hit one of those sites and the more you try to us the X on the top of the screen, more would pop up.
Scary.
God Bless
 
Sailor_Kenshin said:
Like…???

And then you can’t close the window, and there are a million other pop-ups. 😦

And the name was the same as a magazine I was looking up. :mad:
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To sin we need:

Knowingly and willingly consent to something which we believe to be either mortal or venial sin.

Obviously, not being able to close the window - pop ups that just occur without our wanting them…and the fact that one thought the site in the first place was simply a magazine one wanted to look at…none of these are with knowledge and consent - hence nothing sinful. Not even a fault or imperfection.

What I meant by what happens after you accidentally clicked onto a site, I was thinking more that if you stayed there, took pleasure of some kind in what you inadvertently clicked onto…in that line. Apologies for not being clear. Even if one clicked onto such a site accidentally and then took pleasure in it, I would mention all the circumstances in confession. Since circumstances around some potential sin can dictate if it was a sin and if so what degree of sin. Father in Confession would advise you.

Our God is not at all legalistic … rather He is Understanding, Compassion and Mercy and Confession and His Great gift flows from these qualities - and as someone else mentioned, Confession id a great source of spiritual strength and other Graces.

God’s Blessings and His Peace…Barb:)
 
This is like what happened to me the other day, I was looking up something on ebay and someone had put a porn picture on ebay :rolleyes:
 
Well, sometimes we do something without really thinking and then immediately regret it because we realize what we did, in your circumstances I wouldn’t call it a grave sin, but please do go confess it anyways.

Wait a second, you said “for a minute or so”

that’s 60 seconds!! That’s heaps long…
 
Sailor_Kenshin said:
Like…???

And then you can’t close the window, and there are a million other pop-ups. 😦

And the name was the same as a magazine I was looking up. :mad:
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Some years ago there was an article in The Chronicle of Higher Education, which I subscribed to on line about a fundraiser for a grad school. They made a calendar called “Stud-muffins of Science.” The pictures were not slimy, though they showed guys in swimsuits and running shorts. I clicked on the link and was taken to a gay porn site. Yuk!!! It didn’t take long for the *Chronicle *to pull the link.

I called IT and told them what happened. I did NOT want the record of that web site on my office computer!
 
Prague said:
Sailor: Right click on the bottom tool bar where the site is listed, click close, and it is gone. I have also accidently hit one of those sites and the more you try to us the X on the top of the screen, more would pop up.
Scary.
God Bless
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In case it ever happens again—thanks.

Eek.
 
Dempsey1919 said:
I’ve just looked at a pornographic site - only for a minute or so. I didn’t sin against chastity with myself and I wasn’t aroused. I don’t even know why I did it.

Do I need to go to confession before I can receive the Eucharist at Mass this Sunday?

Also, when do you know whether it is necessary to go to confession? Do you go when you think that you’ve committed a sin just to be sure?

Thanks for your help.
Click to expand...
Jesus told St. Faustina that unless you’re sure you’ve committed a mortal sin, receive Him in the Holy Eucharist. That being said (as this is often abused) the Saints recommend frequent confession (weekly). I don’t believe you’ve committed a mortal sin (depends on how you got there and why), but I personally feel that it’s at least venial. Do confess Saturday if it’s available…St. Pio says that souls shouldn’t go more than a week without confession. Pope John Paul II went weekly…an excellent example to follow. The Church only requires that we confess mortal sins, but the Saints confessed mortal and venial sins, not to mention imperfections. The Saints say that the closer we come to God the more imperfect we realize we are…they considered themselves the greatest sinners, and to “us” they’re practically sinless. Find a good book/booklet with a thorough “examination of conscience” and pray to the Holy Ghost, for enlightment. The main reason for Confession is, obviously, reconciliation with God, but we also receive innumerable graces and strength, not to mention counsel. Hope this helps. God Bless.
 
A friend of mine, who is a priest told me that when he was in the seminary, he was told that looking at the naked female anatomy for more than 30 seconds, mandated confession.
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If this were true, then we have a whole bunch of professional medical individuals, including Catholic physicians, who are doomed to Hell.

Also, what about the Michelangelo’s paintings in the Catholic Churches?

We need to look at the motives, not the anatomy.
 
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