How often do we attend confession?

[sarah_anne_628]

I’m a new convert, so I’m still trying to figure things out.

How often are we “required” to attend Confession? How often SHOULD we attend Confession? How often is too often?

I’ve read in other threads and elsewhere, that it is a mortal sin to recieve Holy Communion with sin on your heart…but in my parish, confession is only held once a week while mass is held everyday. I usually pray, recount my recent sins and say an act of contrition privately BEFORE communion anyway. But still…I want to make sure I am doing everything correctly.

Thanks.

 

[teadough]

I’m a new convert, so I’m still trying to figure things out.

How often are we “required” to attend Confession? How often SHOULD we attend Confession? How often is too often?

I’ve read in other threads and elsewhere, that it is a mortal sin to recieve Holy Communion with sin on your heart…but in my parish, confession is only held once a week while mass is held everyday. I usually pray, recount my recent sins and say an act of contrition privately BEFORE communion anyway. But still…I want to make sure I am doing everything correctly.

Thanks.

You are required to attend Confession at least once a year. Now,here is the thing. You are not to recieve Communion if you have commited any type of Mortal sin wihtout having Confession and having your sins absolved.

As far as how often? Well,I am a new Convert as of this year. I have been to Confession 3 times and I will go again this week. I will seek forgivness on a particular sin that I have struggled with for many years and I will also confess venial sins. We have Confession twice a week. Ones during our Thursday adoration hour and then again on Sat for and hour.

Hope this helps. I am sure someone else can fill in some blanks. God Bles

 

[ChristopherM]

Confession is only required before communion if you have a mortal sin on your soul, many various parts of the mass and the host itself forgives venial sins.

So technically you must go to confession when you have committed a mortal sin ( the three rules [Grave matter, Full Knowledge and Full consent] apply to every mortal sin) otherwise at least once a year.

Now frequent confession makes us holy and gives us great grace.

PERSONALLY

I like to attend confession at least 1x week with going 2 weeks as a Max.

Others have said at least once a month.

the church only REQUIRES it once a year

 

[LilyM]

St Padre Pio, whose particular charism was as a confessor, said ‘go to confession once a month if you want to be a good Catholic, once a week if you want to be a saint’

On the other hand St Joan of Arc is recorded as having gone once a year, and also having yearly communion. So go figure

A spot poll among people on these forums seems to indicate that the average would be somewhere between once a month and once a fortnight, and that sounds about right.

A spot poll among priests I know seems to indicate that more than once a week is possibly too much - although it is, of course, possible to commit umpteen mortal sins a day, most people don’t, so I would tend to agree, but it’s not a blanket rule of course.

 

[Joannm]

My confessor suggested to me every month or even every six weeks.

 

[teadough]

I wonder how many people don’t go and yet still receive Communion when they have a mortal sin. I just can’t imagine someone going to Confesson once a year unless they are,like,really old

 

[Yerusalyim]

I suppose we can get into the discussion if confession is ever REQUIRED if you don’t have mortal sin…the church says once a year if you have SERIOUS SIN…so, if you don’t have SERIOUS SIN it’s not required, however…frequent and UNSCRUPULOUS attendance is recommended. I use to go once a week, I’m down to about once every four or five months now…part of that based on the availability (or lack thereof) of a priest to hear confession…we have one priest covering several thousand Catholics here in the military.

 

[CarrieH]

I go to confession about once a month; more often if there is a feast coming up with an indulgence which requires confession or if I have committed a mortal sin. I like to keep “short accounts” with God, and I have found that frequent confession gives me the grace to avoid some of my habitual sins, or at least makes the struggle a bit easier.

 

[sarah_anne_628]

I suppose we can get into the discussion if confession is ever REQUIRED if you don’t have mortal sin…the church says once a year if you have SERIOUS SIN…so, if you don’t have SERIOUS SIN it’s not required, however…frequent and UNSCRUPULOUS attendance is recommended. I use to go once a week, I’m down to about once every four or five months now…part of that based on the availability (or lack thereof) of a priest to hear confession…we have one priest covering several thousand Catholics here in the military.

Yeah, I attend a military parish…we have one priest and this is a really large installation. BUT…most of the soldiers stationed here are deployed at the moment…so maybe that helps father’s work load.

This church holds confession for 45 minutes once a week…and we can make “appointments” if needed at other times during the week. The sad thing is…this seems to be ample time for confession because so few people actually go.

 

[sarah_anne_628]

Well, thank you everyone for your replies.

My first confession was at the pentitent service in mid-march…and I knew that it was recommended that I go once a month…but I really felt like I couldn’t wait another month…so I went two weeks ago. Now I’m starting to feel like I want to go again. And I didn’t know if it was too much…especially when only a short amount of time is allotted for such a large community and there is only one priest.

 

[Deacon_Ed_B]

As one who goes to confession frequently, i.e., at least every 2 - 4 weeks, I would encourage you not to dwell on how often you go, but concentrate on the sacramental graces you receive from the sacrament itself. Yes the precepts of the Church say once a year if in serious sin. Just recently the USCCB, (The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops) issued a document encouraging confession at least monthly, because of the additional sacramental graces that one receives through this wonderful gift given to the Church by Jesus on the Sunday after the Resurrection. I don’t know about you, but as for me, I will take all the sacramental grace I can get, as I know I need it. Believe me, and I say this from experience, the grace received in the sacraments can strengthen your purpose of amendment in rejecting sin and turning to Jesus.
Prayers & Blessings
Deacon Ed B

 

[brockmac]

I am always curious about discussions that start “How often do we have to go to confession”

The sacrament of Reconciliation is not a duty, but a GIFT. Our wonderful Lord has given us this opportunity to come to Him through His priest and recieve the grace he offered the “good thief” on the Cross through His own suffering and death.

I remember reading that Pope John Paul II confessed weekly, and I suspect that I acquire a few more sins in a week than he did. I only wish I could go every week. Or I guess a better way of saying this is that I wish I had the discipline to arrange my schedule to allow for weekly confession. As it is, I try to go every 2 to 4 weeks.

I was discussing with a friend who is in seminary and mentioned that if we all went to confession as often as we should, our priests would have no time for anything else. But I then thought, if we all did this, there would probably be a few more priests.

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

I wonder how many people don’t go and yet still receive Communion when they have a mortal sin. I just can’t imagine someone going to Confesson once a year unless they are,like,really old

I think we have to be very, very careful about judging other people’s souls. What was that Jesus said about noticing the speck in someone else’s eye but missing the plank in your own.

My confirmation students asked me how often they should go to confession and I gave them the same answer my spiritual director gave me when I asked him that question – go as often as it would be helpful to you.

 

[daeve]

I wonder how many people don’t go and yet still receive Communion when they have a mortal sin. I just can’t imagine someone going to Confesson once a year unless they are,like,really old

I think there are a lot of people who don’t commit mortal sins on a regular basis. Maybe I lead a dull life, but missing Mass is probably the biggest thing that would come up for me. I’m a little old, but not, like, really old.

 

[teadough]

I think there are a lot of people who don’t commit mortal sins on a regular basis. Maybe I lead a dull life, but missing Mass is probably the biggest thing that would come up for me. I’m a little old, but not, like, really old.

I guess that came off the wrong way. I mentioned earlier that I have struggle with one particular sin. I don’t think age has anything to do it. I will give a hint…it is in the lust dept . I have hope that I will overcome this sin and have Faith in Jesus that I will. In the short time that I have become a Catholic I can honestly say that I look at this sin in a different light. I owe that to Confession and the Eucharist and through the intercession of prayer of Our Lady and the Saints.

I could use prayers from anyone

 

[CarrieH]

I think there are a lot of people who don’t commit mortal sins on a regular basis. Maybe I lead a dull life, but missing Mass is probably the biggest thing that would come up for me. I’m a little old, but not, like, really old.

I’m kinda old myself, but one thing I have found is that as we grow in sanctification, we become more and more aware of the areas in our lives where we continue to sin. Something we might not have considered to be a mortal sin at one point in our life may come to light at a later time, and then we need to confess it and start working on overcoming it. When I was young, my focus was more on sexual sins, but now that I’m old enough to have that pretty much behind me, my next “assignment” is dealing with such things as gossip, gluttony, and sloth. These sins have been with me all along, but they were lost in the shuffle as I was focusing on other, more obvious sins. Fear not, you will never run out of sins if you are brutally honest with yourself when you examine your conscience. But praise God, the Sacrament of Reconciliation gives us the opportunity to be absolved and receive some counsel, and it gives us the grace to help us in our battles.

The more often you go, the less intimidating it is.

 

[Deacon_Ed_B]

I could use prayers from anyone

Prayers & blessings are yours. Also, look under “Traditional Catholicism” for the thread on “The Feast of Divine Mercy”. I think you will find this interesting and very helpful.
Deacon Ed B

 

[daeve]

I guess that came off the wrong way. I mentioned earlier that I have struggle with one particular sin. I don’t think age has anything to do it. I will give a hint…it is in the lust dept . I have hope that I will overcome this sin and have Faith in Jesus that I will. In the short time that I have become a Catholic I can honestly say that I look at this sin in a different light. I owe that to Confession and the Eucharist and through the intercession of prayer of Our Lady and the Saints.

I could use prayers from anyone

That’s what I figured. There will come a time that it won’t even cross your mind anymore. A little blood pressure medicine, a little diabetes medicine…no more worries.

 

[ABalch]

I look at it as a very good sign that in my Parish, the pastor decided that attendance at the Thursday night sacrement of Reconiliation during Lent was so good that he decided it will continue after Lent ended. So, now at my Parish we have Thursday evenings and Saturday afternoons where we can go to the sacrement of reconciliation without having to make an appointment in advance, which was always an option.

Maybe it is related to our recent remodel, and improvement of the confessional at our church, or maybe it is the increase of homilies touching on the need to repent, and the need to be free of mortal sin before receiving the Eucharist, but at my parish there has been a definiite increase in people coming to confession.

Myself, I usually find myself in confession about every two weeks, sometimes going as long as 4 weeks between. Being only a few years in the Catholic Church, and before that not really leading all that great of a life, I still find myself with many habits of a sinful nature I continue to fall into from time to time, so generally, if I haven’t gotten into confession in a while, I also am not receving communion. As I quite often usher at my church, I often find myself uncomfortable because I don’t feel I can receive communion, but I am expected to assist in finishing off any leftover blood in the chalices. But, what is my discomfort in feeling everyone is looking at me, wondering why I am not receiving communion, compared to the great sacrifice of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus?

Perhaps I get a little scrupulous of myself. Perhaps I also get judegemental of others sometimes, but I feel that if more people took an honest look at themselves, their would be a lot less people receiving communion in any given mass.

I would say, a person should go to confession as often as they are able to. You are required to go to confession before receving communion if you are aware of mortal sin on your soul, but confessing venial sin is benefiical, too. Venial sins weaken us, making us more likely to commit mortal sin.

Every time you go to mass, you should perform an examination of conscience. If you realize you have mortal sin on your soul, you should abstain from receving communion in that mass. There are allowances permitting you to receive communion even with mortal sin on your soul, but you must have the firm intention of confessing your sins just as soon as you possibly can. For myself, on the occassions that I realized after starting to receive communion, that I had something I needed to confess, I have made a point of speaking to one of the priests immediately after mass, and even if it means waiting around until after the next mass, I have made sure I confessed not only of the sin I originally became aware of in communion, but the fact that I received communion when I became aware of that sin, for I will admit that I have, early on after coming in to the Churhc, realized a sin on my soul while in line, but still receiving once the line moved forward, due to feeling embarrassment or shame if I don’t receive.

To Teadough, I will pray for you in regards to the sins you continue to fight; a sin I feel many a man can identify with. Please pray for me, as well. I think we both are fighting the same fight, of breaking lustful habits built up over years, that we are trying to eliminate now that we have learned how harmful they can be to us.

The Lord be with you.
Albert

 

[sarah_anne_628]

It isn’t just men who struggle with the sin of lust. I am struggling with it big time right now.