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Sy_Noe
Guest
I honestly never gave hearing difficulties a thought but you make a good point. I have thought though that email or online confessions might be a good idea for those who are introverted.
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edward_george
Guest
Take it from this priest: if you’re in the Confessional and you’re confessing your sins, you’re going to be absolved. Only very very rarely does absolution get refused. It takes a positive indication of a lack of repentance to have absolution refused. If you were to confess using contraception with your spouse and indicated that you weren’t going to stop, absolution would be withheld. But in general, if you’re in there, you’re going to be absolved.
-Fr ACEGC
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Cimachol
Guest
I heard another priest say basically what you’ve said – that the goal of the priest is to absolve the penitent if at all possible. I think it’s just my own phobias coming into play. I also sometimes get anxious after Confession about whether or not I really confessed things properly or not. I’ve been told not to worry about this either, as long as I’ve done my best to make a sincere, complete confession, including taking appropriate time beforehand to recall my sins.
One of the “close calls” I had was when a priest didn’t want to absolve me because he felt the sin in question was more of a compulsion than a choice. He had me come up with some other sin to confess that I’d committed so he could justify absolving me. That was a little weird. He was also a bit loud for my taste, given that the confession was being heard out in the open rather than in a confessional.
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PJM
Guest
THANK YOU Father and continued Blessings
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Bluebright
Guest
I am sorry you have the hearing problems. I doubt e mail will ever be used I think it makes the sacrament invalid not to be there physically there… but you could write it down and hand it to a priest and/or have a face to face confession. No offence but you can’t be the only hard of hearing/deaf person who wants confession in the whole of the Catholic church, depending on where you are there may be hearing loops if you have a hearing aid. I always have face to face as I have other disabilities and cognitive issues so I always write it down which I explain (I see the same priest for ease) and I then read it out, I’m guessing it would not make any difference if I merely gave it to the priest to read. He has told me this is a very considered approach to take anyway (writing it down). As for absolution etc. by prearrangement (perhaps doing that by email) , I am sure the priest could use flash cards for you if you are unable to read lips or he could write notes for you. Being an introvert is challenging too, but perhaps passing notes might help. Face to face of course would be harder but again this is likely an issue that has been faced before within the church. perhaps you should e mail your local parish and find out if they have any special considerations for people who need extra considerations such as your self. Honestly I don’t think many find it easy, especially after not having gone for a time and even worse after a bad experience. It does get easier each time though.
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Lost_Sheep
Guest
Please explain to me how eating a ham sandwich on Good Friday is “serious.”Dear friend you’re missing the point
ANY WILLFUL SERIOUS act that attacks GOD’S Sovereignty is precisely that… a direct and willful attack against God.
That my friend brings a measure of “equality” to OUR sins.
The kind of self-justification you seem to be engaging in is counter productive to YOU attaining your eternal reward of heaven, unless you repent, confess and convert
God Bless you!
Patrick
And I already know I’m going to Hell, but that is a separate discussion.
Tis_Bearself
Patron
Depends.
Did you willfully choose a ham sandwich because you wanted to openly express your contempt for God or openly show disrespect for Good Friday?
Or did you choose a ham sandwich because you felt that it wasn’t a big deal and we should be showing respect for God in some other more important way?
Or did you totally forget you shouldn’t eat meat that day, and only remember after you’d consumed the ham sandwich, or part of the ham sandwich?
Or do you have some medical condition that is helped by eating meat as opposed to some other food, so you ate the ham sandwich so you wouldn’t get sick or faint? Was this some emergency where you needed to eat and a ham sandwich was the only thing available? Were the other menu choices sold out or you were allergic to them?
Context is everything. Obviously the first example, willful choice, is serious. The second one, thinking it’s not a big deal, is maybe serious. The others, maybe not so serious.
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Cimachol
Guest
This reminds me of something I heard a priest say in a homily. He talked about how someone asked him how it’s fair that someone could spend their whole life serving God but then be condemned to hell for one mortal sin. His response was that the person in question, assuming all the conditions for mortal sin were met, would have decided in that moment that the sin was worth more to them than all the graces they had received up to that point, as they were willing to throw away all those graces just to commit it.
Eating a ham sandwich on Good Friday (assuming other options were available and knowing that it was a violation of Church law) would indicate an unwillingness to submit to the religious teachers God had called to lead us, as well as a lack of gratitude and respect for Christ’s sacrifice. If eating a ham sandwich when I feel like it is more important to me than the Church or my relationship with God, what does that say about my faith?
Doesn’t have to be the case, and I will pray that it isn’t.
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Cimachol
Guest
I once broke my Good Friday fast because my wife was in the ER at the hospital, and I decided she would need me to be optimally functional in order to support her and deal with the hospital staff on her behalf. (The hospital had fish sticks or something, so I didn’t eat meat.) I never even confessed this, as my assumption was that this was a legitimate reason to break the fast.
As you say, context is everything.
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PJM
Guest
Thank you,
For the record Confession has to be person to priest to be valid as the NORM
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PJM
Guest
“IF” its done with full knowledge and INTENT to offend GOD by disobeying HIS Church
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Catherinabird
Guest
Are you okay with this? Or do you long to go?
When I first went back after 20 or more years away I was not asked for numbers. I couldn’t have guessed accurately anyway! 20 years! The priest was very kind and very patient.
It sounds like you had the worst possible experience. I doubt it would repeat. Please consider giving Confession another chance.
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Lost_Sheep
Guest
No
Quite possibly.
It could happen.
Not applicable here.
I see it as a matter of scale. Eating a ham sandwich is (in my opinion, anyhow) far less serious than a murder. I just don’t get how something relatively minor as a ham sandwich rates being a mortal sin.
Tis_Bearself
Patron
If you didn’t eat the sandwich with a willful contempt for/ disrespect of Jesus then I highly doubt the sin was either mortal or anywhere on the level of a murder.
I think we’ve all had a moment of “forgetting” the abstinence and remembering halfway through the burger “oh shoot, it’s Friday”. Unless one is vegetarian in which case the abstinence isn’t a worthwhile penance anyway.
I think we’ve all had a moment of “forgetting” the abstinence and remembering halfway through the burger “oh shoot, it’s Friday”. Unless one is vegetarian in which case the abstinence isn’t a worthwhile penance anyway.
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PJM
Guest
My friend, I did answer your question on Mortal sin,
Whether you go to HELL or NOT is YOUR freewill choice. It’s not something one prudently takes lightly. The ONLY unforgivable sin is denial of God.
Isa.55 Verses 6 to 10
[6] "Seek the LORD while he may be found,
call upon him while he is near;
[7] let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to the LORD, that he may have mercy on him,
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
[8] For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, says the LORD.
[9] For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
[10] "For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
and return not thither but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater
God Bless you
Patrick
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PJM
Guest
PLEASE see post #70, where I explain this. If you still have doubts PLEASE let me know and I’ll go into further detail.
Consider this:
IF ADAM AND EVE CAUSED ORIGINAL SIN TO BE GOD IMPOSED FOR ALL OF HUMANITY OF ALL TIME FOR EATING “AN APPLE”; WHY IS IT SO DIFFICULT TO ACCEPT THAT WILLFULLY EATING A HAM SANDWICH OF GOOD FRIDAY IS NOT A MORTAL SIN:shrug:
God BLESS You!
Patrick
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Lost_Sheep
Guest
If I were to eat the forbidden sandwich it would not be because I deliberately and explicitly intended to offend God. That is, it would not be as if I was thumbing my nose at Him and saying sc**w you and your rules.
If anything it would again be because I didn’t see eating a sandwich as being that big a deal compared to murder.
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Cimachol
Guest
I see a few issues with this. For one thing, even mortal sins are not all equal in gravity:
*1858 Grave matter is specified by the Ten Commandments, corresponding to the answer of Jesus to the rich young man: "Do not kill, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and your mother."132 The gravity of sins is more or less great: murder is graver than theft. One must also take into account who is wronged: violence against parents is in itself graver than violence against a stranger. *
Second, our perception of which sins are the worst is not always accurate.
Further, the ham sandwich analogy seems to miss the point that our obligation not to eat meat on Fridays during Lent isn’t about the meat – it is about honoring Jesus’ sacrifice for us by obediently carrying out an act of self mortification. If I choose not to do this, I am not honoring that sacrifice and I am not obeying the Church to which Jesus gave authority over such matters: “Whoever rejects you rejects me. And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.” (Luke 10:16)
What does it say about my relationship with God if I consider eating a ham sandwich a higher priority than following a required practice intended to honor God?
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PJM
Guest
THEN IN MY PERSONAL OPINION HERE:
IT WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN A MORTAL SIN; BUT CHECK WITH A PRIEST
Thank you
THREE conditions MUST exist for any action to be a Mortal sin
[1] serious matter [you’re example could conditionally qualify]
[2] full awareness [KNOWLEDGE’ that the considered action if FREEWILL-DESIRED would be a Mortal sin BEFORE committing the action [THIS IN YOUR EXAMPLE WAS OT PRESENT]
[3] Then a DESIRE to do the act knowing that it would be a MORTAL sin ALSO not present in your example.
I hope this clarifies it for you,
God Bless you,
Patrick
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crenfro
Guest
Hello.
It’s at the point where I have to go to confession regularly. I must go or things aren’t right for me in my daily life. So I go. There’s no other option for me. I really don’t want to go to Hell either and I’m often a poor judge of the state of my soul.
It keeps the humility in place, let’s me know that I’m in an acceptable state to receive Communion. I noticed too that some little spiritual surprise or extra kindness just about always happens after confession. I also can sleep a lot better and things regain their perspective.
I’ve had bad experiences with Confession. But after I discussed those with someone knowledgeable I trust, cried some, I always found another priest to go to, and it was always an improvement and an opportunity for growth, though I don’t particularly care for those (those = growth opportunities) when I’m going through them.
I hope and pray no one ever gives up on this sacrament because of one unfortunate experience. Don’t do that to yourself.
I’d be lost without this sacrament.
It’s at the point where I have to go to confession regularly. I must go or things aren’t right for me in my daily life. So I go. There’s no other option for me. I really don’t want to go to Hell either and I’m often a poor judge of the state of my soul.
It keeps the humility in place, let’s me know that I’m in an acceptable state to receive Communion. I noticed too that some little spiritual surprise or extra kindness just about always happens after confession. I also can sleep a lot better and things regain their perspective.
I’ve had bad experiences with Confession. But after I discussed those with someone knowledgeable I trust, cried some, I always found another priest to go to, and it was always an improvement and an opportunity for growth, though I don’t particularly care for those (those = growth opportunities) when I’m going through them.
I hope and pray no one ever gives up on this sacrament because of one unfortunate experience. Don’t do that to yourself.
I’d be lost without this sacrament.
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