I swallow a Birth-Control-Pill today

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I think the key phrase in the canon is “of which after careful examination of conscience they are aware”. If you can’t remember, you can’t remember. And yes, as a practicing Catholic today, I try to practice daily examination of conscience and regular (usually weekly) confession. When I made my general confession, I spent several hours in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament asking God to reveal my sins to me. I made my written list using an examination-of-conscience guide (based on the 10 Commandments) given to me by my priest. But remembering specific numbers would have been impossible. I had to say “many times” or “more than X times” often. Now, that’s not the case. But for those going through RCIA or making a general confession after a long absence, it’s important to trust the Spirit to reveal those things that need to be confessed. And I remembered some things in later weeks that I had completely forgotten about at the time, and I confessed those at my next reconciliation. But all your sins are absolved if you do not intentionally withhold anything you know to be a sin.
 
Homewardbound:

Another point that needs to be made…When you said “20 years” I thought you were talking about your adult life, but I notice you are just 20 years old! If you have never had Christian baptism and will be baptized (and confirmed) at the end of RCIA, you will not make a general confession. Your sins prior to baptism will be washed away by your baptism. After your baptism, you must go when aware of grave sin, and can go more often for the grace of the sacrament.

If you were baptized, you just need to make a confession for those sins since baptism. Of course, if you were baptized as an infant (say in a Protestant denom that does that), that is essentially your whole life.

But again…fear not! God is gracious, and your baptism and confirmation, or confession and confirmation, will be truly life-giving for you.
 
buffalo:

I find it hard to believe/accept that swallowing a pill can be a sin when there is no pregnancy being prevented.

My mind just can’t accept that.
 
It is not swallowing the pill that is the sin. In fact, I heard a discussion of this on Catholic Answers radio which indicated that for certain medical conditions a woman might take oral contraceptives for a brief period of time, and as long as she and her husband were abstinent during that time, no sin was committed. BUT you stated in your hypothetical that the intent to prevent pregnancy was there, and that intent would be a sin, regardless of whether you had intercourse or not.
 
The intent issue runs deeper.

If I take a pill to prevent intercourse so that I am open to a sexual laison should one happen along would be a sin. Just because nothing happened whatever the reason, still involves the intent. Now just why would someone take a contraceptive to prevent pregnancy if they were planning on being abstinent? This just doesn’t jive.
 
You confess fully and simply tell the priest exactly what happened - ‘I took the pill daily for a month’ and let him figure out exactly how many sins that means.
 
franksta:

If I intend to rob a bank for second, in my mind, but never go into a bank, have I committed a sin? When? The moment that intent was in my mind?
 
AkronPonderer said:
franksta:

If I intend to rob a bank for second, in my mind, but never go into a bank, have I committed a sin? When? The moment that intent was in my mind?
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Fleeting thoughts that are not acted upon are temptations, not sins.
 
buffalo:

How come my intent, “to prevent a pregnancy should one occur”, isn’t just a temptation?
 
AkronPonderer said:
buffalo:

How come my intent, “to prevent a pregnancy should one occur”, isn’t just a temptation?
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Because you are actually doing something to act on the temptation. A passing thought to rob a bank is one thing, but buying a gun and casing the place is another.
 
Because you took action to make that intent happen. You took the pill. In the example of robbing the bank, you didn’t do anything but think.
 
Because your hypothetical person acted on it…30 times to be exact. So, in that sense, swallowing the pill is a sin…but it’s not JUST swallowing the pill that is a sin, which is the point I was trying to make in my analogy.

A single person who takes the pill for 30 straight days (or any period of time) is obviously in a state of sin since they are entertaining the possibility that any given day they might have relations, and contraceptive relations at that. The fact that they happen not to “get lucky” any given day is not an act of virtue. They have already made a decision in their heart to be open to the pleasure of sex without being open to life and the responsibility of marriage.
 
OK. I have the fleeting thought and intent to rob a bank. I actually search for and find my baby brother’s toy pistol, thinking “this is what I’ll use to rob the bank”. I lose interest and go play video games. I never have the thought again or enter a bank. Have I sinned? When?
 
AkronPonderer said:
OK. I have the fleeting thought and intent to rob a bank. I actually search for and find my baby brother’s toy pistol, thinking “this is what I’ll use to rob the bank”. I lose interest and go play video games. I never have the thought again or enter a bank. Have I sinned? When?
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It is no longer a fleeting thought if you are searching the house for a gun, toy or otherwise.
 
dulcissima:

So what sin do I tell the priest in Confession? “Father, I intended to rob a bank for 5 minutes” ?
 
Dear Homewardbound,
What if there’s no way to know the exact number? Maybe something like “more then X number of times”? Would that be good enough?
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When you go to Confession, tell Father what’s in your heart. If you’re nervous or scared, tell him. Ask him to guide you with your Confession. Sometimes priests know what questions to ask you in order to help you out.
Since you haven’t been to Confession in so long (or at all), just start talking to him. If he’s a good priest, he will guide you.
I’ve done that in the past.

Regarding the number of times you comitted particular sins: If you don’t know, just tell him straight out that you honestly don’t know.
Remember; he’s not there to judge you. His job is to reconcile you to Christ.

Most priests are very understanding and helpful.

I prefer to go at least once a month. It helps me a great deal, because it shows me how much I may be progressiing in one area and regressing in another.
Also, the Grace of the Sacrament of Confession, along with the Holy Eucharist, helps strengthen you.

God Bless.

In His Most Sacred ❤️ ,

Denise
 
This is getting a little nuts. I’ll play one more time, though.

I think the bank-robbery intent would be a sin because you had the willful intent and acted on it up to a point. How grave a sin would probably best be determined by a priest.

While this is a little convoluted, the best parallel I can draw is if a woman decided to be open to sex, got a prescription for the pill, but before she could get it filled, or maybe after she got it filled, she never took the pill because she lost interest in sex (broke up with her boyfriend, or moved to a planet with no men, whatever). It is clear there was sinful intent, and it would only be wise to confess it. The number of sins and the gravity, again, is between her and her confessor. But she’s definitely playing with fire.
 
AkronPonderer said:
dulcissima:

So what sin do I tell the priest in Confession? “Father, I intended to rob a bank for 5 minutes” ?
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“I thought about robbing a bank and spent about 5 minutes looking around the house for my brothers toy gun before I changed my mind.”
 
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