Should we stop praying the act of contrition in Mass then, or just take out the “in my thoughts” part?If thinking about bad things is a sin, no one is going to Heaven.
There are (basically) three levels here. 1 - becoming aware of an image and its desirability (no sin); 2 - taking delight in the thought of the illicit thing, made worse by special circumstances like marriage or relation or consecration (venial sin); 3 - an actual deliberate desire, over and above delighting in the thought, to carry out the act in reality, even if you prevent yourself or you are prevented for some reason, which then motivates the fantasy, probably even including “because it’s immoral, but I would have it not be immoral if I could” (mortal sin).Like say you indulge in sexual fantasies
It may be helpful to indicate that the thoughts involved a married person, especially for any council the priest may give or the particular penance.Like say you indulge in sexual fantasies… And must you state during confession that you had sexual fantasies with a married person? Or does it suffice to simply mention that you had indulged in such thoughts without mentioning the context?
Q. 1324. In what does the sixth commandment differ from the ninth, …
A. The sixth commandment differs from the ninth in this, that the sixth refers chiefly to external acts of impurity, while the ninth refers more to sins of thought against purity. …
Spontaneous thoughts might happen on autopilot, but once you consciously “catch yourself” having certain imaginative thoughts, that is the point in which you gently redirect yourself to something else. When this is repeated over the course of months and years, those spontaneous thoughts will gradually happen with less and less frequency, since human beings are creatures of habit and those neuropathways will become smaller with less use or larger with more use. This is how people develop temperance.Like say you indulge in sexual fantasies… And must you state during confession that you had sexual fantasies with a married person? Or does it suffice to simply mention that you had indulged in such thoughts without mentioning the context?
Yes, this is that rare case where Jesus said in no uncertain terms “it’s a sin”.And yet there are some questions that one doesn’t need to be a moral theologian. Like this one that Jesus answered very specifically.
The point remains, people are all too often asking moral questions that need to be asked of their confessor - or they need to approach a confessor on the matter. Certainlly there is no proof that this was not just a theoretical question; but the likelihood is that it is not theoretical. And in that case, instead of going on the internet, they need to get to confession. Lone threads are not an inducement to getting the OP to go; they are more likely to result in their hanging around to watch the conversation.And yet there are some questions that one doesn’t need to be a moral theologian. Like this one that Jesus answered very specifically.