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LifeWithChrist
Guest
Someone help me here. Weeekly confession tends to help my scruples, but I also feel it is needed. I want to be in God’s Grace, obviously. I don’t know. Am I OD’ing on the Worry-Freeing?
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RosalieM
Guest
I also try to go to Confession once a week, usually on Tuesdays. Yesterday after Confession and Mass, I crossed a street a bit carelessly and watched a car go by me a little too soon for comfort. The thought crossed my mind that it would be okay if I were to leave the earth then and there.
It’s important to always be in a state of grace (or at least to be as sure as we can that we are in a state of grace). There are always faults and venial sins to confess, even if we are not obligated to. The grace of the sacrament of reconciliation helps us to stay away from grave sin.
It’s fine to confess weekly. Don’t worry about it. God bless you.
It’s important to always be in a state of grace (or at least to be as sure as we can that we are in a state of grace). There are always faults and venial sins to confess, even if we are not obligated to. The grace of the sacrament of reconciliation helps us to stay away from grave sin.
It’s fine to confess weekly. Don’t worry about it. God bless you.
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LifeWithChrist
Guest
Thanks, Rosey! God Bless You as well!
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Luvtosew
Guest
Weeekly confession tends to help my scruples, but I also feel it is needed
You answered your own question. For everyone its different. You have to do whats right for you.
You answered your own question. For everyone its different. You have to do whats right for you.
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Anathama_Sit
Guest
Greetings LifeWithChrist,
If you feel that it is needed and your priest does not think that going weekly is a bad thing for you, then I would counsel to go weekly.
The general principle is if it helps you deepend your Union with God, then do it [provided it is a morally good action.]
God Bless.
Anathama Sit
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Luna_Lovecraft
Guest
You need to work this out with your confessor and/or spiritual director, especially if you’re struggling with scrupulosity. And please, when he gives you advice don’t try to second guess it.
All any of us can do on these threads is speak to our experience, which by definition is going to vary from Catholic to Catholic.
Luna
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Joe_5859
Guest
Since even the righteous man falls seven times daily, none of us would be short on things to confess on a weekly basis. Indeed, I think it is a good practice that can help us to more and more weed out even venial sins from our life. If it’s been a month or more since I’ve been to Confession, I only remember the big stuff. When I go more often, I am able to focus on even the small stuff, which in turn helps me avoid the bigger stuff altogether.
The one caveat I would offer is that frequent Confession may not work out so well for scrupulous people. If we are constantly worried that every little foible is a mortal sin, then going to Confession too much might exacerbate that tendency. For such people, having a good spiritual director is key. A spiritual director would be able to guide a scrupulous person into confessing at the proper intervals.
The one caveat I would offer is that frequent Confession may not work out so well for scrupulous people. If we are constantly worried that every little foible is a mortal sin, then going to Confession too much might exacerbate that tendency. For such people, having a good spiritual director is key. A spiritual director would be able to guide a scrupulous person into confessing at the proper intervals.
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theidler
Guest
Why would weekly confession be too much??? If you have access as a Catholic to Confession and Absolution, why on Earth would you hold yourself back from it if you need to go???
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LoyalViews
Guest
Is weekly confession too much? NO! Go and confess, some Saints went once–even twice daily!
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FraLeones
Guest
my confession is 4 times a week or more,
i remember i was given obedience to have confession twice a day.,
its not wrong. some saints have confession everyday…
i remember i was given obedience to have confession twice a day.,
its not wrong. some saints have confession everyday…
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Monica4316
Guest
Speak to your priest… there’s nothing wrong with weekly Confession but if you have scrupulosity, remember that you only NEED to confess your mortal sins. In fighting sin though, frequent Confession is great.
If you have a mortal sin, definitely go.
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puzzleannie
Guest
if it is causing worry then yes, for you it may be too much, but nobody here can answer the question for you, only your own priest.
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Mijoy2
Guest
Why would it be necassary for anyone unless they are commiting near daily mortal sins? However if one were committing nearly daily mortal sins, this would imply they are not really repentant, would it not?
I must admit I find the concept of frequent confession troubling. I am of the understanding that going to Mass and receiving the Eucharist (worthily) removes venial sin.
Again, therefore what is the reason for frequent confession? I can understand that one may slip up and commit a mortal sin through weakness (lets use adultry as an example). This person confesses the sin and is absolved. Then, weeks time this person commits the same sin again. I believe this indicates that this person was not truly repentant.
In a case such as this I’d think the priest would refuse absolution instructing the confused individual to rethink what he/she is doing and to come back to the confessional as soon as they are truly repentant and truly resolve to “go and sin no more”.
Am I misled?
I must admit I find the concept of frequent confession troubling. I am of the understanding that going to Mass and receiving the Eucharist (worthily) removes venial sin.
Again, therefore what is the reason for frequent confession? I can understand that one may slip up and commit a mortal sin through weakness (lets use adultry as an example). This person confesses the sin and is absolved. Then, weeks time this person commits the same sin again. I believe this indicates that this person was not truly repentant.
In a case such as this I’d think the priest would refuse absolution instructing the confused individual to rethink what he/she is doing and to come back to the confessional as soon as they are truly repentant and truly resolve to “go and sin no more”.
Am I misled?
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RosalieM
Guest
Here is an excerpt on frequent confession from the EWTN library. Keep in mind the grace of the sacrament and that the saints went to confession frequently and the Pope goes to frequent confession. You don’t have to be in a state of mortal sin to receive the grace of this sacrament.
THE BLESSINGS OF FREQUENT CONFESSION
Even when, happily, God’s mercy keeps us from grave sin, we benefit
immensely from frequent Confession.
As Pope John Paul reminded us, the trequent use of Contession is in many
ways the safeguard ot love and peace. We must not lose the sense ot sin or
we will rationalize all our selfishness and wrongness of heart. But it is
also true that we must not~focus too much on sin or we will bccome bitter
and harsh. What we need to do is rcmember our sins in the very sacrament
of healing in which Christ touches us with mercy. Here He teaches us to
turn sorrow into love and our own being healed into the forgiving of
others.
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hazcompat
Guest
I went weekly for many years. A wonderful grace, and great for Indulgence seekers. The Lord, through time and circumstance has me going monthly. If the Spirit prompts I’d go daily!
Keep your confessor in the loop.
peace
Keep your confessor in the loop.
peace
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Anathama_Sit
Guest
Greetings Mijoy2,
Frequent Confession can help one to overcome venial sins. There are graces received in this Sacrament as well that are priceless in helping us to become closer to God. Becuase of frequent Confession, I am very aware of venial sins in my life and frequent Confession has and is helping me to overcome the venial sins. Yes the venial sins are forgiven by the Eucharist, but I wish for the graces of both Sacraments present in my life.
The other day I was a bit wary of posting this in open forum, but I have done so in other places. I used to go to weekly Confession, sometimes twice a week depending on what was going on. Now since this past November, I have been going to Daily Confession. I am blessed to have access to my Confessor daily. What a blessing it is. Does this make me any less repentant than someone who goes to Confession less frequently, by no means, I still have all the intentions of repenting and turning away from those sins.
Confession used to be so hard for me because it’s so against the human nature to admit of one’s dark sins and weakenesses, but oh the healing found in the Sacrament. I have always wondered what it would be like to miss one day, and I cannot or do not want to even imagine it.
Am I overusing the Sacrament? To others that may be the case, but to my spiritual director/confessor and I this is the amount that I need to be going. And I am at peace with this.
No need to find frequent Confession troubling, as many saints and as quoted the Blessed Pope Paul II recommend it.
God Bless.
Anathama Sit
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Joe_5859
Guest
You’re correct that receiving the Eucharist wipes away venial sin. So – strictly speaking – frequent Confession is not necessary for those who are not struggling with mortal sin. But that doesn’t mean it is not beneficial.
Reconciliation is a sacrament. That means, by definition, it is one of those instruments that Christ entrusted to the Church to dispense grace to the faithful. I don’t know if anyone can ever have too much grace.
Think of it like taking your car in to the mechanic. You can either hold off until the car breaks down. Or else you can take in in at regular intervals for checkups to make sure that everything is running smoothly so that you stave off any major breakdown from happening at all.
Frequent Confession is like that. It’s not about fixing all these things that are in dire need of repair on a daily basis. It’s about staying tuned in to your spiritual health and keeping everything in tip-top shape.
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paperwight66
Guest
Well, yes, perhaps, but think about this. You would agree that when giving advice, it must stand up to being applied to all - or at the least, the majority? We should all be striving for perfection, and if, as you say, frequent confession is good for an individual, it must be good for us all.Think of it like taking your car in to the mechanic. You can either hold off until the car breaks down. Or else you can take in in at regular intervals for checkups to make sure that everything is running smoothly so that you stave off any major breakdown from happening at all.
Frequent Confession is like that. It’s not about fixing all these things that are in dire need of repair on a daily basis. It’s about staying tuned in to your spiritual health and keeping everything in tip-top shape.
Let’s do some sums. My parish isn’t very big, with only about a thousand attending Mass over the weekend. If each of those persons went to confession weekly, taking only two minutes each would result in the priest hearing confessions for 33 hours weekly. But two minutes would be barely enough to get through a confession, an act of contrition and an absolution. So let’s extend it to three minutes, to allow a brief few seconds of advice - that would mean 50 hours in the confessional. Hmmm, day and night for the whole weekend and more.
I don’t think so.
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Joe_5859
Guest
So should we limit the intervals at which Catholics are allowed to go to Confession?
I think if every Catholic was going to Confession weekly, the vocation crisis would quickly resolve itself. Then there would be plenty of priests to hear all those Confessions.
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paperwight66
Guest
Overnight? Do you think so? When it takes 7 or 8 years to train a priest?So should we limit the intervals at which Catholics are allowed to go to Confession?
I think if every Catholic was going to Confession weekly, the vocation crisis would quickly resolve itself. Then there would be plenty of priests to hear all those Confessions.
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