Is weekly confession too much?

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I’m not scrupulous, but I do struggle with certain sins. And while I don’t necessarily think I’m sinning mortally, they are objectively* sinful acts in the church’s understanding.

So is weekly confession too much, when I predict that I am likely to fall weekly with this certain sin?

I’m not saying I’m taking this sin for granted. I’m in a battle to remove it more and more from my life. But it is a struggle, and I don’t want to abuse the sacrament.
 
The person in the best position to answer your question is your confessor. He knows you and your situation much better than passers by on the Internet.
 
Is your certain sin an addiction? If so I would get seriously get help or treatment.
 
Objectively speaking, weekly confession is not too much. Popes have done that.

Subjectively speaking, it would only be too much if your confessor felt you were falling into scrupulosity or being obsessive, superstitious, etc.

Otherwise, devotionally going to confession weekly is great for your soul.
 
If you’re not scrupulous, I do not think it’s too frequently.
 
I’m going to go out on a limb and say that the sin you’re struggling with is pornography/masturbation. Just a wild guess if you’re a young guy.

If I’m right, I don’t think weekly confession is excessive. If you start thinking, “Well, it’s probably not mortal, I can just confess it later…” you’ll be more lax in your struggle to remove it from your life. Even if it is mitigated by the force of habit, it’s best to err on the side of caution and assume it’s mortal, just to push yourself to keep working on it. And since you need to confess any mortal sins before taking the Eucharist…weekly confession seems fair to me.

For what it’s worth, don’t beat yourself up too badly about it, either. You don’t want to minimize, but you should recognize that this is a VERY common sin for men to struggle with, and unfortunately we live in a culture that encourages it. So take it seriously, but at the same time don’t get discouraged.

And yeah, the best person to discuss this with would be your confessor.

If I’m wrong and the sin is something else, well…disregard. 🙂
 
If you’re in the confessional weekly, and the priest has not told you got o less frequently, I’d say he knows you, knows your soul and you’re good to go.
If this is just in theory, ask him next time you are there.
His is the only opinion you need, not that of strangers.
Best wishes!
 
BoomBoomMancini said:
I’m going to go out on a limb and say that the sin you’re struggling with is pornography/masturbation. Just a wild guess if you’re a young guy.

If I’m right, I don’t think weekly confession is excessive. If you start thinking, “Well, it’s probably not mortal, I can just confess it later…” you’ll be more lax in your struggle to remove it from your life. Even if it is mitigated by the force of habit, it’s best to err on the side of caution and assume it’s mortal, just to push yourself to keep working on it. And since you need to confess any mortal sins before taking the Eucharist…weekly confession seems fair to me.

For what it’s worth, don’t beat yourself up too badly about it, either. You don’t want to minimize, but you should recognize that this is a VERY common sin for men to struggle with, and unfortunately we live in a culture that encourages it. So take it seriously, but at the same time don’t get discouraged.

And yeah, the best person to discuss this with would be your confessor.

If I’m wrong and the sin is something else, well…disregard. 🙂
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CA users are mature and helpful. I have nothing to hide… so yeah! This is basically what I’m struggling with. Thanks for the advice.
 
Thanks for the replies.

How often do you all go to confession?
 
catholic1seeks said:
Thanks for the replies.

How often do you all go to confession?
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I personally average every 10-15 days. I can’t seem to go more than 15 days without the need for Confession.

I once had to go twice in one week… that was a pretty sinful week for me. 😊
 
Nuts to that!

Anything that was good enough for Saint JP2 is good enough for us average sinners!

ICXC NIKA
 
catholic1seeks said:
I’m not scrupulous, but I do struggle with certain sins. And while I don’t necessarily think I’m sinning mortally, they are objectively* sinful acts in the church’s understanding.

So is weekly confession too much, when I predict that I am likely to fall weekly with this certain sin?

I’m not saying I’m taking this sin for granted. I’m in a battle to remove it more and more from my life. But it is a struggle, and I don’t want to abuse the sacrament.
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The determination of when the sacrament is being approached too frequently rests with the confessor. What can be fine in one situation can be detrimental in another, which is why the judgment has to be made by the person’s confessor.
 
catholic1seeks said:
I’m not scrupulous, but I do struggle with certain sins. And while I don’t necessarily think I’m sinning mortally, they are objectively* sinful acts in the church’s understanding.

So is weekly confession too much, when I predict that I am likely to fall weekly with this certain sin?

I’m not saying I’m taking this sin for granted. I’m in a battle to remove it more and more from my life. But it is a struggle, and I don’t want to abuse the sacrament.
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No, I don’t think so. It would be your confessor’s call. However, it might be helpful to think of other ways besides Confession of breaking the habit, because Confession implies a firm purpose of amendment.

(I should be so lucky as to have regular weekly access to a confessor, to be honest, though my own personal vice can be inferred from here. Hey, don’t we all need a laugh from time to time? :D)
 
I remember once going a little while without needing confession and then went on the Thursday lunchtime and had to return on the Saturday morning.

😊
 
catholic1seeks said:
Thanks for the replies.

How often do you all go to confession?
Click to expand...
I try not to go more than once every month or two, but it has been a mere 2 weeks several times. Once it was one week and a day. But I am an older mom and don’t have the same struggles at this stage, thanks be to God. My 19 year old son tries to go every Saturday before Sunday mass, and I sure don’t want to know the reason!
 
catholic1seeks said:
How often do you all go to confession?
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How often?

I go weekly.

Frequent confession is a splendid long practice in the Church.

This may be every week for some or every two weeks or every month…

Everyone is free here in terms of how often to approach the Sacrament for devotional confession (venial sins).

Catechism:

1458 Without being strictly necessary, confession of everyday faults (venial sins) is nevertheless strongly recommended by the Church. Indeed the regular confession of our venial sins helps us form our conscience, fight against evil tendencies, let ourselves be healed by Christ and progress in the life of the Spirit. By receiving more frequently through this sacrament the gift of the Father’s mercy, we are spurred to be merciful as he is merciful

(scborromeo.org/ccc/ccc_toc.htm)

And of course if someone commits a mortal sin - get to confession right away.
 
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