Question about confession

[DaneClark]

I shouldn’t go to confession unless I am 100% positive that I committed a mortal sin, right? If I’m not sure if I’ve committed a normal sin or not, I shouldn’t worry about it, right?

 

[AlanFromWichita]

I shouldn’t go to confession unless I am 100% positive that I committed a mortal sin, right? If I’m not sure if I’ve committed a normal sin or not, I shouldn’t worry about it, right?

I’d say don’t miss confession unless you’re 100% positive that you have NOT committed a mortal sin.

If you’re not sure if you’ve committed a mortal sin, there’s a good chance you have not, because a mortal sin requires full knowledge and consent. That said, I sure can’t tell you whether you have or not.

Seems to me that the risks are greater if you don’t go than if you do.

Alan

 

[puzzleannie]

I shouldn’t go to confession unless I am 100% positive that I committed a mortal sin, right? If I’m not sure if I’ve committed a normal sin or not, I shouldn’t worry about it, right?

no, not right, unless your own regular confessor has told you this because he is helping you address problems with scrupulosity. If that is the case, you will not be helped by asking questions about confession here in any case. For the average Catholic, you should go whenever you feel the burden of something on your heart, and I wouldn’t spend a lot of time trying to classify the sin but letting the priest worry about that. Of course of you are conscious of mortal sin you must confess at the earliest opportunity, and before receiving communion. For most people forming a regular habit with a set time period helps one remember the need because such a habit is very powerful, so set a time that seems reasonable to you, such as first Saturday of the month, at the start of each new liturgical season, during Advent and Lent for example.

 

[VetA]

I shouldn’t go to confession unless I am 100% positive that I committed a mortal sin, right? If I’m not sure if I’ve committed a normal sin or not, I shouldn’t worry about it, right?

you should go at LEAST once a year, it is recommended to go once a MONTH, but no you dont technically have to go unless you are in mortal sin. to foster humility you should try to at least go once a month. you will have a least a monthly account of what you do wrong so you can see what causes you to sin. you shouldn’t think in terms of what you shouldn’t worry about, you should think of what a gift the sacrament is

 

[giuseppeTO]

I shouldn’t go to confession unless I am 100% positive that I committed a mortal sin, right? If I’m not sure if I’ve committed a normal sin or not, I shouldn’t worry about it, right?

Absolutely wrong! Go to Confession even if you have 1% doubt. It costs you nothing and gains you graces particular to that sacrament. There is no problem confessing venial sins in Confession. Get into the habit of going monthly or bi-weekly is even better. Scripture tells us that even the good man sins seven times per day. If you feel once per year is good enough, I would suggest that you haven’t learned how to thoroughly examine your conscience since even common sins of impurity (thought, word, or deed) are mortal sins.

 

[Scoobyshme]

Confession is not just for mortal sins. It also gets our venial sins forgiven and strengthens us with the grace necessary to avoid all sin more easily in the future.

Both Pope John Paul II and Mother Theresa of Calcutta went to Confession at least weekly. Are we any better than either one of them? Hardly!

Confession is like house cleaning, in my opinion. If your house is really dirty, you don’t notice the dirt in the corners or on top of the mirrors and pictures, under the furniture, etc. Going to Confession frequently starts helping you “clean house” in your soul better. Once you get all the big obvious stuff taken care of, you begin to notice the little things. Sins of omission. Sins of thought. Habitual venial sins, which weaken us when it comes to resisting mortal sin.

Confession is a good thing. Frequent, regular Confession is spiritually therapeutic. I highly recommend it. Also, it wouldn’t hurt to have a good examination of conscience. Maybe Fr. Larry Richards’ talk on Confession might help:

alabamacatholicresources.com/Downloads/Confession.mp3

(It’s an MP3 file you can download and listen to on your PC, MP3 player, iPod, burn to a CD, etc.)

 

[brina1416]

I’ve recently gone to confession myself and feel a lot better after doing so. I wasn’t 100 percent sure I had committed a mortal sin but I went to confession anyway because I didn’t feel right. It had been close to a year before my last confession and I know I had done some things that needed confessing. I know it can be really awkward talking to a priest about your sins and I procrastinate a lot when I think of confession this way. Despite that I think you should go know matter if you’ve committed a mortal sin or not. It’s good for you.

 

[Claire_from_DE]

I agree with what everyone else has said. I hope most of us reach the point that we no longer commit mortal sins. But venial sins, especially deliberate ones, damage our friendship with God. And even if we can get to the point that we don’t commit deliberate sin, we still fall into it sometimes without thinking. Aren’t you sorry for turning away from God who loves you so much? Don’t you want His help to do better and to get closer to Him? Even (maybe especially) when we find it difficult, confession gives us grace and brings us closer to Him.

But, if you are scrupulous, you should know that absolute obedience to your confessor is what God is asking of you. Otherwise, frequent confession is very important for anyone who wants to respond to God.

 

[hockeyfighter21]

i want you to listen to this very carefully. DO NOT ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT CONFESSION AND WHAT IS A MORTAL SIN ON THE INTERNET IF YOU ARE HAVING DIFFICULTY DECIDING WHAT IS MORTAL SIN. ask your priest, tell the situation to the priest in the confessional, find a regular confessor that you go to every week. as one who suffered from scrupulosity, this is some of the best, and orthodox advice. people here will give their opinions that may or MAY NOT be good advice. that is why we have priests. i struggled for a long time deciding between mortal/venial, what to confess, if i confessed everything properly, etc. etc. i looked up a lot online. it drove me nuts sometimes. St. Alphonsus Liguori suffered from severe scrupulosity and he is a doctor of the church and was able to overcome scrupulosity. if you explain the situation that is in question or have trouble deciding when to receive communion, just ask your priest in the confessional. that is the best thing that you can do, and it is advice coming from the church itself, not some internet forum. some of the individuals on here may not understand scrupulosity or your situation and will give wrong advice. God Bless

 

[hockeyfighter21]

now let me also say that if you go to confession once a month, once a year, or well-spaced out like that, you most likely do not suffer from scrupulosity and should do the best to list all the sins you can remember when you do go. if you are going once a week or more, jumping around from confessor to confessor, spending a huge amount of time deciding what is a mortal sin or constantly not being able to decide when or when not to receive Communion, then you need to find 1 confessor, and stick to his advice strictly.

 

[Scoobyshme]

I was listening to Fr. Corapi on the way to Mass at lunch time and he brought up some excellent points that we all need to remind ourselves of. It is possible to sin by participating in the sin of another. Here are the nine ways he said we can sin by participating in the sin of another:

1. By counsel. i.e., “I think you should have an abortion; go ahead and have the abortion. It will help preserve your lifestyle.”
2. By command. i.e., Telling your child, your friend, or your co-worker, “Have an abortion, you may lose your job if you don’t.”
3. By consent. i.e., “If you and your partner feel it’s the best thing, go ahead and have a sexual relationship, get married. even if you’re both of the same sex, etc. It’s nobody’s business.”
4. By provocation. i.e., “Have the abortion! Aren’t you in charge of your own life? The Pope is old and out of touch, who cares what he says.
5. By praise or flattery. i.e., “Oh, Senator, you are so courageous and kind in defending a woman’s ‘right’ to an abortion.”
6. By concealment. i.e., The pastor allows the senator, judge, president, etc. who has voted for, or otherwise promoted, abortion, euthanasia, human cloning, same-sex marriage, etc. to appear to be in good standing, when, in fact, they have caused grave public scandal by their actions. When the sin is public, the redress must be public. Although, I don’t disagree with the courageous bishops who would deny such persons Communion, I do believe that the “confrontation” should take place, without question, long before they arrive at the altar rail.
7. By participation. i.e., “I’ll drive you to the clinic. You need that abortion to be able to continue your lifestyle.”
8. By silence. i.e., You refuse to speak out against what is a clear violation of human rights, an incredible persecution and prejudice against a class of human beings (the unborn). You hide behind the Supreme Court’s unjust and inherently illicit decision on abortion, saying it’s the law of the land, when in fact it is the subversion and perversion of authentic law. The Nazi SS officers tried for war crimes used a similar defense, saying they were only following orders. They hung them, guilty as charged!
9. By defense of the evil. i.e., “It prevents child abuse by eliminating unwanted children; Women are more in charge of their lives, more liberated; it’s so much more sophisticated and educated a thing to do., “etc. etc.

 

[hockeyfighter21]

scooby very good, i like that. notice that all of those are an explicit personal decision to commit grave sin and there should be no question regarding whether or not something like that is a mortal sin.

 

[DaneClark]

Thing is, sometimes I can be kind of scrupulous, and according to the 10 commandments of scrupulosity, “You shall not confess doubtful sins in confession, but only sins that are clear and certain.”

 

[AnneElliot]

“You shall not confess doubtful sins in confession, but only sins that are clear and certain.”

This is true. However, it’s never a bad thing to go to Confession and confess even/only venial sins. Frequent Confession is a devotion that’s good for the soul, and will help even the scrupulous to better understand sin and themselves.

If you are concerned about sin, just go to Confession. The priest will tell you if you have not sinned. The more you go, the more you will learn.

 

[Edward_H]

Confession can also have preventive effects, so don’t wait for some sort of grave/mortal condition.

Go frequently…a couple of times a month is great.

Here’s a useful way to think about it.

Don’t treat confessions as separate things…this time this list…that time this other list.

Confess elaborately…then a week or 2 later confess and focus on “main faults”. For a “purpose of amendment” (key faults…which tend to rear first…with other faults coming as a consequence). This purpose of amendment becomes what connects confessions to confessions…a “thread of progress” is then possible to develop. Use a daily exam in the evening (3 minutes) to recap with God on how things went that day with respect to your purpose of amendment/specific resolutions.

Hopes this help.

Frequent confession is a very powerful way to grow. Don’t treat it as some sort of OCD thing to do…but a running conversation with God.