Scheduling Confession- ASAP?

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andcook

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I’m scheduling a confession for a mortal sin, but I don’t know how soon “as soon as possible” is. Should I get up early? Skip class? Try and get to the church in the quickest way possible? Thanks!
 
If you can get to confession tomorrow sometime, that should be sufficient.
 
Thanks so much for the quick response! If they don’t offer confessions during times I don’t have class, should I skip class for that or settle for Wednesday?
 
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No need to be skipping class. We aren’t talking about months without confession. I try to go weekly, our local confessions are in the afternoon. I’d wait until wednesday, unless you have to, don’t sweat it.
 
Well this is something that happened nearly two years ago that I just realized the other day was mortal sin, does that change things?
 
If you barely realised it was mortal sin and not at the moment before, it wouldn’t be sin because you didn’t know it was. There are certain clarifications in order for it to be of sin, one is having acknowledgment that it was sin. If you didnt know at the time that it was of mortal sin then it wouldnt fall under the sin category.

If you did have acknowledgment, then just wait until next confession. What I do to make sure I dont forget any sins that I have missed is I finish confession saying in the lines of “And forgive me for any other sins that I committed that I dont remember at the moment.” It will cover it, God knows what we’ve done already.
 
Does that really work, to just ask for general forgiveness from other sins? I thought general confession was a separate procedure?
 
Since you forgot or didn’t know you have been forgiven. You should confess it but no need to make an appointment and you can receive Holy Communion in the meantime.
 
If I remember it later, do I still need to go to confession before I receive communion?
 
  1. Have you been to confession between when this happened and now?
  2. If yes, did you deliberately omit this in confession?
If the answers are yes and no respectively, you should just mention it at your net confession. You may receive the Eucharist in the meantime.
 
andcook said:
Does that really work, to just ask for general forgiveness from other sins? I thought general confession was a separate procedure?
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It’s good to end your confession that way as it ensures your intention of asking for forgiveness for all your sins, even those you cannot recall at the moment. The priest absolves you of all your sins. Should you recall a sin you have not verbally confessed, then you just confess that sin next time in the confessional.

You were not trying to hide your sin, so you’re not guilty of withholding. The reason we confess all sins, even when we later recall them, is because it removes the bond we have to that exact sin that the evil one still has us “tethered” to. We still receive forgiveness for our sins, but like some priests say “if you can name it, claim it” and the sin loses it’s “hold” on you.

Be at peace, OP.
 
Arkansan,
I have not been to confession since then; I’ve recently come back into taking catholic teaching seriously. Does the general component at the end allow me to receive communion if I remember a mortal sin? Thanks so much to everyone by the way, I’ve scheduled a confession for this evening and look forward to (god willing) coming back into grace!

PS- the priest hasn’t asked me to make an act of perfect/imperfect contrition before coming in, should I make one and if so do I make separate acts for each sin?
 
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Sorry for asking so many questions, but is having contrition a formal process or does it just mean feeling sorry and resolving to avoid that sin?
 
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Contrition has to do with an act of your will, recognizing that you did wrong, and being sorry. A firm purpose to amend your life by striving earnestly to avoid sin is also required.

But anyway, you are not required to go through a formal process of expressing your contrition (i.e. in some specific way, by the words of a prayer, etc.) in order to be absolved in confession. Putting it into words as such can help you to fully recognize what you are committing to. If the priest asks you to recite an act of contrition after you’ve confessed your sins, of course do so.
 
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If you committed a mortal sin and have not been to confession since, you should not receive the Eucharist.
 
Contrition is being sorry for what you did. Perfect contrition is being sorry mainly because of what your sins did to Jesus.
 
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