Should I go to Confession?

[CTA1967]

I just had lunch.We ate fish and rice, but when I finished my soup, I noticed that there were bits of meat sticking to the side. Then I looked in the pot that the soup came from and I saw this chunk of meat floating in it. I’m not sure if I had a piece of meat in my soup like that (I honestly don’t remember), but I’m fairly certain that I had swallowed some of those bits of meat while I wasn’t paying attention. Is this considered a sin?

 

[Marauder]

No, you did not intend on eating meat. Just because you may have accidentally eaten meat, doesn’t mean you sinned.

 

[CTA1967]

Thanks, that’s what I was thinking. Isn’t it something like if you unintentionally commit a sin, it doesn’t need to be confessed to receive Communion?

 

[Marauder]

In order for a sin to be mortal three conditions must be met:

1. its subject must be of grave matter.
2. it must be committed with full knowledge, both of the sin and of the gravity of the offense.
3. it must be committed with deliberate and complete consent.

Forgetting or accidentally eating meat would mean that condition 3 wasn’t met.

Some people if they accidentally eat meat, either by forgetting or not realizing meat was in the thing they ate, substitute some form of voluntary penance in its place, but it isn’t required.