Should Someone Wait to Go to Confession?

[I_Love_U_Jesus]

I don’t think I can avoid culpability for this repeated sin by calling it “habitual,” but I am struggling with a mortal sin every two weeks or so.

Right after I sin, I feel bad and want to resume going to Mass and receiving communion and such, but is it inappropriate to go to Confession so soon after committing mortal sins? I ask because it seems to me that I would just make things worse by not going to Confession as soon as possible, like the day after. If I don’t, the odds say I’ll keep on sinning. Or should I do what I’ve done so many times in the past and wait for a while? Should I give it some time to “sink in” concerning what I’ve done and “wait for perfect contrition?”

Does this seem like an odd question? Sorry if it does but I really do go through this same kind of thought process nearly every time I commit mortal sins. :shrug:

 

[Bookcat]

Repent…have a firm purpose of not doing it again (even if you fear you may)

and go right away to confession.

Do not wait.

Jesus loves you and wants to restore you to life…

You can talk with the Priest about your difficulties…

(also make an act of perfect contrition right away)

 

[Elizabeth502]

it seems to me that I would just make things worse by not going to Confession as soon as possible, like the day after. If I don’t, the odds say I’ll keep on sinning.

Your instinct is correct. The sooner, the better.

Or should I do what I’ve done so many times in the past and wait for a while? Should I give it some time to “sink in” concerning what I’ve done and “wait for perfect contrition?”

The Church has never recommended waiting for perfect contrition. Ever. Bring yourself immediately to the confessional. I’ve related a few times on CAF about a recent confessional occasion when I confessed a sin almost as an afterthought, at the end of my recital of sins, when it turned out that was the most important and serious of my sins, which I had rationalized. The confession opportunity (the conversation with the priest) itself transformed my imperfect contrition (for that sin) to perfect contrition. This is one of the many graces that’s available to us by frequenting this helpful and practical sacrament.

Does this seem like an odd question? Sorry if it does but I really do go through this same kind of thought process nearly every time I commit mortal sins. :shrug:

No. It is a normal and natural question that any person might logically arrive at. It’s just misguided, that’s all.

 

[testamentum]

I believe that you are like most of us struggling souls who want to do the right thing but find that the weakness of the flesh overpowers us from time to time and this is a thorn in our side!
It is a sad fact that the seriousness of Mortal sin is ignored and played down by far too many in the church,mortal sin as many Saints have told us kills the life of the soul and makes us enemies of God,but many do not want to hear this truth anymore,and it does not sit well with the modernism of our times.
We do the wise thing to confess any mortal sin as soon as possible and if this means going to Confession more often,then so be it.
One thing we all must do is to examine the reasons why we fall into repeated sin and take certain steps to avoid such occaisions that push us down that road of destruction.

 

[GKCT]

Jesus says, we do not know when the hour will come. So, hie thee off to the confessional as soon as you can. If you are not using the same confessor, explain your situation to the priest, and he should be able to give you some guidance. Imperfect contrition is better than no contrition.

 

[Young_Thinker]

While frequent (i.e. more than yearly) confession is technically not required by the Church (but does not that your soul is not in danger; what if you died tomorrow without having confessed your sins or even spoken to God Himself about it?), you should never avoid attend Mass every Sunday. While you should not receive the Eucharist if you perpetrated a moral sin yet did not obtained absolution, you will only make matters worse by not going to church regularily, because absence from Mass on Sundays and Holy Days is a moral sin unto itself.

 

[GloriousOrder]

You might die five seconds after having decided to give Confession a miss, having turned the street away from the local church and been hit by a truck. If you’d just taken the other street turn toward a 10 minute confession, you’d not have been run over. God wants us to be right with Him 100% of the time, no matter what. The longer you live in mortal sin without absolution, the more likely you are to descend into eternal death and unending, excruciating pain.

Just think about the story of the man who committed a mortal sin in the morning, and thought better of going to Confession. He decided to go for a swim, as was his custom, and was so used to the swimming pool being full that he didn’t bother to turn the hall’s lights on when he arrived. About 5 seconds before he was about to jump into the dark pool, the custodian flipped the lights on - revealing an empty pool which had been cleaned overnight. The man immediately realised that he had been spared death without absolution by God, in His just mercy, so he immediately went to Confession.

 

[Joe_Kelley]

It is my understanding that one in mortal sin is completely cut off from God. It requires a gift of grace from God to repent and confess. He will give that grace, but not continuously. If you use it and proceed to Confession, He will strengthen you all the way. However, it is “Use It Or Lose It”. If you do not accept the grace and act on it it will fade. He will offer it again, but the more often you neglect it, the more you develop an immunity to it.

Bottom line - accept it and act on it ASAP.

Further, frequent confession builds you sensitivity to the grace and your resistance to the sin.