Tried to go to confession , no Priests

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phantom0076

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So this is sad … Because of my schedule I couldn’t go to confession , I emailed my church and asked if I could meet a Priest for confession that would allow me to take part in the Eucharist this Sunday … Got a reply back that sorry we don’t have any Priests that can help out… So question on Sunday I assume I should abstain from Eucharist until sometime down the road when they do have a Priest that can meet me ?
 
No.

You can make an act of Perfect Contrition ( Dictionary : PERFECT CONTRITION | Catholic Culture ) and receive Communion.

EDIT: It’s more complicated than I made it
Arwing said:
Canon law states that unless there is a serious reason confession is required first.

Can. 916 A person who is conscious of grave sin is not to celebrate Mass or receive the body of the Lord without previous sacramental confession unless there is a grave reason and there is no opportunity to confess; in this case the person is to remember the obligation to make an act of perfect contrition which includes the resolution of confessing as soon as possible.
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Only if you’re in a state of mortal sin, are you required to abstain from receiving Holy Communion.

Examine your conscience and be sure you in fact committed a mortal sin which would prevent you from receiving.

Otherwise, you can receive and try to get to Confession at another time.

You could also show up at Mass early and ask the priest if he could hear your confession. He might refuse, but generally, a priest is suppose to be willing to hear your confession.

In fact Pope Francis has said a priest should never tell a penintant that they must go to confession at the scheduled time, when that person asks the priest to hear their confession.

God Bless

Jim
 
JimR-OCDS said:
Only if you’re in a state of mortal sin, are you required to abstain from receiving Holy Communion.
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Not necessarily, AFAIK.

An act of perfect contrition and the resolve to go to Confession ASAP will also suffice.
 
If you have committed mortal sins then you should wait until you go to confession. If you have committed venial sins then you can receive communion and go to confession when you are able.

In the meantime, check masstimes.org to see if there is another parish offering confession. And pray for more priests.
 
As the article Maximilian posted earlier, the Catechism confirms it.

1452 When it arises from a love by which God is loved above all else, contrition is called “perfect” (contrition of charity). Such contrition remits venial sins; it also obtains forgiveness of mortal sins if it includes the firm resolution to have recourse to sacramental confession as soon as possible

Jim
 
Maximilian75 said:
No.

You can make an act of Perfect Contrition ( Dictionary : PERFECT CONTRITION | Catholic Culture ) and receive Communion.
Click to expand...
Canon law states that unless there is a serious reason confession is required first.

Can. 916 A person who is conscious of grave sin is not to celebrate Mass* or receive the body of the Lord without previous sacramental confession unless there is a grave reason and there is no opportunity to confess; in this case the person is to remember the obligation to make an act of perfect contrition which includes the resolution of confessing as soon as possible.

*Note that “celebrate Mass” refers to the role of the priest, not to attending Mass. Probably clear but I’ve seen the question come up on the internet a few times.
 
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Valid.

‘grave reason’ is decided on a case-by-case basis, then…?

shrug
 
Not having a priest available to hear your Confession is a serious reason where a perfect confession would suffice.

Jim
 
Not having a Priest … would be rather grave , I would think ?
 
As the Catechism states in bold letters, “Only God Forgives Sin.”

Jim
 
I honestly don’t know. I’m out of my depth.

@acanonlawyer can you help?
 
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But under the definition of Perfect Contrition, it states;
it includes the firm resolution to have recourse to sacramental confession as soon as possible
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Well if death is the issue, this seems irrelevant.

Jim
 
Maximilian75 said:
Valid.

‘grave reason’ is decided on a case-by-case basis, then…?

shrug
Click to expand...
I was under the impression that this would apply to a priest who has committed a mortal sin, is about to celebrate Mass and doesn’t have an opportunity to confess ahead of time. He MUST receive communion. In what situation would a layperson be OBLIGATED to receive communion at a particular Mass?
 
JimR-OCDS said:
Not having a priest available to hear your Confession is a serious reason where a perfect confession would suffice.
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Grave reason would be something like an emergency, or someone’s in an accident. Something more serious, hence the word grave.

OP, I would advice you to find a priest that perhaps may be a bit further away, but within reasonable driving distance and have him hear your confession.
 
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