Waiting to get confession

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Markyman

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This has happened to me a few times and can be upsetting. I am waiting in line for confession right before mass and I don’t get the chance to do confession because the priest is done giving confessions and had to do mass. Can I still take communion if I’m in mortal sin?
 
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Markyman said:
Can I still take communion if I’m in mortal sin?
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No you cannot. I suggest you call your parish and ask to set up an appointment with your priest so he can hear your confession, or travel to another parish.
 
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You should not receive until you confess and receive absolution. The intent to confess is not sufficient in this case. Just keep trying.

Last time I found myself in a similar situation it took 4 tries to finally get to confession.
 
  1. Sorry, but no. Read 1 Corinthians 11.
  2. Arrange your schedule so that you can go earlier.
  3. In mortal sin, call and schedule a confession.
 
We see this question often enough on CAF that it makes me wonder why people wait until right before mass to go to confession if there is a chance they won’t have time before mass needs to start.

If someone knows they have a mortal sin to confess, why not seek out a priest in confession as soon as possible, even if it means going to a neighboring church, instead of waiting until before mass?
 
I figured that would be the case. 😉
Still, if it happened repeatedly that there were too many people to get through before mass, I would look elsewhere, even if it meant driving a distance, or make an appointment and not have to wait until before mass.
 
NO. Receiving Holy Communion in the state of mortal sin is a sacrilege and you’d have to mention that in confession.
 
I believe, O Lord, and profess that Thou art truly Christ, the Son of the living God, (Matt. 16:16), who came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the first. (1 Tim. 1:15).

Of Thy Mystical Supper make me a partaker this day, O Son of God, for I will not tell the mystery to Thy enemies, nor give Thee a kiss as did Judas (Matt. 26:48-50), but like the thief I profess to Thee:

+Remember me, O Lord, when Thou shalt come into Thy kingdom. (Luke 23:42)
+Remember me, O Master, when Thou shalt come into Thy kingdom.
++Remember me, O Holy One, when Thou shalt come into Thy kingdom.

Not for judgement nor for condemnation be for me the partaking of these Thy Holy Mysteries, O Lord, (1 Cor. 11: 27-29), but for the healing of my body and soul.

+O God, be merciful to me, a sinner. (Lk. 18:13)
+O God, cleanse me of my sins and have mercy on me.
+I have sinned without number; forgive me, O Lord.

Divine Liturgy, Prayer Before Holy Communion
 
No, you cannot receive Communion (it’s “receive Communion”, not “take Communion”) if you think you might be in mortal sin and didn’t get absolved before the priest had to stop hearing confessions.

I recommend you do one or more of the following:
  1. If you absolutely must confess right before Mass, then arrive very early so you can be first in line.
  2. Avoid falling into mortal sin. Believe me, the headaches of having to find a place to go to confession in the middle of the week have kept me from committing a few grave sins because when I start thinking about the hassle of driving 20 or 30 miles to confession in heavy traffic, the sin doesn’t seem worth it.
  3. See if there are any other churches near you that offer better confession times. MassTimes website and app can help.
 
If you are in mortal sin, you can’t reccieve Communion. Make an Act of Perfect Contrition and if possible go to Confession earlier. You could also try to scheudle an appointment with the priest. If you want to, you could look into going to a different parish if a parish nearby offers Confession at a better time for you. For example, my Parish only has Confession for 90 Minutes on Saturday afternoon, but a parish near my parish had Confession every day before its Daily Mass as well as before and after Mass on Saturday and before all its Sunday Masses. Their schedule is very flexible. They just reduced their Confession times, but they still have Confession six days a week.
 
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They’re few and far between but such parishes do exist… Mine has it daily, 7 days a week. 😁
 
That’s marvelous. Where do you live? If I ever go on vacation, I’ll look for your parish! 👍
 
Yup. We’re spoiled. St. Clement parish in Ottawa. I’d highly recommend it!
 
Ottawa? As in Canada? OK, I definitely have to update my passport now. (I have cousins in Canada.)
 
mrsdizzyd said:
You should not receive until you confess and receive absolution. The intent to confess is not sufficient in this case. Just keep trying.

Last time I found myself in a similar situation it took 4 tries to finally get to confession.
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It’s extremely sad for me to read that a priest stops hearing confessions when there are people waiting in line for the sacrament. It should be the priority for the priest to hear ALL OF THE CONFESSIONS even if that means that the start of the Mass will be delayed.

Our Lord will understand and be fine with the Mass being delayed because He’ll be so happy that one more sinner has repented and is back in grace with Him.
 
There were still quite a few in line. Mass would have been more than a little delayed. In each case it would likely have been missed or significantly delayed. You never know how long someone will need in confession.
 
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A priest is obliged to hear anyone’s confession if asked to do so. While administrating the sacrament though, the priest is not obligated to let the penitent ramble on. If pressed for time, the priest can request the penitent only state what the penitent believes is the mortal sin(s) that he or she has committed. It doesn’t need to be a drawn out affair.

Here in this YouTube clip, Bishop Robert Barron states succinctly what a priest’s response should be when someone asks the priest to hear their confession:

 
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