What happens with confession if our state is quarantined?

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If our area is quarantined and we aren’t allowed to leave our house unless for work or food what happens to confession? Do we go straight to God for mortal sins for that time or do we just wait till confession is open to do our thing? I like going to confession every month and I have a strong feeling my state is going to be shut down soon so I’m asking in advance. Thanks 🙂
 
You should always go “straight to God”, and ask forgiveness for your transgressions. That is part of The Lord’s Prayer that we say daily. That does not do away with the need to confess our mortal sins at the earliest possible time.
 
If you aren’t in quarantine/shut down yet
  1. Give thanks for that!
  2. Since you can go about, get in contact with your parish ASAP to schedule a Confession before the shutdown does occur.
May the peace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
 
Our church is still open for confessions, just not mass. Maybe if you are put under quarantine, you will be able to do the same.

Even under quarantine, you are allowed to go to out to do important things, maybe before your state is quarantined, find out if your church will be open for confessions.

Like other’s said, you can confess directly to God.
 
Although it’s important to reiterate that being contrite of heart does not replace the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
But it is the best thing when there is no other option. Increase your prayers, and do penance for that sin, and get to a confessional when safe to do so.
 
Exactly… Get there as soon as it is safely possible to do so.

There is a thread here about a drive thru confession maybe show it to your church… maybe they can do something like that for you guys. Its looks and sounds funny, but it looked like it worked.
 
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  1. Go now while it’s still available if you possibly can
  2. Try to stay out of grave sin so confession isn’t such a big issue during this time (you should be trying to stay out of grave sin anyway)
  3. If quarantine happens and you can’t go to confession for a while, make an act of perfect contrition to God and resolve to go to confession as soon as it is available again
  4. Remember all the Catholics throughout history who had to go months or even years without confession because they didn’t have a priest available due to Catholicism being outlawed, there being a war on, the Catholics being in an internment camp, the Catholics being in some mission territory that was lucky to see a priest once a year, etc.
 
Regarding the whole drive-thru Confessions, a Parish south of me is doing them in a really interesting way. A car pulls up about 6 feet away from a Priest who has a sign with a phone number that the penitent calls, the penitent makes the Confession and then discusses some more with the Priest over the phone. Once done, they will lower down the window so that the Priest can issue the absolution.
 
rf9661 said:
Regarding the whole drive-thru Confessions, a Parish south of me is doing them in a really interesting way. A car pulls up about 6 feet away from a Priest who has a sign with a phone number that the penitent calls, the penitent makes the Confession and then discusses some more with the Priest over the phone. Once done, they will lower down the window so that the Priest can issue the absolution.
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That is an outstanding idea! I like this very much.

It also has the added bonus of people standing up in public (even if they are sitting in cars), showing that yes, I go to confession, and possibly even becoming a human-interest story in the secular media, inspiring others to go to confession as well.

It is one of the best habits a faithful Catholic can adopt, to make each and every act of contrition an act of perfect contrition, being sorry for one’s sins because they offend God, not because one fears hell and the loss of heaven. You never know when you are going to die, and you never know when you are going to get caught short and not be able to go to confession. Seeking to drive mortal sin out of your life is also the best habit a Catholic can get into — can anyone name a better one? People die in their sleep, and no, it is not “the best way to go”. You die without the last rites and without gaining the plenary indulgence that the Church makes available in the last moments of your life. Not good. Nothing we should ever prefer or desire, though Our Lord allows it to happen to many.

Act of Perfect Contrition:

"O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest all my sins, because I dread the loss of Heaven and the pains of Hell, but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, Who art all-good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace to confess my sins, to do penance and to amend my life. Amen."

(I omit the portion in italics because I want to force myself to make my motives entirely pure. I also add “and to avoid sin in the future”.)

 
My state has recently issued a stay at home order. Our parish churches are closed. However our priests are still offering confessions a couple times a week. They are making accommodations for social distancing and safe practices.
 
Where I live the priests are taking appointments. They chose an area where we could have both privacy and he could practice social distance. It went well. If they will allow it I recommend taking the initiative and doing the same.
If there is no priest available then I recommend making the act of perfect contrition with the intention of going to confession at the first opportunity and repeating this act often. God knows who didn’t go to confession when they had the opportunity and who wasn’t able to go. Trust in the mercy of God.
 
HomeschoolDad said:
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rf9661:
Regarding the whole drive-thru Confessions, a Parish south of me is doing them in a really interesting way. A car pulls up about 6 feet away from a Priest who has a sign with a phone number that the penitent calls, the penitent makes the Confession and then discusses some more with the Priest over the phone. Once done, they will lower down the window so that the Priest can issue the absolution.
Click to expand...
That is an outstanding idea! I like this very much.

It also has the added bonus of people standing up in public (even if they are sitting in cars), showing that yes, I go to confession, and possibly even becoming a human-interest story in the secular media, inspiring others to go to confession as well.

It is one of the best habits a faithful Catholic can adopt, to make each and every act of contrition an act of perfect contrition, being sorry for one’s sins because they offend God, not because one fears hell and the loss of heaven. You never know when you are going to die, and you never know when you are going to get caught short and not be able to go to confession. Seeking to drive mortal sin out of your life is also the best habit a Catholic can get into — can anyone name a better one? People die in their sleep, and no, it is not “the best way to go”. You die without the last rites and without gaining the plenary indulgence that the Church makes available in the last moments of your life. Not good. Nothing we should ever prefer or desire, though Our Lord allows it to happen to many.

Act of Perfect Contrition:

"O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest all my sins, because I dread the loss of Heaven and the pains of Hell, but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, Who art all-good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace to confess my sins, to do penance and to amend my life. Amen."

(I omit the portion in italics because I want to force myself to make my motives entirely pure. I also add “and to avoid sin in the future”.)

Apostolic Pardon Brings Total Forgiveness Before Death| National Catholic Register
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If you change the words of the Act of Contrition, is it, still, the Act of Contrition? I’m too tired to start hunting, but I thought the words to that prayer were just about set in concrete. If we bobbled it in the confessional, the priest corrected us—sternly! Of course, that was many years ago and many things aren’t as important as they once were, but surely the words of the Act of Contrition can’t be free-lanced? I’m asking; I truly don’t know with any certainty.
 
Check out the “name” of the prayer itself.

What is required for the Sacrament is an act of contrition. This can be nearly anything, from “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, have mercy on me, a sinner” to a full-blown "Father of mercy, like the prodigal son I return to you and say: “I have sinned against you and am no longer worthy to be called your child.” Christ Jesus, Savior of the world, I pray with the repentant thief to whom you promised Paradise: “Lord, remember me in your kingdom.” Holy Spirit, fountain of love, I call on you with trust: “Purify my heart, and help me to walk as a child of light.” It doesn’t even need to be something pre-written, you can say what comes from your heart at that very moment when receiving the Sacrament.

Maybe somebody more knowledgable in Canon law and the like can comment on this with a reference.
 
rf9661 said:
Check out the “name” of the prayer itself.

What is required for the Sacrament is an act of contrition. This can be nearly anything, from “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, have mercy on me, a sinner” to a full-blown "Father of mercy, like the prodigal son I return to you and say: “I have sinned against you and am no longer worthy to be called your child.” Christ Jesus, Savior of the world, I pray with the repentant thief to whom you promised Paradise: “Lord, remember me in your kingdom.” Holy Spirit, fountain of love, I call on you with trust: “Purify my heart, and help me to walk as a child of light.” It doesn’t even need to be something pre-written, you can say what comes from your heart at that very moment when receiving the Sacrament.

Maybe somebody more knowledgable in Canon law and the like can comment on this with a reference.
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But can anyone cite a definitive document? I think a lot of ad-libbed prayers might be genuine acts (lower case “a”) of contrition (lower case c), but for the Act of Contrition—THEEEE Act of Contrition—the CLEANSING Act of Contrition? I need to see documentation.
 
That’s the point I’m trying to make, I don’t think the Act of Contrition is required, only an act of contrition. (pay attention to my capitalization)
 
If you can go to confession before your state is shut down go… you wont regret that. Believe me even if it’s more often than your ‘usual’ amount of times, likewise with mass. Go wild… in a manner of speaking.
We are in lockdown and due to how small UK is we cant ha ve parking lot mass or drive by confession like you hear of in the US. God bless your priests for such ingenuity. We are a tiny island packed with people so in rural areas that may work but in anywhere not rural we literally live on top of each other so we dont have any opportunity for sacraments. We follow the Popes reminder of the catechism to confess to God now and go to confession when we next can.
 
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There is more than one Act of contrition. It may be that your priest preferred a specific one?
You can use one of them but shouldn’t really go changing the one you chose…though saying that I’ve heard priests tell me to say an Act of contrition ‘in my own words’ which I ignored completely cos it was just too hard and used one in my prayer book …I can’t cover all that in my one poor words.
 
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