Yearly confession

[reclaimed]

I know there is a yearly requirement to go to Communion. Is there a yearly requirement to go to confession if one has not sinned gravely? If yes, please provide source and authoritative documentation.

It’s been my understanding that if you are in a state of mortal sin and are going to receive your yearly communion, then you are obligated to confess. Thank you.

 

[GangGreen]

You must be a quite the person to not have committed any grave sins in more than a year! I don’t know many people who can quite say that. You should really take a deeper look at your conscience if you believe you haven’t committed any grave sins. Many times we commit them and don’t think they’re as bad as they are. Either way the rule applies to all. If you’ve only committed venial sins throughout the year then confess those.

 

[1ke]

I know there is a yearly requirement to go to Communion. Is there a yearly requirement to go to confession if one has not sinned gravely? If yes, please provide source and authoritative documentation.

CCC 2042 The second precept (“You shall confess your sins at least once a year”) ensures preparation for the Eucharist by the reception of the sacrament of reconciliation, which continues Baptism’s work of conversion and forgiveness.

 

[LilyM]

That’s like saying ‘where is it written that I need to shower more than once a year’.

It is true that for centuries people went largely without bathing, and lived OK, if very smelly, lives. But why would you want to wait so long to bathe when you have hot water on tap and know how much more pleasant and easier life is when you wash daily?

We all sin. Every day. Venial sins if not mortal. All sin is at least some weight upon our soul - why not relieve yourself of that burden every week, fortnight, month? Why quibble over whether those sins be mortal or venial?

 

[sw85]

I know there is a yearly requirement to go to Communion. Is there a yearly requirement to go to confession if one has not sinned gravely? If yes, please provide source and authoritative documentation.

It’s been my understanding that if you are in a state of mortal sin and are going to receive your yearly communion, then you are obligated to confess. Thank you.

The obligation is expressed in canon 989:

Can. 989 All the faithful who have reached the age of discretion are bound faithfully to confess their grave sins at least once a year.

Note that it says “grave sins,” which I’m almost positive means “mortal sins.” If you are innocent of mortal sins, then, the canon cannot apply to you, so no obligation to confess exists.

That said, you should still go. Confession confers sacramental grace even if few sins are absolved, even if they’re only venial.

 

[reclaimed]

I didn’t realize mortal sins were so easy to commit. My spiritual director tells me that they’re hard to do. I don’t want to live life on the edge of damnation so by the grace of God I haven’t committed any, AFAIK, and sins are not mortal unless you are absolutely certain that they are mortal before you commit them. I’ve certainly committed many venial sins. I haven’t been since Advent of last year because I am scrupulous and get so anxious before and after, I still feel like I don’t do it correctly or worry that I should have confessed something that I thought of during confession, but didn’t actually confess it. It brings no peace so I figured if I hadn’t committed a mortal sin I would just not go.

 

[Windmill]

Here’s a good examination of conscience that helps people decide about what to confess:

catholicparents.org/oxcart/Examination%20of%20Conscience.pdf

God bless you in your striving for sanctity!

 

[Listener]

While I think it is very beneficial to go to Confession at least a few times a year, I don’t know why anyone would think it is impossible to go for a year without committing a mortal sin.

I think there are a lot of Catholics who go to Communion year after year without going to Confesson, and that is okay with the Church, unless they are guilty of a mortal sin.

Not everyone is guilty of taking a gun and murdering 20 people, and not everyone is out robbing banks or sleeping with someone else’s spouse.

I heard once from a priest that if you had really committed a mortal sin, it would be impossible not to know it.

 

[Windmill]

Most people don’t know they are committing grave sins because they were never taught what grave sins are. Murder and adultery are obvious, but there are others that I didn’t know about (and was committing) before I took the time to learn. Then I was able to make better confessions and live a better life once I knew what God and the Church expected of me.

The late great John Paul II went to confession twice a week, and he was considered by many a living saint. I doubt he slept around or murdered 20 people, but he went to confession quite frequently because he knew the seriousness of his office and the seriousness of sin in the eternal perspective.

If a near-saint went to confession twice a week, then I’d like to get a relic from the Catholic that is going once a year.

 

[George_Stegmeir]

For anyone who thinks that he hasn’t committed a grave offense against Gd, look up a Jesuit examination of conscience on a search engine. After reading this and contemplating upon it, I do believe we all will seek out Confession. Please bear in mind, that since V II church policy has been to down pedal the fact that we are all sinners in order not to drive people away from the church. This attitude has been aggrevated by the shortage of priests, many of whom are so busy they don’t want their time taken up by sitting in the Confessional. It seems to me that they have forgotten about St. Father Pio!!!
With the secularization of American and European society, the guilt we used to feel for our sins became something popular comedians joked about…just as they joked about Jewish mothers! The fact is, that without Jewish mothers teaching their traditions to their children, the Jewish faith would have been eradicated by the holocost and secular forces.
Without the guilt for our sins, we are still offensive to Gd, but have forgotten how to confess and atone for our transgressions.
When, at the Sunday Vigil Mass, I see not more than 6 people in the Confessional line, yet more than 25 are up to receive Communion, I wonder if I am truely living amongst Saints? I come from the pre-V II tradition, where weekly Confession was the norm.

 

[Deo_Gratias42]

You must be a quite the person to not have committed any grave sins in more than a year! I don’t know many people who can quite say that. You should really take a deeper look at your conscience if you believe you haven’t committed any grave sins. Many times we commit them and don’t think they’re as bad as they are. Either way the rule applies to all. If you’ve only committed venial sins throughout the year then confess those.

I know someone who hasn’t committed a mortal sin since her reversion two years ago, but she also goes to Confession weekly at minimum and has an abhorrence for sin. Confession bestows graces to help prevent sin. In a world as sinful as ours is today, someone who only goes to confession once a year to confess mortal sins is highly unlikely going to have the graces required to avoid mortal sins.