This week is the week of Communal Penance Services in the Lawrence region. As all of the priests of the region desire that everyone receive this grace filled sacrament through its proper practice, I would like to offer a few points of guidance:
- As we prepare to go to confession, awareness of what constitutes a mortal sin versus a venial sin is important. To commit a mortal sin, one must do something that is gravely and objectively evil, do it with full knowledge that it is evil, and give full consent to it with the will. Venial saying, on the other hand, is a deviation but not a total turning away from God. Another way to make the separation is this, to commit a mortal sin you need to be choosing at that moment to separate yourself totally from God's grace. If you have done something out of habit, or you find yourself doing it several times a week or more, chances are it is not a mortal sin.
- If someone is aware of a mortal sin, they should go to confess as soon as possible. It is necessary to do so before receiving Holy Communion. However, if someone has committed a venial sin there is no need to go to confession necessarily. The church teaches that if one has committed venial sins and makes a sincere active contrition, reception of Holy Communion actually remits those sins. It sometimes happens that a person feels they are in mortal sin and returns to confession weekly if not even after a few days. Overly frequent confession could be an indicator of presumption of God's mercy and a weakened resolve to not sin again. Thus, going to confession too frequently may indicate an abuse of the sacrament. Therefore, I ask people to not make a confession more than once a week. A good standard of practice would be to go monthly, but if someone is in the state of mortal sin they should go as soon as possible.
- Some people have a habit of regularly reconfessing past sins for what they would call a form of a general confession. You should only confess sins committed since your last confession. The only exception to this guideline is that if you remember a mortal sin that you have not confessed, then that sin should be confessed.
- The sacrament of confession is for the confession and absolution of your sins. Although the priest may give some counsel in regard to your sins, it is not the time or the place for an in-depth spiritual direction. Extending your confession by asking questions or discussing your spiritual life may indicate a lack of charity for the people standing behind you in line who will have to unnecessarily wait longer.
- Confession of your sins should be fairly concise, specific, to the point, and well prepared. Detailed explanations of what you did and why are not necessary and again only make those behind you wait longer. God knows the why he just wants to hear the sin. On the other hand, the sins you confess should be specific rather than general observations. For example, saying that you have not followed God's commandments is not specific enough.
- Finally, sometimes the priest may tell you something in confession that you may not want to hear. Consider that the Holy Spirit sometimes works in ways that seem blunt in order to help uproot our sin. Try not to feel disheartened, but instead, consider that perhaps the Holy Spirit inspired the priest to tell you something plainly because you may need it to help you.
Our God is a loving and forgiving God. Take the opportunity to experience it in Confession.
God Bless,
