Confession and Sin

[Maggie893]

Your reply is more than welcome. I have talked to God about this and since God is the one who forgives then perhaps my sincere intent when asking for forgiveness will suffice.

By the way I should have addressed this as well. In the case of venial sins, acts of sorrow and prayer are valid means of absolution. So if you commit a venial sin you may be forgiven by these means as well as through Mass. But it is always good to confess them as well as it allows the Priest to more effectively guide your spiritual walk.

 

[ShannonMcCatholic]

There are things, however , which are defects of character without being venial sins. For example I once had to clarify why I felt not going to MAss one day during the week was sinful-- it was not that I had missed daily Mass, but because I could have easily gotten there, but I didn't feel like getting out of bed. I allowed laziness to come before my relationship with God.

Please though don't diminish the GREAT value of confessing venial sins-- through sacramental confession- we are given the grace and power to better fight against sin and to overcome habitual sins. It is not a mere forgiveness of sins, but an empowerment to strengthen the soul.

My regular confessor tends to think I am "too hard on myself" but I don't feel like I'm a bad person and dwell on my sins- I just know that they wound JEsus and the Mystical Body as a whole-- and I want to get to heaven and know that I need the sacramental grace of confession in order to do that.

This is where a spiritual director becomes of great value. Perhaps Monica- you could prayerfully seek out a spiritual director with whom you could meet once a month or every six weeks or something-- in addition to regular confession. A spiritual director can get to know you more intimately and better guide you about your defects and help you to understand your sins and how to overcome them!!

 

[ps139]

Monica,

In the case that it was a sin, and you repented of it, I believe you are forgiven. Grace comes from God, and the Church administers it to us. Since the grace comes FROM God, if the Church (in this case, the priest) makes a mistake, it does not stop the grace. Correct me if I am wrong but I believe this is the case.