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brian
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| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Chicago South Burbs, Illinois USA |
| Posts: | 720 |
| First Name: | brian | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | methodist, evangelical, anglican, catholic |
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Posted: Sat Mar 22nd, 2008 07:18 am |
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Obviously from a pastoral perspective it is good to take advantage of this sacrament regularly. But I am trying to make sure I understand exactly what the requirement is when explaining it to others.
I have heard that somewhere it is in canon law that we are obliged to confess our grave sins at least once per year.
Obviously we should do so as soon as possible, but the minimum is to not go more than a year without doing so.
However, I think that there is actually no requirement to go to confession once a year. Meaning it is only required when one has grave sins. Now I do not want to get into a discussion about how possible this is or is not. My point is that, IF one did not commit grave sins, there is actually no canon law requiring them to have to go to reconciliation. They could in theory go every 5 years if they so desired and still be in good standing with the church. Not that this is recommended, but I just wanted to clarify that there is a requirement to go once a year, if necessary.
Also, If there is a yearly requirement to confess, I was confused by the wording we are 'required to confess grave sins at least once a year,' because what if we do not know if we have had any. Would it be enough to have gone some time during the year and confessed the sins that we do have as best we can, or would we not have fulfilled the requirement unless any of them were grave sins or we re-confessed some old ones?
Brian
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David W. Emery
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| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Brownsville, Texas USA |
| Posts: | 1714 |
| First Name: | David | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Catholic |
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Posted: Sat Mar 22nd, 2008 11:42 am |
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Canon law regarding the obligation to receive the sacrament of penance reads as follows:
Can. 988 §1 The faithful are bound to confess, in kind and in number, all grave sins committed after baptism.…
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.
I believe your stated understanding of the extent of this requirement is correct. The idea is not to let a state of mortal sin linger on, for this endangers one’s salvation. Since Canon 988 §1 goes on to state that proper periodic examination of conscience is also required as part of the sacrament, it stands to reason that not knowing that one is in the state of sin is not an acceptable excuse for not receiving the sacrament of penance.
David
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CajunRick
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| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Houma, Louisiana USA |
| Posts: | 4981 |
| First Name: | Rick (& Kermie) | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Lifetime Catholic, Latin Rite |
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Posted: Sat Mar 22nd, 2008 02:31 pm |
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In addition, there is a requirement for Catholics to receive communion once a year during the Easter season, and since one who is in the state of grave sin cannot receive the Eucharist without confessing, the two minimum obligations are directly related.
However, as with any minimum, there is danger inherent in it. We do not eat the minimum number of calories necessary for sustenence, we do not perform the minimum needs for personal hygiene, etc. Nor should we strive to meet the minimum requirements for salvation. After all, Jesus did not give us his minimum; he gave us his best and greatest effort.
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Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand. - Augustine
Rick Luquette
Luquette Lane
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kimdyuma
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| Joined: | Mon Oct 9th, 2006 |
| Location: | Arizona USA |
| Posts: | 710 |
| First Name: | Kim | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | cradle Anglican, Episcopal /Catholic-04/07/07 |
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Posted: Sat Mar 22nd, 2008 03:01 pm |
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THIS year I got smart after my Advent confeesion- since I go regularly I made sure that my next session was the first Saturday in Lent to avoid the lONG lines ( our community gets a lot of winter visitors) and have managed to avoid any mortal sin ( my most frequent one being missing days of obligation outside of the usual Sundays and in Lent that is easy.
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Adopt from your local Humane Society- Please spay or neuter your pets
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Kayla
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| Joined: | Mon Jul 30th, 2007 |
| Location: | Emmitsburg, Maryland USA |
| Posts: | 349 |
| First Name: | Kayla | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | Atheist, kind-of Mormon, Catholic |
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Posted: Sat Mar 22nd, 2008 09:28 pm |
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I don't understand why anyone would wait to confess after committing a mortal sin. I mean, wouldn't one want to go to reconciliation right away?
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I believe, Lord, help my unbelief.
Jesus, I trust in You!
There's not a lot of job security for us after death. I suppose that's one advantage of being a philosopher. - Peter Kreeft
http://kayla23mount.blogspot.com/
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kimdyuma
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| Joined: | Mon Oct 9th, 2006 |
| Location: | Arizona USA |
| Posts: | 710 |
| First Name: | Kim | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | cradle Anglican, Episcopal /Catholic-04/07/07 |
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Posted: Sat Mar 22nd, 2008 09:55 pm |
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yes I would, what I was trying to say is that I confess regularly and the closer we get to Easter the longer the lines get so that sometimes you can wait hours to get into confession so I scheduled my regular confession right after Ash wed. and since the mortal sin I seem to commit the most is missing a day of obligation i am hoping to scoot by till after Easter for my next session
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Adopt from your local Humane Society- Please spay or neuter your pets
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Esther
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| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Kansas City, Kansas USA |
| Posts: | 148 |
| First Name: | Esther | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | Southern Baptist to Roman Catholic 11/26/06 |
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Posted: Thu Mar 27th, 2008 07:36 pm |
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| Had one question that came up about this subject. Say a person got married outside of the Church (they are Catholic) to a non-catholic and are waiting on an annualment. Since they cannot receive absolution (they are not living as brother and sister) until they have their marriage blessed, how would this situation be handled? He is abstaining from the Eucharist currently so wasn't able to make his annual requirement. Or should this just be confessed when/if the annualment goes through and marriage is blessed?
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