|
|
Post by Marya Dabrowski on Jul 28, 2016 22:01:44 GMT -5
I learned the Third Commandment of the Church is to confess your sins at least once a year.
In the Lepanto Press (OLVS) Book 4 (fourth grade) it says the third commandment of the church is to confess at least once a year. Then it continues...
"This means that we are strictly obliged to make a good confession if we have a mortal sin to confess."
And again,
"What is meant by the commandment to confess our sins at least once a year? By the commandment to confess our sins at least once a year is meant that we are strictly obliged to make a good confession within the year, if we have a mortal sin to confess."
So does this mean people who don't have mortal sins don't have to confess at least once a year? Why did they even include the part about a mortal sin?
|
|
|
|
Post by EricH on Jul 29, 2016 8:14:46 GMT -5
I learned the Third Commandment of the Church is to confess your sins at least once a year. In the Lepanto Press (OLVS) Book 4 (fourth grade) it says the third commandment of the church is to confess at least once a year. Then it continues... "This means that we are strictly obliged to make a good confession if we have a mortal sin to confess." And again, "What is meant by the commandment to confess our sins at least once a year? By the commandment to confess our sins at least once a year is meant that we are strictly obliged to make a good confession within the year, if we have a mortal sin to confess." So does this mean people who don't have mortal sins don't have to confess at least once a year? Why did they even include the part about a mortal sin? Yes, it is correct that those who have no mortal sins to confess are not obliged to make an annual confession. Those who have committed only venial sins are certainly not bound by the obligation of annual confession, as these constitute free matter, not necessary matter (cf. canon 902). ( De Sacramentis, II-1. 353. (3rd ed.)) Here's the full section from Cappello on the obligation of confessing one's sins -- it goes into quite a lot of detail. Cappello_obligation-of-confessing.pdf (103.24 KB) |
|
|
|
Post by Marya Dabrowski on Jul 30, 2016 6:54:00 GMT -5
Thanks so much Eric  TBH this is surprising to me. From the pulpit I always heard, " The Third commandment of the church is to confess your sins at least once a year." Period, nothing else. I thought that was very lenient of the Church. I remember years ago on a forum a poster mentioned "maybe they should go to confession, they hadn't been there in years" and the other posters kind of reprimanded them saying you are under pain of mortal sin for not going at least once a year. Apparently this wasn't the case. |
|
|
|
Post by Marya Dabrowski on Jul 30, 2016 7:01:13 GMT -5
repost
|
|
|
|
Post by EricH on Jul 30, 2016 16:54:54 GMT -5
Thanks so much Eric TBH this is surprising to me. From the pulpit I always heard, " The Third commandment of the church is to confess your sins at least once a year." Period, nothing else. I thought that was very lenient of the Church. I remember years ago on a forum a poster mentioned "maybe they should go to confession, they hadn't been there in years" and the other posters kind of reprimanded them saying you are under pain of mortal sin for not going at least once a year. Apparently this wasn't the case. You're welcome! What you heard wasn't wrong, it was just short on details. Once a year is the minimum that the law requires; we are advised to confess much more often. But just like the law of Mass attendance only applies when one has a Mass to attend, the law of annual confession only applies when one has access to a confessor. If someone says he hasn't been to confession in years, usually that implies he hasn't been living a good life, so the other posters on that forum probably assumed that he had mortal sins to confess and was able to approach a confessor. |
|
