How often do I need to confess?[Catholics only pls.]?

Question

Okay I'm Catholic and I had my first communion not long ago and I will be having my confirmation this sunday and I need to know how often to confess because I don't want to take in the body of Christ if I have sins that need to be needed to confess first.
How do I know what sins are bad enough for confession again or how often to confess?

Answer 1

There are only 2 required times during the year, during lent and during Advent to prepare your heart for Him.

But the more the better IMHO. It feels so good and clean. Like your teeth right after getting them cleaned at the dentist. Like you don't want to sin again!

I remember the first time I went to a communal penance at the downtown Cathedral here. I lived nearby. The bishop had them joyously ring the carillon bells for a full 10 minutes after the service. It just made my heart soar! I was reminded of the verse about all of heaven rejoicing at one repentant sinner!

Answer 2

Receive Confession at least once a year. You can go as often as weekly if you wantd to.

If, for whatever reason, you feel you are not in a state of Grace, definitively go to Confession the next time your parish offers it.

Congrats on (soon to be) receiving Confirmation. Typically, it is not a bad idea to receive Confession prior the reception of other Sacraments, even if you were not aware of any mortal sin.

Your conscience, assuming it is properly conformed to Catholic morality, will let you know when you need to go to Confession.

In preparing for Confession, you will want to do an examination of conscience. Go through the Ten Commandments, and think of ways in which you may have violated some of them since the last time you received Confession.

Don't worry about remembering absolutely every little infraction. If you have forgotten certain sins, God will forgive them anyway because He knows that you will have confessed them if you did remember them.

An examination of conscience is not something that can or should be done immediately prior to receiving Confession. A few Confessions ago, I remember examining my conscience for more than a week. I was finally getting the hanging of examining my conscience and found things that I did not even consider sinful at the time, but now knew better. Most of these things were venial material

Again, Confession is one of those Sacraments that we can receive as often as we need it. Whether it's weekly, annually, whenever. I suppose the frequency that one goes to Confession will be different for everyone. Only you can know exactly when it's time for you to go to Confession.

If you would like to know more about what constitutes venial as opposed to mortal sins, and examples thereof, get a copy the Catechism of the Catholic Church. You can get soft-cover editions for as little as four dollars, or a nice hardcover for $25.

Answer 3

The first thing that comes to mind is - ask your Confirmation teacher, as there is still time.

Of course you can go Sat. before Sunday service, as I do. (Check your church's bulletin)

What a sin is that is bad enough to confess - hmm, well try confessing everything as this is an important day - Confirmation.
But after that sins will weigh on your soul differently, so you'll know.
Of course to have the whitest soul before mass try being as honest with yourself, and talk to the priest about your life's stresses.
All sin should be disclosed, but EVERYONE "forgets" and during the quiet of prayer many tell Jesus ALL of their sins. (This is why there are 2 choices in how to confess - face-to-face, or traditional behind the screen.)
Confession is a conversation with Jesus, so take advantage of this time and talk, and thank Jesus for all the miracles you've received during the week also.

Answer 4

Believe me you should have some sins , even if they are venial, in a months time. Sometime I can go every week and sometime I go once a month. You will find as you become closer to God you find more of the sin within yourself.

Look at a home with the lights down and it doesn't look too bad but over a period of time dust gathers on things and then when the lights are bright, you see it all. I say go to Adoration before you go to Confession and that will help. There are also some really good examinations of conscience guides available at the ewtn web site.

Don't listen to that woman above. She does not know what the heck she's talking about. There are 2 types of sin. Venial and Mortal. Venial sin is more or less forgiven through normal Mass attendance and reception of the Holy Eucharist but too much and it just kind of leaves a sludge and sin is like exercise. If you exercise a sin it gets stronger each time.

Remember too that it takes an actual act of the will to complete a real mortal sin so there may be mitigating factors there and sometimes when people do not realize it they can become scrupulous because they are aware of sin within them but if there is no will to sin-- what they are seeing is the reason we need Jesus in the first place so it is like you have been unstuck from the big spiders web of sin but you can still see it untill we are totally out of our body. Regardless, when sin is confessed (venial or mortal) Jesus himself lends you his strength in conquering that sin so you receive grace each confession too.

One must NOT go to Communion with mortal sin on their soul or it will bring about your own judgement. If you have a mortal sin you absolutely need to go to confession before receiving Jesus.

Answer 5

You examine your conscience ... on a daily basis.

Only mortal sins are required to be included in your confession, but it's often difficult to determine the actual severity of sin, so confess them all ... monthly is probably a good interval ... unless you find that you've done something particularly bad ... in which case, you should waste no time getting to confession.

It's also critically important that you confess every serious sin ... intentionally leaving out none of them ... otherwise your confession will be invalid.

Try this link:

http://www.ourcatholicfaith.org/examinationofconscience.html

Answer 6

Preferably you could confess once a month or more often if you desire. Do not receive the Body of Christ if you have sinned mortally. You can do so only after a good confession of that mortal sin.

Answer 7

The first friday of every month is ususally the time for confessions, according to the "sacred heart" devotion, for example, and the message of Mary's apparitions in Faima and Medjugorje.

If it was a very serious sin, called "mortal sin" then the church advises confession before communion.

but...
1. it must be a grave or serious matter
2. it must be committed with full knowledge, both of the sin
and of the gravity of the offense
3. it must be committed with deliberate and complete
consent.

.. in that case, don't forget that Jesus is "Mercy itself". He said, "the greater the sinner the more right he has to my Mercy" and because of this, immagine how glad we make him when we confess before communion.

Answer 8

Only mortal or serious sins need to be confessed; light sins or venial sins as they're called MAY be confessed if one wishes. Mortal sin is that sin which is said to destroy the spiritual life of the soul, which removes the gift of God's grace. Venial sin does not do that. Being a "light" sin, it is said to "cool" one's relationship with God but does not destroy it. Therefore, the only kind of sin that must be confessed is mortal sin.

The tradition in the Church is that Catholics receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation "often" during their lives. Any time one wishes to avail him/herself of the grace of the Sacrament, one may confess, always remembering that for mortal or venial sins sorrow or contrition is required along with a will not to commit sin in the future. Know, too, that venial sins may be forgiven by pious acts, prayer, reception of Communion, etc., as long as one is contrite.

There are any number of places where you might find an examination of conscience to help you know what to confess. Some sins, according to Church teaching, are serious in themselves -- e.g., deliberately missing Mass on Sundays, seriously hurting someone by a deliberate act of unkindness, stealing a large sum of money, deliberately ruining another's reputation, adultery or sexual sins outside of marriage. Those are the kinds of things you'd find in a book about what sins are mortal. But remember: with all of them, there must be full knowledge of the seriousness of the sin, sufficient reflection before it is done, and full consent of one's will.

Some Catholics, I'm told, go to confession at least once a month. Others go before certain holy days or holy times -- e.g., Easter, Christmas, Lent, Advent.

Answer 9

As far as I know, it's supposed to be done as often as you can--the idea being, of course, that you don't want to hang around with all those sins staining up your soul. A simplified metaphor would be, how often would you want to brush your teeth? Also, from what I understand, Catholics believe all sins are bad enough to confess, regardless of their severity. No doubt someone more learned than I can regale you with more specific information, though.

Answer 10

i have always heard that you need to confess at least once a year, unless you need to go more often. go as often as you like, it is a very personal sacrament and is entirely up to you. as for knowing what sins are bad enough for confession, follow your instinct. if you feel particularly guilty about something and it's on your mind a lot, confess it. no priest should be angry or anything if you confess something you don't really need to, they should just tell you it's ok.