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| The Miraculous Draught of Fishes (1515) by Raphael |
ON FREQUENT CONFESSION
If
you search the Internet, Roman Catholic sources tend to say once a month is “frequent
Confession” and recommend this frequency.
By
all means, a person should go once a month or even more often, if this is where
the Spirit leads.
The
best frequency depends on a case-to-case basis.
I
think it’s better to be well prepared to receive the graces of the sacrament
rather than to go frequently, if it means that we end up developing routines
that are spiritually unfruitful.
What
is critical in deciding on the frequency of Confession is to consider what is
happening in the spiritual life and how Confession fits in there.
Rote
Confession, even if frequent—and sometimes because it is frequent—can be
harmful. The practice of frequent Confession, for example, can reinforce
psychological or psychiatric problems, believe it or not. See, for example:
—“How
confession enabled abuse in the Catholic Church,” ABC Listen, April 9,
2014
Notably,
psychological or psychiatric problems are not always adequately addressed
through spiritual means.
A
more advisable practice than very frequent Confession, I would say, is to pray
daily and to examine our conscience daily during prayer in preparation for our
next Confession.
Yes,
if we go to Confession infrequently, we could become desensitized to our sinful
habits and acts. Yet the same is possible if we go to Confession too often.
It
is more advisable that we sensitize ourselves to our sins and failings through
daily prayer so that when we go to Confession, we are well disposed to receive
the graces of the sacrament.
At
some point in our prayer we will find the frequency that best works for us.
Frequent
Communion and daily Mass can be a source of many great blessings, and deep consolations
and joys. Confession helps a person receive Holy Communion with the right
disposition—here is where the practice of “frequent” Confession can be
beneficial.
My
personal opinion is that for some, Confession once a week is too frequent.
By
all means, however, a person should go once a week or even more often, if this
is where the Spirit leads.
Regular
Confession based on rote with a heart bereft of God’s manifold Spirit is to be
avoided. We go to Confession with the desire for our hearts to become more
tender, loving, strong, steadfast, and humble, wholly seeking God above all
things. We don’t go to Confession to tick off a checkbox.
Public domain image
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THE BEST EXORCISM IS CONFESSION
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnA_I7Yc3wg
—Pints With Aquinas, “Real Life Exorcist Shares His Story w/ Fr Carlos Martins,” YouTube video, 3:02:36 hours, August 8, 2023
See 1:03:04:
Matt Fradd: What’s more powerful—an exorcism or a sacramental confession?
Father Carlos Martins: One confession is worth more than a thousand exorcisms. We do exorcism only to get a person into the sacramental life of the Church. That’s really the source of health. The seven sacraments are the seven ways Jesus Christ left to heal the world. They are the way that we receive God’s very divinity within us. To use the language of the Eastern Church, our Eastern brothers, they are the way by which we are divinized. Prayer divinizes us, sure, our good works, our charitable works, sacrifice and penance, but nothing divinizes us like the seven sacraments.
“Father Gabriele Amorth, the former chief exorcist in Rome, used to say that a good confession is better than an exorcism, because a sacrament is of a weightier nature than a sacramental, and an exorcism is a sacramental within the church.” (Father Vince Lampert)
https://www.catholic.com/audio/caf/the-truth-about-exorcism
—Fr. Vincent Lampert, “The Truth About Exorcism,” Catholic Answers, October 5, 2020
“One confession is worth more than a thousand exorcisms.” The best exorcism is sacramental confession.
Regular confession is exorcistic, powerfully so, because it keeps us away from the habits of sin by which the devil maintains his power over us. Confession forgives mortal sin. Habitual confession keeps us in the state of friendship with God and steadfast in the way of perfection, that is, growth in the spiritual life and in love of God and neighbor. Close to Jesus is far from the devil.
Frequent confession asks us to develop a more discerning conscience—not a scrupulous one—because it compels us through prayerful preparation to become more aware of our sins or faults sometimes hidden from our sight—whether by our callousness, neglect, or some other failing. Sins of omission, for example, come more clearly to light.
“Who can see his own failings? Cleanse me from my hidden faults.” (Psalm 19:13)
Gonzalinho
HOW FREQUENT?
ReplyDeleteHow frequently should you go to Confession? I’d say that it depends on the person. A person who is struggling to break habits of sin should go often, possibly even more often than once a week. “The kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent are taking it by force.” (Matthew 11:12) Those who develop good habits of spiritual practice—the devout—don’t need to go more often than once a week. Members of religious communities are generally required to go once a week. Once a month is probably best, I’d say, for most of the devout. Confession once a month for the devout pushes them to examine their conscience more deeply. One pitfall of very frequent Confession is that one could lapse into scrupulosity or nitpicking that slides into neuroticism.
Gonzalinho
How frequently should you receive the Eucharist? I’d suggest that Holy Communion can vary anywhere from daily to once a week on Sunday obligation. If you don’t receive the Eucharist on Sundays even if you fulfill the Sunday obligation of attending Mass, I’d say something is probably wrong. You need to examine your conscience—why do you lack fervor?
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