The Priest I Confessed To Told Me....

[Eternal CB]

Ok, well I went to confession today. And I have been having a battle with lust for a while now and yes have been engaging in masturbating. I confess about once a week because I'm so weak. But it's not like I want it to continue. Anyway, the priest who I confessed to this morning told me to set aside a day once a week for confession, for example Friday. Then he told me, should I fall between my last confession and the next confession (which would be on a Friday), it would still be ok to receive Communion. He says this because he understands I have some love for God (I frequently attend daily Masses) and because he says I'm "caught up in it" and its not necessarily my intention, therefore it is not totally grave. Sometimes that is true, but other times it is actually intentional. Anyway, I was slightly concerned, because this is a mortal sin and receiving Communion unworthily is another mortal sin. But, I would just like to inquire to see if its truly ok. If not, then I am more than happy to attend Mass and not receive Communion while in mortal sin, and wait until next I confess.

Edited October 25, 2011 by Eternal CB

[cappie]

[quote name='Eternal CB' timestamp='1319525850' post='2326731']
Ok, well I went to confession today. And I have been having a battle with lust for a while now and yes have been engaging in masturbating. I confess about once a week because I'm so weak. But it's not like I want it to continue. Anyway, the priest who I confessed to this morning told me to set aside a day once a week for confession, for example Friday. Then he told me, should I fall betweeantn my last confession and the next confession (which would be on a Friday), it would still be ok to receive Communion. He says this because he understands I have some love for God (I frequently attend daily Masses) and because he says I'm "caught up in it" and its not necessarily my intention, therefore it is not totally grave. Sometimes that is true, but other times it is actually intentional. Anyway, I was slightly concerned, because this is a mortal sin and receiving Communion unworthily is another mortal sin. But, I would just like to inquire to see if its truly ok. If not, then I am more than happy to attend Mass and not receive Communion while in mortal sin, and wait until next I confess.
[/quote]

I am reluctant to judge the advice of another priest as I don't know you or the circumstances, however it seems you may have developed a habit which somewhat diminishes your freedom and hence your responsibility. It is good that you are using the sacrament.

In order for a sin to be mortal, it must meet three conditions:[list]
[*]Mortal sin is a sin of grave matter
[*]Mortal sin is committed with full knowledge of the sinner
[*]Mortal sin is committed with deliberate consent of the sinner
[/list]
This means that mortal sins cannot be done "accidentally." A person who commits a mortal sin is one who knows that their sin is wrong, but still deliberately commits the sin anyway. This means that mortal sins are "premeditated" by the sinner and thus are truly a rejection of God’s law and love.

I might doubt that you are rejecting God's law and love. This does not detract from it being serious. But I think the priest in his pastoral role is correct to encourage you to go to Holy Communion. However if you are happy to go to Mass and not receive communion then that's OK too