Confession

[Christ's Knight]

I get to confession on a smei-regular basis, but offer an act of contrition nightly (after my evening prayers) for the (lets say) "little" sins I may have committed that day. Now God in his infinite wisdom knows I am sorry whether I tell Him in the quiet of my personal prayers or after having gone to church, stood in line for 45 minutes & offered my remorse to the priest. Just as the worst sinner in this life who led a life of complete sin could have a conversion in the last hour of his life make ammends with God in that hour & be accepted in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Now, dont get me wrong, I believe Confession is argue-ably one of the most important Sacraments & should be offered more often than it is (atleast at my church where it is offered for 1 hour once a week & [or] by personal reservation throughout the week). I guess I am just looking for a little bit more insite.
Thank you in advance & may God bless you!

This place is P-H-A-T... phat & all 'o dat!

[Laudate_Dominum]

Strictly speaking you do not have to go to confession unless you are in mortal sin. The practice of regular confession is however highly recommended and spiritually fruitful. The daily (or nightly) examination of conscience and act of contrition are also highly profitable practices which are recommended by the masters of the spiritual life. Confession and absolution are required for a person to be reconciled with the Church after serious sin and return to the Sacraments (feel lucky, in the old days there was public confession of grave sins ). I think it is best to look at the sacrament of Penance from a positive perspective, it is a tremendous gift that God gives us audible absolution through the ministry of His priests and gives us wise counselers to guide us in the spiritual life, etc.. Through this Sacrament we can be assured that our sins are truly forgiven and hear the words of Christ spoken to us through his minister who is an [i]alter Christus[/i], "your sins are forgiven, go in peace". In this Sacrament we encounter the Mercy of God and the healing of Jesus Christ in a tangible and objective way through the ministry of His Church.
With regards to the person who repents just before he dies and is saved (such as perhaps the penitent thief), when Confession is looked from a strictly negative perspective this may seem compelling, but when it is kept in mind that the Church teaches that God is not bound by the Sacraments (He instituted them and we should not downplay their significance), and while understanding Confession also in a positive way this problem dissolves.

God bless you.