Confession

[SinginForHim]

Besides mortal sin, when is it necessary to go to Confession? I forgot to fast yesterday and also ate meat -- would this be considered something to confess or is it absolved during Mass?

[Maggyie]

I'm thinking that if it was just an accidental oversight and you didn't intentionally say, "Hey, I don't care about the law of the Church, I really want to eat meat and eat lots today, so I'm going to" it's only a venial sin and not mortal; in other words it would be absolved at Mass.

I [i]think [/i]it might not even qualify as a sin at all, since you can't sin unintentionally.

[Resurrexi]

It's a mortal sin to eat meat on Fridays in Lent if you did not forget and had knew that you were eating meat on a Friday in Lent. It is also a mortal sin to not fast on Ash Wed. and Good Fri. if you know you are supposed to be fasting. It is moreover a mortal sin to eat meat on any Friday throughout the year in the Universal Church and in the United States also if you do not replace abstaining with some other form of penance.

[SinginForHim]

[quote name='StThomasMore' post='1233842' date='Apr 7 2007, 06:41 PM']It is moreover a mortal sin to eat meat on any Friday throughout the year in the Universal Church and in the United States also if you do not replace abstaining with some other form of penance.[/quote]


I've never heard of that. I've been Catholic all my life and the only time I've abstained from eating meat on Fridays is during Lent -- am I missing something here?

[Noel's angel]

Can. 1250 The penitential days and times in the universal Church are every Friday of the whole year and the season of Lent.

Can. 1251 Abstinence from meat, or from some other food as determined by the Episcopal Conference, is to be observed on all Fridays, unless a solemnity should fall on a Friday. Abstinence and fasting are to be observed on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

Can. 1252 The law of abstinence binds those who have completed their fourteenth year. The law of fasting binds those who have attained their majority, until the beginning of their sixtieth year. Pastors of souls and parents are to ensure that even those who by reason of their age are not bound by the law of fasting and abstinence, are taught the true meaning of penance.

Can. 1253 The conference of bishops can determine more precisely the observance of fast and abstinence as well as substitute other forms of penance, especially works of charity and exercises of piety, in whole or in part, for abstinence and fast.

(http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P4O.HTM)

If you simply forgot to fast, you don't need to go to Confession. Mortal sin has to be an act of the will.

[Moneybags]

[quote name='SinginForHim' post='1233912' date='Apr 7 2007, 07:18 PM']I've never heard of that. I've been Catholic all my life and the only time I've abstained from eating meat on Fridays is during Lent -- am I missing something here?
[/quote]

What you have been told is true. Abstaining from meat is required all Fridays in Lent. This is also required on ALL other Fridays in the year unless you do some other form of penance. This is some that MANY, MANY Catholics are never taught. The Code of Canon law, mentioned in above reply, states this:

Can. 1251 Abstinence from meat, or from some other food as determined by the Episcopal Conference, [b]is to be observed on all Fridays[/b], unless a solemnity should fall on a Friday. Abstinence and fasting are to be observed on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

[Paddington]

So...the every Friday of the year fast from meat is required and breaking that is a GRAVE sin????

Edited April 10, 2007 by Paddington

[Noel's angel]

It's a sin unless you do something else unless you replace abstinance from meat with another act of charity. How grave a sin it would be depends on the conscience of the individual.

[Moneybags]

[quote name='Paddington' post='1237539' date='Apr 10 2007, 06:50 AM']So...the every Friday of the year fast from meat is required and breaking that is a GRAVE sin????[/quote]

Yes as stated in Canon Law. Too bad that many Catholics don't know this!

[cmotherofpirl]

[quote name='Paddington' post='1237539' date='Apr 10 2007, 07:50 AM']So...the every Friday of the year fast from meat is required and breaking that is a GRAVE sin????[/quote]
Sin requires intention, so it can hardly be a "grave" sin, now can it?

[Paddington]

[quote name='cmotherofpirl' post='1237801' date='Apr 10 2007, 03:41 PM']Sin requires intention, so it can hardly be a "grave" sin, now can it?[/quote]

I think the Catechism puts it this way.

Grave is Grave no matter what.

Grave sin + Knowledge of Gravity + Full Consent = Mortal Sin

[cathoholic_anonymous]

[quote]Grave sin + Knowledge of Gravity + Full Consent = Mortal Sin[/quote]

I think what Cmum is trying to say is that the original poster didn't commit a grave sin, as he didn't give his full consent to it. He simply forgot the fast. If you don't know that Friday is an unbreakable day of penance (like an unfortunately large number of Catholics) you're also not committing a mortal sin, as you don't know what you are doing. It's still wrong to eat meat on Lenten Fridays, but there are varying degrees of culpability.

You must also remember that the fast is not just a dietary requirement. It's inextricably bound up with the whole meaning of Lenten Fridays - the loss, the sorrow, the sacrifice. You are meant to feel hungry. That hunger symbolises something else. To eat huge amounts or to enjoy meat is to go against the spirit of the day. Sitting down to a good dinner two hours after the special prayers that mark the third hour on Friday would be like eating a chocolate bar five minutes before Communion. * shudders *

[AccountDeleted]

The original question was "Confession, when is it necessary?"

I think that really limits Confession to something that you "have" to do, when you are worried about the state of your mortal soul. This is a valid reason for going to Confession but I think it also undervalues the graces associated with Reconciliation.

The act of reconciliation between a sinner (us) and God is a great gift, and I go weekly because I know that even though I haven't committed a mortal sin, I am a sinner and want full reconciliation with God. So rather than trying to figure out how we can "get out of it", I would think that we should be considering how we can best please God. If it were me, I would go, confess that I had forgotten about eating meat, and was sorry that I had done so and would try to remember in the future.

Even if it isn't a mortal sin, it is still an offence and when it is so easy to please God by confessing, why not?

[Paddington]

[quote name='Cathoholic Anonymous' post='1238575' date='Apr 11 2007, 09:58 AM']I think what Cmum is trying to say is that the original poster didn't commit a grave sin, as he didn't give his full consent to it.[/quote]

He did commit a grave sin. Not a mortal sin.
Grave is grave is grave is grave......
Grave sin doesn't imply full consent. Mortal sin implies full consent and grave matter and knowledge of gravity - all 3 at once.
I hope that everybody can see the importance of making the grave/mortal distinction in everyday talk.

[kateri05]

thanks paddington, for clarifying grave, i think thats something really important to remember, that the gravity of the sin is independent of our knowledge and consent!


as for the friday thing, totally true, dont' know why noone talks about it.... just wondering, i know that USCCB has said it can be replaced with an alternate form of penance on non-Lenten fridays but, just wanted to make sure that its non-neogitable during Lent right?