Is Perfect Contrition Enough?

[havok579257]

Got a question, hope some can help answer it. If one has perfect contrition but is unable to attend confession is on allowed to recieve communion?

Also if one has a perfect contrition before death then is it not having all your sins forgiven? I thought so, but some of the things I read are confussing and I can't make sense of it.

Help on perfect contrition and how it relates to communion and mortal sins would really help. Thanks.

[StColette]

Canon 916 A person who is conscious of grave sin is not to celebrate Mass or to receive the Body of the Lord without prior sacramental confession unless a grave reason is present and there is no opportunity of confessing; [b]in this case the person is to be mindful of the obligation to make an act of perfect contrition, including the intention of confessing as soon as possible.[/b]

There must be a very grave reason for a person to not go to Confession before receiving the Eucharist. This doesn't mean because you totally forgot about Confession or that you decided to put off going that you can make a perfect act of contrition and receive and then go to Confession later. Those would not be grave reasons. With every perfect contrition the intention of going to Confession shortly there after is a requirement. Of course if you are dying and there is no one around your perfect act of contrition will not require you confession your sins later, unless you somehow survive.
________________________

In accord with Catholic tradition contrition, whether it be perfect or imperfect, must be at once (a) interior, (b) supernatural, © universal, and (d) sovereign.

Interior
Contrition must be real and sincere sorrow of heart, and not merely an external manifestation of repentance. The Old Testament Prophets laid particular stress on the necessity of hearty repentance. The Psalmist says that God despises not the "contrite heart" (Ps. I, 19), and the call to Israel was, "Be converted to me with all your heart . . . and rend your hearts, and not your garments" (Joel, ii, 12 sq). Holy Job did penance in sackcloth and ashes because he reprehended himself in sorrow of soul (Job 13:6). The contrition adjudged necessary by Chris and his Apostles was no mere formality, but the sincere expression of the sorrowing soul (Luke 14:11-32; Luke 18:13); and the grief of the woman in the house of the Pharisee merited forgiveness because "she loved much". The exhortations to penance found everywhere in the Fathers have no uncertain sound (Cyprian, De Lapsis, P.L., IV; Chrysostom, De compunctione, P.G., XLVII, 393 sqq.), and the Scholastic doctors from Peter Lombard on insist on the same sincerity in repentance (Peter Lombard, Lib. Sent. IV, dist. xvi, no. 1).

Supernatural
In accordance with Catholic teaching contrition ought to be prompted by God's grace and aroused by motives which spring from faith, as opposed to merely natural motives, such as loss of honour, fortune, and the like (Chemnitz, Exam. Concil. Trid., Pt. II, De Poenit.). In the Old Testament it is God who gives a "new heart" and who puts a "new spirit)" into the children of Israel (Ezekiel 36:25-29); and for a clean heart the Psalmist prays in the Miserere (Ps. 1, 11 sqq.). St. Peter told those to whom he preached in the first days after Pentecost that God the Father had raised up Christ "to give repentance to Israel" (Acts 5:30 sq.). St. Paul in advising Timothy insists on dealing gently and kindly with those who resist the truth, "if peradventure God may give them full repentance" (2 Timothy 2:24-25). In the days of the Pelagian heresy Augustine insisted on the supernaturalness of contrition, when he writes, "That we turn away from God is our doing, and this is the bad will; but to turn back to God we are unable unless He arouse and help us, and this is the good will." Some of the Scholastic doctors, notably Scotus, Cajetan, and after them Francisco Suárez (De Poenit., Disp. iii, sect. vi), asked speculatively whether man if left to himself could elicit a true act of contrition, but no theologian ever taught that makes for forgiveness of sin in the present economy of God could be inspired by merely natural motives. On the contrary, all the doctors have insisted on the absolute necessity of grace for contrition that disposes to forgiveness (Bonaventure, In Lib. Sent. IV, dist. xiv, Pt. I, art. II, Q. iii; also dist. xvii, Pt. I, art. I, Q. iii; cf. St. Thomas, In Lib. Sent. IV). In keeping with this teaching of the Scriptures and the doctors, the Council of Trent defined; "If anyone say that without the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and without His aid a man can repent in the way that is necessary for obtaining the grace of justification, let him be anathema."

Universal
The Council of Trent defined that real contrition includes "a firm purpose of not sinning in the future"; consequently he who repents must resolve to avoid all sin. This doctrine is intimately bound up with the Catholic teaching concerning grace and repentance. There is no forgiveness without sorrow of soul, and forgiveness is always accompanied by God's grace; grace cannot coexist with sin; and, as a consequence, one sin cannot be forgiven while another remains for which their is no repentance. This is the clear teaching of the Bible. The Prophet urged men to turn to God with their whole heart (Joel, ii, 12 sq.), and Christ tells the doctor of the law that we must love God with our whole mind, our whole strength (Luke 10:27). Ezechiel insists that a man must "turn from his evil ways" if he wish to live. The Scholastics inquired rather subtly into this question when they asked whether or not there must be a special act of contrition for every serious sin, and whether, in order to be forgiven, one must remember at the moment all grievous transgressions. To both questions they answered in the negative, judging that an act of sorrow which implicitly included all his sins would be sufficient.

Sovereign
The Council of Trent insists that true contrition includes the firm will never to sin again, so that no mater what evil may come, such evil must be preferred to sin. This doctrine is surely Christ's: "What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and suffer the loss of his soul?" Theologians have discussed at great length whether or not contrition which must be sovereign appretiative, i.e., in regarding sin as the greatest possible evil, must also be sovereign in degree and in intensity. The decision has generally been that sorrow need not be sovereign "intensively", for intensity makes no change in the substance of an act (Ballerini, Opus Morale: De Contritione; Bonaventure, In Lib. Sent. IV, dist. xxi, Pt. I, art. II, Q. i).

Perfect contrition without the sacrament
Regarding that contrition which has for its motive the love of God, the Council of Trent declares: "The Council further teaches that, though contrition may sometimes be made perfect by charity and may reconcile men to God before the actual reception of this sacrament, still the reconciliation is not to be ascribed to the contrition apart from the desire for the sacrament which it includes." The following proposition (no. 32) taken from Baius was condemned by Gregory XIII: "That charity which is the fullness of the law is not always conjoined with forgiveness of sins." Perfect contrition, with the desire of receiving the Sacrament of Penance, restores the sinner to grace at once. This is certainly the teaching of the Scholastic doctors (Peter Lombard in P.L., CXCII, 885; St. Thomas, In Lib. Sent. IV, ibid.; St. Bonaventure, In Lib. Sent. IV, ibid.). This doctrine they derived from Holy Writ. Scripture certainly ascribes to charity and the love of God the power to take away sin: "He that loveth me shall be loved by My Father"; "Many sins are forgiven her because she hath loved much". Since the act of perfect contrition implies necessarily this same love of God, theologians have ascribed to perfect contrition what Scripture teaches belongs to charity. Nor is this strange, for in the Old Covenant there was some way of recovering God's grace once man had sinned. God wills not the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live (Ezekiel 33:11). This total turning to God corresponds to our idea of perfect contrition; and if under the Old Law love sufficed for the pardon of the sinner, surely the coming of Christ and the institution of the Sacrament of Penance cannot be supposed to have increased the difficulty of obtaining forgiveness. That the earlier Fathers taught the efficacy of sorrow for the remission of sins is very clear (Clement in P.G., I, 341 sqq.; and Hermas in P.G., II, 894 sqq.; Chrysostom in P.G., XLIX, 285 sqq.) and this is particularly noticeable in all the commentaries on Luke, vii, 47. The Venerable Bede writes (P.L., XCII, 425): "What is love but fire; what is sin but rust? Hence it is said, many sins are forgiven her because she hat loved much, as though to say, she hath burned away entirely the rust of sin, because she is inflamed with the fire of love." Theologians have inquired with much learning as to the kind of love that justifies with the Sacrament of Penance. All are agreed that pure, or disinterested, love (amor benevolentiæ, amor amicitiæ) suffices; when there is question of interested, or selfish, love (amor concupiscentia) theologians hold that purely selfish love is not sufficient. When on furthermore asks what must be the formal motive in perfect love, there seems to be no real unanimity among the doctors. Some say that where there is perfect love God is loved for His great goodness alone; other, basing their contention on Scripture, think that the love of gratitude (amor gratitudinis) is quite sufficient, because God's benevolence and love towards men are intimately united, nay, inseparable from His Divine perfections (Hurter, Theol. Dog., Thesis ccxlv, Scholion iii, no 3; Schieler-Heuser, op. cit., pp. 77 sq.).

[url="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04337a.htm"]http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04337a.htm[/url]

[havok579257]

[quote name='StColette' post='1588288' date='Jul 1 2008, 12:56 PM']Canon 916 A person who is conscious of grave sin is not to celebrate Mass or to receive the Body of the Lord without prior sacramental confession unless a grave reason is present and there is no opportunity of confessing; [b]in this case the person is to be mindful of the obligation to make an act of perfect contrition, including the intention of confessing as soon as possible.[/b]

There must be a very grave reason for a person to not go to Confession before receiving the Eucharist. This doesn't mean because you totally forgot about Confession or that you decided to put off going that you can make a perfect act of contrition and receive and then go to Confession later. Those would not be grave reasons. With every perfect contrition the intention of going to Confession shortly there after is a requirement. Of course if you are dying and there is no one around your perfect act of contrition will not require you confession your sins later, unless you somehow survive.
________________________

In accord with Catholic tradition contrition, whether it be perfect or imperfect, must be at once (a) interior, (b) supernatural, © universal, and (d) sovereign.

Interior
Contrition must be real and sincere sorrow of heart, and not merely an external manifestation of repentance. The Old Testament Prophets laid particular stress on the necessity of hearty repentance. The Psalmist says that God despises not the "contrite heart" (Ps. I, 19), and the call to Israel was, "Be converted to me with all your heart . . . and rend your hearts, and not your garments" (Joel, ii, 12 sq). Holy Job did penance in sackcloth and ashes because he reprehended himself in sorrow of soul (Job 13:6). The contrition adjudged necessary by Chris and his Apostles was no mere formality, but the sincere expression of the sorrowing soul (Luke 14:11-32; Luke 18:13); and the grief of the woman in the house of the Pharisee merited forgiveness because "she loved much". The exhortations to penance found everywhere in the Fathers have no uncertain sound (Cyprian, De Lapsis, P.L., IV; Chrysostom, De compunctione, P.G., XLVII, 393 sqq.), and the Scholastic doctors from Peter Lombard on insist on the same sincerity in repentance (Peter Lombard, Lib. Sent. IV, dist. xvi, no. 1).

Supernatural
In accordance with Catholic teaching contrition ought to be prompted by God's grace and aroused by motives which spring from faith, as opposed to merely natural motives, such as loss of honour, fortune, and the like (Chemnitz, Exam. Concil. Trid., Pt. II, De Poenit.). In the Old Testament it is God who gives a "new heart" and who puts a "new spirit)" into the children of Israel (Ezekiel 36:25-29); and for a clean heart the Psalmist prays in the Miserere (Ps. 1, 11 sqq.). St. Peter told those to whom he preached in the first days after Pentecost that God the Father had raised up Christ "to give repentance to Israel" (Acts 5:30 sq.). St. Paul in advising Timothy insists on dealing gently and kindly with those who resist the truth, "if peradventure God may give them full repentance" (2 Timothy 2:24-25). In the days of the Pelagian heresy Augustine insisted on the supernaturalness of contrition, when he writes, "That we turn away from God is our doing, and this is the bad will; but to turn back to God we are unable unless He arouse and help us, and this is the good will." Some of the Scholastic doctors, notably Scotus, Cajetan, and after them Francisco Suárez (De Poenit., Disp. iii, sect. vi), asked speculatively whether man if left to himself could elicit a true act of contrition, but no theologian ever taught that makes for forgiveness of sin in the present economy of God could be inspired by merely natural motives. On the contrary, all the doctors have insisted on the absolute necessity of grace for contrition that disposes to forgiveness (Bonaventure, In Lib. Sent. IV, dist. xiv, Pt. I, art. II, Q. iii; also dist. xvii, Pt. I, art. I, Q. iii; cf. St. Thomas, In Lib. Sent. IV). In keeping with this teaching of the Scriptures and the doctors, the Council of Trent defined; "If anyone say that without the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and without His aid a man can repent in the way that is necessary for obtaining the grace of justification, let him be anathema."

Universal
The Council of Trent defined that real contrition includes "a firm purpose of not sinning in the future"; consequently he who repents must resolve to avoid all sin. This doctrine is intimately bound up with the Catholic teaching concerning grace and repentance. There is no forgiveness without sorrow of soul, and forgiveness is always accompanied by God's grace; grace cannot coexist with sin; and, as a consequence, one sin cannot be forgiven while another remains for which their is no repentance. This is the clear teaching of the Bible. The Prophet urged men to turn to God with their whole heart (Joel, ii, 12 sq.), and Christ tells the doctor of the law that we must love God with our whole mind, our whole strength (Luke 10:27). Ezechiel insists that a man must "turn from his evil ways" if he wish to live. The Scholastics inquired rather subtly into this question when they asked whether or not there must be a special act of contrition for every serious sin, and whether, in order to be forgiven, one must remember at the moment all grievous transgressions. To both questions they answered in the negative, judging that an act of sorrow which implicitly included all his sins would be sufficient.

Sovereign
The Council of Trent insists that true contrition includes the firm will never to sin again, so that no mater what evil may come, such evil must be preferred to sin. This doctrine is surely Christ's: "What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and suffer the loss of his soul?" Theologians have discussed at great length whether or not contrition which must be sovereign appretiative, i.e., in regarding sin as the greatest possible evil, must also be sovereign in degree and in intensity. The decision has generally been that sorrow need not be sovereign "intensively", for intensity makes no change in the substance of an act (Ballerini, Opus Morale: De Contritione; Bonaventure, In Lib. Sent. IV, dist. xxi, Pt. I, art. II, Q. i).

Perfect contrition without the sacrament
Regarding that contrition which has for its motive the love of God, the Council of Trent declares: "The Council further teaches that, though contrition may sometimes be made perfect by charity and may reconcile men to God before the actual reception of this sacrament, still the reconciliation is not to be ascribed to the contrition apart from the desire for the sacrament which it includes." The following proposition (no. 32) taken from Baius was condemned by Gregory XIII: "That charity which is the fullness of the law is not always conjoined with forgiveness of sins." Perfect contrition, with the desire of receiving the Sacrament of Penance, restores the sinner to grace at once. This is certainly the teaching of the Scholastic doctors (Peter Lombard in P.L., CXCII, 885; St. Thomas, In Lib. Sent. IV, ibid.; St. Bonaventure, In Lib. Sent. IV, ibid.). This doctrine they derived from Holy Writ. Scripture certainly ascribes to charity and the love of God the power to take away sin: "He that loveth me shall be loved by My Father"; "Many sins are forgiven her because she hath loved much". Since the act of perfect contrition implies necessarily this same love of God, theologians have ascribed to perfect contrition what Scripture teaches belongs to charity. Nor is this strange, for in the Old Covenant there was some way of recovering God's grace once man had sinned. God wills not the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live (Ezekiel 33:11). This total turning to God corresponds to our idea of perfect contrition; and if under the Old Law love sufficed for the pardon of the sinner, surely the coming of Christ and the institution of the Sacrament of Penance cannot be supposed to have increased the difficulty of obtaining forgiveness. That the earlier Fathers taught the efficacy of sorrow for the remission of sins is very clear (Clement in P.G., I, 341 sqq.; and Hermas in P.G., II, 894 sqq.; Chrysostom in P.G., XLIX, 285 sqq.) and this is particularly noticeable in all the commentaries on Luke, vii, 47. The Venerable Bede writes (P.L., XCII, 425): "What is love but fire; what is sin but rust? Hence it is said, many sins are forgiven her because she hat loved much, as though to say, she hath burned away entirely the rust of sin, because she is inflamed with the fire of love." Theologians have inquired with much learning as to the kind of love that justifies with the Sacrament of Penance. All are agreed that pure, or disinterested, love (amor benevolentiæ, amor amicitiæ) suffices; when there is question of interested, or selfish, love (amor concupiscentia) theologians hold that purely selfish love is not sufficient. When on furthermore asks what must be the formal motive in perfect love, there seems to be no real unanimity among the doctors. Some say that where there is perfect love God is loved for His great goodness alone; other, basing their contention on Scripture, think that the love of gratitude (amor gratitudinis) is quite sufficient, because God's benevolence and love towards men are intimately united, nay, inseparable from His Divine perfections (Hurter, Theol. Dog., Thesis ccxlv, Scholion iii, no 3; Schieler-Heuser, op. cit., pp. 77 sq.).

[url="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04337a.htm"]http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04337a.htm[/url][/quote]


So how does that relate to someone who can not get to confession for the week due to having to be at work and confession only offered at select times? Is that a grave reason for not making it to confession? So would this be ok to take communion if a perfect act of contrition is made, one can not get to confession due to outside interference and not because one did not want to go. And then as soon as one can, go to confession. Would taking communion in this instance be ok.

[StColette]

[quote name='havok579257' post='1588294' date='Jul 1 2008, 01:00 PM']So how does that relate to someone who can not get to confession for the week due to having to be at work and confession only offered at select times? Is that a grave reason for not making it to confession? So would this be ok to take communion if a perfect act of contrition is made, one can not get to confession due to outside interference and not because one did not want to go. And then as soon as one can, go to confession. Would taking communion in this instance be ok.[/quote]

You can always make an appointment with a priest to have confession just for you a specific time. Most Churches that I'm aware of have this option for those who work during the period when Confessions are heard. Also you can always get to Mass early and find the priest and he will most likely (haven't been turned down yet) hear your Confession before Mass begins.

I would say that it would be allowable only if you have exhausted all other options, ie setting up an appointment with a priest, trying different parishes for appointments or Confession times, and trying to get the priest to hear your Confession before Mass.

Before I started working for a Church, I would actually setup an appointment or take my lunch break around time that Confessions were being heard. I would not get to each lunch generally on those days, but hey I was forgiven of my sins and I could receive REAL food when I next attended Mass.

[mortify]

[quote name='StColette' post='1588288' date='Jul 1 2008, 11:56 AM']Canon 916 A person who is conscious of grave sin is not to celebrate Mass or to receive the Body of the Lord without prior sacramental confession unless a grave reason is present and there is no opportunity of confessing; [b]in this case the person is to be mindful of the obligation to make an act of perfect contrition, including the intention of confessing as soon as possible.[/b][/quote]

It's just unfortunate the overwhelming majority of parishes have sacramental confession once a week for thirty min. I'm sure there are some people who think their personal contrition (which may not be perfect) is sufficient enough to receive the sacrament, although the majority probably don't even think contrition is necessary.

[StColette]

[quote name='mortify' post='1588307' date='Jul 1 2008, 01:12 PM']It's just unfortunate the overwhelming majority of parishes have sacramental confession once a week for thirty min. I'm sure there are some people who think their personal contrition (which may not be perfect) is sufficient enough to receive the sacrament, although the majority probably don't even think contrition is necessary.[/quote]

It is sad that they only have it during that short amount of time. But each parish also has the option of having you make an appointment with a priest for him to hear your confession outside of the regularly assigned time. Sadly a lot of people don't want to bother with making an appointment and just say the heck with it.

[Deb]

I suggest too that you make an appointment to go to confession. Maybe if enough people were doing that, your church would come up with more times that people can go.
My church only has one priest but, reconcilliation is offered twice during the week, once in the morning, once in late afternoon and also on Saturday.
Four times a year, they will have six to eight priests come in some evening and they will be there until everyone who comes to be heard, is heard. I would talk to your Priest about it. He is there for you and I am sure he will work with you.

[havok579257]

[quote name='StColette' post='1588308' date='Jul 1 2008, 01:14 PM']It is sad that they only have it during that short amount of time. But each parish also has the option of having you make an appointment with a priest for him to hear your confession outside of the regularly assigned time. Sadly a lot of people don't want to bother with making an appointment and just say the heck with it.[/quote]


But an appointment is not always an option. I mean maybe I am wrong but I doubt a priest would set up a midnight or 2am confession. Like if someone worked a night shift and got off just in time to run to church.

As to the option of taking lunch when confession is offered, to many that is not an option. Like my job, there would be no way to ever leave for lunch to go anywhere as I am in an ambulance and am never exactly sure when and where we will be getting lunch.

I'll try to give a example that could apply to me. Confession is offered 3 times a week at my church. I can not go saturday or thursday due to being at work. So the only day I can go is tuesday. So lets say I go to confession on tuesday but have a mortal sin later in the week, say on saturday. There is no confession offered on sunday and seeing as I can only make it to the early mass due to having work later on in the day. So my question is lets say I commit a mortal sin and have perfect contrition, can I then take communion as long as I go to mass at the next time I can, which would be tuesday?

Sorry for the long winded example, but being away from the church for so long and just coming back recently, I have many questions ratteling around in my head.

[rkwright]

Honestly I would echo what St. Col has said. Show up to mass 15-30 mins early and track down the priest. I've done this many many times and have never been turned down.

Also, you could just show up at the Church during some 'free time' (surely you have off one day a week?) I walked into a Church yesterday, asked if there was a priest there and asked if he had time for a confession.

I bet I used the above methods 85-90% of the time and I try to make a confession once a week or every other week.

Edited July 1, 2008 by rkwright

[mortify]

I just think doing that defeats the purpose of private confession. And on a general level sacramental confession ought to be offered without requests on a regular basis.

[havok579257]

[quote name='rkwright' post='1588332' date='Jul 1 2008, 01:41 PM']Honestly I would echo what St. Col has said. Show up to mass 15-30 mins early and track down the priest. I've done this many many times and have never been turned down.

Also, you could just show up at the Church during some 'free time' (surely you have off one day a week?) I walked into a Church yesterday, asked if there was a priest there and asked if he had time for a confession.

I bet I used the above methods 85-90% of the time.[/quote]


The free time I have put its early in the week. So I could not just show up in the church from thursday through saturday because by the time i get off the church is closed. I can show up early in the week, but what if I was to commit a mortal sin later in the week?

The showing up early for church is a good idea, will have to remember it. Although what if someone were to show up and confession was unable to be given for whatever reason? Let's just say for one time the preist couldn't meet with you because he was meeting with someone else. What would be the rule in that case?

[TeresaBenedicta]

I would echo what others have said. Especially showing up a bit early to see if the priest can hear your confession.

I did that today. Unfortunately, the case happened to be that the priest didn't show up until five minutes prior to Mass. It happens sometimes. So what did I do? I refrained from Holy Communion and then after Mass, asked if he had time to hear my confession. He was more than happy to do so. I had to wait a few minutes so he could say hello to everyone who was there, of course, but-- I was able to confess and to be forgiven. Sadly, I wasn't able to receive Holy Communion at Mass today, but... I was able to receive forgiveness.

I don't know how others feel about this, but I'd say that if, for your personal situation, you commit a mortal sin later in the week, I would still refrain from Holy Communion until you receive the sacrament of reconciliation. I would try to the best of my abilities to make it to confession: including trying to make an appointment or showing up a bit early or staying a bit later for Mass.

But, even if all of those conditions are exhausted.... I don't know. I guess just for me personally, I see perfect contrition as pretty difficult to attain (unless I was on my death bed or something) and I would hate to approach our Lord in Holy Communion with such a stain on my soul. I would refrain until the following Tuesday when I could make a confession. A few days without receiving is infinitely better than receiving once with a mortal sin on your soul.

Remember that receiving Holy Communion is not a right (I know you didn't say that, don't worry) and it's not something you must do everytime you go to Mass. It's a gift, a very sacred gift, and one that we should not approach unworthily, as St. Paul talks about. It can be awkward to remain kneeling while everyone else goes up to receive, especially since it is rare that people don't go up to receive anymore anyways. And if that's something you're worried about, you could always go up with the Communion line and receive a blessing instead.

[StColette]

[quote name='havok579257' post='1588337' date='Jul 1 2008, 01:45 PM']The free time I have put its early in the week. So I could not just show up in the church from thursday through saturday because by the time i get off the church is closed. I can show up early in the week, but what if I was to commit a mortal sin later in the week?

The showing up early for church is a good idea, will have to remember it. Although what if someone were to show up and confession was unable to be given for whatever reason? Let's just say for one time the preist couldn't meet with you because he was meeting with someone else. What would be the rule in that case?[/quote]

If you go to Confession earlier in the week and you commit a mortal sin between that time and Sunday or the Saturday vigil or whenever, you can always call the Church and set up an appointment to meet with the priest. Remember priests don't stop doing there job just because the Church Office says Closed at 4:30 or whatever. A priest continues his duties long after everyone else has gone home. If its an emergency a priest will generally make time for Confession.

I've been in the case where my former parish priest would have several people going to Confession before Mass, unscheduled of course lol, and he would not begin Mass until everyone was taken care of.

I've been in the situation before where I wasn't able to go to Confession because of time stuff and travel and the priest couldn't hear my Confession before Mass. I just didn't receive that Sunday. I went up for a blessing but did not receive and went to Confession with the priest after Mass. I didn't feel that I had grave enough reason to do as the Canon I quoted said to do. Grave reason for not being able to go to Confession is very hard to determine because it's such on an individual level. I felt I had tried my best to go but wasn't able to. I just didn't feel comfortable, even if I had made a perfect contrition, to receive the Eucharist in the state of mortal sin even if my intention was to go to Confession right after that.

[TeresaBenedicta]

[quote name='havok579257' post='1588337' date='Jul 1 2008, 02:45 PM']The showing up early for church is a good idea, will have to remember it. Although what if someone were to show up and confession was unable to be given for whatever reason? Let's just say for one time the preist couldn't meet with you because he was meeting with someone else. What would be the rule in that case?[/quote]

Honestly, I've never seen that happen. And I've done it quite a few times. Every priest I've approached has been happy to hear my confession. As I mentioned earlier, today I wasn't able to do so before Mass, but I was able to ask him after Mass. Sometimes that may happen, but at least you get to confess.

[StColette]

[quote name='havok579257' post='1588325' date='Jul 1 2008, 01:28 PM']But an appointment is not always an option. I mean maybe I am wrong but I doubt a priest would set up a midnight or 2am confession. Like if someone worked a night shift and got off just in time to run to church.

As to the option of taking lunch when confession is offered, to many that is not an option. Like my job, there would be no way to ever leave for lunch to go anywhere as I am in an ambulance and am never exactly sure when and where we will be getting lunch.

I'll try to give a example that could apply to me. Confession is offered 3 times a week at my church. I can not go saturday or thursday due to being at work. So the only day I can go is tuesday. So lets say I go to confession on tuesday but have a mortal sin later in the week, say on saturday. There is no confession offered on sunday and seeing as I can only make it to the early mass due to having work later on in the day. So my question is lets say I commit a mortal sin and have perfect contrition, can I then take communion as long as I go to mass at the next time I can, which would be tuesday?

Sorry for the long winded example, but being away from the church for so long and just coming back recently, I have many questions ratteling around in my head.[/quote]

Because of your job the best thing I would suggest you to do is to setup a regular appointment for Confession with your parish priest before Mass. If you inform him ahead of time that on a regular basis you would like to go to Confession before Mass because of you job and the restrictions it has you under, I highly doubt he would not be willing to help. So call and speak with your priest or priests and let him know that you would like to have some time each Sunday, if possible of course, to have him hear your Confession because of your job. I'm sure that once you explain the situation he will understand. Instead of calling it might be best to discuss this with him in person.