Looking back at the weekly messages of Father Paul Counce, first published in The Carpenter, our weekly Parish Bulletin
Published: March 04, 2018
Last week in The Carpenter I answered a question posed to me about the use of Latin in our liturgies during Lent. Maybe I should keep answer other questions I often get asked in this holy season?
One that invariably gets asked is “Do I have to do my chosen penance(s) on Sundays in Lent?” It is true after all that “the Lord’s Day” – Sunday – historically has not been a day of penance in the Church. But it is a day of Lent. So the answer to that question is always going to be a personal one: “What did you promise God?” If your intention was to include Lenten Sundays, then that’s what you’re intention is: whatever it is you’ve given up, or whatever extra you’ve chosen to do, ought to be done on Sundays too. (I specifically include Sundays in my chosen penances and extra good works.) But if at the beginning of Lent you consciously excluded Sundays as days of penance, to give yourself a little “break” from the discipline of this holy season, well, then, you aren’t doing anything wrong in following through on this.
Another question I get asked a lot is “Do I have to go to confession during Lent?” No, but it’s a good idea. One only “has to” go to confession when conscious of grave sin, also called mortal sin. If you never commit a mortal sin – one that involves simultaneously serious matter, sufficient reflection beforehand, and full consent of the will to do the evil – then I suppose you never would absolutely have to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation, since prayer, good works and especially reception of Holy Communion forgive venial sins. But while forgiveness of mortal sins is the primary grace of confession, in the sacrament God also bestows His wisdom and strength to enable us better to resist temptation and choose the good at moments of decision. The whole thrust of the Lenten season is in this vein: by efforts at self-discipline to become better able to overcome sinful inclinations. So why not try to get that grace?
I usually recommend that people go to confession at a bare minimum three times a year: before Christmas, before Easter and on one other occasion when you can give extra thought and prayer to how you might ask God to improve your spiritual life. The beginning of the school year is good for students, a retreat or day-of-reflection is often a great time for adults. I’m not a big fan of weekly or even biweekly confession because a misuse of the sacrament in this way can actually encourage the sins of scrupulosity, presumption of forgiveness, and ultimately despair of God’s grace.
And remember, the law of Church requires that Catholics beyond the age of seven must receive Holy Communion at least once each year (cf. can. 920 of the Code of Canon Law; it’s often known as one’s “Easter Duty”). While if necessary this can be done at any time, it is supposed to be done during the Easter Season, so a preceding confession of one’s grave sins – if there are any – is pretty much also required before Easter.
Sincerely yours in the Lord,
Fr. Paul
