How frequently should we go to confession? We should avoid receiving the sacrament in a merely routine, mechanical fashion; but this does not mean we should not receive it regularly and frequently. If we are serious about advancing in the spiritual life, as every Catholic should be, we should go often to confession. Pope Pius XII in his encyclical Mystici Corporis wrote:
They are in error who have asserted that frequent confession of venial sins in not to be highly regarded…To hasten daily progress along the path of virtue, we wish the practice of frequent confession to be especially commended, a practice introduced by the Church, but not without the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. By it genuine self-knowledge is increased, Christian humility grows, evil habits are uprooted, spiritual neglect and tepidity are resisted, the conscience is purified, the will strengthened, a salutary control of one’s affections gained, and in virtue of the sacrament itself grace is increased. Therefore let those among the clergy who make light of and lessen esteem for frequent confession, realize that they are approaching a course which is foreign to the Spirit of Christ and destructive of the Mystical Body of our Savior.
Sincerely in Christ,
Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching
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