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Hi Father Angelo,
I have always felt a sense of discomfort and strong embarrassment when approaching the sacrament of confession, so much so that at a certain point I stopped confessing many years ago. Now that I am rediscovering the importance of faith in my life, I continue not to confess canonically through the priest but simply by examining my conscience, praying and invoking God’s forgiveness as well as taking advantage of absolution in the context of the traditional mass (vetus ordo) which the priest performs after the recitation of the Confiteor. In fact, I continue to feel a sort of fear in confessing or, better yet, a psychological impediment that I cannot overcome, even though I am not a particularly shy person.
I therefore ask myself if I am committing a grave sin by receiving communion without going to confession.
The recent discovery of the beauty of the traditional mass (which I did not know, having been born in the seventies) has reawakened in me the faith and interest in studying many aspects of the Catholic religion and therefore I am very happy to have found this very useful channel of communication.
Thank you for your reply, which I will read with great interest, together with the others on the site.
L.

Priest’s answer

Dearly beloved,
1. I’m happy that you are rediscovering the importance of faith in your life.
The Lord is doing all this.
Jesus is truly the good shepherd who does not abandon any of those the Father has entrusted to him and continually searches for those who are lost.

2. The block against confession must be overcome.
The simplest way is to be able to confer with a priest by telling him clearly from the beginning that you are returning to the faith and that you do not intend to confess at that moment. I believe this is the easiest way to overcome the current difficulty.

At a certain moment the priest will tell you: “See, without knowing it you have already confessed. I give you absolution.”

I’m sure it will happen like this.

3. Coming instead to the more specific requirements for a true confession, the absolution that is given after the confiteor of the Vetus Ordo Mass is not a sacramental absolution and is practically identical to that which is pronounced in the Italian language when the priest – although in shorter terms – says: “Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins and bring us eternal life”.

4.In itself, Holy Communion cannot be made without prior confession if serious sins have been committed in the meantime.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church reiterates the usual doctrine when it writes: “The Lord addresses us a pressing invitation to receive him in the sacrament of the Eucharist: «Truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you» (Gv 6,53)” (CCC 1384)
And: “To respond to this invitation we must prepare ourselves for so great and so holy a moment. St. Paul urges us to examine our conscience: «Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself» (1 Cor 11,27-29).
Anyone conscious of a grave sin must receive the sacrament of Reconciliation before coming to communion” (CCC 1385).

With the hope that you can soon overcome the psychological obstacle that prevents you from confessing, I wish you all the best, I bless you and I remember you in prayer.
Father Angelo