Joe Heschmeyer and Cy Kellett answer a concerned caller.
Transcript:
Caller: I am in ocia and I’ve been wondering, and I haven’t asked my priest, and I know I should, but what should I be doing since I’m not going to confession because I’m not a Catholic? What’s kind of the protocol for a candidate who knows he has mortally sinned?
Joe: Yeah. So the first thing you should do is make an act of contrition to God. The Catechism talks about this in paragraph 1452, that there is what’s sometimes called perfect contrition. What this means is there’s good and bad reasons, or good and less good reasons why we turn away from sin. Sometimes we stop sinning because we don’t want to be in trouble or because we don’t want to go to hell. Those aren’t bad. I mean, there’s no real bad reason to stop sinning. I’m glad that you’re stopping sinning.
But perfect contrition, like the best reason, is turning away from sin out of a love of God. And so you make an act of contrition. And as the Catechism says very clearly in 1452, an act of perfect contrition, where you turn away from sin and confess your sin to God, cleanses you of venial sin and of mortal sin when it’s accompanied by an intention to go to confession as soon as possible.
Now, in your case, as soon as possible may be months out, but there’s still… That is like just a true… You know, God can save you and heal you through the sacrament. He can save you in whatever way he wants to save you. And so there cannot be two things present simultaneously in the soul. You can’t have both mortal sin, which cuts you off from God, and the animating life of divine grace.
And so if you’re in a state of grace, you’re not also in a state of mortal sin. So an act of charity, where you turn to God out of love of God, that is a hallmark of divine grace and a way of being assured of not being in mortal sin. Does that make sense?
Caller: Yes, that does make sense. And it may be purely psychological, but every Sunday, like, not every Sunday, but if I know that if I were Catholic, I did something that I would go to confession for, I get the psychological relief after. On Sunday, I go up and get a blessing. I know that’s purely psychological, but…
Joe: Well, I mean, it may very well not be that.
Caller: Okay.
Joe: Yeah. So I don’t know if you’re familiar with what’s called an act of spiritual communion. Another thing you can be doing kind of during this time is there are prayers, and there’s not… I mean, you can find model ones online. But honestly, any prayer where you kind of entrust yourself to Christ and express your desire to receive him in the Eucharist during that time where you just say, I know I’m not ready to receive you now, but building up that love of that anticipation is a really good spiritual practice to be in.
Both if you’re a candidate who can’t yet receive, or, God forbid, if you find yourself in a state of mortal sin some Sunday and you know you can’t go up, you can make an act of spiritual communion and say, okay, you know, I know I’m not ready to receive right now, but I love you and I desire you and I want to receive you sacramentally.
Caller: Yeah, that… Thank you. That… That’s really beautiful.
Joe: Wonderful. Well, if you want to stick around, we’d be happy to give you a copy of my book on the Eucharist called *The Eucharist is Really Jesus*, and it might have some things at the very back of it. If nothing else, it has a lot of Eucharistic prayers that can be helpful in deepening your love and devotion.
Cy: Hang on the line. Let’s give… Matt, can we get that copy back from Thomas the TikTok engine? He left with it, and now I got nothing to send.
Matt, hang on. We’ll send it to you…
Resources:
Act of Contrition: https://www.catholic.com/qa/how-do-i-make-an-act-of-contrition
Act of Spiritual Communion: https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/devotions/act-of-spiritual-communion-339