How Often Should We Go To Confession?

[Annie12]

I was just wondering because I know that we need to go when we are in mortal sin, but besides that, when should we go? Is it possible to go too often. I don't want to be scrupulous. Thanks!

[Aloysius]

minimum suggestion: once a year (it is a required minimum if you have mortal sins)
Pope JPII was said to go once a month, I don't know what Benedict does. I think once a month is a pretty good suggestion.
Once a week is okay if you don't suffer with scrupulosity. If you're doing this you should make sure you have a trusted confessor or spiritual adviser that knows this about you and can give you advise and tell you if you're being too scrupulous. If they suggest you are being scrupulous and should go to confession less, you should probably take that advise out of humility and do so.

If you're going every day, though, you're probably being overly scrupulous.

[homeschoolmom]

I believe that it is possible to go too often (ie you can be scrupulous). While I do believe in frequent confession, I also believe in God's forgiveness.

[Byzantine]

I was told once a month was recommended.

[Nihil Obstat]

More often.

Seriously though, for the majority of Catholics I think it is a great idea to take whatever you normally do, and then make it a bit more frequently. For a long time I did not go very often, before I kind of rediscovered my faith. Then I managed to bring things from 'occasionally' to every 3-4 months or so. From there with some effort it is more like every 4-6 weeks, but my goal for now is to be consistent at once a month.

[Annie12]

This sound great. Sounds like people think once a month is good. Thanks!

[MissyP89]

Once a month is a good guideline ... more often if you're struggling, perhaps slightly less if life is calm and you're stable, but I really don't recommend that.

For me it's every 3-6 weeks, I find that my ability to avoid sin decreases exponentially after the one-month mark.

[To Jesus Through Mary]

Weekly confession can be a very good a pious habit as well. It is very helpful to conquer ones primary faults. But like Al said, so long as it is under the guidance of a good SD or confessor.

[PhuturePriest]

I go a little more frequently than once a month, though it isn't scheduled. Sometimes I go twice in two weeks in a row and then don't go for four or five more weeks, sometimes it is a little more orderly than that. There is no perfect number for every Catholic. I used to go every week, but I became terribly scrupulous. When I went less, I wasn't as scrupulous. Some people are like me and frequent confession leads to scrupulosity, whereas some are like Pope John Paul II and they go every single day without a problem. Find the number perfect for you. Once a month is recommended, so try that. If you feel you should go a little more frequently or a little less, that's acceptable.

[Lil Red]

i try to go once a month, to not only rid myself of accumulated sins, but to also keep myself on track spiritually. get the spiritual cobwebs out, if you know what i mean?

[Nihil Obstat]

I find when I have gone too long without going to confession, that I just feel like I am being dragged down by all the accumulated junk. And unfortunately, being dragged down like that makes it all too easy to keep putting off confession.

[Ed Normile]

I agree with Nihil's last post. The tendency for me is to let small things build up and then suddenly the larger things seem less worrisome. Nihil phrased it more succinctly.

ed

[NonNovi]

When I started to go to confession, I tried to go once a month. But my confessor adviced me to go every two weeks. And he was right, that frequency is more suiting to me. Sometimes everything is okay for a month or so, but most of the time it's getting difficult in week 3.

Annie, try to find out how long you usually resist temptations easily and at wich point it's getting more difficult. Then choose your confession frequency based on that. Go to confesssion before the difficulty point.

[tojo]

I usually go about every three to four weeks. It's hard for me to find time to go more often than that; and when it's uauly not a good thing when i go less often.

[cmaD2006]

For the last year, I went to confession once every two weeks per my life plan. These past 6 months I went up to weekly -- I guess I'm not dealing with scrupulosity because I *really* don't want to go to confession (and I've almost thrown my plan out the window completely -- bad on my part).

Oh and usually re: weekly confession. I try to focus my examen on the areas that I'm working on per my plan vs doing a full fledged looking at everything, and I do confess other items if it is on my heart. When I do my yearly (more like every 6 months) retreat, I do a full examen of the last time I did a general confession and do a general confession for the last 6 months/year.

Once a month is great though. That's my recommendation if you're not used to going once a month.