When and how much should a Christian go to confession? Is there an ideal frequency?

The Spanish priest and theologian Jose Antonio Fortea he reflected on how many times a Christian should have recourse to the sacrament of Confession.

He recalled that "in the time of Saint Augustine, for example, Confession was something that was done every now and then, no matter how long after ".

"But when a Christian received the forgiveness of a priest in the name of God, he welcomed that absolution with great regret, with great awareness that he was receiving a very sacred mystery," he said. On those occasions "the person prepared a lot and then did no small penance".

The Spanish priest stressed that "the ideal frequency, if the person has no serious sins on his conscience ”and“ for a person who has a regular schedule of mental prayer, it would be once a week. But he must avoid that this practice becomes a routine, otherwise it is not valued ”.

Fortea also indicated that "if someone does not have serious sins and believes they prefer to make one confession a month, to do it with greater preparation and greater repentance, there is nothing reprehensible in this either".

"Anyhow, all Christians should go to confession at least once a year". But "the normal thing for Christians who live in God's grace is to go to confession several times a year".

In case of serious sin, he indicated, “then a person must go to confession as soon as possible. The best would be the same day or the next day. We must prevent sins from taking rootthe. The soul must be prevented from getting used to living in sin, even for a day ”.

The priest also referred to cases in which "serious sins happen very often". For these situations “it is preferable that confession is not repeated more than once a week, without taking Communion in the meantime. Otherwise, the penitent can get used to receiving such a sacred mystery every two or three days, a frequency which indicates that the person does not have a strong, but a weak purpose of correction ”.

Father Fortea stressed that “we can ask God's forgiveness every day for our sins. But confession is too big a mystery to repeat over and over again. Exceptionally, the person can confess several times a week. But as a rule, for life, it is not convenient because the sacrament would be devalued. If a person lasts only two days without sinning seriously, he must pray more before approaching this sacramental mystery ”, he concluded.