Confession is not permanent, in the sense that it does not absolve the penitent of future sin. That’s one reason why last rites are important.
CANON XVI.-If any one saith, that he will for certain, of an absolute and infallible certainty, have that great gift of perseverance unto the end,-unless he have learned this by special revelation; let him be anathema.
Here’s a question for the Catholics out there: does absolution work if you aren’t really penitent? If you don’t even understand why what you’re confessing is wrong, can you really be sorry?
I was raised Lutheran, and it was always clear in that church that all that mattered was what was in your heart. No one could act as intercessor between you and God. You couldn’t scam your way out of judgement.
IIRC there are prescribed acts you can do that should be a form of penitence - that whole “Say 10 Hail Mary’s and don’t call Satan in the morning” thing. It feels a little akin to a kid, caught doing something bad to their neighbour’s property by mom, getting dragged to the neighbour’s door to apologize. There’s a good chance they are apologizing without actually feeling penitent, but once the conditions of the punishment are carried out, they are in a sense free to go.
Like with the above, I think the idea is that you should truly feel penitent and these acts are an honest expression of that. But if we take a look at the history of the Catholic Church I’m not convinced that wasn’t put to the wayside a long time ago (see the trade of plenary indulgences in the middle ages).
Second the request any comments from ex- or current Catholics though, this is just my impression from the outside/watching a lapsed Catholic grapple with their faith.
Confession is not permanent, in the sense that it does not absolve the penitent of future sin. That’s one reason why last rites are important.
Here’s a question for the Catholics out there: does absolution work if you aren’t really penitent? If you don’t even understand why what you’re confessing is wrong, can you really be sorry?
I was raised Lutheran, and it was always clear in that church that all that mattered was what was in your heart. No one could act as intercessor between you and God. You couldn’t scam your way out of judgement.
IIRC there are prescribed acts you can do that should be a form of penitence - that whole “Say 10 Hail Mary’s and don’t call Satan in the morning” thing. It feels a little akin to a kid, caught doing something bad to their neighbour’s property by mom, getting dragged to the neighbour’s door to apologize. There’s a good chance they are apologizing without actually feeling penitent, but once the conditions of the punishment are carried out, they are in a sense free to go.
Like with the above, I think the idea is that you should truly feel penitent and these acts are an honest expression of that. But if we take a look at the history of the Catholic Church I’m not convinced that wasn’t put to the wayside a long time ago (see the trade of plenary indulgences in the middle ages).
Second the request any comments from ex- or current Catholics though, this is just my impression from the outside/watching a lapsed Catholic grapple with their faith.