For most of my life I have been a Christmas and Easter Catholic. No, that doesn’t mean I only go to Mass on Christmas and Easter. That means I only go to confession at Christmas and Easter time. I’m trying to change that.
Last Advent I went to the Penance Service at my parish and told the priest it had been nine months since my last confession, which was the previous Lent. I confessed my sins, which were not serious, and the priest said, “Nine months since your last confession? Nine months is for sinners. You should be coming once a month.”
His statement caused me to reflect on my attitude toward confession. Thirty years ago, when I was making an Ignatian retreat, my spiritual director told me it is likely I would never commit a mortal sin after completing the retreat. She didn’t mean I would suddenly become immune to temptation and therefore wouldn’t sin. She meant I would be more open to God’s grace and likely would not commit a grievous sin.
I believe her words were correct. I haven’t become immune to temptation. However, I have found it easier to resist or dismiss temptations to serious sin. Father’s words to me caused me to reevaluate what the purpose of the sacrament of confession really is. Is it OK to just commit a lot of venial sins as long as you don’t commit a deadly sin? That reminded me of the idiom, death by a thousand cuts.
Mortal sins are called mortal because they kill the grace of God in our soul. Our body is still alive but our soul has died.
Venial sins do not kill the grace of God in our soul. We can have those sins forgiven by saying an Act of Contrition. What happens, though, when we commit venial sins over and over again? It weakens our ability to resist more serious sin. It makes the likelihood of committing a mortal sin more likely.
Death by a thousand cuts implies receiving many small cuts that alone would not kill you. However, a thousand small cuts could cause a great deal of blood loss. If it was not a loss great enough to cause death it could be a loss that causes anemia. That could lead to health issues that could result in serious illness or death.
Venial sins cause spiritual anemia. Just as the body suffers when anemia interferes with the body’s immune system to ward off illness and disease, spiritual anemia interferes with the soul’s ability to resist temptation and increases the likelihood of more serious sin.
God gave us seven sacraments. Why? Why not just one, baptism, and have that be enough? Because each sacrament helps us in its own way. Confession/Penance/Reconciliation does not just forgive sins. It helps to heal the harm sin does to our soul. If we only go to confession to have a serious sin forgiven and not continue to go on a regular basis it is the same as going to the doctor only when we have a life threatening illness. We get well-checks, regular examinations and tests by a doctor, to detect illness and address it early so to prevent more serious illness later.
Confession is our well-check for our soul. The priest can forgive our sins. He can also suggest things we should do to help keep our soul healthy.
I am going to take Father’s advice. I’m going to try to go to confession at least every month.
Please pray for me.
Greg Gillen
© 2026 Greg Gillen
April 5, 2026
Image Credit/www.historydefined.net/lingchi/An 1858 illustration from the French newspaper, Le Monde Illustré
