(common) misunderstanding of the relationship between mysteries of Holy Confession
and Holy Communion. There often seems to be a predominant idea that the link between
these two is somehow a legal concrete thing - that there must be a 1:1 correspondence or
some specific ratio and that any deviation from that ratio constitutes an abrogation of
tradition or requires some kind of formal "dispensation". But this is not the relationship
that really exists. While it is true that there is often a functional relationship that appears
as though a formal ration exists, this is actually a coincidental observation. These two
mysteries, actually form part of a larger whole of the spiritual life and both form a closely
connected but not dependant link in producing a spiritual life. There are of course other
components such as fasting, prayer, self denial, obedience, righteous deeds, etc. to living
a spiritual life which are also a part of this picture, but in this case I wish to confine
myself only to the issue at hand - confession and communion.
and often intertwined (interdependent is a good "social worker" word) processes. Holy
Communion is not dependent on Holy Confession, nor is Holy Confession dependent
upon Holy Communion. Each is independent but at the same time they work together
toward the same goal. Just as a physician might see you and diagnose an illness and then
prescribe therapy that includes many components, (for example medication, diet, physical
therapy & counseling) which all are targeted toward the goal of recovery so also the
spiritual condition might be diagnosed in confession, and various spiritual remedies
prescribed by the confessor. And one of those spiritual remedies may be to refrain from
receiving Holy Communion for a time (just as a physician might temporarily restrict your
diet for a particular purpose) or perhaps the remedy prescribed might be to receive Holy
Communion (like taking medication - or to stay with the diet analogy, to eat the proper
nutritional foods). The frequency that one goes to the Dr is determined by the severity
and course of the illness and the various restrictions on the diet are governed again by the
patients condition and improvement. So also the "ratio" of confession to communion is
determined by the spiritual physician (your confessor) and corresponds to the severity of
your spiritual condition, your relative spiritual health, your particular spiritual needs, etc.
There are times when you cannot receive Holy Communion (such as a period of epitimia
- penance - following a divorce for example) but when you should receive the mystery of
Holy Confession regularly. OTOH, there may be times when the priest may permit one to
receive Holy Communion weekly but only require confession on a biweekly basis. And
just because you develop a particular rhythm at one time doesn't mean that it is constant -
just as your frequency of seeking medical help is not constant.
position is to subordinate the one mystery to the other and so lessen its importance.
Rather both mysteries are necessary and often they are combined for the health of the
soul. The "prerequisite" for Holy Communion is not a completely pure soul, but rather
one that is "healthy" and prepared. And most frequently the way to guarantee that state is
through receiving the mystery of Holy Confession.