If I go to confession and do my penance just before Mass, do I still say the penitential prayers at the start of Mass?
A viewer asks that if he makes a sacramental confession and says his penance just before Mass, whether he should still say the penitential (Confiteor) prayer at the beginning of the Mass, since his sins are already forgiven.
Answer
Try not to confuse the two. As soon as you come out of the confessional, say your penance, and then you will not have to worry about this. Confession was instituted basically for mortal sins, because that is the only way the Church says those sins can be forgiven; you cannot just go to God yourself and say you repent of a mortal sin and be forgiven canonically, though there can be exceptions if you died right away. If you are in mortal sin you should not take communion, so you go to confession first, are absolved, and do your penance, and now you are ready for the regular rubrics of the Mass. The Mass confesses sin, but these are venial sins, not mortal. We confess our sins about seven times during the liturgy, because we have venial sin and might even commit venial sin at Mass, and even in the communion line you can confess a venial sin to God by yourself without the confessional. So by the time you reach the priest you are as pure as gold to receive the host.