2 Questions Re: Confession

[St_Anthony_1]

1. Lets say I steal a loaf of bread, if I later feel guilt and shame and return the loaf do I still need to confess?

2.If I remember doing something before my baptism which I have now learned is a mortal sin do I need to confess it?

 

[Philotheatoo]

If you have stolen something, you have stolen something. Returning it doesn’t mean you did not steal it. The fact that it is on your conscience tells you to confess it. Anything on your conscience is prudently confessed.

 

[Joan_M]

1. Lets say I steal a loaf of bread, if I later feel guilt and shame and return the loaf do I still need to confess?

2.If I remember doing something before my baptism which I have now learned is a mortal sin do I need to confess it?

1. Stealing a loaf of bread, unless you stole it from a poor person, is not grave matter. It would be a venial sin. Venial sins do not need to be confessed.
2. When you are baptized, all sins, mortal and venial, are forgiven. You do not need to confess any sin committed before baptism.

 

[puzzleannie]

1. Lets say I steal a loaf of bread, if I later feel guilt and shame and return the loaf do I still need to confess?

2.If I remember doing something before my baptism which I have now learned is a mortal sin do I need to confess it?

all mortal sins of your past life were taken away by baptism. confess it only if it is causing you distress or anxiety and you can’t get past it, and then only for pastoral care, because it has already been absolved.

yes I would confess the first instance, like Zaccheus in the gospel, who already made restitution but was eager to be completely honest with the Lord. If you returned a loaf of bread to the store they can’t sell it so it is still theft. (just being facetious). In general don’t get too hung up on the gravity of the sin, if you have a doubt, simply confess it, so easy.

 

[Bookcat]

all mortal sins of your past life were taken away by baptism. confess it only if it is causing you distress or anxiety and you can’t get past it, and then only for pastoral care, because it has already been absolved.

Sins from before a valid baptism (different if one is receiving conditional baptism)

should* never* be confessed. They are not…and can not be matter for confession.

They were washed away in Baptism…there can not even remain even the slightest “punishment” for them (other than of course natural effects…or the effects of human society)

 

[Bookcat]

1. Lets say I steal a loaf of bread, if I later feel guilt and shame and return the loaf do I still need to confess?

2.If I remember doing something before my baptism which I have now learned is a mortal sin do I need to confess it?

1. If it was a venial sin…(I will assume it was such for the answer) it needs not be confessed directly…and can be forgiven in various ways.
2. No. And you actually should not. It no longer exists. It has been washed away in Baptism (I am assuming here by baptism you do not mean a conditional baptism) …and in fact is not “matter for confession”.