A Sin Journal?

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Sometimes I find it difficult to remember all my sins, especially my smaller, habitual sins, when I go to Reconciliation. Would it be wrong for me to keep a personal journal or record book of my sins, perhaps listing my recalled sins every night for that day? Also, would it then be wrong or inappropriate for me to bring that journal and use it in Reconciliation so I can fully remember my sins? Thanks for the help, God bless. 🙂
 
scameter18 said:
Sometimes I find it difficult to remember all my sins, especially my smaller, habitual sins, when I go to Reconciliation. Would it be wrong for me to keep a personal journal or record book of my sins, perhaps listing my recalled sins every night for that day? Also, would it then be wrong or inappropriate for me to bring that journal and use it in Reconciliation so I can fully remember my sins? Thanks for the help, God bless. 🙂
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I don’t see anything wrong in that and have myself done it in the past.
 
My first reaction is that if you have “small” (I take that as “venial”) sins that you need a journal to remember for confession, then a) someone correct me if I’m wrong but venial sins do not need to be enumerated, b) it may be a sign of scruples that you want to have such a journal (I say “may be” because I’m not expert at scruples), and c) it keeps focus on the process rather than God.

That said, I’m not saying 100% either way here, because I don’t know enough about you and the situation at this point.

If you keep the journal because you’re working on some of the “smaller sins” and you’re seeing if you’re making progress, to me that would be a healthier reason to keep such a journal. But if it’s so you can remember every last imperfection to say during confession then personally I think you can get so busy with the process of tabulating and analyzing sins, that you lose the perspective of how much mercy God really has.

Also about these “smaller, habitual sins.” Are you saying that you sin in ways that you consider routine? On one hand I say that we don’t need to keep track of those except as feedback for campaign at self-improvement, but at the other end, if you intend to sin repeatedly and then confess them, you have turned it into a mechanical process that asks nothing of you in terms of self-improvement.

So about these small, habitual sins. I’m concerned about how you think of them. Because I don’t know if this is really the case theologically, but accepting of certain sins as “routine” is in itself a problem. I don’t think any sin should be considered routine. If you’re talking about sins of the flesh, then I have a very personal view toward that and it may help for others to chime in because I don’t know how to explain how to apply what I think in the context of Church teachings.

Alan
 
To clarify, by “small, habitual sins” I did not mean sins I do intentionally (at least not with full intent), and I certainly do not accept them as routine in any way. I very much dislike those sins. I mean that there are some venial sins which I do frequently out of mental habit which, from what I’ve heard, habitual sin can become mortal and thus should be confessed if they are done over time. My purpose with this sin journal idea is so that I don’t do something sinful before going to Reconciliation and then forget about it when I go. Thanks for the help and God bless. 🙂
 
You’re not required to remember all your sins when you confess, just the mortal sins.

Just ask God’s forgiveness and the priest for absolution for the sins you confessed and all the sins you have ever committed.

Jim
 
JimR-OCDS said:
You’re not required to remember all your sins when you confess, just the mortal sins.

Just ask God’s forgiveness and the priest for absolution for the sins you confessed and all the sins you have ever committed.

Jim
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Jim, I’ve heard of this thing about many venial sins adding up to a mortal sin. What do you know of that?

Just my personal reaction, is that it really isn’t a mathematical formula where venial sins contribute points and when you get so many points it’s mortal. I think that sin is more in a state of the heart and a state of mind than in particular behaviors. So if one sins, they engage in the behavior with sinful thinking. So that’s another thing I would like to consider is that sin is more in the heart, and the acts of sin are but expressions of it.

That’s another reason I think it’s brilliant that we do not judge people’s sins against each other. Some may have a hate-filled heart, but act self-controlled, for example. They would come across as “righteous” which somebody who has a heat-of-the-moment outburst would of course be a “sinner.” Because the only thing we know is what we observe; even what we observe about ourselves at some point. So to me, “sinner” and “non-sinner” are not useful categories to put people in, although they may or may not consciously embrace sinful tendencies.

Alan
 
AlanFromWichita
Jim, I’ve heard of this thing about many venial sins adding up to a mortal sin. What do you know of that?
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Nuns use to tell us this, but factually, it’s not true.

The conditions for a mortal sin are not the sum of a bunch of venial sins.

The conditions are, the sin must be grave, and must be committed with FULL knowledge and consent.

A venial sin doesn’t meet the conditions and therefore isn’t mortal. However, continued venial sins can lead a person into mortal sin.

Jim
 
JimR-OCDS said:
Nuns use to tell us this, but factually, it’s not true.
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Figures. Back in my day, they were all about keeping us in control. Bribes and threats were the tools of their trade. If they didn’t catch you, of course God would. 😉

Thanks for confirming what I thought made sense. That said, I think that a sinful disposition is the root cause of sinful acts, so using willpower to avoid sinful acts would be like step 1, treating the symptoms. Rooting out the cause of the disposition – with Divine assistance perhaps – would be the next logical step, no?

Alan
 
A sin journal may prove to be a great means of salvation. A light went off when I read your OP scameter18.

I’m aware of examination of conscience but never thought of recording one. Interesting though. A journal would reveal many things about oneself.
 
If I thought of this myself, the first consideration that would come to my mind is who could get hold of it? Would you think it okay it okay if a family member found it or read it, maybe a wife or husband–or maybe another family member? Many people if they found such a thing would go through it with great interest.
 
I’ll address a few distinct points made here so far:
  1. As for the matter of venial sins becoming or leading to mortal sin, the Catechism (entry 1863) says: ‘Deliberate and unrepented venial sin disposes us little by little to commit mortal sin. However venial sin does not break the covenant with God. With God’s grace it is humanly reparable. Venial sin does not deprive the sinner of sanctifying grace, friendship with God, charity, and consequently eternal happiness. While he is in the flesh, man cannot help but have at least some light sins. But do not despise these sins which we call “light”: if you take them for light when you weigh them, tremble when you count them. A number of light objects makes a great mass; a number of drops fills a river; a number of grains makes a heap. What then is our hope? Above all, confession.’ Thus, if our venial sins and habitual venial sins are repeatedly done “deliberately and without repentance”, then it disposes us to commit mortal sin. Essentially, if we do something small to the point that it doesn’t matter to us anymore, than it is our lack of concern for sin, rather than the venial sins themselves, which can cause us to mortally sin. That is my interpretation. So, I think that even if we do not need to confess habitual venial sins in Reconciliation, it could be helpful to record them in a sin journal too, for self-instruction. And, keep in mind that Reconciliation is not the only confession - we also confess during Mass. If you don’t know what I mean, you might not be paying attention enough during Mass.
  2. I would prefer if sarcasm against nun/monk teachers is left out of posts in this thread. I know this is a popular topic of discussion nowadays, and I do not presume to think that all nuns and monks are perfect, but their instruction and their service is invaluable, as it has been throughout the history of the Church, and we should be more appreciative of it. As a convert who went to public school and endured years surrounded by non-Catholics who didn’t even try to encourage holiness, I feel a great respect for nun instructors.
  3. As for the issue of privacy, I really think that is more of a trust issue. We should be able to trust those we live with. However, if we can’t (as is sometimes the case), we could keep it somewhere private, or just not use one if the situation is too precarious.
Thank you all for your responses. God bless. 🙂
 
scameter18 said:
  1. I would prefer if sarcasm against nun/monk teachers is left out of posts in this thread. I know this is a popular topic of discussion nowadays, and I do not presume to think that all nuns and monks are perfect, but their instruction and their service is invaluable, as it has been throughout the history of the Church, and we should be more appreciative of it. As a convert who went to public school and endured years surrounded by non-Catholics who didn’t even try to encourage holiness, I feel a great respect for nun instructors.
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If you are referring to Jim’s comment:
JimR-OCDS said:
Nuns use to tell us this, but factually, it’s not true.
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And/or my comment:
AlanFromWichita said:
Figures. Back in my day, they were all about keeping us in control. Bribes and threats were the tools of their trade. If they didn’t catch you, of course God would. 😉
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Then they are not sarcasm at all. They are statements of fact. You do not know what we’re talking about because you didn’t report to nuns day after day. Well we did appreciate nuns – kept our tuition down to $80 a year among other thing – but back in the day they did teach us some misleading things, and some were even quite mean. Not all, but one out of three is enough to keep us scared of the whole lot of them. For example, in sixth grade, Sister Suneva punched three of us in the stomach for bringing a problem with one of her bus “patrol boys” to her attention. She called us babies and said she’d “give us something to whine about.” I’m talking about literal punching, closed fist, which doubled us over. No sarcasm there. :nope:

Were they all mean? No, I just stated that but I thought I’d break it out here so it would be more obvious.

Nuns told my mother, in no uncertain terms, that unless they convert to Catholicism, all of her little Protestant friends (in Houston in those days Catholics were minority) were going to hell. She went home crying after religion class whenever they repeated that. No sarcasm there. :nope:

I find it offensive when somebody wrongly accuses me of sarcasm when I’m stating a fact – a fact that is germaine to the topic of the thread – and they have no idea themselves because they weren’t in the situation, but presume to know not only what I know but presume I have nefarious motives for stating it. No sarcasm there. :mad:

You have every right to your feelings about nuns, but I have a right to defend my comments against charges of sarcasm. :sad_yes:

If you weren’t talking about my post, then I offer sincere apologies for jumping to conclusions and you may disregard all of the above. :imsorry:

Now, back on topic, contrary to what some nuns have told many of us when we were little, several venial sins do not add up to one mortal sin. :nope:

Alan
 
AlanFromWichita said:
…-- but back in the day they did teach us some misleading things, and some were even quite mean. Not all, but one out of three is enough to keep us scared of the whole lot of them. For example, in sixth grade, Sister Suneva punched three of us in the stomach for bringing a problem with one of her bus “patrol boys” to her attention. She called us babies and said she’d “give us something to whine about.” I’m talking about literal punching, closed fist, which doubled us over. …Alan
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Erasing these memories will be very beneficial to you. Unless you were hurt by someone who would you forgive? Experience the joy of unconditional forgiveness and shedding of bitter memories.
I give below the translation of an ancient (1s century) Tamil poem whose author (Thiruvalluvar) is revered as a saint by people of all religions here:
It is bad to forget gratitude for the good done to you by another;
but it is really good to forget the bad done to you by another, on the very same day itself..
 
Pitcharan said:
Erasing these memories will be very beneficial to you. Unless you were hurt by someone who would you forgive? Experience the joy of unconditional forgiveness and shedding of bitter memories.
I give below the translation of an ancient (1s century) Tamil poem whose author (Thiruvalluvar) is revered as a saint by people of all religions here:
It is bad to forget the good done to you by another;
but it is really good to forget the bad done to you by another, on the very same day itself..
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You are right; the sooner to forgive the better.

In fact, according to my calculations, the limit of “forgiving,” as the time interval between the accusing and the forgiving approaches zero, is “not judging.” 🙂

The memories, though, as strange as it seems, have become fond memories. I can’t imagine myself having lived in a world unlike the one I grew up in, or not having had all of the experiences – both those that seemed “good” as well as “bad” at the time. I just got a little testy at the “s-word” being thrown at me. I just endured a very serious problem with a poster on another forum, throwing around the “s-word,” so it appears I was sensitized that way. Being overly sensitive to false claims of sarcasm and insincerity on my part, is a weakness the Holy Spirit will no doubt get to, as He continues to overhaul me. 👍

Alan
 
AlanFromWichita said:
… Being overly sensitive to false claims of sarcasm and insincerity on my part, is a weakness the Holy Spirit will no doubt get to, as He continues to overhaul me. 👍

Alan
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I am sure most of us would be overly sensitive if someone falsely accuses us of being sarcastic or insincere.

But why should that bring back past hurts? That would amount to ourself adding insult to our own injury by another.
 
Pitcharan said:
I am sure most of us would be overly sensitive if someone falsely accuses us of being sarcastic or insincere.

But why should that bring back past hurts? That would amount to ourself adding insult to our own injury by another.
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Nothing except ego, I’m sure. My pride was hurt by someone thinking I am putting the nuns down, rather than just describing them dispassionately. So my pride reacted and I came back with a “you weren’t there so how dare you tell me how to speak and feel toward them,” response. :o

Alan
 
scameter18 said:
Sometimes I find it difficult to remember all my sins, especially my smaller, habitual sins, when I go to Reconciliation. Would it be wrong for me to keep a personal journal or record book of my sins, perhaps listing my recalled sins every night for that day? Also, would it then be wrong or inappropriate for me to bring that journal and use it in Reconciliation so I can fully remember my sins? Thanks for the help, God bless. 🙂
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I think this is a bad idea.

If you can’t remember mortal sins (e.g. you “freeze” during confession, I you can make a list to use during confession, but then destroy it immediately. But to make a more or less permanent record of your sins makes no sense. There is no requirement to confess specifi venial sins, ever.

When we make a good confession (mention all mortal sins we are aware of and have contrition and an intent not to sin) all our sins are wiped out. Why retain them in a journal? Why give yourself the opportunity to dwell on past mistakes?

God Bless
 
I would say have a "sin journal’ on ONE condition: You dedicate twice as much time to a journal that recounts all the ways in which God has blessed you each and every day.

Too much time spent in self-reflection can turn into the sin of VANITY. Much like the beauty queen who looks in the mirror all day getting flustered over the tiniest blemish. I say less attention on you and more attention on God’s love and goodness.
 
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