Alert: Dumb self! Help him!

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Anyway, it’s true.

So I really love going to confession (other than the initial nervousness) but I have a problem. And just to be clear I am not saying this out of pride (which you will understand later why), but I don’t seem to have anything to confess! Now hear me out!

I REFUSE to believe that I sin less than everyone else, but I think I have a real problem identifying my sins. I try very hard to identify them and I spend good amounts of time discerning if something is really a sin, trying to be completely open to the fact that it could be a sin or might not be, so as not to have any pre-dispositions. So why is it that I only find sin every once in a while? Would sinning, say, once in two months seem like a normal thing to you?

Well I’m very careful not to fall into scrupulosity, but am I leaning too far towards permissiveness?

And another thing, is it alright to confess things that you are not sure were sins; things that ultimately really can only be determined to be sin or not by me (and wouldn’t be helped much by a priest’s intuition as to whether it was a sin or not?)

So this sounds ridiculous, but I want to go to confession more often but don’t have the conscious sin (or more likely spiritual maturity) to do it!

Pleeeeeease help the dumb self.:whacky:
 
I on occasion have the same problem. In those times I try to remember that sin is not just sins of commission (when you do something wrong) but also sins of omission (where you fail to do the good). Maybe God is calling you to take a microscope look at your self and wants you to look for the small things you do wrong, or in some cases don’t do right.
 
i’m a new catholic and as I have said on other threads I have the most problem with confession. I only go when I know I have committed a mortal sin which isn’t often. Mortal sins are sins you entered into with full knowledge and will and I figure those are sins I know I have committed b/c I would have FULL knowledge and FULL will. I don’t understand how you can commit a mortal sin and not know about it lol that’s why i don’t see how people go all the time…what do they talk about?Again I am new so I am not knowledgeable about these things. I don’t confess venial sins since I can ask forgiveness of those myself and at mass…I still don’t quite grasp the whole confession thing being a prior Baptist. But I am a good Catholic and refuse to take communion if I know I have committed a mortal sin. sigh
 
Carolinagirl411 said:
i’m a new catholic and as I have said on other threads I have the most problem with confession. I only go when I know I have committed a mortal sin which isn’t often. Mortal sins are sins you entered into with full knowledge and will and I figure those are sins I know I have committed b/c I would have FULL knowledge and FULL will. I don’t understand how you can commit a mortal sin and not know about it lol that’s why i don’t see how people go all the time…what do they talk about?Again I am new so I am not knowledgeable about these things. I don’t confess venial sins since I can ask forgiveness of those myself and at mass…I still don’t quite grasp the whole confession thing being a prior Baptist. But I am a good Catholic and refuse to take communion if I know I have committed a mortal sin. sigh
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Just to clarify there are three things needed to be mortal sin (not 2):

Grave Matter (it is “serious”"
You have full knowladge
You give your consent

As far as confessing venial sins goes here is what I think:

In Confession we are given grace, but we have to be open to that grace to receive it. When we accept the grace it helps us with the virtue of fortitude (the ability to choose the good). While we do not HAVE to confess venial sins, we should because that means you are open to the grace offered.
 
Colin_Adian said:
Just to clarify there are three things needed to be mortal sin (not 2):

Grave Matter (it is “serious”"
You have full knowladge
You give your consent

As far as confessing venial sins goes here is what I think:

In Confession we are given grace, but we have to be open to that grace to receive it. When we accept the grace it helps us with the virtue of fortitude (the ability to choose the good). While we do not HAVE to confess venial sins, we should because that means you are open to the grace offered.
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yeah I know that it is 3, I was just using those two to make a point. I was told it had to be ALL three though to qualify so anyway my point still stands. I’m sorry, but the Baptist in me still stands.It’s rather pesky and stubborn. I will come to God personally with the venial stuff. I may not fully understand confession but I’ll do it when it is necessary. Maybe as I grow as a Catholic I will understand why people seem to want to go so often. Thanks for the info though, i appreciate it. I’m still growing.
 
It seems the closer we follow Christ the more we realize the little things are big things. We often read about the saints struggling against their own pride or doubts. This is a moment of spiritual growth for you. You are being called to examine your life more carefully. Pray about it.

I find that pride has been a struggle over the years. I don’t really do any major sinning, but that pride rears it’s ugly head all too often. I conquered jealousy early as a young kid, for example, but I’ve learned to recognize pride.

Now, if I were out committing adultry, or physically abusing people or were a criminal, I wouldn’t be able to focus on pride being an issue. That doesnt’ mean it’s not a sin or an issue that I personally deal with.

The struggle against sin is never ending in this life. We always have opportunities to grow spiritually and in our relationships with God. That’s why every time we get comfortable or feel like we’re in a good place and have it figured out, we suddenly get shaken up!
 
You could always strive to go to confession weekly in order to try to obtain indulgences.

Do you always, every day, put God first in your life? Compare how much of your spare time is spent in prayer or Bible reading as opposed to surfing the web or watching tv-do you give God the most time?

Do you daily perform acts of mercy?
Support you Church financially?
Give of yourself to build up the community in your church?
Never Lie?
Never Curse?
Never omit writing a letter that is overdue?
Visit the sick, the poor, those in prisons? (or support programs that reach these people)
Perform daily works of charity?
Continue to study and build your faith?
Keep a journal of your spiritual journey?
If you are good in these areas y’all need a spiritual director!
 
I can relate to what the OP is saying. Thing is that sins are bad (duh) and most good Catholics go out of their way to avoid committing them… and in some people’s cases there just aren’t that many temptations or situations in their life that would cause them to sin… so this adds up to people going for long periods without sinning (yay!) If you’re in such a situation then thank God for it instead of getting paranoid about “why don’t I seem to be sinning much?” It’s definitely possible to become too obsessed with sin. I’m sure you can go to reconciliation just 'cause you want to and say to the priest “nothing in particular to confess” and receive the sacrament anyway, cause after all we’re only required to confess mortal sins, which we are hopefully not committing in the first place. Doing this too often would seem a bit weird, so I generally tend to go only once or twice a year, except for when I think I have mortal sins to confess or when I want the priest’s advice on dealing with particular sins or something.
 
You can always confess previously confessed sins, as long as you tell the priest you are doing this, or confess to areas of your life that are generally deficient, which are a cause of ‘sin’ in the broad sense even if they don’t result in particular sins.

As someone who goes to confession frequently though not through choice but through a struggle to get over past addiction to mortally sinful actions and thoughts, I’d just say, count yourself lucky!
 
I have the same problem and it’s a torture going to confession because I always have the feeling that the priest thinks I’m lying or as I once was told I’m telling those “unimportant things” and letting aside the big ones.
 
My last confession was full of “little things”, and my confessor told me that these were important to bring to confession because acknowledging and striving to improve in these “little things” is what helps us to grow in holiness.
 
i thought that as well, but i do an examination of conscience every night and you quickly realise how much wrong you have committed. your conscience gets quite sensitive and i can easily tell what a sin is. however this can be a problem for certain people, as the multitude of their sins could lead them to scrupulousity or even worse, despair. do whtever seems right to you.

this regular practice has helped to reduce my pride and realise just how much i need His grace in my life.
 
Flopfoot said:
I can relate to what the OP is saying. Thing is that sins are bad (duh) and most good Catholics go out of their way to avoid committing them… and in some people’s cases there just aren’t that many temptations or situations in their life that would cause them to sin… so this adds up to people going for long periods without sinning (yay!)
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I have a really hard time believing that. Most people, if they are in tune with God to any degree at all, know that sin is everywhere and we constantly fall prey to it. With sorrow I must admit that I can sit still, with my hands folded and my eyes closed and fall into sins of both ommission and commission: sins against my neighbors, co-workers and friends as I judge them, sins of selfishness, sins of sloth, sins of rebellion. And it isn’t a matter of scroupulosity if they are real.

I remember when I was almost 7 years old learning about the age of accountability. I almost laughed out loud at the poor adult explaining it because I knew very well when I was doing wrong and did it intentionally long before ever I turned 7. Perhaps, I was just a precocious sinner, Perhaps I still am.

My point here is that if someone sits down and thinks about their life and God’s desire for us, they will find plenty of material to confess. Keep a pencil and paper close at hand, you’ll need it. Oh, and by the way, there is no shame in bringing lists with you to confession.
 
LJN21 said:
I found this on not to long ago when preparing for confession. I thought it was a big help.

scborromeo.org/confess.htm
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Thank you for that list!! It was very helpful. I found another one that listed everything but breathing to be a sin and I was extremely overwhelmed. This one is something I can digest. I will now make a list before I go to confession. I joined a new parish b/c i moved so hopefully this priest won’t get frustrated when I mention venial sins…I get really embarrassed in confession and any sign of frustration or impatience by the priest makes it torture. I feel like I’m wasting their time or doing something wrong especially since I’m so new at this. Don’t get me wrong, the priest has always been kind, but sort of made statements like I should be confessing graver sins since I was in confession.
 
Flopfoot said:
and in some people’s cases there just aren’t that many temptations or situations in their life that would cause them to sin…
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I must say that I am incredibly blessed in my situation at life; I have a wonderful family, and now that it’s summer, I’m not in school so I can’t really judge anyone. By the grace of God, I just don’t have a lot of chances where I am to sin, except maybe sloth and gluttony, which I’m handling.

Thank you everyone. I think it will help to remember sins of omission. 😉
 
Get your body in the confessional, and the Priest will do the rest.
 
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