am I forgiven?

[needhelp2]

I have a question and thought I’d ask here. This is causing me a lot of pain so please be gentle I’ll just get to my point… I used to struggle with masturbation. I feel *very much *ashamed of it now. I said this at confession and used that exact word. But then later on I remembered some circumstances that I thought changed the gravity of the sin a bit. So I brought it up again to mention the circumstances but said I was “impure with myself”. Does this count? Is this the right way to phrase it? If the priest didn’t understand what I meant, am I still forgiven? Should I say it in a different way at my next confession? I’m so afraid of going to hell

Thank you…

 

[bpbasilphx]

I think the priest had enough sense to know what you meant. Needless to say, so did God.

When the Apostles’ Creed says, “I believe in the forgiveness of sins,” this means that YOU are required to believe that your sins are forgiven.

I personally don’t think that your real problem here is masturbation. But that’s for a confessor or spiritual director to deal with.

 

[PhilotheaZ]

The priest knew what you meant. This is a very standard way of confessing that particular sin. In fact, it is often the way people are instructed to confess it. Be at peace and trust in God’s mercy.

 

[CarrieH]

If the priest wanted it clarified, he would have asked. I know this from experience, when I confessed that sin using those terms and the (new) priest asked me exactly what I meant by “impure.” That was the one and only time in my entire life that I have ever had to say any more about it.