Confess old sin just remembered?

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AlanFromWichita

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About an hour ago, the Lord blessed me with a grim memory so that I may deal with it.

It is of a sin that I committed something like 30 years ago, but never thought of during any confessions since then. It was a one-time sin and not repeated. I am assuming it is grave matter.

Do I need to confess it? I did not intentionally suppress it; I honestly forgot about it until just this day.

Alan
 
Mortal sins remembered must be confessed. A one-time venial sin, depends, perhaps the one who commits it isn’t the best judge to the seriousness. Isn’t that so?
 
You do not have to confess it specifically before receiving communion, but it should be mentioned in your next confession. ALL sins are forgiven in a worthy sacramental confession, including those we may have forgotten. Our examination of conscience is sincere, as is our contrition.

Be at peace, Alan. 🙂
 
ohioszo said:
Mortal sins remembered must be confessed. A one-time venial sin, depends, perhaps the one who commits it isn’t the best judge to the seriousness. Isn’t that so?
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I am quite sure it was grave matter. I was a teenager, and I really did not know much about the Lord, but I knew what I was doing was wrong. As you mentioned, I am not sure I can judge whether I technically had “full consent” or whatever I need to make it mortal.

Anyway you’ve answered my question. Thank you.

Alan
 
Sirach2 said:
You do not have to confess it specifically before receiving communion, but it should be mentioned in your next confession. ALL sins are forgiven in a worthy sacramental confession, including those we may have forgotten. Our examination of conscience is sincere, as is our contrition.

Be at peace, Alan. 🙂
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Thank you both. 👍

Alan
 
Sirach2 said:
You do not have to confess it specifically before receiving communion, but it should be mentioned in your next confession. ALL sins are forgiven in a worthy sacramental confession, including those we may have forgotten. Our examination of conscience is sincere, as is our contrition.

Be at peace, Alan. 🙂
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Are you sure? I recall a priest once telling me that if I forget a mortal sin, I still need to confess it to receive communion.
 
Biedrik said:
Are you sure? I recall a priest once telling me that if I forget a mortal sin, I still need to confess it to receive communion.
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Perhaps you misunderstood, or perhaps it was a special circumstance just for you.

If you honestly forget to confess a (mortal) sin, it is forgiven with the others. It must, however, be confessed at your next confession, provided you remember it then.

If you leave a (mortal) sin out on purpose, your entire confession is invalidated. All the sins from that confession must be reconfessed, in addition to the mortal sin of making a bad confession. ASAP.

Betsy
 
Regardless if it is a venial sin, when I ran into such a situation - remember something happened long time ago but has never been confessed, I will mention it in my confession.
This is not to be scruple, but for the peace of mind and receiving God’s grace. By doing so, not only I rest my case, but also remind myself never to make the same mistake even it may not be a big deal.
That is how I work on my virtue and move toward holiness.
 
I wonder too about sins. A sin may have waves like a stone in a pond. You do one thing, and, you know that you hurt your soul … maybe another person or persons were immediately involved … then, because of the sin, someone else is hurt, family, someone watching …

So is a full confession only the sin itself, or like a stone in a pool of water, does one need to explain as much as possible what one knows. Obviously, the consequences of sin are not always contemplated, much less admitted in confession.

Take something simple like a small theft. Then a friend may be tempted to steal a small item. Or someone sees you steal, and falls off a ladder as they are watching. Maybe, your reputation is hurt, and then it causes others to think bad of your whole family.

Gossip is another thing that seems small but can have big consequences. Like that Hallmark movie where a brother believes that his brother’s wife is fooling around whereas she has a compulsion to shoplift. So, his brother hears the accusations an gets into an accident and dies. Wife dies too. To make up for it all, the mistaken brother takes on the roll of Father and quits college … I guess that is the good ending.

The burden of bad decisions-making. Would we all be so good at confession throughout our lives, it makes sense, our Faith and the practices of our Faith!
 
AlanFromWichita said:
I am quite sure it was grave matter. I was a teenager, and I really did not know much about the Lord, but I knew what I was doing was wrong. As you mentioned, I am not sure I can judge whether I technically had “full consent” or whatever I need to make it mortal.

Anyway you’ve answered my question. Thank you.

Alan
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Just mention that fact when you confess it…
 
Thanks again all, for the responses. I think I’m probably OK, but no sense in putting it off.

Alan
 
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