Confessing sins committed prior to conversion?

[EvelynEVF]

It occurred to me recently that at the beginning of my marriage, we contracepted, and I never confessed that. As soon as i found out that the pill could be abortifacient, I quit cold turkey. I’ve only been Catholic for a couple of years, and I never thought of dredging up “old sins.” But I’ve seen on several threads the folks who are coming back to the Church after a long absence, listing a decade worth of sins to take to their Confession before they return to the Eucharist.

Do I need to go dredging around in the past? So far I’ve thought about the ABC issue but not remembered when actually in the confessional (which is about every two weeks). Do I need to do an examination of conscience to cover my pre-Catholic days, or is that just being scrupulous?

 

[Deacon_Ed]

It all depends. If you were baptized when you became Catholic (that is, you were unbaptized prior to becoming Catholic) then you do not need to confess anything prior to your baptism. If, on the other hand, you became Catholic through a profession of faith then you would need to confess all serious sins from your past life (as you recall them).

Deacon Ed

 

[jmcrae]

It occurred to me recently that at the beginning of my marriage, we contracepted, and I never confessed that. As soon as i found out that the pill could be abortifacient, I quit cold turkey. I’ve only been Catholic for a couple of years, and I never thought of dredging up “old sins.” But I’ve seen on several threads the folks who are coming back to the Church after a long absence, listing a decade worth of sins to take to their Confession before they return to the Eucharist.

Do I need to go dredging around in the past? So far I’ve thought about the ABC issue but not remembered when actually in the confessional (which is about every two weeks). Do I need to do an examination of conscience to cover my pre-Catholic days, or is that just being scrupulous?

When you entered the Catholic Church, if you had been baptized previously, you went to First Confession some time during Lent, and confessed every mortal sin of your life from the time you were baptized up until then.

If you were baptized as part of entering the Catholic Church, then all of your previous sins were washed away in that baptism.

 

[EvelynEVF]

When you entered the Catholic Church, if you had been baptized previously, you went to First Confession some time during Lent, and confessed every mortal sin of your life from the time you were baptized up until then.

Except that I didn’t, because that was not what I was instructed to do. I confessed a current, recurring struggle.

The two biggies I can think of, while serious, are not mortal because they were explicitly not considered sin in the church I came from. The ABC I dropped as soon as I had knowledge of the sin, and the other I have not committed since before my confirmation, quite specifically because at that point I realized that it was sin, despite what I had been told. A lot of the “rules” changed, in both directions.

So, having thought this out on the keyboard, I’m thinking I don’t need to bring these up, because they aren’t mortal, and they are completely in the past?

 

[benedictgal]

jmcrae;4570338:

When you entered the Catholic Church, if you had been baptized previously, you went to First Confession some time during Lent, and confessed every mortal sin of your life from the time you were baptized up until then.

Except that I didn’t, because that was not what I was instructed to do. I confessed a current, recurring struggle.

The two biggies I can think of, while serious, are not mortal because they were explicitly not considered sin in the church I came from. The ABC I dropped as soon as I had knowledge of the sin, and the other I have not committed since before my confirmation, quite specifically because at that point I realized that it was sin, despite what I had been told. A lot of the “rules” changed, in both directions.

So, having thought this out on the keyboard, I’m thinking I don’t need to bring these up, because they aren’t mortal, and they are completely in the past?

I think that ABC is a serious sin because it purposely goes against the Church’s prescription on procreation for a married couple. Those who engage in this practice do this because they do nowant to have children, thus, they are not opening themselves up to the possibility for life. That you recognized that it was a serious matter and stopped it is a good sign.

Rather than rely on those of us here, why not mention this to your priest the next time you go to Confession? You will get a jillion pieces of advice here, but, in the final analysis, this should come up when you meet with your confessor.

 

[EvelynEVF]

Rather than rely on those of us here, why not mention this to your priest the next time you go to Confession?

Because my kids are off at a Christmas party and I’m hanging out alone, reading old threads and thinking out loud

I’ll have a visit with my spiritual director soon and I’ll bring it up. I was curious for other opinions, and I appreciate the good deacon’s straightforward (name removed by moderator)ut!

 

[Texas_Roofer]

Except that I didn’t, because that was not what I was instructed to do. I confessed a current, recurring struggle.

The two biggies I can think of, while serious, are not mortal because they were explicitly not considered sin in the church I came from. The ABC I dropped as soon as I had knowledge of the sin, and the other I have not committed since before my confirmation, quite specifically because at that point I realized that it was sin, despite what I had been told. A lot of the “rules” changed, in both directions.

So, having thought this out on the keyboard, I’m thinking I don’t need to bring these up, because they aren’t mortal, and they are completely in the past?

When in doubt confess however sin requires knowledge, so if you did not know it was a sin when you practiced ABC it would not have to be confessed.

 

[baltobetsy]

While it may not be strictly necessary to mention because of your not meeting all three conditions for mortal sin, you may look at it as an act of love to tell God (officially, in Confession) how sorry you are for having done it. Can you picture yourself with a close friend, just discovering that, without understanding completely, you did something very offensive? Wouldn’t you go to your friend and apologize anyway? This kind of thing almost always ends with a big hug and increased closeness. Surely it will with God.

Betsy

 

[jmcrae]

Except that I didn’t, because that was not what I was instructed to do. I confessed a current, recurring struggle.

If you were told that you didn’t need to confess every mortal sin since Baptism, then you were not instructed correctly.

As it stands, it doesn’t seem as if in your case the sin of contraception was mortal, since you were lacking the component of full knowledge.

However, it might be a good idea to sit down with a priest, explain that you didn’t do your lifetime Confession at the time of conversion, and have him help you uncover anything from your past that was a mortal sin, that remains unconfessed until now (deliberate disobedience of parents while under their care, for example, or gossiping, etc.).

 

[EvelynEVF]

Thank you all for your (name removed by moderator)ut.

The official word from my spiritual director today is that because I no longer struggle with the sins I’m thinking of, and because I did consider them forgiven and gone and rejoiced in that, the appropriate discipline for me is not to mention them in confession, but to be thankful for the graces of Confirmation that made it possible, and to trust that God in His mercy really has blotted them out.

Not the necessarily the easier path for me. In some ways I would rather suffer the embarrassment just to hear the words of absolution.