Confessing something from a long time ago

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Polak

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Just a quick question.

I’m fairly sure that if you remember a sin from many years ago (that you no longer commit) and you think you might have forgotten to confess it, you can still confess it now.

The only reason I want to double check if you can though, is because in confession, after hearing you out, the priest will often give you some type of advice and suggestions to help keep you from sinning. If you are confessing a sin from say, 10 years ago, that you have not committed since then, the priest won’t have much advice to give you on avoiding this sin, as you don’t do it anymore.

I assume that in this case he would simply give you a penance and not say much else (other than perhaps asking you for some details about your sin while you are confessing it).
 
Excellent question!

My advice, for what it’s worth, would be to go to your confessor (I’d also advice you pick one Priest and not hop from Priest to Priest… pick one who knows you and whom you trust to be holy, gentle and humble) and simply begin your confession as normal, but do so in a less “legalistic way” in that you should just share your heart and the things pressing on it. I do not mean to say that this Confession should be done when there is a massive line. Perhaps call your Priest and ask if you can meet with him to talk outside the normal Confession times. This way, you can be more at peace and less anxious about the line. 🙂

I hope this is encouraging and brings you peace. God Bless you now and always!

Praised be Jesus Christ
 
It’s not a problem. Just mention the sin and explain in 30 seconds or less that this is a sin from 10 years ago that you don’t do any more but that you’re not sure you confessed in the past.

Of course the priest will expect to hear sins you’ve committed more recently also and not just this 10-year-old sin.

I’ve done this myself once or twice, it takes under a minute, no need to make a big deal out of it if it’s just one old sin.
 
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Polak said:
Sure but what if you only have this one sin to confess from many years ago? The priest should be okay with that right?
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Why not just wait till the next time you would’ve confessed anyway and confess it then? The sin is forgiven anyway, since you genuinely forgot it when you confessed previously.
 
The priest will be okay with your confessing it, but if it’s been more than a few days since your last confession, the priest may wonder if you are ignoring recent sins. As Scripture says, the just man sins 7 times a day, so you should have at least one recent sin to mention.

If you’re running in the day after you’ve confessed recent sins, just to mention a 10-year-old sin that you forgot, then the priest may wonder if you have a scrupulosity problem.
RolandThompsonGunner said:
Why not just wait till the next time you would’ve confessed anyway and confess it then? The sin is forgiven anyway, since you genuinely forgot it when you confessed previously.
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^^This.
 
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Polak said:
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Baltimore Catechism No. 3
Q. 792. What should we do if we cannot remember the number of our sins?
A. If we cannot remember the number of our sins, we should tell the number as nearly as possible, and say how often we may have sinned in a day, a week, or a month, and how long the habit or practice has lasted.

Q. 793. Is our Confession worthy if, without our fault, we forget to confess a mortal sin?
A. If without our fault we forget to confess a mortal sin, our Confession is worthy, and the sin is forgiven; but it must be told in Confession if it again comes to our mind.

Q. 794. May a person who has forgotten to tell a mortal sin in confession go to Holy Communion before going again to confession?
A. A person who has forgotten to tell a mortal sin in confession may go to communion before again going to confession, because the forgotten sin was forgiven with those confessed, and the confession was good and worthy.
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Just confess it next time you go.
If the priest offers advice just say you are free of the sin now.

As a side note, I’m sure there are many priests out there who give excellent advice. But confession is not a counseling session. I’ve found (especially with foreign priests). That the advice that is no doubt intended to help is way off of the situation. When confessing family matters sins, work sins, etc I’ve been held hostage in the confessional for quite a while, so father can wax poetic on a subject he doesn’t grasp fully.
 
Yes, usually I get some good, short, and general advice, but one time I got some really bothersome/ poor advice from a priest who apparently “didn’t get it”. One has to just set that aside and pray for the priest. (And don’t confess to that priest again if you can find another.)

I’d say 95% of the time the priests do say something helpful or at least kind, so it’s pretty easy to write off the 5% of unhelpful times.
 
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Good advice once given to me in this situation was to confess current sins first, then any remembered past sin/s.
 
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