Confessing thoughts vs actions

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Tim25

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Do I need to distinguish between thoughts and actions in confession.

For example:

Someone plans to steal something but eventually doesn’t.

Someone actually steals something.

Someone reads up on how to steal something but eventually doesn’t.

Could all 3 of these just be confessed as"theft"? Or are more details needed?
 
Our Lord says in Matt. 5: 27-28: You have heard that it was said to them of old: Thou shalt not commit adultery. [28]But I say to you, that whosoever shall look on a woman to lust after her, hath already committed adultery with her in his heart.

IOW, the man has committed adultery even though he didn’t touch her.

The same principle applies to stealing, murder. The decision of the person’s will IS the act itself.

So they do need to be confessed.
 
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Margaret_Ann said:
The same principle applies to stealing, murder. The decision of the person’s will IS the act itself.

So they do need to be confessed.
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I think it depends on if the person actually seriously intended to do it, or was just idly speculating.

Like, if you think “if I were to rob a bank, how would I get away with it?” and you’re not actually planning on doing it, that’s not a sin. It’s just a thought experiment.
 
It may happen that I unintentionally think about killing the person who is blocking the aisle at the supermarket with his trolley put sideways, and what’s more he offended me.

I notice the thought, I reject it: it is nothing.

Or I deliberately and seriously think about killing him, I’m ready to act, but then I think it’s not worth going to jail for this: it’s a serious sin.

Or I’ll kill him: this is an even more serious, horrible sin.

The first thing should not even be said in Confession, the other two do, distinguishing them, because, although both are “grave matter”, the second is immensely worse.
 
You do need to distinguish between thoughts and actions. If you only think about punching someone then it’s obviously not the same situation as if you did punch them.

With respect to thoughts, the question is whether it’s a momentary thought you put right out of your mind (no sin) or a thought you dwell on or struggle with (maybe sin) or a thought where you’ve given up on trying to resist temptation and just wallow in the thought or plan (probably sin).
 
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Like Tis said.

I personally distinguish between thoughts and actions in Confession.

E.g. dwelling on angry thoughts, versus actually speaking disrespectfully to someone.

Yes, Jesus spoke of sins committed in the heart…

But I imagine you’re probably going to confuse your confessor if you start confessing to murder every week, when what you mean is indulging in angry thoughts about people.
 
Tim25 said:
Do I need to distinguish between thoughts and actions in confession.

For example:

Someone plans to steal something but eventually doesn’t.

Someone actually steals something.

Someone reads up on how to steal something but eventually doesn’t.

Could all 3 of these just be confessed as"theft"? Or are more details needed?
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Probably.

The sin is in the willful consent to the thought, act, or omission. A sin may be interior or exterior, however some are covered in two commandments. Notice what Baltimore Catechism No. 3 states:
Q. 1324. In what does the sixth commandment differ from the ninth, and the seventh differ from the tenth?
A. The sixth commandment differs from the ninth in this, that the sixth refers chiefly to external acts of impurity, while the ninth refers more to sins of thought against purity. The seventh commandment refers chiefly to external acts of dishonesty, while the tenth refers more to thoughts against honesty.
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From a practical standpoint, it’s doubtful a priest is going to just let you say “I committed theft 3 times” without asking for details. He’ll want to know if you stole a 5 cent piece of gum, or embezzled 100 grand from your employer. If you just thought about stealing and didn’t take anything, he’ll want to know if you planned out a bank heist or just considered whether to grab the 5 Cent gum on your way out of a store.

It’s like saying “I committed the sin of lust 3 times”. That could mean anything from having a sexual thought, to using porn, to having an affair.
 
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