C
Cajetan
Guest
OK, hopefully some people can sort this out for me. I’m going to be frank and a bit scatter-brained; it’s just because I’m in a hurry with this post.
I went to meet a priest today to discuss some long-standing spiritual struggles (haven’t been to Confession in months, knee-deep in mortal sin, dabbling with a form of non-Catholic Christianity, etc.). After letting out my story in a few short minutes (priest was in a hurry; I just caught him out-of-the-blue in his office), the priest offered me Confession, to which I said that I wasn’t sure if I should – because I wasn’t really prepared, had not made an examination of conscience, etc. I debated it with myself, then made the decision to go through with it – because I was afraid that if I did not do so, that the Spirit may not lead me to go to Confession at the next opportunity. (That’s how messed-up I am spiritually right now. Even though I know that Confession is what I need more than anything else in the world, I just can’t trust myself anymore. I felt that if I didn’t grab at the opportunity being offered to me at that very moment, that it might be months more before I finally went to Confession… if ever at all.)
So I went through with it. I confessed every mortal sin that I could think of at the time. What I did NOT do is confess all of my mortal sins, because there are so many that I couldn’t possibly remember them all. (Walking home afterward, a number of them suddenly came to mind.) While confessing, I told the Lord that I will confess these sins again and all of my other mortal once I have made a proper examination of conscience (I am now scheduled with the priest for Monday). I received absolution and penance.
What I want to know is, even though I will be “re-confessing” what I have already confessed on Monday for good measure, have a been forgiven for the sins that I have confessed? I ask because I have been told that one must confess ALL of his or her mortal sins during a confession… and this I did not do, for reasons above.
Thanks and God bless!
I went to meet a priest today to discuss some long-standing spiritual struggles (haven’t been to Confession in months, knee-deep in mortal sin, dabbling with a form of non-Catholic Christianity, etc.). After letting out my story in a few short minutes (priest was in a hurry; I just caught him out-of-the-blue in his office), the priest offered me Confession, to which I said that I wasn’t sure if I should – because I wasn’t really prepared, had not made an examination of conscience, etc. I debated it with myself, then made the decision to go through with it – because I was afraid that if I did not do so, that the Spirit may not lead me to go to Confession at the next opportunity. (That’s how messed-up I am spiritually right now. Even though I know that Confession is what I need more than anything else in the world, I just can’t trust myself anymore. I felt that if I didn’t grab at the opportunity being offered to me at that very moment, that it might be months more before I finally went to Confession… if ever at all.)
So I went through with it. I confessed every mortal sin that I could think of at the time. What I did NOT do is confess all of my mortal sins, because there are so many that I couldn’t possibly remember them all. (Walking home afterward, a number of them suddenly came to mind.) While confessing, I told the Lord that I will confess these sins again and all of my other mortal once I have made a proper examination of conscience (I am now scheduled with the priest for Monday). I received absolution and penance.
What I want to know is, even though I will be “re-confessing” what I have already confessed on Monday for good measure, have a been forgiven for the sins that I have confessed? I ask because I have been told that one must confess ALL of his or her mortal sins during a confession… and this I did not do, for reasons above.
Thanks and God bless!
