Confession Detail Question

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Nonzi

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Whilst in confession, do you need to say “I snuck out of my bed at 6:05, then slipped into my robe and peeked to make sure my parents were sleeping. Then I got the stool out of the bathroom and slipped my hand into the blue cookie jar next to the cutting board. Then I took a oatmeal raisin cookie from the jar and ate it. Then went back to bed.” Or is it sufficient to just say “I stole a cookie from the cookie jar.”
 
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It is not an analogy. I apologize for having worded this question wrong. I have change the title to better express my question. 🙏
 
From my experience both are ok but it is highly preferable to only provide details if they are necessary (either for you or for matter of sin). I usually provide details to sins which are harder to confess for me… as I can’t just get out easy “I stole cookies” (analogy) so quickly but if I talk about it for longer I get to that point where I can say it.
 
Nonzi said:
is it sufficient to just say “I stole a cookie from the cookie jar.”
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If that’s the only sin, then yes… that’s sufficient. Confession of our grave sins, in kind and number, are ‘sufficient’.

Are you asking something else, though? Whether it’s ‘wrong’ in some sense to contextualize?
 
A seminarian - when he was learning about hearing confession - told me that it is only necessary for the penitent to confess “species and number”. I.e. the type of sin and the number of times it has been committed.

A priest once told me that with certain sins, giving too much detail can lead the priest into sin.
 
Can you say ‘several times’ if it’s three or four times? Ie is it enough to suggest it happened frequently or does it really have to be number. Happy Easter Father
 
If a child is told they can’t have a cookie, I can see this being the sin of disobedience. But theft? Do cookies in a jar uniquely “belong” to the parents? If I’m up during the night and wander in the kitchen and grab a brownie my wife made, have I “stolen” it?
 
Why did you say it was an analogy if it wasn’t? Are you trying to ask about some other sin? It sounds like there’s something more serious than stealing cookies and you’re not keen on talking about it in detail.
 
halogirl said:
Can you say ‘several times’ if it’s three or four times? Ie is it enough to suggest it happened frequently or does it really have to be number. Happy Easter Father
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I don’t want to answer for a priest, as I’m a layman, but I’ve always understood that you just can’t be misleading. So saying “several” is fine if it’s three or four, but you can’t say “several” if it’s three or four hundred.
 
Correct me if I’m wrong, Father, but IIRC the penitent has to give details if they change the nature of the sin, especially in re to the 6th, 7th, 9th & 10th Commandments. Example: stealing money from a poor widow is worse than stealing a cookie.

Also in the case of stealing, restitution has to be made if possible. If the penitent cannot make restitution without public humiliation or other grave inconvenience then the penitent can give the money to church/charity.
 
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I think it would be fine to say “I stole a cookie from the cookie jar.” Adding a reason would be better but it isn’t necessary.

ex: “I stole a cookie from the cookie jar because…”
 
unless I’m mistaken, it seems like the op is asking how much detail one needs to go in to when confessing.
 
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