Confession detail

  • Thread starter Thread starter Polak
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Confession is about telling the time, not how the clock is made. Jesus already knows ours sins, he just wants us to say sorry and acknowledge them. I commited(example) to(example) and i did(example) (example) number of times. Go down the lost of the commandments.

What I do is be simple, not to hide sins, but not so descriptive where Im telling a story. The priest will ask if he needs more details on anything said in confession. I feel if everyone took these things in consideration, those 10 to 15 minute confessions would be only 5 minutes, but I dont know. I shouldnt be so general like that.
 
If you ever feel lost during a confession as to how much detail you should go into, go half-way. He’ll ask for more details if he needs them. Don’t just do the bare minimum and say, “I have sinned against my mother” or “I have broken the 6th commandment”, etc. Give sufficient detail for the priest to gain an understanding of the gravity of the transgression, and it should be sufficient.
 
I was asked for more details, too. I had been deliberately vague out of embarassment and was really challenged to overcome the embarassment to say more, but it ended up being a better confession, I believe. I feel the priest knew I needed to just come out and say it.
 
Zach said:
It seems like I’m the only one here who has been asked for more details. Even if I was uncomfortable giving more details, I figured it wasn’t up to me. When the priest asked I gave more details.
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I’ve been asked for more detail.

The one time that I wasn’t comfortable providing more detail was when I was deliberately being vague in order to not reveal the identity of another person. I gave more detail when asked and was very glad that I did, as the priest was able to give me some insight that I would not have received otherwise.
 
If you’re vague, and say something like “I’ve done things I know I shouldn’t”, the priest is going to press you for more detail. At the same time, he doesn’t want to hear your life story, or everything else that was going on at the time you did what you did, never mind the gory details. Still, details can and do matter; there is of course a world of difference between stealing $5 and stealing $500! Similarly, it can help the priest to know if you’re struggling with a particular sin or if you’ve been affected by a significant event in your life (e.g. you’re confesion having an argument with your spouse because you just found out that you/they are pregnant). Again though, be brief and get to the point.
 
Thank you, Father. I learned that details can change the nature of a sin.

Example: Someone steals a needle. This would probably be a venial sin. However, if the needle belonged to a seamstress who would be deprived of her livelihood because her needle was stolen, then it becomes a mortal sin.

Is that correct?
 
I would say that they can.

I went to confession in December at a completely different parish. To be honest the priest threw me off because he was far, far, far more intense and calculating in just what sins I committed and how much. In fact he was accusatory to certain sexual sins and went as far as to almost belittle me as to why I’m not being a man. Why am I not telling my wife what to do and setting an example for my children and taking them to Mass.

I told him my wife was barren and we had no children and his entire demeanor changed. I think if it weren’t for that one reply by me, he would have denied me absolution.
 
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