Confession for sins in the past

[rkberlin]

Hello,
I just started remembering some things I did when i was a teenager ( about 18 years ago ). I don’t remember if I ever confessed them ( probably not, because they were the “making out” kind of sins ). Now, if I remember this now, could this be a sign that I should bring this up in confession again and am I in a state of mortal sin now that I DO remember this? ( I’m especially troubled about the statement I made against the Church…) Help, please?

 

[LilyM]

rkberlin:

Hello,
I just started remembering some things I did when i was a teenager ( about 18 years ago ). I don’t remember if I ever confessed them ( probably not, because they were the “making out” kind of sins ). Now, if I remember this now, could this be a sign that I should bring this up in confession again and am I in a state of mortal sin now that I DO remember this? ( I’m especially troubled about the statement I made against the Church…) Help, please?

No you’re not in a state of mortal sin again simply for remembering previously honestly forgotten (and therefore unmentioned) mortal sins of the past.

If you deliberately did not mention the ‘making out’ sins for any reason that’s an entirely different matter …

 

[rkberlin]

Thanks. Well, I can’t really remember when it happened, or how old i was exactly. It was a time when I was turning away from the Church in general, though, and I don#t think I went to confession from age 16 till 30? I’m just saying, should I still confess this, even though i don#t really remember anymore what happened?

LilyM:

No you’re not in a state of mortal sin again simply for remembering previously honestly forgotten (and therefore unmentioned) mortal sins of the past.

If you deliberately did not mention the ‘making out’ sins for any reason that’s an entirely different matter …

 

[Joan_M]

rkberlin:

Thanks. Well, I can’t really remember when it happened, or how old i was exactly. It was a time when I was turning away from the Church in general, though, and I don#t think I went to confession from age 16 till 30? I’m just saying, should I still confess this, even though i don#t really remember anymore what happened?

If you forget to confess a sin, or sins, in confession they are forgiven. However, if you later remember them, you should mention them in your next confession. Just say "Father there are some sins I forgot, in the past, to confess. These are … "

You don’t have to happen exactly what happened - you never confess details, anyway, unless they make the sin less or more serious. You just say what the sin was (fornication, stealing, etc.) and approximately how many times it happened. If it happened only once, this is easy. If it was frequent or habitual, you say something like “I committed this sin about three times a week for four or five years” or whatever fits your situation.

It makes us more honest to confess these sins, even though they are forgiven, and helps us with the virtue of humility - no one likes to admit out loud their sins.

It is always better to do this at the start of a confession, specially if you are troubled or nervous about doing it. The devil likes to keep us silent in confession! Don’t let the “dumb devil” get your tongue!!

 

[puzzleannie]

you may always confess past sins again, especially if you remember them in the context of a deeper contrition, more informed awareness of why these actions were sinful, and deeper appreciation of how these sins were damaging. the virtue of compunction gives us deeper contrition and deeper awareness of the depth of Christ’s love for us, so it is always appropriate to go to Him in the sacraments, particularly this sacrament of His mercy. this would only become a problem if it led to scrupulosity, the feeling that you cannot be forgiven because these sins were so bad.

 

[ComradeAndrei]

this would only become a problem if it led to scrupulosity, the feeling that you cannot be forgiven because these sins were so bad.

Scupulosity is not feeling that you can’t be forgiven because sins were “so bad”, it is the concept that you doubt what is a sin and what is not or that you doubt that you confessed sufficiently etc.

I would say that for the most part, once sins are confessed we should forget about them an move on. Dredging up past sins is not wrong, but it seems counterproductive for the most part.

 

[rkberlin]

Well, my sins weren’t all that bad. Well, i guess they were, but I didn’t have countless lovers ( actually, my dh is the only one I’ve ever been with ), it’s just some things I did, nothing I don’t think is so bad it can’t be forgiven. Still, it’s embarassing, and I’d rather not tell father, but I guess I will when I go to confession. So, i guess that means I shouldn’t receive communion until I go, huh?

 

[LilyM]

rkberlin:

Well, my sins weren’t all that bad. Well, i guess they were, but I didn’t have countless lovers ( actually, my dh is the only one I’ve ever been with ), it’s just some things I did, nothing I don’t think is so bad it can’t be forgiven. Still, it’s embarassing, and I’d rather not tell father, but I guess I will when I go to confession. So, i guess that means I shouldn’t receive communion until I go, huh?

Firstly - embarrassment is normal - I go every week and sometimes I still get embarrassed that I’m back in the lineup for confession yet again … It’s one of the devil’s tricks to get us not to confess frequently or properly.

If you genuinely forgot to mention your previous sins then you’d be fine to receive communion even before you go back to confession.