Confession...forgot to say

[Veronica97]

I just went to Confession, mainly to confess one sin and I forgot to say, “For these and for all the sins of my life I am sorry.” I was nervous and forgot to say this. I thought Father was a little bewildered b/c I said, “That’s mainly what I wanted to confess.” I don’t know why I said that! Am I still forgiven of all my sins, even the ones I may have forgotten?

 

[Actaeon]

I just went to Confession, mainly to confess one sin and I forgot to say, “For these and for all the sins of my life I am sorry.” I was nervous and forgot to say this. I thought Father was a little bewildered b/c I said, “That’s mainly what I wanted to confess.” I don’t know why I said that! Am I still forgiven of all my sins, even the ones I may have forgotten?

Did you confess all KNOWN mortal sins with contrition?

Did the priest absolve you using the proper canonical form? (“I absolve you”)

Was the confessor in fact an ordained priest?

If the answer to these questions is yes, then you are still forgiven. God is not a tyrant who will hold your feet to the fire over an honest stumbling at the end of a good confession.

 

[Veronica97]

Yes, yes, and yes. My confession was very short b/c I had just been 6 days ago. I guess I was just nervous b/c I don’t usually confess to my parish priest. I am scrupulous and worry a lot about confession.

 

[WingsOfEagles]

Yes, forgotten sins are forgiven with all known ones. I think you are probably over-thinking the priest’s reaction. You probably just seemed really nervous or something.

 

[AB_Juney]

Do you think perhaps your priest reacted in such a way becaue he knows how much you suffer, and was simply allowing you time to collect yourself?

 

[R_C]

I just went to Confession, mainly to confess one sin and I forgot to say, “For these and for all the sins of my life I am sorry.” I was nervous and forgot to say this. I thought Father was a little bewildered b/c I said, “That’s mainly what I wanted to confess.” I don’t know why I said that! Am I still forgiven of all my sins, even the ones I may have forgotten?

You said that because those were the sins that you believed to be mortal, and those are the ones that the Spirit moved you to confess.

While it is very good to confess venial sins, they do not prevent you from being united to the Lord. When you receive Communion, the Lord Himself will cleanse you from all those sins.

The important thing is that you do not omit to confess any mortal sin, and to do this is important to make an examination of conscience. Christ forgives those sins through His minister in Confession.

 

[Joannm]

I don’t think I ever said “For these and all sins of my past life…” since I was a kid. I just say
“that’s it,” and the priest takes it from there.

 

[Nigel7]

I don’t think I ever said “For these and all sins of my past life…”

That’s actually not necessary, as I understand it. That is really said in the act of contrition anyway.

And I’ll bet you did say your act of contrition and then were absolved of all your sins by the priest. So don’t sweat it. You’re good to go.

 

[WingsOfEagles]

I don’t think I ever said “For these and all sins of my past life…” since I was a kid. I just say
“that’s it,” and the priest takes it from there.

Good to hear. I was wondering about that. I was never taught that I had to end with “for these and all sins of my past life”. The Act of Contrition states that anyway.

 

[Vico]

Yes, yes, and yes. My confession was very short b/c I had just been 6 days ago. I guess I was just nervous b/c I don’t usually confess to my parish priest. I am scrupulous and worry a lot about confession.

Saying the is mainly what I wanted to confess could also mean that you had some venial sins that you wanted to say. Of course we are sorry, but we say we are sorry so the priest will be certain. He may be convinced of our contrition even without saying it. If you do forget a serious (mortal) sin, just tell it later. Presuming you were truly sorry for it, it is already absolved, but we should tell them. It is not uncommon for people to be nervous or even get very upset. Sometimes I have heard crying from the confession room, even with the door closed.

 

[roveau]

I just went to Confession, mainly to confess one sin and I forgot to say, “For these and for all the sins of my life I am sorry.” I was nervous and forgot to say this. I thought Father was a little bewildered b/c I said, “That’s mainly what I wanted to confess.” I don’t know why I said that! Am I still forgiven of all my sins, even the ones I may have forgotten?

Of course you were forgiven your sins since the priest absolved your sins! We all forget to say exactly the right thing from time to time but don’t forget we are confessing to our Lord who loves us and can read our hearts. If you forgot to confess a sin or sins, just confess it at your next confession.