Confession in RCIA?

  • Thread starter Thread starter sw85
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
S

sw85

Guest
I was told today that our next RCIA class will involve us coming directly to the Church to do a confession.

I presently have not received any sacraments and will be getting baptism, confirmation, and first communion at Easter vigil. So I know in advance that confession would have no sacramental character for me. Is it still licit for us even to go through the motions of a confession for educational purposes?
 
sw85 said:
I was told today that our next RCIA class will involve us coming directly to the Church to do a confession.

I presently have not received any sacraments and will be getting baptism, confirmation, and first communion at Easter vigil. So I know in advance that confession would have no sacramental character for me. Is it still licit for us even to go through the motions of a confession for educational purposes?
Click to expand...
You can’t go to confession yet because you have not been baptized. Wait until you are baptized.
 
They should have been talking only to those who have already been baptized. I would request clarification.
 
jwinch2 said:
They should have been talking only to those who have already been baptized. I would request clarification.
Click to expand...
Deacon (our RCIA instructor) simply addressed the entire RCIA class with this; he didn’t make exceptions for those of us who weren’t baptized (and he knows several of us haven’t been). :-\
 
sw85 said:
Deacon (our RCIA instructor) simply addressed the entire RCIA class with this; he didn’t make exceptions for those of us who weren’t baptized (and he knows several of us haven’t been). :-\
Click to expand...
It probably just slipped his mind. As I said, I would request clarification. Non-baptized persons cannot participate in the sacrament of reconciliation.
 
jwinch2 said:
It probably just slipped his mind. As I said, I would request clarification. Non-baptized persons cannot participate in the sacrament of reconciliation.
Click to expand...
Nor should OP want to, since Baptism washes away all temporal punishment from sin too, unlike confession. Plus, thinking of 20+ years of sinning and telling it to another person was a humbling task… not that you shouldn’t do it anyway for self-betterment, but if I was in that situation I would just trust in God’s forgiveness, be baptized and never look back.
 
(Reposted from Spirituality forum; hope to get more feedback here from knowledgeable members).

I was told today that our next RCIA class will involve us coming directly to the Church to do a confession.

I presently have not received any sacraments and will be getting baptism, confirmation, and first communion at Easter vigil. So I know in advance that confession would have no sacramental character for me. Is it still licit for us even to go through the motions of a confession for educational purposes? I have the strong feeling that I ought not to.
 
you can’t recieve any sacraments untill you are baptised. So your answer is, no.
 
I thought non Catholics could go to confession but couldn’t receive absolution… ?
 
When I was in RCIA, we went to the church to talk about what the Sacrament of Reconciliation (confession) was about, how it was done, what to expect, etc. We walked into the confessional and had an opportunity to ask a lot of questions. Maybe that is what you will be doing - a sort of “here is what it is” class. There was a lot of anxiety about going to confession because it’s private, and we really did not know what to expect.

Hope
 
As the Easter Vigil gets closer and closer, this question is popping up with regularity. It may have to become a sticky although apparently not everyone checks for stickies first.

At any rate, as is stated correctlty above and on several other threads:

a person must be baptized in order to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation (i.e “go to confession”); therefore, catechumens (unbaptized persons) do not (CANNOT) “go to confession” until afterwards.

candidates (persons already baptized and coming into the Church at the Vigil) should (MUST?) “go to confession” beforehand.

As I longtime RCIA team member, I realize that this can be confusing, especially in these last few hectic weeks of the Cathechumenate.

May I encourage all readers here to pray for all our catechumens and candidates and those who are helping to prepare them for these wonderful rites.

.
 
I suspect that catechumens are primarily being prepared for the idea of the sacrament. I’m sure, if you like, you can talk about how your March Madness bracket is performing, as it’ll do just as much good as listing all your past offenses.
 
T_Hope said:
When I was in RCIA, we went to the church to talk about what the Sacrament of Reconciliation (confession) was about, how it was done, what to expect, etc. We walked into the confessional and had an opportunity to ask a lot of questions. Maybe that is what you will be doing - a sort of “here is what it is” class. There was a lot of anxiety about going to confession because it’s private, and we really did not know what to expect.

Hope
Click to expand...
No, we were definitely told that we would be confessing our sins to one of the two parish priests. We were even given a “How to Make a Good Examination of Conscience” pamphlet to prepare ourselves beforehand. No exception was explicitly articulated for the unbaptized, hence my confusion.

Our deacon, who runs the course, is definitely aware of the fact that some of us aren’t baptized and can’t validly receive the sacrament. So I have no idea why he is doing things this way.

I guess I will go in there and simply tell the priest I’m unbaptized.
 
sw85 said:
No, we were definitely told that we would be confessing our sins to one of the two parish priests. We were even given a “How to Make a Good Examination of Conscience” pamphlet to prepare ourselves beforehand. No exception was explicitly articulated for the unbaptized, hence my confusion.

Our deacon, who runs the course, is definitely aware of the fact that some of us aren’t baptized and can’t validly receive the sacrament. So I have no idea why he is doing things this way.
Click to expand...
This definitely is a misunderstanding although I am not saying it is on your part. Perhaps you could report back here once things play out.

.
 
If it’s just a practice session with your teacher, it should be okay. It’s not an actual confession then. It’s just for practice. However, if it’s a real session with your priest where you are supposed to confess everything and receive penance, then no, it’s not okay. Your sins will be washed away at baptism. There’s no need to go to confession until after the Easter vigil.
 
Just so everyone knows, we all showed up and we unbaptized folk were told to go wait in the classroom while everyone else confessed. Kind of what I expected – I guess he just told us that so we would all show up and not be tempted to skip out on class. Thanks for your (name removed by moderator)ut.
 
Thank you for getting back to us. I’m glad to hear his theology was correct even if his methodology might not have been all that stellar. 🙂

God bless you as you continue on this journey.

.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top