Confession lists

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Godislove4ever

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i have lists of my sins that i have made but im sick of wondering if the details i have written are a product of my brain or is actually from my memory.
should i just burn all my lists and go to confession and say everything i can think of?
i think hey thats a good idea-
then i think maybe thats kind of like trying to forget or avoid saying some sins…maybe im just trying to forget my sins…
help! i really am sick of my problems with confessing my sins. 😦
 
I don’t see anything wrong with writing a list to help you. If you are concerned that you are not remembering things correctly, tell the priest that when you go to confession. But don’t stress out about it too much, just make an honest effort to remember everything, and let your priest know if you’re not sure you’ve got it perfect.
 
Take all your lists of sins. If there are mortal sins, list those first in both number and kind and circumstances if they change the seriousness of the offence.

Now go over what’s remaining and compile your venial sins and sort them out into groups of sins. List those down, and while not required, listing how many times your committed each sin helps the priest to know what’s a real problem for you.

If your list of venial sins is long, pick out the ones you’re committing the most often and work on those until you have them under control, and move on to the next ones.

Take your list of sins with you to confession. I always do. I forget everything the moment I walk into the Confessional.

BTW: Don’t detail your priest to death. Will sometimes give a little detail of my sin so the priest knows the context of which it happened, which allows him to give more specific counsel.
 
I like the Catholic churches booklet:An Examination of Conscience.Our parish church used to leave copies in the pews.
 
If I haven’t been in a while and have a good amount to confess, it helps me to write a list while doing my examination of conscience and bring that with me. I have a tendency to forget at least one or two of my sins once I start confessing, so a list can definitely help.
 
Gordon_Sims said:
If I haven’t been in a while and have a good amount to confess, it helps me to write a list while doing my examination of conscience and bring that with me. I have a tendency to forget at least one or two of my sins once I start confessing, so a list can definitely help.
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I’d have to write my list on a very long scroll!🤷
 
That reminds me of my 18 year general confession since the age of reason. It wasn’t a list, it was a book. Yet I still got through it in under 10 minutes. Flushing it down the toilet after was no easy task. The parish really needs to invest in toilets with Catholic strength flush. 😃
 
Just came from mass & reconciliation and actually had a list prepared in my pocket. I didn’t use it because usually my sins percolate right to my tongue…now if only I could spit out the Act of Contrition without fail I’d be a bit happier. When I’m home, or in my car, or wherever I am…no problem…when I’m confessing, oh no I can’t remember it to save myself.

My advice, bring a list if it helps you.
 
jreilly said:
Just came from mass & reconciliation and actually had a list prepared in my pocket. I didn’t use it because usually my sins percolate right to my tongue…now if only I could spit out the Act of Contrition without fail I’d be a bit happier. When I’m home, or in my car, or wherever I am…no problem…when I’m confessing, oh no I can’t remember it to save myself.

My advice, bring a list if it helps you.
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While the list is optional for me, my little prayer book is a necessity.
 
I was told by the Priest today that writing a list is the most scrupulous thing I can do, he told me to have a sense of humour…:confused:
 
I prefer to use my iConfess application on my phone that offers a password protection on the application’s profile I have set up. After I am done in the Confessional, I erase that profile as it walks me through the entire process from start to finish. Much easier than writing down what I need to say.

I did go to a Confessional that had a piece of paper by the kneeler with the act of Contrition on it. I know not everyone has it memorized, and I admit I am one of those people. I do make sure I use my iConfess application or bring my missal with the page marked with the prayer on it.
 
Christine85 said:
I was told by the Priest today that writing a list is the most scrupulous thing I can do, he told me to have a sense of humour…:confused:
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Ask him if he thinks St Francis de Sales is scrupulous.

It never ceases to amaze me what some priests will say. My list keeps me from babbling on and on nervously, and helps me to get in and out quickly and efficiently. There’s nothing funny about soul saving.
 
Christine85 said:
I was told by the Priest today that writing a list is the most scrupulous thing I can do, he told me to have a sense of humour…:confused:
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A priest told me that instead of confessing a whole bunch of sins I needed to simply work on my relationship with God “and all these things will be added unto you!”🤷
 
sometimes people are overly scrupulous and writing lists of every single thing could aid that… maybe that was the present case. I think generally it is not a bad idea, if you have trouble remembering everything it really can be helpful. If you are a person that tends to be overly scrupulous though writing lists could just be a way of encouraging that scrupulosity, its impossible to know without more information (which we have no right to btw) 🙂
 
As someone mentioned about St Francis de Sales- I picked up Introduction to the Devout Life after I had just happened to have a discussion with a friend about Confession, and amazingly I opened the book to the section about Confession which described how we should make good confessions even confessing venial sins if we can. I am a bit upset that the Priest called me Scrupulous and made out I was doing something wrong.
 
Deo_Gratias42 said:
Ask him if he thinks St Francis de Sales is scrupulous.

It never ceases to amaze me what some priests will say. My list keeps me from babbling on and on nervously, and helps me to get in and out quickly and efficiently. There’s nothing funny about soul saving.
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So harsh on our poor priests!

First of all there are many types of charisms and spirituality in the Church. What might work for St Francis de Sales might not fit everyone.

The priest, one assumes, has a lot more experience than anyone here in discerning particular issues a penitent migt have. He sensed that the OP should perhaps lighten up and maybe tended towards scrupulosity. Why would you second-guess him? I think many folks on this forum would benefit from that advice. I know I did.

It’s not in making detailed lists that we achieve true inner transformation, inner peace, and communion with God. Confession should be to help us achieve that transformation. It starts with acceptance of self, recognizing our true foibles and identifying the core issues that we hide behind our alter-ego. Confession should help us strip away our alter ego, and help is confront our true self in front of a mirror.

Then we can work on the process of healing and surpassing our true selves. I highly recommend a regular confessor and spiritual director (they don’t have to be the same person) to help the process along.

Believe me being liberated from our core issues is well worth it. I think instead making lists can lead to enslavement to scrupulosity and a vicious cycle of sin-confess-sin that becomes very hard to break.

I think rather that the priest is a wise and holy man. His advice should at least be considered.
 
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