Confession....

[josephback]

So I made my first Confession this Saturday. I guess I had imperfect contrition at best or maybe I just didn’t have an enveloping fear of hell. That can seem like remorse. The reason I say this is that I remembered a few things afterward that I forgot to confess. Do I just go back and confess them, even if I don’t feel an overpowering emotion about them? I certainly don’t intend to do them again, but I’m just so used to the overriding fear of hell that when it’s absent I get slack on things. What do you think?

 

[Joe_5859]

So I made my first Confession this Saturday. I guess I had imperfect contrition at best or maybe I just didn’t have an enveloping fear of hell. That can seem like remorse. The reason I say this is that I remembered a few things afterward that I forgot to confess. Do I just go back and confess them, even if I don’t feel an overpowering emotion about them? I certainly don’t intend to do them again, but I’m just so used to the overriding fear of hell that when it’s absent I get slack on things. What do you think?

First of all, congrats on your first Confession and welcome to CAF! God’s grace and forgiveness is an awesome thing!

Especially seeing as how this was your first Confession, it is very understandable that you would forget a few things. As much as we prepare ahead of time, forgetting things is something that happens to all of us from time to time!

So long as you did not deliberately fail to confess mortal sins, you are in good shape. Your Confession is valid and your sins (even those you forgot to confess) are still forgiven.

That said, if the sins you forgot are mortal sins, you should make the effort to mention them in your next Confession. Not that those sins aren’t already forgiven – they are – but it’s a good habit to get into. If you have any doubts as to whether a sin is mortal or not, it never hurts to bring it up just in case (unless you suffer from scrupulosity) and even seek clarification from the priest in that regard.

Also, although emotion can be associated with the Sacrament of Reconciliation, it is not necessarily so. We don’t have to feel forgiven or even feel sorry in order to go to Confession and receive those great graces. It is enough to know that we have done something wrong and have that firm intention not to sin again.

Again, welcome and congratulations.

EDIT: I just thought of one more thing. Most of us only have imperfect contrition when we approach the Sacrament of Reconciliation (and fear of hell is a form of imperfect contrition – perfect contrition means being sorry solely because we have offended God). However, imperfect contrition is enough when we use the Sacrament. Perfect contrition can take away our sins in the absence of the Sacrament, but that is not the situation the vast majority of us find ourselves in. So don’t feel bad if your contrition was imperfect.

 

[froggie45]

So I made my first Confession this Saturday. I guess I had imperfect contrition at best or maybe I just didn’t have an enveloping fear of hell. That can seem like remorse. The reason I say this is that I remembered a few things afterward that I forgot to confess. Do I just go back and confess them, even if I don’t feel an overpowering emotion about them? I certainly don’t intend to do them again, but I’m just so used to the overriding fear of hell that when it’s absent I get slack on things. What do you think?

i think it’s good you go to confession, as long as you don’t do like me: lying to the priest instead of confessing your sins. i think you’re safe of hell’s fires…

 

[Bookcat]

So I made my first Confession this Saturday. I guess I had imperfect contrition at best or maybe I just didn’t have an enveloping fear of hell. That can seem like remorse. The reason I say this is that I remembered a few things afterward that I forgot to confess. Do I just go back and confess them, even if I don’t feel an overpowering emotion about them? I certainly don’t intend to do them again, but I’m just so used to the overriding fear of hell that when it’s absent I get slack on things. What do you think?

Emotion is not required per se for contrition…

as to confession …if they were mortal one is obliged to confess them in the next confession

(they were forgotten…not hidden…that would be different story…that would be a further problem requiring the re confessing of the other mortal sins and that sin and the fact that one hid it…)

 

[josephback]

Thanks everybody!

 

[LaFleurDeLis]

I did the same thing during my first confession. Though none of the sins I forgot were mortal, I forgot a lot of venial sins. I just plan on confessing them the next time I go to confession. I know they’re already forgiven, I just feel it would be best to confront them fully to my priest. The feeling after confession is euphoric, so I don’t want to be thinking on old sins instead of rifding that wave!

Congrats on your first confession!

 

[josephback]

I have since learned through this forum that you’re not supposed to make use of Confession until you’ve been well catechized. I start RCIA next week. I don’t get the reason for the wait like I do the Communion rule. Do any of you?

 

[mariafransisca1]

Oh I do that too…

But I just say in my mind, Oh, I’ll go back and confess these sins that I forget in the next confession.

Go to confession frequently, at least every fortnight

But you should make preparations before you go to confession, at least say 1 hail mary and ask mother mary’s help, so that we can confess with perfect sorrow for our sins, and confess as though it be the last time we confess.

That’s what St. Gemma Galgani did, to make every confession and communion as if they were the last

www.stgemmagalgani.com

 

[Joe_5859]

I have since learned through this forum that you’re not supposed to make use of Confession until you’ve been well catechized. I start RCIA next week. I don’t get the reason for the wait like I do the Communion rule. Do any of you?

Have you been baptized yet? Baptism is the “gateway” to the other sacraments, so one cannot go to Confession (or any other sacrament) until after they have been baptized.

 

[puzzleannie]

So I made my first Confession this Saturday. I guess I had imperfect contrition at best or maybe I just didn’t have an enveloping fear of hell. That can seem like remorse. The reason I say this is that I remembered a few things afterward that I forgot to confess. Do I just go back and confess them, even if I don’t feel an overpowering emotion about them? I certainly don’t intend to do them again, but I’m just so used to the overriding fear of hell that when it’s absent I get slack on things. What do you think?

the emotion is irrelevant, that is why the expression of one’s sorrow for sin is called the “act of contrition” not the “emotion of contrition”. It is an act of will that acknowledges the sin and the offense against God and one’s neighbor and expresses the desire for repentence on that basis. If you intended to confess every mortal sin and did your best to recall and confess them, you have been absolved, even of those you forgot to mention. The fact that you recalled them later simply means you need practice in examining your conscience. If you get in the habit of doing that briefly before you retire, that problem will go away.