I just came back to the Church after being away some 38 years, so you can imagine what my first confession was like. There is no way you can enumerate your sins as you do when you go to confession on a regular basis, unless you’re sure you know exactly how many times you did something. So just confess it as best you can, and when the priest hears how long it’s been since your last confession, he will totally understand, as, most importantly, God will.
One thing, be sure to go to a priest who you know is very devout and committed to the Church. I was very careful about the first priest I went to, and therefore I had a very good confession, one in which there was no doubt in my mind that the Holy Spirit was in the confessional with me. The second time Iwent to confession I wasn’t as choosy about the priest, and he basically pooh poohed everything I told him as not being that bad, and when I said I felt I needed to heat up my prayer life with things such as the Rosary, he told me that the Rosary is just repeating the same thing over and over, and just concentrate on talking to God.
Pray about it before you actually go. One thing I can tell, after my first confession last month, was the way I felt afterwards. It was like all the anger and all the negative feelings I had been carrying inside of me for many years was just gone. We don’t realize what a horrible burden sin is in our lives. Truly, truly amazing.
God bless you.
Mary