Delay to clear up a possible sin in confession

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Vincit

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Hello.

There is something that I did that I thought it may be sinful, but I researched I little bit and concluded that it was probably not, but I was never 100% sure. Anyway, in my last several confessions I failed to mention it, to be sure about it. Recently it came back to me and I decide that in my next confession I will clear it up.

My question, however, is the following, failing to mention it earlier makes my past confessions sacrilegious and invalid? I never actively tried to withhold it, but I may have been a little imprudent having trusted my judgement in a matter that I couldn’t be 100% sure and not bringing to a priest before.
 
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Mortal sin has to be three things

Serious

You know it is serious sin

you do it on purpose.

Just talk to your priest about it.
 
Vincit said:
I never actively tried to withhold it, but I may have been a little imprudent having trusted my judgement in a matter that I couldn’t be 100% sure and not bringing to a priest before.
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Herein lies the answer to your question.

Mortal sin requires:
  • Grave Matter - and, even though it cannot be determined by your post, for the sake of argument let’s assume Grave Matter is involved.
  • Full Knowledge - again, based on your post, it seems you are uncertain, leaving one possibility that you did not have full knowledge of the sinfulness of whatever the act is you are worried about.
  • Willful Consent - If you did not have full knowledge, its doubtful that you intentionally committed a mortal sin.
Seems like at best you may have committed a venial sin, which you receive absolution for through a variety of means including attending Mass, reading scripture, receiving the Eucharist, et al.

But, if your conscience bothers you, and to eliminate all doubt, take this concern to the Lord in prayer, and raise the issue at your next confession.

Be at peace and rejoice in the Lord!
 
The possible sin in question is keeping intimate pictures of my wife, so it is kind of a continuous sin.
 
I am no expert on such matters. I think confession isn’t totally about asking for divine mercy. As a good priest always asks if you are ok ?

Sometimes what we think is a sin and troubles our very soul isn’t that big a deal in our Lords eyes.

I remember having similar issues. During Mass the Lord spoke to me, come to me as I already know what troubles you. Cleanse your thoughts so this can no longer trouble you and separate us.

I think the Lord loves us so much he doesn’t want us stressing over personal issues which we may think is sin. As this only causes more pain and division in a loving relationship with our Lord so to speak.

If the Lord stood before you as a human , I have no doubt he would say you are already free be at peace.

I think the real issue is when we let things divide us. This causes unrest which Satin loves.
 
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Vincit said:
The possible sin in question is keeping intimate pictures of my wife, so it is kind of a continuous sin.
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The same rules still apply: grave matter, full knowledge, and full consent. All three need to be fulfilled at the time the act occurs in order for it to be a mortal sin.

You really need to talk to your priest about this and let him help you form your conscience in regards to this issue.

Edit: and of course you can simply delete the pictures and move forward without having to worry about this sort of thing in the future. Your priest will help you sort out the past.
 
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Yes, I know. About the pictures I will do as told by the priest in my next confession. My worry is if having delayed this invalidate all my others confessions made between.
 
Vincit said:
My worry is if having delayed this invalidate all my others confessions made between.
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How could that possibly be the case if you weren’t sure it was a sin in the first place? Being unsure raises questions about full knowledge and full consent, doesn’t it?
 
Of course. But is not my obligation too clear up the soon as possible?
 
Vincit said:
Of course. But is not my obligation too clear up the soon as possible?
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If it is not a mortal sin it would at most be a venial sin, right? Venial sins do not require confession.

You may well want to bring this issue to confession to put your conscience at ease. You may even want to bring it to confession sooner rather than later so that you can be at peace about it.

You really need speak to your priest about this issue. He is responsible for guiding you. He will help you sort everything out.
 
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You might have formed your conscience incorrectly, but you have been acting in good faith. You didn’t fail to mention it. You decided in good faith not to mention it because you thought in good faith that what you were doing did not offend God. Making a mistake because you are still maturing in the formation of your conscience is not a sin.

Always remember this: Faults are different than sins. Holding on to a fault on purpose is a sin, but having an unrecognized fault that you don’t confess because you don’t recognize that you need to improve in that way is not a sin. If that invalidated a confession, what confession would ever be valid? We know that we’re all walking around with faults that we are oblivious to, even as our families and friends and everyone who knows us might joke about us all the time.

We are frail humans. We always need more mercy than we think we do, both from God and from all those who love us in spite of ourselves. We need to live with that. (A sense of humor really helps!)
 
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Go to Confession and tell the priest about it. Asking laypeople online about such things is possibly not the best thing to do, I think.
 
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