Did I Botch My Confession?

[ConfirmaMe]

I have made some drastic spiritual transformations as of late, by the Grace of God and continually confessing the same habitual sins until I was disgusted by them. I realized during a prayer, last night, that all this time I had been overlooking a mortal sin that basically negated all my confessions from the last 15 mos, including a general confession I had made. I remedied the issue this morning, then went to confession before 6pm mass to talk to the priest about it and see what I needed to do. He had me do a general confession all over again…which was fine by me…I want it all out there and dealt with. I had anticipated him saying that, so I had a list. Well, the confessional doors didn’t have glass (new construction) so we had to be super quiet and there were people waiting, I had a lot to say etc… He absolved me, gave me my penance, and sent me on my way. No sooner did I leave and I remembered a WHOPPER. For about 11 years, I Ieft the church. That implies all kinds of mortal sin, starting with missing Sunday masses, and downhill from there. It’s not that I forgot this sin, it was on my list, but it was dark, and rushed, and I didn’t get to it. I thought I had hit all the “major things.” What does one do in this case? Do I have to make a general confession all over again? This wasn’t my normal parish or priest. Do I need to go back TO HIM? Or can I tell my regular priest what happened and just address that one issue? I’m afraid that I’m not absolved for some reason. Thoughts??

Thank you!!

 

[notsmart]

Can’t you just in the meantime ask God for forgiveness, and then as soon as you are able to, get to any priest and give a confession as soon as you can even if you call to schedule a private confession?
I never heard about having to go to confession with any one particular priest unless you are a member of a spiritual community where they prefer you do?

 

[ConfirmaMe]

I just wasn’t sure if I should go back to him because he already heard the rest; whereas, a new/different priest may want me to take it from the top and repeat it all again…a third time (total).

 

[LilyM]

On my understanding it’s only deliberate witholding of a mortal sin in the confessional that renders the confession invalid.

Your intent was, as you said, to mention all of your mortal sins. Presumably if you’d noticed it on your list or remembered it you would’ve mentioned it, and that intent is what is necessary for a good confession.

Now confession is NOT meant to be a test of how perfect your memory is - or how well you can read under pressure and in the dark rather it’s simply about telling God you’re sorry - he knows that you’re sorry for being away from the Church too, even if being human you forgot, in the confessional, to mention it.

 

[muffinmojo]

Nope. It’s totally fine, all you need to do is wait until the next scheduled confession time, go in, and whichever priest it is, say ‘I made a confession omitting the sins of leaving the Church, missing sunday Mass and holy days, etc etc’ or something along those lines. If it is the original priest say ‘last time I forgot x because of the rush and the construction’ or what have you. If it’s a different priest, no need.

If he asks why you omitted it, just say I forgot(as that is the truth).

It’s not a problem.

 

[notsmart]

This was a good learning experience for me too, thank you OP, and LilyM.

I was fairly certian that one can’t be in danger when it was not the intent of the person to leave anything out.

This makes it a lot easier to prepare for that first big one.

 

[LilyM]

Nope. It’s totally fine, all you need to do is wait until the next scheduled confession time, go in, and whichever priest it is, say ‘I made a confession omitting the sins of leaving the Church, missing sunday Mass and holy days, etc etc’ or something along those lines. If it is the original priest say ‘last time I forgot x because of the rush and the construction’ or what have you. If it’s a different priest, no need.

If he asks why you omitted it, just say I forgot(as that is the truth).

It’s not a problem.

Muffin, yes it’s our obligation to mention it next time, as a sign of our sincere resolve to reform.

For clarity’s sake, though, it must be pointed out that that does NOT mean you weren’t forgiven of ALL sins, mentioned or honestly and unintentionally not mentioned, in the first confession.

So you ARE good to receive Communion in the meantime, and you HAVE been forgiven.

 

[ConfirmaMe]

Thank you. I’m in the middle of a Novena to St. Jude regarding my final divorce hearing (13 years of invalid marriage). The hearing is next Monday (the 17th). I was taken back when I realized that I am doing this novena and not technically in a state of grace. So I desperately wanted to rectify that today. Then, when this happened, I was just really frustrated with myself. I drove across town in rush hour to get to the one church that had Wed night confession, and I forgot this huge thing.

Incidentally, the novena is for clairty of God’s will. I know that God can convert someone in the blink of an eye if he wants to. So my novena is that, whether a feeling of peace about seeking annulment, or a heavy hitting sign to step back, I merely want him to clarify his will for me in this matter…before it’s too late. Today is day 5.

Thank you all so much for your feedback. I will make it to confession tomorrow night at 7 and clear this up.

 

[LilyM]

Thank you. I’m in the middle of a Novena to St. Jude regarding my final divorce hearing (13 years of invalid marriage). The hearing is next Monday (the 17th). I was taken back when I realized that I am doing this novena and not technically in a state of grace. So I desperately wanted to rectify that today. Then, when this happened, I was just really frustrated with myself. I drove across town in rush hour to get to the one church that had Wed night confession, and I forgot this huge thing.

Incidentally, the novena is for clairty of God’s will. I know that God can convert someone in the blink of an eye if he wants to. So my novena is that, whether a feeling of peace about seeking annulment, or a heavy hitting sign to step back, I merely want him to clarify his will for me in this matter…before it’s too late. Today is day 5.

Thank you all so much for your feedback. I will make it to confession tomorrow night at 7 and clear this up.

Mate, you made a good valid confession and were absolved of all your sins, including the not going to church. So relax and be at peace.

You don’t need to specially go back tomorrow night. Just mention it the next time you’d ordinarily confess, and tell the priest you forgot.

 

[ConfirmaMe]

Amazing sacrament, isn’t it…

If I think about it too long, it’s overwhelming.

 

[LilyM]

Amazing sacrament, isn’t it…

If I think about it too long, it’s overwhelming.

Indeed … when I think about all the loving acts of human forgiveness that I’ve witnessed and been part of, and then think how infinitely greater must be God’s, it IS overwhelming.

 

[DJgang]

Amazing sacrament, isn’t it…

If I think about it too long, it’s overwhelming.

Yes! So true!

I went yesterday and it is so amazing how much calmer I am today and at peace.

Thanks for this thread, I’m sure that lots of people have benefited from it.

Dana