Did I invalidate my first confession?

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RCIAcollegeKID

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Tonight I went to the Sacrament of Reconcilliation for the first time. I had a LONG list of sins to confess, but, at the top were some dealing with masturbation, lust for members of both sexes, and one sexual act I committed with a man via Skype. Tonight, while confessing, I said that I had “been impure with myself many times,” that I had “had lustful thoughts about other people,” and that “I had committed an impure act with another person via Skype.” Since I did not specify that some of these acts were homosexual in nature (I intentionally was vague with him), does that mean that the Sacrament was invalidated? Or, since I did technically confess the sin, just not specifically, is the Confession valid?

Either way, I am speaking with the priest tomorrow morning about it.

In Christ
 
We are *obliged to confess all mortal sins in number *(now many–which may need to be an approximation if one does not know how many -one approximates according to what one does know…10-15x, few x, many x, around once a month for the last 2 years) and *kind (*fornication, masturbation, looking lustfully, murder) and that which changes the kind ( species) such as it was a chalice one stole --or it was your brother you murdered.

One does need to give the specific kind. Homosexual acts committed with a person (even long distance) are an example of such – they need to be confessed as such. Go to the same Priest perhaps if you can --such can be remedied in confession. Tell him what you omitted and if you knew what you were doing at the time or not… (if you thought you were making a complete and honest confession but the later afterwards realized this etc) The Priest can guide you.

Read this is from Jimmy Akin Catholic Answers Senior Apologist:jimmyakin.com/2007/03/specific_confes.html

Know that Jesus of Nazareth is the Good Shepherd and he loves you! In him is true life! Welcome as you come into full Communion with the Church! (I made mistakes in my first confessions long ago --and later learned that I had and corrected things – we all have had to learn various aspects as we go along…)
 
Bookcat said:
We are *obliged to confess all mortal sins in number *(now many–which may need to be an approximation if one does not know how many -one approximates according to what one does know…10-15x, few x, many x, around once a month for the last 2 years) and *kind (*fornication, masturbation, looking lustfully, murder) and that which changes the kind ( species) such as it was a chalice one stole --or it was your brother you murdered.

One does need to give the specific kind. Homosexual acts committed with a person (even long distance) are an example of such – they need to be confessed as such. Go to the same Priest perhaps if you can --such can be remedied in confession. Tell him what you omitted and if you knew what you were doing at the time or not… (if you thought you were making a complete and honest confession but the later afterwards realized this etc) The Priest can guide you.

Read this is from Jimmy Akin Catholic Answers Senior Apologist:jimmyakin.com/2007/03/specific_confes.html

Know that Jesus of Nazareth is the Good Shepherd and he loves you! In him is true life! Welcome as you come into full Communion with the Church! (I made mistakes in my first confessions long ago --and later learned that I had and corrected things – we all have had to learn various aspects as we go along…)
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How are fornication, masturbation, and looking lustfully different? It is all sexual sin.
 
RCIAcollegeKID said:
Tonight I went to the Sacrament of Reconcilliation for the first time. I had a LONG list of sins to confess, but, at the top were some dealing with masturbation, lust for members of both sexes, and one sexual act I committed with a man via Skype. Tonight, while confessing, I said that I had “been impure with myself many times,” that I had “had lustful thoughts about other people,” and that “I had committed an impure act with another person via Skype.” Since I did not specify that some of these acts were homosexual in nature (I intentionally was vague with him), does that mean that the Sacrament was invalidated? Or, since I did technically confess the sin, just not specifically, is the Confession valid?

Either way, I am speaking with the priest tomorrow morning about it.

In Christ
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As long as you were committed to acknowledge it in the first place and had forgotten certain details it is not necessary to come back again with it. Confession is more dealing with the hurt you have caused then towards what the sins committed are. I see from your list you are dealing with more sexual issues and this becomes for you your struggle now in what you are dealing with every day. Every day means you must be dealing with the temptation before it becomes sin. This is your weakness that needs to be dwelt with and this weakness is not your admission of sin. You seem well aware in knowing what your sins are. Since you are addressing this in Confession when you do sin then you need not to worry about it. If you need to address the priest for more counsel then please do so. It does not suffice or necessarily for you to give a complete account of everything during your confession. If the priest does want to know more in Confession he will always address you a question for his own understanding just in case he wants to help you or if you are need of his spiritual direction. If you feel the need to help you overcome your weaknesses in these areas then ask your priest for an appointment where both of you can talk it out.
 
You just need to tell the kind of sin (e.g. sexual sin) and number of sins. If you told every detail of each sin (time, location, what specifically was done, how you were feeling while doing these things, etc.) you’d be in there for a LONG time. And the point is to be forgiven of your sins, not to spend a whole day in the confessional. Especially since you’re not the only person who needs to confess and I’m sure the confessor has other things he needs to do that day besides hear confessions. 👍
 
RCIAcollegeKID said:
Tonight I went to the Sacrament of Reconcilliation for the first time. I had a LONG list of sins to confess, but, at the top were some dealing with masturbation, lust for members of both sexes, and one sexual act I committed with a man via Skype. Tonight, while confessing, I said that I had “been impure with myself many times,” that I had “had lustful thoughts about other people,” and that “I had committed an impure act with another person via Skype.” Since I did not specify that some of these acts were homosexual in nature (I intentionally was vague with him), does that mean that the Sacrament was invalidated? Or, since I did technically confess the sin, just not specifically, is the Confession valid?

Either way, I am speaking with the priest tomorrow morning about it.

In Christ
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It is good that you are speaking with a priest, however, please remember that not even all priests go by official Church dogma. If in doubt, check the CCC and or Catholic Encyclopedia.

Despite what many might tell you, it is in fact necessary to be specific about our mortal sins in the details that matter. For instance, that Skype detail was important. So is the fact that you did that with a member of the same sex. So is specifying the type of lust we will, unless it’s the typical kind of lust, which is for a person of the opposite sex with no twist (like fantasizing about an orgy for instance. Please don’t look that up if you don’t know what it is, save for on an online dictionary.)

The number is important too. If you can remember the exact number, you should confess that. If you don’t than say something like “a bunch of times,” or “about forty times.”

If you didn’t know that being as vague as you were was of grave matter than you will not have to confess this before receiving the Eucharist, assuming you have not and will not commit any other mortal sins before that time. The next time you confess though, you have to confess the necessary details on the sins that you left out. Certain sins are interwoven as it were, such as the ones relating to homosexual sins–in other words a two-in-one-sin.
 
From the replies, it seems, my fear has been confirmed- I think that I have invalidated the confession. Will or should the priest require that I confess everything over again from last night, or will it be enough to only bring up those things in which I was not as truthful as I should have been? (I will bring up that I was just too embarrased to actually tell him face-to-face, so I left out those details).

I am leaving for Mass in about an hour and a half.
 
silentfactor80 said:
How are fornication, masturbation, and looking lustfully different? It is all sexual sin.
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They are different species. For mortal sins (like that) one must give number and kind (species). One cannot just confess “lust” when it was fornication or “sexual sin” when it was fornication --one needs to get down to the actual kind -the species (one need not use the technical name --but one must get across what the sin was). Jimmy Akin’s link there can be helpful.
 
RCIAcollegeKID said:
From the replies, it seems, my fear has been confirmed- I think that I have invalidated the confession. Will or should the priest require that I confess everything over again from last night, or will it be enough to only bring up those things in which I was not as truthful as I should have been? (I will bring up that I was just too embarrased to actually tell him face-to-face, so I left out those details).

I am leaving for Mass in about an hour and a half.
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If I commit murder and adultery and go to confession and hid the murder --I commit a new sin to confess --and I would confess that I did that and then confess all the mortal sins again – the murder and the adultery (again) (with the numbers of course). And any other mortal sins committed since then (if any).

If the Priest remembers your confession – it may be possible if one invalidated it for one to confess what one did and provide the missing mortal sins (saying you accuse yourself of all those other sins).But I am not sure completely. The Priest can guide you. And again – tell him what you did and why --and if knowingly or thinking one was doing what was needful etc (it may be that was not invalid --see again Jimmy Akin’s link above)
 
I spoke with my priest this morning about the confession, confessed to him the hiding of the full nature of my sin, and asked him if the Sacrament was valid or not. He said that I should have mentioned that the sin was homosexual in nature, but, because I had confessed the sin last night, albeit not completely, the absolution was valid. He did confer absolution again without having me confess everything once more … I feel so clean!

Glory and Praise to You, Word of God, Lord Jesus Christ!
 
RCIAcollegeKID said:
Tonight I went to the Sacrament of Reconcilliation for the first time. I had a LONG list of sins to confess, but, at the top were some dealing with masturbation, lust for members of both sexes, and one sexual act I committed with a man via Skype. Tonight, while confessing, I said that I had “been impure with myself many times,” that I had “had lustful thoughts about other people,” and that “I had committed an impure act with another person via Skype.” Since I did not specify that some of these acts were homosexual in nature (I intentionally was vague with him), does that mean that the Sacrament was invalidated? Or, since I did technically confess the sin, just not specifically, is the Confession valid?

Either way, I am speaking with the priest tomorrow morning about it.

In Christ
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No, the confession is valid if you had no intention to omit information. You can go back, and confess the homosexual nature of the sins in your next confession. Don’t fret if it takes many trips to get it right, I honestly think I’m still working on cleaning up my long life without confession. Its enough to make you wish you hadn’t been baptised 😉
 
RCIAcollegeKID said:
I spoke with my priest this morning about the confession, confessed to him the hiding of the full nature of my sin, and asked him if the Sacrament was valid or not. He said that I should have mentioned that the sin was homosexual in nature, but, because I had confessed the sin last night, albeit not completely, the absolution was valid. He did confer absolution again without having me confess everything once more … I feel so clean!

Glory and Praise to You, Word of God, Lord Jesus Christ!
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Good for you, and don’t beat yourself up to much over this. Try your best, and make Confession a regular activity. We all will slip up, it just matters that we keep coming back to Christ in the sacraments.

God bless and welcome home!
 
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