Did I make a bad confession?

[timeandeternity]

The other day I went to confession and as I was reciting the act of contrition I remembered a sin that I had committed that may have been mortal. I thought of mentioning it before the priest said the absolution but decided not to do so, even though I was wondering at the time whether I was making a bad confession by not confessing the sin. Did I make a bad confession?

 

[Aelred_Minor]

The other day I went to confession and as I was reciting the act of contrition I remembered a sin that I had committed that may have been mortal. I thought of mentioning it before the priest said the absolution but decided not to do so, even though I was wondering at the time whether I was making a bad confession by not confessing the sin. Did I make a bad confession?

I did almost the exact same thing once, except I remembered the sin as the priest was actually saying the words leading up to the absolution. I went home wondering the same thing you are wondering, and went back to confession soon, told the priest what had happened, confessed that sin and for good measure the sins I had already confessed the time before, and he gave me absolution. He never gave me a straight answer about whether I had needed to confess everything again, but he let me do so and gave me an absolution I could feel confident about.

 

[JaredR]

I don’t think you made a bad confession. In those situations it is difficult to think on your feet. The fact that you didn’t make a snap decision to interrupt the priest should not “ruin” the confession. Be sure to confess the sin soon, of course.

 

[divinefaith]

I don’t think you made a bad confession. In those situations it is difficult to think on your feet. The fact that you didn’t make a snap decision to interrupt the priest should not “ruin” the confession. Be sure to confess the sin soon, of course.

If you couldnt think too quickly then i doubt you fully consented to leaving out the sin.

 

[divinefaith]

At least thats what other posters on these forums say when it comes to determining whether or not a sin is mortal based on consent.

 

[Gordon_Sims]

Before my last confession I did a complete examination of my conscience and typed up a list of everything I needed to confess. One of the big ones at the top of the list was receiving Communion without having first confessed some mortal sins. I was never told that was a mortal sin growing up, so I’m still getting used to having to confess it. Anyway, I printed off my list, folded it up so that it would fit in my wallet, then promptly forgot to put it in my wallet and left it sitting next to my monitor. At confession, I got through everything and as the priest was finishing up his absolution I realized that I’d forgotten to mention the whole Communion thing. The priest noticed me turning beet red and paused for a second. I interrupted him, apologized and told him that I’d forgotten to mention it. He told me that God loves me and is all-forgiving, that it was still a valid confession and to not worry about it.

 

[timeandeternity]

Gordon, your priest was probably right. You didn’t remember until the absolution was practically over. In my case, however, I had just started the act of contrition–the priest hadn’t even said anything yet.