Do I need to confess really old sins that I have recently remembered?

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SueKrum

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I strayed away from the Church for a long time. when I came back, I made (what I thought at the time) a perfect confession. I tried to confess all the mortal sins that I commited in my youth. the next morning, a group I was in said a rosery in the presence of the blessed sacrament for the intentions of the Pope. our priest told us that this is a (forgive the spelling here) a plenerary indulgance. meaning that because we had made a confession less than a week before and had said a rosery for the intentions of the pope during adoration, all our sins were washed away and if we died right there, we would go streight to heaven. (we wouldn’t have to spend any time in purgatory because our souls were cleansed)

Maybe it’s the devil bothering me, but recently, I have remembered things that I had forgotten all about for years and years. do I need to confess them? if God granted me the indulgance back than and two more since, than does it really matter any more? I have been spiritually healed from these sins and have long since repented of them. any thoughts?
 
If it is bothering you enough to post it, I would mention it in your next confession. Theres no harm there and then you will have assurance. The priest will understand and I’m sure it won’t be the first time he will have heard something like that. Pax!
 
I believe the Church teaches that if you confess all mortal sins you can remember (with the intention of confessing all of them) then you ARE forgiven for all of them. However if at a later time you remember another mortal sin you are expected to mention it the next time you go to confession. Now if it’s just a matter of some general sin and you didn’t quite get the number of times down right I don’t think that’s a problem.

I believe indulgences do not result in the forgiveness of the guilt for the sin but rather for forgiveness of the punishment due for the sin. I know it’s a fine distinction but it still exists. So your sins were forgiven as a result of confessing them not as a result of the indulgence.

So, since this is still bothering you I’d mention it to your priest the next time you do go to confession. Even if it should turn out that it wasn’t really necessary to confess the sins to be forgiven you may be in need of whatever spiritual guidance the priest can offer you as a result of mentioning them.
 
I’d mention them - no harm. Maybe it’s the Holy Spirit working in you to remind you of a few things He sees as worthy of confessing to bring you closer to God.
 
Glad you posted this. I have another question related to this. Should you not receive Holy Communion until you do go back and confess?
 
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SueKrum:
our priest told us that this is a (forgive the spelling here) a plenerary indulgance. meaning that because we had made a confession less than a week before and had said a rosery for the intentions of the pope during adoration, all our sins were washed away and if we died right there, we would go streight to heaven. (we wouldn’t have to spend any time in purgatory because our souls were cleansed)
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What your priest might not have mentioned or explained, or maybe he did, but one of the conditions for a plenary indulgence is that you are completely detached from sin. This includes venial sin as well as mortal sin This is what makes a plenary indulgence difficult because most of us are still attached to sin in some way or another. If you are not completely detached from sin, the indulgence only becomes a partial indulgence.

Indulgences remove the temporal punishment of sin(time spent in purgatory). Only the sacraments of Confession and Annointing of the Sick can take away the eternal punishment of sin. A partial indulgence only removes some of the temporal punishment while plenary indulgences remove temporal punishment completely.

If you are remembering sins of the past you still need to confess them if they are mortal. Once again indulgences do not remove the eternal punishment of sin, only temporal punishment.

God Bless,
Matt
 
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Monica37:
Glad you posted this. I have another question related to this. Should you not receive Holy Communion until you do go back and confess?
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Monica,
If you remember a sin from your past which you forgot to confess by accident or maybe it had been so long that you completely forgot about it you are still able to receive communion, however, you should confess that sin at your next confession. If you intentially withhold a serious sin in the confessional, that is a mortal sin and you should not receive communion until you have confessed that. Hope this helps.

God Bless,
Matt
 
Marty1818, thanks, that helps a lot. I have not received because of that. I am not a big fan of confession, but feel terrible when I can’t receive. I thought it would be best to err on the side of caution. Thanks again
 
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Monica37:
Glad you posted this. I have another question related to this. Should you not receive Holy Communion until you do go back and confess?
Click to expand...
The forgotten sins have already been forgiven- they just need to be mentioned if they are mortal sins. So, a person who has honestly forgotten a mortal sin (I’ve done this- forgotten an old, old sin), as the sin has already been forgiven, can receive. That person just needs to mention it next time in regular confession.

These links help with this type of question:

catholicparents.org/oxcart/examination.html
frpat.com/examen.htm
ewtn.com/vexperts/showresult.asp?RecNum=456605&Forums=0&Experts=0&Days=2005&Author=&Keyword=mortal+sin&pgnu=1&groupnum=0&record_bookmark=9&ORDER_BY_TXT=ORDER+BY+ID+DESC&start_at=
ewtn.com/vexperts/showresult.asp?RecNum=456472&Forums=0&Experts=0&Days=2005&Author=&Keyword=mortal+sin&pgnu=1&groupnum=0&record_bookmark=14&ORDER_BY_TXT=ORDER+BY+ID+DESC&start_at=
forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=87855&highlight=forget+mortal
 
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SueKrum:
I strayed away from the Church for a long time. when I came back, I made (what I thought at the time) a perfect confession. I tried to confess all the mortal sins that I commited in my youth. the next morning, a group I was in said a rosery in the presence of the blessed sacrament for the intentions of the Pope. our priest told us that this is a (forgive the spelling here) a plenerary indulgance. meaning that because we had made a confession less than a week before and had said a rosery for the intentions of the pope during adoration, all our sins were washed away and if we died right there, we would go streight to heaven. (we wouldn’t have to spend any time in purgatory because our souls were cleansed)

Maybe it’s the devil bothering me, but recently, I have remembered things that I had forgotten all about for years and years. do I need to confess them? if God granted me the indulgance back than and two more since, than does it really matter any more? I have been spiritually healed from these sins and have long since repented of them. any thoughts?
Click to expand...
A Plenary Indulgence eliminates only the Temporal punishment associated with sins of the past that have already been forgiven. It does not forgive the mortal sins. That means mortal sins that were forgiven in the Sacrament of Reconciliation within seven days of attempting to gain the Indulgence.
 
The forgotten sins have already been forgiven- they just need to be mentioned if they are mortal sins. So, a person who has honestly forgotten a mortal sin
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This doesn’t bind under sin though. In other words, if you honestly forget a sin, you should mention it if it is bother you, but I don’t believe your under any obligation to so…
 
If you forget to confess a mortal sin you are obligated to confess it next time you go to confession.
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My point is that I don’t think it is a mortal sin to not mention a sin that you forgot to confess. I could be wrong though.
 
Sue Krum,
I read your post. Welcome Back! I have been plagued with the same thoughts and feelings as you. I went for some time without confessing, being very indifferent for a long time. When I did come back with a fervor I suffered the same as you. My confessor told me this, All my sins of the past are forgiven, BUT if I am having trouble with some sin, say fornication, from the past then I can confess it again at the end of my confession…something like this…after you have said your sins then say and for the past sins of … which I have confessed I am truly sorry. Or you can say …and for any sins which I have forgotten I am truly sorry.
I have started doing this and the guilt and shame of the sins have been lifted.
I hope you continue to find peace in this beautiful sacrament. Again, welcome home.
 
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