Do I need to count the number of instances of sins for confession?

  • Thread starter Thread starter soulhunter182
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
S

soulhunter182

Guest
Hi, I went to confession previously, and I usually follow this format:

Forgive me father for I have sinned, my last confession was ______.
I’m a single man, and my sins are:

I’ve comitted, ________, xx times,
etc.

Then at confession the priest told me that there is no need to count the number of instances for the sins that I’d comitted and that he didn’t want me to take confession lightly. And I don’t need to confess venial sins, and I should go to confession atleast 5 times a year. He asked me why i go to confession that frequent-i use to go 2x a week, or when ever i think i’ve committed a mortal sin-so told him that i just want my soul to be clean or free from any sin or any serious sin. I kinda felt awkward and weird, like I was an alien or something, or like im telling him a fairytale.

Is the priest correct?
Is there a cannon that states the frequency of confession? or a format on how we should go, or make a good confession?
should I not confess venial sins?

please help me out. Thank you. :confused:
 
no, not for that particular priest. When you go to confession with him, follow the counsel he has given you on what to confess, how to confess it, and how often to confess it, and avoid the tempation of rehashing your confession with third parties.
 
I have never heard anyone say what that priest said. Find a new priest!
 
I was actually never taught to count the number of sins (and that would personally be very hard for me) and have never been corrected by a priest or told to hold confession in a different way. 🤷
 
soulhunter182 said:
Hi, I went to confession previously, and I usually follow this format:

Forgive me father for I have sinned, my last confession was ______.
I’m a single man, and my sins are:

I’ve comitted, ________, xx times,
etc.

Then at confession the priest told me that there is no need to count the number of instances for the sins that I’d comitted and that he didn’t want me to take confession lightly. And I don’t need to confess venial sins, and I should go to confession atleast 5 times a year. He asked me why i go to confession that frequent-i use to go 2x a week, or when ever i think i’ve committed a mortal sin-so told him that i just want my soul to be clean or free from any sin or any serious sin. I kinda felt awkward and weird, like I was an alien or something, or like im telling him a fairytale.

Is the priest correct?
Is there a cannon that states the frequency of confession? or a format on how we should go, or make a good confession?
should I not confess venial sins?

please help me out. Thank you. :confused:
Click to expand...
It’s difficult to give any specific advice here though, as Puzzleannie says above, you should follow your confessors guidance in these matters. Confessing 2x a week does seem a bit excessive.

I suggest that you read THIS SECTION of the Catechism for further information
 
soulhunter182 said:
Hi, I went to confession previously, and I usually follow this format:

Forgive me father for I have sinned, my last confession was ______.
I’m a single man, and my sins are:

I’ve comitted, ________, xx times,
etc.

Then at confession the priest told me that there is no need to count the number of instances for the sins that I’d comitted and that he didn’t want me to take confession lightly. And I don’t need to confess venial sins, and I should go to confession atleast 5 times a year. He asked me why i go to confession that frequent-i use to go 2x a week, or when ever i think i’ve committed a mortal sin-so told him that i just want my soul to be clean or free from any sin or any serious sin. I kinda felt awkward and weird, like I was an alien or something, or like im telling him a fairytale.

Is the priest correct?
Is there a cannon that states the frequency of confession? or a format on how we should go, or make a good confession?
should I not confess venial sins?

please help me out. Thank you. :confused:
Click to expand...
Basically I think you can follow the advice of the priest. Regarding venial sins - confess any you feel as such provided your conscience informs you that they are in fact minor sins and that you would feel uncomfortable if you went away without mentioning them.
 
soulhunter182 said:
ThereWasADream;8597525:
I have never heard anyone say what that priest said. Find a new priest!
Click to expand...
Thanks man i will 😃
Click to expand...
I agree with the others who are recommending that you follow this priest’s direction. Or, at least, please give it serious consideration. We can’t advise you strongly one way or another though.
 
Hi Guys, in connection with my previous post, I found this canon:

Can. 988 §1 The faithful are bound to confess, in kind and in number, all grave sins committed after baptism, of which after careful examination of conscience they are aware, which have nor yet been directly pardoned by the keys of the Church, and which have not been confessed in an individual confession.
§2 The faithful are recommended to confess also venial sins.

Need help in interpreting, does this mean that for all mortal sins committed, we must state the sin and the number of occurance? like for example: “I’ve committed, _________, xx times”
is it? :confused:
 
soulhunter182 said:
Hi Guys, in connection with my previous post, I found this canon:

Can. 988 §1 The faithful are bound to confess, in kind and in number, all grave sins committed after baptism, of which after careful examination of conscience they are aware, which have nor yet been directly pardoned by the keys of the Church, and which have not been confessed in an individual confession.
§2 The faithful are recommended to confess also venial sins.

**Need help in interpreting, does this mean that for all mortal sins committed, we must state the sin and the number of occurance? like for example: “I’ve committed, _________, xx times”
is it? **:confused:
Click to expand...
Well done following the reference, and finding the relevant canon, and putting it into your own words! 🙂

Yes, your interpretation is quite correct. Mortal sins must be confessed as you’ve described. Sometimes the number does not have to be an exact number, such as “4” or “19”, but, can be, for example, “two or three times a week, for the last month”. The intention is to communicate in a normal manner with the priest, and hence God, and not to provide a “laundry list”. If your statement of the number is inadequate, then the priest will (or should) tell you - it’s his responsibility to ensure that the form of the confession is valid.

I trust that you can work out for yourself how this applies to the advice your received which was the subject of your first post. It might invalidate the priest’s advice, or it might confirm it.
 
soulhunter182 said:
Hi Guys, in connection with my previous post, I found this canon:

Can. 988 §1 The faithful are bound to confess, in kind and in number, all grave sins committed after baptism, of which after careful examination of conscience they are aware, which have nor yet been directly pardoned by the keys of the Church, and which have not been confessed in an individual confession.
§2 The faithful are recommended to confess also venial sins.

Need help in interpreting, does this mean that for all mortal sins committed, we must state the sin and the number of occurance? like for example: “I’ve committed, _________, xx times”
is it? :confused:
Click to expand...
Correct. I accuse myself of murder 3x, adultery 4, lustful thoughts 1x, Perjury 2x

(and the circumstance that changes the mortal sin…like it was your BROTHER you murdered)

God forgives the forgotten ones too (we need of course to be sorry at the time for all our mortal sins…and amended)…then if we later remember one we forgot…we are to confess it in the next confession after we remember it. (this is different from if we intentionally hide a mortal sin…that is a sacrilege and one is not forgiven but has another sin)

Also we may not know the numbers …we do what we can…and if we do not know…we make an approximation…3-5x, 5-10 a month for the last 20 years, somewhere around 50 times, around 10x, or even if needed “many times”, “many many times” etc

(venial sins if confessed directly…do not need numbers…)
 
soulhunter182 said:
Hi, I went to confession previously, and I usually follow this format:

Forgive me father for I have sinned, my last confession was ______.
I’m a single man, and my sins are:

I’ve comitted, ________, xx times,
etc.

Then at confession the priest told me that there is no need to count the number of instances for the sins that I’d comitted and that he didn’t want me to take confession lightly. And I don’t need to confess venial sins, and I should go to confession atleast 5 times a year. He asked me why i go to confession that frequent-i use to go 2x a week, or when ever i think i’ve committed a mortal sin-so told him that i just want my soul to be clean or free from any sin or any serious sin. I kinda felt awkward and weird, like I was an alien or something, or like im telling him a fairytale.

Is the priest correct?
Is there a cannon that states the frequency of confession? or a format on how we should go, or make a good confession?
should I not confess venial sins?

please help me out. Thank you. :confused:
Click to expand...
Maybe you are scrupulous and the priest is trying to help you.
 
soulhunter182 said:
Thanks man i will 😃
Click to expand...
there is no necessity for finding a new priest and no poster here is competent to criticize or overrule the counsel you received from a priest in confession. Only he knows your situation and he will ask for more information if he needs it.
 
puzzleannie said:
he will ask for more information if he needs it.
Click to expand...
We are obliged to confess all mortal sins in number and kind.

Yes the Priest can ask questions but he may not know to ask if one does not give them number…he will assume it was 1 each.

Confession is “confession” where we accuse ourselves of all our mortal sins in number and kind…(etc)…it is not interrogation.
 
In Clochemerle by Gabriel Cevallier, the Parish Priests of two neighbouring villages used to meet up once a week to share a bottle of wine and hear each other’s confessions. One asked “What will we do when we get to old to travel?” the other replied, “We’ll send each other telegrams”.
Much later in the story when the Parish Priest of Clochmerle had become old and saintly, a telegram arrived. It read “usual plus 2”.
 
puzzleannie said:
there is no necessity for finding a new priest and no poster here is competent to criticize or overrule the counsel you received from a priest in confession. Only he knows your situation and he will ask for more information if he needs it.
Click to expand...
I don’t feel comfortable confessing to that priest actually. That is why, until now I am hesitating to come back for confession. I don’t know Im actually a bit afraid of confession now these days bec. of that. I just don’t understand it all. Shouldn’t all the priest know and follow the canon about confession? I mean, he did tell me that there is no need for me to count my sins when going to confession, but the canon states that we must. I really don’t know, I mean, I wanna go back to confession, but Im afraid that I might get the same priest. Incase I do, if I follow my old format, he might remember me or he might advise me again the same thing that I should not count my sins. If I still continued conting my sins, wouldn’t I had disobeyed the priest’s advise in confession? wouldn’t i had committed a more serious sin? I really don’t know and I don’t know where to get these answers from.
 
soulhunter182 said:
I don’t feel comfortable confessing to that priest actually. That is why, until now I am hesitating to come back for confession. I don’t know Im actually a bit afraid of confession now these days bec. of that. I just don’t understand it all. Shouldn’t all the priest know and follow the canon about confession? I mean, he did tell me that there is no need for me to count my sins when going to confession, but the canon states that we must. I really don’t know, I mean, I wanna go back to confession, but Im afraid that I might get the same priest. Incase I do, if I follow my old format, he might remember me or he might advise me again the same thing that I should not count my sins. If I still continued conting my sins, wouldn’t I had disobeyed the priest’s advise in confession? wouldn’t i had committed a more serious sin? I really don’t know and I don’t know where to get these answers from.
Click to expand...
Advice need not always be followed…

You can go see another Priest. For any mortal sins yes give number and kind. If they are venial-- no need.

If you do struggle with scruples get a “regular confessor”…and work with him on any scruples.

(If I can be of any help feel free to pm.)
 
Bookcat said:
Advice need not always be followed…

You can go see another Priest. For any mortal sins yes give number and kind. If they are venial-- no need.

If you do struggle with scruples get a “regular confessor”…and work with him on any scruples.

(If I can be of any help feel free to pm.)
Click to expand...
Good one, thanks for the advice bro.:D:D i think i’ll ge a confessor.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top