Does Absolution cover the sins I intentionally withheld?

[gms2]

I’d like clarification on this point please - allow me to first state my understanding of my responsibility in the confessional: when I’m at confession - I must confess all mortal sins I’m aware of without holding anything back in order for the Absolution I receive from the priest to be valid. If, after leaving the confessional I recall something I intended to say, but forgot to mention while in there - that is covered too.

At my church we have Saturday confession in the morning and afternoon. This past weeked I went to morning confession and saw a priest who’s new to me; I didn’t feel comfortable with him and intentionally held back all I should have said thinking to myself I would come back later in the afternoon and meet with the priest I normally see so I could worthily receive communion at Mass Sunday morning. To my surprise we had a different visiting priest in the afternoon, but not the same one who I’d met in the morning session.

As I began my confession stating, “it has been 7 hours since my last confession” - he stopped me and told me I didn’t need to be there unless I’d commited a mortal sin in the last 7 hours. I explained I’d intentionally held back in the morning and didn’t say everything because I felt so uncomfortable at the time - he said the Absolution I received covered it all and I don’t need to say anything more at this time, if it’s really bothering me I can bring it up next week or at my** next** confession - then he politely encouraged me to leave the confessional.

Help - am I totally off base? - I didn’t used to feel confused, but I do after what he told me.

 

[Scottgun]

If you intentionally held back a mortal sin, then you invalidated the sacrament. If it was venial, then it’s still valid.

 

[ComputerGeek25]

I’d like clarification on this point please - allow me to first state my understanding of my responsibility in the confessional: when I’m at confession - I must confess all mortal sins I’m aware of without holding anything back in order for the Absolution I receive from the priest to be valid. If, after leaving the confessional I recall something I intended to say, but forgot to mention while in there - that is covered too.

This is correct.

At my church we have Saturday confession in the morning and afternoon. This past weeked I went to morning confession and saw a priest who’s new to me; I didn’t feel comfortable with him and intentionally held back all I should have said thinking to myself I would come back later in the afternoon and meet with the priest I normally see so I could worthily receive communion at Mass Sunday morning. To my surprise we had a different visiting priest in the afternoon, but not the same one who I’d met in the morning session.

Eeek. Now you are guity of another mortal sin, if what you held back was mortal.

As I began my confession stating, “it has been 7 hours since my last confession” - he stopped me and told me I didn’t need to be there unless I’d commited a mortal sin in the last 7 hours. I explained I’d intentionally held back in the morning and didn’t say everything because I felt so uncomfortable at the time - he said the Absolution I received covered it all and I don’t need to say anything more at this time, if it’s really bothering me I can bring it up next week or at my** next** confession - then he politely encouraged me to leave the confessional.

Help - am I totally off base? - I didn’t used to feel confused, but I do after what he told me.

Preist was wrong if what you held back was mortal. If you did hold it back, you have to redo the confession from the morning plus saying that you held sin X back (and confess X).

If the matter was venial, don’t sweat it.

 

[Timidity]

Does Absolution cover the sins I intentionally withheld?

Not only does the absolution not cover the ommitted sin, it doesn’t cover ANY of the sins!

Father Corapi always likes to say “If you go into a confessional with 6 mortal sins, but (intentionally) only confess 5, you walk out with 7 mortal sins on your soul.”

 

[gms2]

Thanks to all who have responded.

I knew it. I made my own situation worse and shouldn’t have let myself get intimidated in the confessional at either the AM or PM session.

 

[THurifer2]

I’d like clarification on this point please - allow me to first state my understanding of my responsibility in the confessional: when I’m at confession - I must confess all mortal sins I’m aware of without holding anything back in order for the Absolution I receive from the priest to be valid. If, after leaving the confessional I recall something I intended to say, but forgot to mention while in there - that is covered too.

At my church we have Saturday confession in the morning and afternoon. This past weeked I went to morning confession and saw a priest who’s new to me; I didn’t feel comfortable with him and intentionally held back all I should have said thinking to myself I would come back later in the afternoon and meet with the priest I normally see so I could worthily receive communion at Mass Sunday morning. To my surprise we had a different visiting priest in the afternoon, but not the same one who I’d met in the morning session.

As I began my confession stating, “it has been 7 hours since my last confession” - he stopped me and told me I didn’t need to be there unless I’d commited a mortal sin in the last 7 hours. I explained I’d intentionally held back in the morning and didn’t say everything because I felt so uncomfortable at the time - he said the Absolution I received covered it all and I don’t need to say anything more at this time, if it’s really bothering me I can bring it up next week or at my** next** confession - then he politely encouraged me to leave the confessional.

Help - am I totally off base? - I didn’t used to feel confused, but I do after what he told me.

If you you omitted venial sins then they are absolved. If you omitted mortal sins then you added a mortal sin to your list.

 

[jmcrae]

What you need to do next time, in order to avoid this problem occurring again, is to count back to your last valid Confession; not to either of these past two.

Then (other than mentioning that you had made an unworthy Confession, when naming your sins) don’t bring up those other Confessions at all.

In this case, it might also be prudent to leave that particular item until the end of your Confession (even though under most circumstances you should list your sins from worst to least) so that at least you can get your other items confessed before he has any chance to interrupt you or cause you to become confused again.

 

[LilyM]

I am a fairly frequent penitent, and have been for the past two years. And I STILL sometimes find confession daunting.

Just say a prayer, right before you go in, to Jesus the Divine Mercy, the Holy Spirit and all the angels and saints to be with you and help you to make a good confession. And offer any nervousness or awkwardness you feel as part of your penance for those sins.

 

[baltobetsy]

What you need to do next time, in order to avoid this problem occurring again, is to count back to your last valid Confession; not to either of these past two.

Wow - great advice!

“Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. It’s been two weeks since my last good confession.”

Betsy

 

[joeybaggz]

When I was sixteen I went to Catholic High School. We had Friday confession for the students as part of the curriculum (this was in the early 60’s). I went to Fr. Kelly and made a good confession. I left the confessional and knelt down to say the penance. Three of my classmates, let’s call them Jeannie, Angela, and Miss “O God, you outdid yourself when you made Samantha”, were line for confession. After kneeling and saying some Hail Marys, I got up, walked over to Msgr Baldwin’s confessional, knelt down, and said “Bless me Father for I have sinned, it’s been ten minutes since my last confession” … I swear I heard him laughing the whole time. Aahhh, the conscience of a sixteen year old boy. Then again, those Catholic High School uniforms were just not getting the job done. (of course when I was sixteen, a barn silo wouldn’t have gotten the job done) Anyway, he said I probably didn’t really do anything that bad and sent me on my way. If it wasn’t for the seal of the confessional, I think I would have given him a good story to tell around the table when priests get together. Even to this day.

Mortal sin requires an action that is a grave offense to God. That is also something a priest may make a judgment on as well as the penitent. Since you didn’t state exactly what you withheld, it may be what you did was not in his judgment a grave offense. There is a difference between inadvertently taking home a stapler from the company store room and sticking up First Savings and Loan. And we do have some rather scrupulous members. I’ve heard some stories. So, take the advise of your priest, receive the sacraments, and just discuss it next time in confession.

And, by the way, the previous posters are all correct about intentionally deceiving a priest and sinning against the sacrament.

Shalom