Dumb question about detailed confessions?

[WhiteOak]

Great, thanks for the reply. Some stuff I elaborate on, but other times I will say I am guilty of sloth, just use the general name of that sin, but he has never asked for more detail. Thanks for the help. It clears things up.

 

[TheLittleLady]

I was replying to the OP.

Guess it simply failed to show up that way on the screen.

 

[Marie16]

Is the number of times absolutely necessary? In my last confession there was one thing I had no idea how many times I had done so I just said the sin. The priest just said “ok what else?” and I continued. Nearly everything else I said he made several comments about throughout the confession so at the time I thought it was best to continue and just moved on to speed it up. He also asked me if I had considered a certain vocation and I said either “no” or “not really” when it was something that had crossed my mind before but not something I thought about regularly or I think have seriously considered.

I need to go again so I may ask the priest then (who won’t be the same one) because I’m not entirely sure if my confessions have been good confessions anyway.

 

[Joe_5859]

Neither God nor the Church expect us to do the impossible. And very few people have photographic memories and the ability to perfectly recall exactly how many times we committed a certain sin. There’s a difference between “I did this once or twice” and “I did this once or twice every day for ten years.” That’s why the Church asks us to confess the “number and kind” of mortal sins. The purpose is not to foist upon us a requirement that is impossible to fulfill.

It sounds to me like you haven’t really considered a vocation based on your description. Having it cross your mind briefly is not the same thing as really considering it.

You can certainly ask the priest about these things for peace of mind. But it doesn’t seem like you did anything that would call into question the validity of your Confession.

 

[TheLittleLady]

If you don’t know how many, say “I don’t remember how many, maybe 92 times each week?” “I don’t remember the exact number, but, over my X years, it was often/not too often.”

 

[JackMcCoy]

The priest is there to grant absolution, so long as you sincerely express you sorry and vow to amend your life.
Most priests will get as involved in your sin confession as you desire. If you want to give details fine, but if you are good with just confessing the sinful action then just do that.
If a priest needs for information, he will ask.
God bless you, WhiteOak!

 

[Hope1960]

In working for and with priests for over a decade, I’ve never heard one say “I so wish people were more detailed in their confessions”.

Confess the kind of sin, number of times. Priest will ask for any more details if he needs them.

I’ve never even had one ask me the number of times I’ve committed any particular sin. I usually say “several times” or something like that, but often don’t even say that much, just the sins themselves.

 

[JackMcCoy]

Most priests are only interested in the sin, not the number of times that sin was committed

 

[WhiteOak]

Thank you very much for your help. I appreciate your time. My priest has never asked for details or how many times I have committed the sin. You are right, he just seems happy that I have come to confession. God bless you and thanks again.

 

[InThePew]

I need to go again so I may ask the priest then (who won’t be the same one) because I’m not entirely sure if my confessions have been good confessions anyway.

I’m not sure what you mean by a “good” confession but if you received absolution then that speaks for itself. Once the Lord has freed you from your sins then it’s as if they never existed so there’s no need to bring them up again. Granted that doesn’t mean that we’re not going to fall back into the same sin again but it does mean that you have been given grace by God to help strengthen you against temptation.

 

[RealisticCatholic]

I don’t want to have to start a new thread on this, but I will if it becomes interesting or if I can’t find an answer.

But… Why is confession of particular sins necessary? The church’s ability to grant absolution is different from any particular exercise of it. So like, in general confession, the priest’s grants absolution (only in emergencies) without hearing individual confession of sins.

I understand that confession helps to ensure that the priest knows you’re truly sorry. But, the priest can never have absolute 100% certainty that the penitent is properly disposed.

In other words, why can’t the penitent go into the confessional and just say “I am sorry for all my sins and intend not to do them again.”

Why confess individual sins?

 

[TheLittleLady]

We confess because Scripture instructs us to do so (Confess your sins one to another and pray one for another).

We confess because it changes us.

 

[InThePew]

But… Why is confession of particular sins necessary? The church’s ability to grant absolution is different from any particular exercise of it. So like, in general confession, the priest’s grants absolution (only in emergencies) without hearing individual confession of sins.

Yes but it’s a stop gap measure only - and one which still requires you to go to individual confession.

I understand that confession helps to ensure that the priest knows you’re truly sorry. But, the priest can never have absolute 100% certainty that the penitent is properly disposed.

You’re right I can’t but that said I figure that if someone’s taken the time and trouble (and for some it’s anything but easy) to come to me that’s probably a pretty good indicator of remorse. Still, that fact that I can’t be 100% sure isn’t a problem because, properly speaking, I’m not forgiving their sins, God is.

In other words, why can’t the penitent go into the confessional and just say “I am sorry for all my sins and intend not to do them again.”
Why confess individual sins?

We don’t confess for God’s sake but for ours; there’s something cathartic, almost therapeutic in speaking sins aloud, in hearing ourselves admit to what we’ve done, owning up and taking responsibility for our actions and admitting our wrongness. Confession is a healing sacrament and, in this way, it’s about conversion - turning back towards God - but conversion and healing require us, before anything else, to accept that there’s a problem and that we need help. Thereafter, God’s grace takes over, helping us to do what we can’t do by ourselves.

 

[Cimachol]

Is the number of times absolutely necessary? In my last confession there was one thing I had no idea how many times I had done so I just said the sin

We are required to do our best to say the number or times we have committed particular mortal sins, but thankfully, Jesus is realistic and accepts our human limitations. In such cases, I have given my best estimate and have used phrases like “approximately X times” or “I would estimate this many times.” I did a general confession once and had to estimate the number of times I’d committed certain mortal sins during periods of my life where I was paying no regard to those sins whatsoever. I just thought about how often I was committing that sin during that period and did rough math, and let the priest know I was estimating.