Feeling guilty after confession

[Tthew]

I am a 19 year old who has been a catholic my whole life. I truly love the faith and everything it has done for me. I recently went to confession and confessed my sins to a priest, but afterwords remembered some sins that I didn’t say that I forgot. I also am anxious on whether or not I went into enough detail when it came to the sins I did confess. After confession I felt fine right after but when I got thinking, I felt like a terrible person and feel like god hasn’t forgiven me because I have forgotten sins.

Some of this stems from the confusion of if the sins I forgot fall into the category of sin I confessed.

I am just feeling really weird about it now and a little off.

I suffer from OCD and Anxiety and try to tell myself that I am over reacting. I don’t want to abuse the sacrament of confession and go everytime I forget a sin.

Also keep in mind the sins I did forget are mortal sins but a lot of them happened when I didn’t know right from wrong and was much younger than I am now.

Please offer any advice on this matter

 

[CRV]

Welcome to the forums.

I’m wondering if you also suffer from scrupulosity as you say you also suffer from OCD and Anxiety. So I’d think this is quiet likely - in this case you really are best advised to ask your questions of your own priest. Here you will get a variety of answers depending on what you ask, so for your sake, it really is best to limit asking these questions of your priest.

With that said. All sins that we have repented of are placed before God at the time of our confession and are forgiven along with any forgotten sins including mortal sins. It just remains for you to mention these forgotten mortal sins at your next confession, after you confess any current sins you may have. Also it’s good to say “Past forgotten sin” .

You could also end your confession with something along the lines of “For these and all the sins of my past life including any I’ve forgotten, I’m truly sorry”.

Also keep in mind the sins I did forget are mortal sins but a lot of them happened when I didn’t know right from wrong and was much younger than I am now.

With this in mind, I’d say to confess them and leave the gravity of them with God for Him to judge. This way, you’ve confessed them, you’ll be absolved of them, and then let them go. Otherwise you may find ‘they’ keep bothering you, increasing your anxiety and guilt.

 

[Timeflies2me]

I am the same way with my OCD and I have anxiety at times. You cant necessarily abuse confession by going often, its actually rather encouraged to. Many Catholics, including myself, go every week 52 times a year. Now holding back on mortal sins is something else. However, in what you say it seems your just being scrupulous about it.

We got to remember what confession is, saying your sorry to the Lord. An old priest I knew once said that confessing is like going through a drive through. We arent there to tell stories or go into detail unless the priest asks about details. Also the beauty of being absolved afterwards is that ALL our sins are taken away and forgiven by Christ. This means even those we’ve forgotten.

The best advice I can give is at the end of every confession add , " and for any sins I do not remember Lord, forgive me". I do that everytime I go to confession, keeps the anxiety low.

The Lord is so merciful and loving, he forgives and forgets as if it never happend. So if you remember a sin that you forgot to confess, do your best to not fall into anxiety. There is no need to confess that sin because you already were forgiven for ALL SINS, unless you really dont believe the absolution did that. In which case I recommend talking to a priest.

A bit long, but the point is simple and needs to be explained. We go to confession to tell the time, not how the clock was made. we are absolved and boom, clean! Hope I helped!

 

[tomo_pomo]

Just like the Sheppard who finds his lost sheep does not ask “where did you go?”, “what did you do?”, but holds her in loving embrace, that’s how your Lovingly Father holds you in His arms. You coming back to Him with contrite heart is what makes Him happy, not your remembrance of every detail of every sin

 

[otjm]

Anyone who suffers from OCD and/or scrupulosity is advised to seek information and counseling from their priest. The internet is not the place for such inquiries as the vast majority of those responding do not have the training to be able to adequately address your questions, and with such a background, there is a need for far more than just a short answer.

Please speak with your priest.

 

[Brendan_64]

I recently went to confession and confessed my sins to a priest, but afterwords remembered some sins that I didn’t say that I forgot.

A very good priest once said to me that what you forget is forgiven. If they are moral sins that you have forgotten, you could (and probably should) bring them up at your next Confession, but I believe that if you gave not deliberately concealed them and have genuinely forgotten them, then are forgiven in the sacrament of Confession.

 

[Servant31]

Hey my friend. Sorry to hear about the struggles. I would second the advice above about speaking with a priest. If scrupulosity is an issue a good confesser is often the best medicine. However there is also the group scrupulous anonymous, which is helpful to clarify the rules somewhat. Try not to stress about getting confession perfect. If your doing your best with a good act of contrition, confessing validly, and firm desire to improve… that’s usually enough. Again though a good priest who you can ask these things too is usually the best medicine. Best regards mate.

 

[cesarmed_123]

If you forgot a sin then your sins are forgiven in confession, but if you knew about them and you still didn’t tell the priest then your sins were not forgiven and you have committed another sin by not telling the priest all your sins. So if you confessed all your sins you could remember in confession then all your sins have been forgiven.

 

[Servant31]

Seconded! Great post.