Forgot to confess

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The well esteemed Theologian Fr. John Hardon’s Catholic Dictionary:

catholicreference.net/index.cfm?id=33610

Now of course as noted…when a person remembers the forgotten yet forgiven sin…they are obliged to confess it still…but they need not run off to confession right away…but they are to do so in their next confession (unless they forget honestly…again! :))
 
What if you have never confessed in your life? How far back do you have to go?
 
teachccd said:
I believe that the burden of proof remains with you since an absolution cannot be partial. When a person confesses their sins to the best of their ability ALL of the sins are forgiven. When they leave the confessional they are fullly absolved of ALL past sins even the ones that they forgot. Now if one remembers a grave sin that does not “unforgive” that sin that was already forgiven. You need to clarify your understanding of absolution. To be absolved is to be cleansed back to the state that we were at baptism minus the temporal punishment for sin. All sins are forgiven.

The CCC quote states that if you knowingly hide anything then NOTHING can be brought to the mercy of God. God does not absolve partially since the state of the soul is either reconciled fully to God or not. Memory, or lack of, does not negate the validity of the sacrament. So, if a penitent confesses to the best of his/er ability then the sacrament is valid and ALL sins are forgiven. The person is free to receive the Eucharist under the condition that the grave sin will be brought to the next confession. This is so that the sin is brought to the keys of the Church in the normative way. No different than a person who was baptized by a non clergy goes back to the Church for a conditional baptism for documentation and godparent. The baptism was valid at the time that the non clergy person performed the baptism.

So, in closing, I will reiterate. You either have a valid or an invalid sacrament. In an invalid sacrament sins were intentionally left out and NO absolution is valid. ALL sins would remain. In a valid sacrament whereby one confesses to the best of their ability then absolution is granted whereby ALL sins are absolved. It’s one or the other… teachccd
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First, the “burden of proof” as you call it is on those who say this is the teachinig of the Church. I don’t have to “prove” something that I don’t believe is the teaching of the Church. It appears that I am the only one with this view on the subject so perhaps I have had it wrong my whole life. Show me where I can find that it speaks to this and I will understand the position and accept it. The Catechism quote that has been offered speaks only to mortal sins confessed. It doesn’t state that if you forgot a mortal sin that it is absolved anyway.

Once again, the sacrament is valid. The sacrament can be valid and absolve the mortal sins confessed and all venial sins. The reason venial sins are forgiven is because we commit so many of these that it would not be expected that everyone remembers every venial sin, even after a good examination of conscience. But mortal sin is different and is therefore treated differently.

If you confess that you stole a pencil but forget to confess that you raped someone you are saying that the person is forgiven of the rape? This doesn’t make sense. The person obviously wasn’t contrite if he forgot to confess such a horrendous sin. If I am wrong please show me in the Catechism or somewhere else that speaks to this so I can understand better.

Thanks.

As you know, baptism and marriage
 
Bookcat said:
The well esteemed Theologian Fr. John Hardon’s Catholic Dictionary:

catholicreference.net/index.cfm?id=33610

Now of course as noted…when a person remembers the forgotten yet forgiven sin…they are obliged to confess it still…but they need not run off to confession right away…but they are to do so in their next confession (unless they forget honestly…again! :))
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Thanks for the short link. It however, makes no sense to me. If that is what the Church states then I accept it but it makes no sense whatsoever. Obviously if someone confesses venial sins but forgets to confess a mortal sin then they were not contrite enough. How could you remember that you swore at your friend but forgot that you committed fornication…and that sin is forgiven? Why would a mortal sin be forgiven if you didn’t even have the resolve to confess it? 🤷
 
FNDRB58 said:
Wait a minute! You are incorrect. All mortal sins were NOT forgiven if he forgot to mention one. All that was forgiven during his reception of the sacrament was only the sins he confessed and any venial sins he forgot to confess. BUT, if he forgot to confess a mortal sin then he has yet to be forgiven of that sin. If he received communion without realizing he forgot to confess the mortal sin then he did nothing wrong. But, now that he remembered it then he must not receive the Eucharist until he confesses that forgotten mortal sin because, though the others were forgiven, that one that he forgot was not.
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One is either forgiven one’s sins, or not forgiven. If he intentionally omitted the sin, then none of the sins he confessed were forgiven. If it was just an oversight, then all of the sins of his life are forgiven - including that one.
 
Yes, as has been stated in the previous ten posts. 🙂 We need more meat on the bones.
 
FNDRB58 said:
Thanks for the short link. It however, makes no sense to me. If that is what the Church states then I accept it but it makes no sense whatsoever. Obviously if someone confesses venial sins but forgets to confess a mortal sin then they were not contrite enough. How could you remember that you swore at your friend but forgot that you committed fornication…and that sin is forgiven? Why would a mortal sin be forgiven if you didn’t even have the resolve to confess it? 🤷
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Forgetting has nothing to do with if one was contrite enough.

Yes ordinarily someone who is seeking to follow Christ …and has been following him for years …for that one a mortal sin is going to tend to s"stick out". But even for him…he could forget one…the memory of man does not always serve us as we would like.

But lets say that a person committed a number of mortal sins…or they committed a mortal sin of gravely sinful drunkeness earlier in the month…and then later committed adultery…they may have the adultery blazing on their conscience …and they feel and are so terribly sorry for it…so much that they forget when they go to confession the fact that they committed the mortal sin of drunkeness…

but they intended to confess all their mortal sins…and they were contrite and firmly amended against mortal sins… One thus has the intent to “confess my mortal sins and not withhold any”…one just forgot one…

well that drunkeness would be absolved (even thought not directly submitted to the keys)…but they will still need to mention it when they remember it.

The absolution of mortal sins is an all or nothing thing. All mortal sins are absolved…or none. If one withholds one…thus one intentionally does not mention a mortal sin they are conscious of…one places nothing before the keys for absolution…

if one forgets one…or even in the case where one was in fact mortal but one is not conscious of it being so …so one could omit it…such are still absolved…even though not yet directly submitted to the keys…(one could say I think that they are “indirectly submitted”)

for one is bringing all the mortal sins one is conscious of…one is trying to make a good confession…one is intending to confess all ones mortal sins and is sorry for all ones mortal sins etc.

Otherwise…a very good memory would be required to make a good confession of mortal sins…but such is not a requirement per se. Memories vary from person to person and from time to time…and age to age…

It is important to seek to have a *material integral *confession (all ones actual mortal sins in number and kind and needs circumstance like it was your brother you murdered) but we do not always have such…

But we can have a formally integral confession…that is one wants to confess all ones mortal sins…all the mortal sins one is conscious of …are confessed in number and kind etc…(even if some actual mortal sin was forgotten in fact). Such suffices for the absolution of all ones mortal sins (confessed and forgotten).

Confession is not a memory test.
 
TrueLight said:
Wow! Well I was baptized in the Protestant church over 20 years ago.
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When I went for First Confession as a convert from Protestantism, I had nearly 40 years to cover. Fortunately, there are only 10 commandments, and you don’t have to recite every instance independently - you can group your sins together by kind. For example, you can say, “When I was a teenager, I often expressed my anger in inappropriate ways, such as swearing at my parents and teachers, and sulking in my room instead of participating in family activities.” Bam - about 2,000 sins covered, right there. 😃
 
Bookcat said:
Forgetting has nothing to do with if one was contrite enough.

Yes ordinarily someone who is seeking to follow Christ …and has been following him for years …for that one a mortal sin is going to tend to s"stick out". But even for him…he could forget one…the memory of man does not always serve us as we would like.

But lets say that a person committed a number of mortal sins…or they committed a mortal sin of gravely sinful drunkeness earlier in the month…and then later committed adultery…they may have the adultery blazing on their conscience …and they feel and are so terribly sorry for it…so much that they forget when they go to confession the fact that they committed the mortal sin of drunkeness…

but they intended to confess all their mortal sins…and they were contrite and firmly amended against mortal sins… One thus has the intent to “confess my mortal sins and not withhold any”…one just forgot one…

well that drunkeness would be absolved indirectly…but they will still need to mention it when they remember it.

The absolution of mortal sins is an all or nothing thing. All mortal sins are absolved…or none. If one withholds one…one places nothing before the keys for absolution…

if one forgets one…or even in the case where one was in fact mortal but one is not conscious of it being so …so one could omit it…such are absolved indirectly…

for one is bringing all the mortal sins one is conscious of…one is trying to make a good confession…one is intending to confess all ones mortal sins and is sorry for all ones mortal sins etc.

Otherwise…a very good memory would be required to make a good confession of mortal sins…but such is not a requirement per se. Memories vary from person to person and from time to time…and age to age…
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I would agree that if one committed many mortal sins during a life of immorality that to remember every single mortal sin might be impossible. I believe our faith is one of common sense and the Church accomodates such a person and they would indeed be forgiven. But if you commit the whitist of lies yet forget that you murdered someone (extreme example but it shows my point) then you are saying that your mortal sin of murder was forgiven? Doesn’t make any sense. It shows that you were not contrite for that sin. If you have a mental problem that precludes you from remembering that you murdered someone then okay, but you can’t use the couldn’t remember excuse here.
 
Bookcat said:
Code of Canon Law:

Can. 988 §1. A member of the Christian faithful is obliged to confess in kind and number all grave sins committed after baptism and not yet remitted directly through the keys of the Church nor acknowledged in individual confession, of which the person has knowledge after diligent examination of conscience.

Every word here is important.
  1. We are talking about mortal sins committed after baptism
  2. One is obliged to confess all of these in number and kind (etc)
  3. One is obliged to confess all of these that have not been directly remitted through the keys…this means those which have not been directly submitted to the keys and absolved…Confessed “I accuse myself of murder 6x”
  4. Mortal sins that were forgotten and still absolved in confession…are absolved “indirectly”…this is why it says those that have not been “directly” remitted…they can have been indirectly remitted via absolution in a confession they forgot them…
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Where does it say that mortal sins or ALL sins are forgiven “indirectly”. I don’t think #4 can be derived from the Canon Law quote you offered.
 
FNDRB58 said:
I would agree that if one committed many mortal sins during a life of immorality that to remember every single mortal sin might be impossible. I believe our faith is one of common sense and the Church accomodates such a person and they would indeed be forgiven. But if you commit the whitist of lies yet forget that you murdered someone (extreme example but it shows my point) then you are saying that your mortal sin of murder was forgiven? Doesn’t make any sense. It shows that you were not contrite for that sin. If you have a mental problem that precludes you from remembering that you murdered someone then okay, but you can’t use the couldn’t remember excuse here.
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A person who commits murder is not likely to forget it!!

I have answered above. (changed some)
 
Bookcat said:
A person who commits murder is not likely to forget it!!

I have answered above. (and amended and added some)
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Yes, but you missed the philisophical point.

Perhaps this will be easier. If I go to confession to confess that I told a “white lie” yet forgot that I was living with my girlfriend for a year and we just broke up. Are you saying that all of the mortal sins I committed with her during that time was forgiven even though I forgot to mention it?
 
FNDRB58 said:
I would agree that if one committed many mortal sins during a life of immorality that to remember every single mortal sin might be impossible. I believe our faith is one of common sense and the Church accomodates such a person and they would indeed be forgiven. But if you commit the whitist of lies yet forget that you murdered someone (extreme example but it shows my point) then you are saying that your mortal sin of murder was forgiven? Doesn’t make any sense. It shows that you were not contrite for that sin. If you have a mental problem that precludes you from remembering that you murdered someone then okay, but you can’t use the couldn’t remember excuse here.
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There are some mortal sins that don’t necessarily make themselves memorable - for example, showing disrespect to parents might be so habitual with someone that they don’t even think of it as a sin until they reflect carefully on it with a good Examination of Conscience - and then in the heat of the moment or because of nervousness, they might quite honestly forget to confess it, while remembering that they stole a co-worker’s pen (because the co-worker got upset with them about it in a way that was memorable).

But if they recall afterwards that they meant to confess disrespect to parents, they could do so at their next Confession, rather than cornering the priest the same day for a special appointment.
 
jmcrae said:
There are some mortal sins that don’t necessarily make themselves memorable - for example, showing disrespect to parents might be so habitual with someone that they don’t even think of it as a sin until they reflect carefully on it with a good Examination of Conscience - and then in the heat of the moment or because of nervousness, they might quite honestly forget to confess it, while remembering that they stole a co-worker’s pen (because the co-worker got upset with them about it in a way that was memorable).

But if they recall afterwards that they meant to confess disrespect to parents, they could do so at their next Confession, rather than cornering the priest the same day for a special appointment.
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Agreed. And that is my point. Venial sins are common place and we do our best to remember them. But if you recently committed a mortal sin but truly forgot to mention having fornicated for example YET remember a small venial sin then I think we can say objectively at least that you are not showing contrition for such a grave sin. To think that the serious sin is forgiven even when it didn’t enter your mind during confession whereas a small venial sin did is problematic.

One could say, how can you remember a small venial sin but forget the mortal sin? Does it not show that you aren’t contrite enough? Wouldn’t committing one mortal sin recently indeed be memorable? If you failed to confess it then indeed it was not memorable enough, at least not at that moment.
 
FNDRB58 said:
Yes, but you missed the philisophical point.

Perhaps this will be easier. If I go to confession to confess that I told a “white lie” yet forgot that I was living with my girlfriend for a year and we just broke up. Are you saying that all of the mortal sins I committed with her during that time was forgiven even though I forgot to mention it?
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Potentially…

If one was intending confess all your mortal sins…

But such is a rather far fetched example …

I doubt you would forget such…

more likely you will remember much of that and confess it … but may forget some things that were mortal during that situation…such would be absolved…but one would need to confess them when one remembers them (and of course one needs to make a good examine!)

(if you are really sorry…and intending to avoid such in the future…with others too)
 
FNDRB58 said:
But if you recently committed a mortal sin but truly forgot to mention having fornicated for example YET remember a small venial sin then I think we can say objectively at least that you are not showing contrition for such a grave sin. To think that the serious sin is forgiven even when it didn’t enter your mind during confession whereas a small venial sin did is problematic.

One could say, how can you remember a small venial sin but forget the mortal sin? Does it not show that you aren’t contrite enough?
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Not the case. Forgetting does not = lack of contrition.

It =lack of memory at the moment here. Or perhaps a need for more examination of ones conscience.

Usually a person who is seeking to live a Christian life…will remember a mortal sin. But sometimes it can happen that one forgets. Usually though it is more likely that it will be when one has more than one mortal sin to confess.

Such simply happens.
 
Bookcat said:
Potentially…

If one was intending confess all your mortal sins…

But such is a rather far fetched example on the norm…

I doubt you would forget such…

more likely you will remember much of that and confess it … but may forget some things that were mortal during that situation…such would be absolved…but one would need to confess them when one remembers them (and of course one needs to make a good examine!)

(if you are really sorry…and intending to avoid such in the future…with others too)
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Well, you are now dismissing all my examples. I use extreme examples because you are making definitive statements about all sins being forgiven during confession. You say that people don’t forget which is presumptious. Your assertion should nonetheless hold up to my examples. Either it is covered by the teaching or it isn’t.

Let’s assume the OP was asking this question because he confessed some veneal sins but forgot that he committed a grave sin. Objectively speaking, the mortal sin he committed didn’t wear on his mind enough to be remembered in confession. Yet he remembered that he used profanity once or twice. To say that he was properly disposed of his sins would be objectively incorrect. It would not make sense that he would be forgiven for this mortal sin. And if he fully intended to confess that mortal sin maybe, but what if he forgot that he committed that mortal sin. Is that forgiven???
 
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