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kbwall
Guest
I went to confession, and there was a thing I forgot to confess. When I got absolution, I got forgiveness for all my sins, right, even if I legitimately forgot one?
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Trishie
Guest
catholic.com/thisrock/quickquestions/keyword/confession/page6
So long as you intended to confess all your mortal sins and otherwise make
a good confession, then the sacrament was valid, and you were forgiven all your mortal sins. The fact that afterward you remembered another one does not mean that you are in a state of mortal sin.
The Code of Canon Law states, “A member of the Christian faithful is obliged to confess in kind and in number all grave sins committed after baptism and not yet directly remitted through the keys of the Church nor acknowledged in individual confession, of which one is conscious after diligent examination of conscience” (CIC 988:1). Since you remembered this grave sin, you should mention it in your next confession.
So long as you intended to confess all your mortal sins and otherwise make
a good confession, then the sacrament was valid, and you were forgiven all your mortal sins. The fact that afterward you remembered another one does not mean that you are in a state of mortal sin.
The Code of Canon Law states, “A member of the Christian faithful is obliged to confess in kind and in number all grave sins committed after baptism and not yet directly remitted through the keys of the Church nor acknowledged in individual confession, of which one is conscious after diligent examination of conscience” (CIC 988:1). Since you remembered this grave sin, you should mention it in your next confession.
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teachccd
Guest
Yup! If you unintentionally forgot then that sin is forgiven. If it was what you might consider a mortal sin then it should be mentioned next time you go to confession for further reflection and counseling. Absolution can never be partial and your confession is either valid or invalid. If it is valid then all of your sins are forgiven. If it is invalid then none of your sins are forgiven. Intentionally leaving out a grave sin would render the confession invalid as well as a lack of contrition that would negate a firm purpose of amendment. God bless you… teachccd
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FNDRB58
Guest
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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PiousTemplar
Guest
I think you are incorrect. I’m quite certain if you unintentionally forgot, then they are all forgiven. You just have to bring it up with your confessor next confession, as an act of penitence. (Or something like that anyway)
Correct me If I am wrong, I’m still learning.
Correct me If I am wrong, I’m still learning.
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valentino
Guest
trishe: can you explain to me what is meant by “and not fullly remitted through the keys of the Church”?Would that me like a general confession which people as a group go to confession or something else?
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FNDRB58
Guest
I beg to differ. If you can’t remember a mortal (grave) sin when you go to confession then you did not examine your conscience properly. God does not forgive unconfessed mortal sins, even if you forgot. He forgives forgotten venial sins. Going to Mass gets your venial sins forgiven anyway. If God forgives the forgotten mortal sin in that confession then there is no need to confess that. Yet, the Church says we must…why…because there is mortal sin still on your soul.
Extreme situation: If you murdered somebody and forgot to mention that you raped another. Are you forgiven for that rape?
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jamanne
Guest
What do you do if you remember a sin committed years ago and can’t remember if you already confessed it?.this happened to me just as the priest was givinng me absolution.I.i kind of panicked but never said anything as I was the last in line and he was in a hurry to get Mass started and thankfully as I said my penance after I was sure I remembered confessing it,but what if I hadn’t remembered where would that have left me?
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FNDRB58
Guest
If it was a venial sin then it was already forgiven at that confession or at any Mass that you attended after the commission. Technically, we are only required to confess mortal sins. If it was a mortal sin then play it safe and confess it again. Do not go to communion until you have done so. You don’t want to receive Christ unworthily even if there is a slight chance that you might have mortal sin on your soul.
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teachccd
Guest
Nope. Absolution cannot be partial. What you are describing is an invalid confession and unintentionally forgetting even a mortal sin does not invalidate the sacrament.
Catechism of the Catholic Church number 1456: ( bold face mine)
Confession to a priest is an essential part of the sacrament of Penance: "All mortal sins of which penitents after a diligent self-examination are conscious must be recounted by them in confession, even if they are most secret and have been committed against the last two precepts of the Decalogue; for these sins sometimes wound the soul more grievously and are more dangerous than those which are committed openly."54
When Christ’s faithful strive to confess all the sins that they can remember, they undoubtedly place all of them before the divine mercy for pardon. But those who fail to do so and knowingly withhold some, place nothing before the divine goodness for remission through the mediation of the priest, "for if the sick person is too ashamed to show his wound to the doctor, the medicine cannot heal what it does not know."55
While a thorough examination of conscience is a very important part of the sacrament, if one leaves the confessional and realizes later that they completely forgot to confess any sin then they are not culpable for that omission and they can receive the Eucharist. If it was a mortal sin that was forgotten ( and even that is to be greatly discerned) then it must be mentioned in the next confession not because it still remains on the soul but because there might be needed counseling as to how one might remove the attachment to that sin.
So, what you are saying is that if one forgets to mention a mortal sin then the entire sacrament is invalid and all sins must be reconfessed. But just as we cannot sin without knowing, we cannot be held culpable for what we truly forget in the confessional… teachccd
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teachccd
Guest
Absolved.
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Bookcat
Guest
Yes one is obliged to confess all mortal sins in number and kind (and one is to confess a circumstance that changes things…like the person whom you murdered was your brother…or the silver cup you stole…was the Chalice from Church)
But…
Actually if he was contrite etc intending to confess all his mortal sins…the forgotten mortal sin IS ABSOLVED. It is absolved “indirectly” with the rest of them. One can not be absolved of one mortal sin and not another (though one can be absolved of one venial sin and not the one that one is not sorry for). The mortal sin that was forgotten…was absolved indirectly …but one still has an obligation (if one remembers the sin) to submit that sin “directly” (that is to confess it) to the keys…in the next confession after one remembers it.
One need not wait to receive Holy Communion on account of that sin.
For it was absolved indirectly (assuming of course one was* contrite* etc…but lets say the sin was the person forgot to confess the fact that they are living with their girlfriend…that becomes a different story…for they intend to still do so…)
If one of course intentionally withholds a mortal sin…that would render things invalid and one would confess that one did this (it can be a mortal sin of sacrilege) and the mortal sin that was hidden…and the other mortals that were confessed (and usually since then)…that would be thus a different story…
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EmeraldWings
Guest
i took the liberty of asking my priest after mass about this, although i already knew the answer, but just so that i could verify it for you, and he said that the church teaches that you are indeed forgiven for mortal sins that you honestly forgot to confess, and you may receive communion afterwords, and you only need to tell the priest in your next *regular *confession that you forgot it, and you may go to communion in the meantime, and he also said, don’t be scrupulous, because that’s what this is.
and he said that that is the official church teaching on the matter, which you can find in any catechism, so look it up.
alright, hope this helps, take care.
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teachccd
Guest
Or you could look back at post number 10…
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FNDRB58
Guest
No, you misread my post. I never says anything about the sacrament being invalid. His confession was indeed valid. And until he remembers his mortal sin he is fee to receive the sacarments. But only the mortal sins he confessed and all venial sins, confessed or forgotten were actually forgiven. He may in good conscience receive all sacraments. However, once a penitent realizes that he forgot to confess a mortal sin then he must be absolved of that sin prior to receiving the Eucharist again.
The Catechism quotes you offered do not address this issue. Perhaps there are others that do. Please post them as I would be very interested if I have had this wrong my whole life.
I have had priests tell me that one should stand during the Consecration which is incorrect so I would prefer some official documentation to support this teaching.
Catechism 1456 does not speak to this matter by the way.
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teachccd
Guest
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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Bookcat
Guest
What I noted above is the understanding within the Catholic Church. The Mortal sins that are forgotten (see above for more detail) are absolved indirectly with the other mortal sins that were confessed…
Once the penitent remembers the forgotten mortal sin he is obliged to confess it in the next confession…not because it was not absolved (it was…so long as he was contrite etc…see above for more) but because it needs to be submitted “directly” to the keys…it needs to be confessed in confession.
He does NOT need to confess them at that point PRIOR to receiving Holy Communion. But they do need to be confessed in the next confession.
The Catechism does not go into all things …though yes that section does in fact imply that they are indeed forgiven…for when it says:
“When Christ’s faithful strive to confess all the sins that they can remember, they undoubtedly place all of them before the divine mercy for pardon.”
It means that they are all absolved. (again we are not talking of one who is say not contrite and the “forgotten mortal sin” is his continuing to live with his girl friend or something…)
By the way I have have a degree in Theology from Franciscan University of Steubenville…if that helps.
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Bookcat
Guest
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.
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.
- We are talking about mortal sins committed after baptism
- One is obliged to confess all of these in number and kind (etc)
- 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”
- 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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teachccd
Guest
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