Forgot to confess

[jmcrae]

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.

The Sacrament of Reconciliation can’t be given piecemeal. You can’t be forgiven of one sin, but not forgiven of another.

Either all are forgiven, or none are forgiven. The Absolution makes you clean from all sin; not just forgiven of the sins you happened to confess.

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.

The mind is a tricky thing, and stress does weird things to us. I find it amazing, the things I forget, at times.

 

[Bookcat]

Such as been the understanding within the Catholic Church for a very very very long time. One can go read various works of moral and sacramental theology if one likes…and one will find it there that forgotten sins as I have described them are absolved…but are still required to be confessed …

And the CCC infers such as noted above.

 

[Bookcat]

The Sacrament of Reconciliation can’t be given piecemeal. You can’t be forgiven of one sin, but not forgiven of another.

Either all are forgiven, or none are forgiven. The Absolution makes you clean from all sin; not just forgiven of the sins you happened to confess.

The mind is a tricky thing, and stress does weird things to us. I find it amazing, the things I forget, at times.

Of course you mean here “mortal sin”

 

[FNDRB58]

The Sacrament of Reconciliation can’t be given piecemeal. You can’t be forgiven of one sin, but not forgiven of another.

Either all are forgiven, or none are forgiven. The Absolution makes you clean from all sin; not just forgiven of the sins you happened to confess.

The mind is a tricky thing, and stress does weird things to us. I find it amazing, the things I forget, at times.

I am less concerned with intending to confess the mortal sin just before confession and forgetting while in the confessional. What I am focusing more on is the mortal sin that you forgot to mention because it didn’t enter your mind beforehand. Only after confession did you remember that you even committed the sin. It is in this situation that I am saying that it would not make sense that this sin was forgiven because he didn’t even predispose of himself to confess it. It didn’t have enough of an impression on him to even be the reason he went to confession in the first place.

 

[coco2]

What if you haven’t been to confession for a decade with numerous mortal sins that you can’t even remember them all or the number. Can’t you just say, during a ten year period I did such and such many times and don’t even know how many? That’s what I had to do. The priest didn’t say that I needed to even give an estimate. I forgot some of the things, but assumed that I was lumping an entire lifestyle together, that it would all be included. He did not ask me to elaborate on any of it, but advised me on how to go on from this point forward. Does this mean I have to confess it all again to someone more particular?

 

[FNDRB58]

What if you haven’t been to confession for a decade with numerous mortal sins that you can’t even remember them all or the number. Can’t you just say, during a ten year period I did such and such many times and don’t even know how many? That’s what I had to do. The priest didn’t say that I needed to even give an estimate. I forgot some of the things, but assumed that I was lumping an entire lifestyle together, that it would all be included. He did not ask me to elaborate on any of it, but advised me on how to go on from this point forward. Does this mean I have to confess it all again to someone more particular?

Read a few posts up. We covered that. I am in full agreement that one might not remember all the sins during a very long period. I am concerned with a person who goes to confession with the sole intent to confess the venial sins but realizes afterwards that he had previously committed a mortal sin that he forgot about and thus did not, or forgot, to mention it in confession. I believe that because his lack of consciousness of this grave sin shows that he has not properly examined his conscience and needs to refrain from receiving the Eucharist until he gets on the right track.

 

[jmcrae]

Read a few posts up. We covered that. I am in full agreement that one might not remember all the sins during a very long period. I am concerned with a person who goes to confession with the sole intent to confess the venial sins but realizes afterwards that he had previously committed a mortal sin that he forgot about and thus did not, or forgot, to mention it in confession.

This is exactly why it’s a really good idea to do a thorough Examination of Conscience on the evening before the day you go to Confession, and pray to the Holy Spirit to remind you of anything important.

 

[FNDRB58]

This is exactly why it’s a really good idea to do a thorough Examination of Conscience on the evening before the day you go to Confession, and pray to the Holy Spirit to remind you of anything important.

Agreed. But some do not. And to forget that you even committed a grave sin shows that you need to get your conscience in check. To say that that mortal sin that you didn’t even think of and therefore didn’t confess was forgiven just doesn’t make sense.

 

[Bookcat]

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???

As I noted…yes such “could happen” …potentially such can thus be forgiven…I only noted that it is an unlikely example and would be of a person with a conscience that is very malformed at the time.

If the person is trying to make a good confession…and honestly forgets a mortal sin…but is contrite …intending to confess all his mortal sins and avoid them etc.

So yes even if he confesses only venial sins that he is sorry for …he is absolved of all his forgotten mortal sins. But he still is obliged to confess them when he remembers them.

(and one should make a good examine…)

 

[Bookcat]

Agreed. But some do not. And to forget that you even committed a grave sin shows that you need to get your conscience in check. To say that that sin not confessed was forgiven just doesn’t make sense.

Yes they need to examine and form their conscience better…

but the understanding within the Catholic Church has been…and continues to be…that such is absolved.

Of course if the person intentionally withholds a mortal sin…That is a different story…

 

[jmcrae]

Agreed. But some do not. And to forget that you even committed a grave sin shows that you need to get your conscience in check. To say that that mortal sin that you didn’t even think of and therefore didn’t confess was forgiven just doesn’t make sense.

It is forgiven because all sin is forgiven, when you are making the best Confession you can at the time. The Absolution frees you from Hell and Death - not just from certain sins that you confessed. You cannot bilocate yourself into both Heaven and Hell - not even Padre Pio could do that.

 

[FNDRB58]

As I noted…yes such “could happen” …potentially such can thus be forgiven…I only noted that it is an unlikely example and would be of a person with a conscience that is very malformed at the time.

If the person is trying to make a good confession…and honestly forgets a mortal sin…but is contrite …intending to confess all his mortal sins and avoid them etc.

So yes even if he confesses only venial sins that he is sorry for …he is absolved of all his forgotten mortal sins. But he still is obliged to confess them when he remembers them.

(and one should make a good examine…)

There are those who try to make a good confession, intend to confess only a few venial sins, yet realize later that there was indeed a mortal sin that they forgot to confess. I don’t understand that this mortal sin which obviously has not weighed on the penitent’s mind to the point where that would be the reason they are even going to confession in the first place. I would imagine God saying, “I am not forgiving you that sin because you weren’t even worried about it to mention it in confession.”

 

[Bookcat]

I am concerned with a person who goes to confession with the sole intent to confess the venial sins but realizes afterwards that he had previously committed a mortal sin that he forgot about and thus did not, or forgot, to mention it in confession. I believe that because his lack of consciousness of this grave sin shows that he has not properly examined his conscience and needs to refrain from receiving the Eucharist until he gets on the right track.

Such has honestly not been understanding within the Church or Catholic Theology.

He certainly though needs to examine himself more!!!

People can end up in odd places…and have very incomplete formations…but yet seek to turn to God…

In can understand though the scratching of ones head at the oddly possibility that someone would remember a venial sin and not a mortal sin

 

[Bookcat]

There are those who try to make a good confession, intend to confess only a few venial sins, yet realize later that there was indeed a mortal sin that they forgot to confess. I don’t understand that this mortal sin which obviously has not weighed on the penitent’s mind to the point where that would be the reason they are even going to confession in the first place. I would imagine God saying, “I am not forgiving you that sin because you weren’t even worried about it to mention it in confession.”

There is much that you and I will not understand about different persons and their lack of good formation etc…

but if they make a *formally integral *confession…they are absolved even of the mortal sins they were not conscious of.

 

[Bookcat]

It is forgiven because all sin is forgiven, when you are making the best Confession you can at the time.

“all mortal sins are forgiven” (there can be lots of times certain venial sins are not forgiven…)

 

[Bookcat]

In the Sacraments and in other ways…Jesus the Good Shepherd gives us indeed

~true life

 

[FNDRB58]

“all mortal sins are forgiven” (there can be lots of times certain venial sins are not forgiven…)

Okay, now your position really confuses me. I see an inconsistency here.

 

[jmcrae]

“all mortal sins are forgiven” (there can be lots of times certain venial sins are not forgiven…)

Venial sins are forgiven every time we genuflect and every time we make the Sign of the Cross. Confessing them is optional, but is helpful in preventing them from growing up to be mortal sins.

 

[TheRealJuliane]

There are those who try to make a good confession, intend to confess only a few venial sins, yet realize later that there was indeed a mortal sin that they forgot to confess. I don’t understand that this mortal sin which obviously has not weighed on the penitent’s mind to the point where that would be the reason they are even going to confession in the first place. I would imagine God saying, “I am not forgiving you that sin because you weren’t even worried about it to mention it in confession.”

and can you imagine Jesus on the cross saying, “Sorry, this doesn’t count for YOU because you are going to forget that mortal sin on the third Saturday in March of 2011?”

Thank goodness that WE are not God.

 

[Bookcat]

Okay, now your position really confuses me. I see an inconsistency here.

(it is not “my” position…this is how such is understood in the Church)

One must confess all mortal sins in number and kind etc.

Venial sins do not need to be confessed. They can be forgiven in various ways.

I have to confess all my mortal sins. And be of course sorry for them. If I am not sorry for one of them…NONE of them are absolved. But if I simply forget one of them …while being sorry in general for all my mortal sins…and I would have thus confessed it if I had remembered it…ALL my moral sins are absolved.

If I confess a venial sin and a mortal sin and am sorry for the venial sin but not sorry for the mortal sin. NO SIN is absolved.

If I confess a venial sin and a mortal sin…but am not sorry for the venial sin…but am for the mortal sin (see CCC on Contrition and purpose of amendment etc) then my mortal sin is absolved and I am given again true life in Jesus Christ…but my venial sin still remains.

If I confess a venial sin and another venial sin…and I am sorry for only one of them…that one is absolved but not the other one.