General confession

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BibleReader700

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I scheduled a general confession at my church this week. I was wondering if at a general confession you have to tell the story for the sins you commit. Like i did this because of this and that. Since it’s all the sins of my life, that would be a bit hard. Would i still be absolved if i just said i did this, and this, and this, and this, and this, and if he asks me why i did that or what happened or something for a specific sin, ill answer him? Thanks.
 
Yes, that’s fine, unless there’s some detail that makes the sin worse. You need to tell those. For example stealing something from a church because you want to commit a sacrilege is worse than just plain stealing.

If there are particular sins that keep happening and you want help to overcome them, you might include some detail about why and how to assist the priest in giving you advice.

Otherwise, just speak plainly to tell what you did and approximately how many times (you can say things like once a week for a year, twice a day for a month, etc., for things that have gone on for a long time.). If the priest needs to know more, he will ask.

Betsy
 
baltobetsy said:
Yes, that’s fine, unless there’s some detail that makes the sin worse. You need to tell those. For example stealing something from a church because you want to commit a sacrilege is worse than just plain stealing.

If there are particular sins that keep happening and you want help to overcome them, you might include some detail about why and how to assist the priest in giving you advice.

Otherwise, just speak plainly to tell what you did and approximately how many times (you can say things like once a week for a year, twice a day for a month, etc., for things that have gone on for a long time.). If the priest needs to know more, he will ask.

Betsy
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But pretty much everything i have to confess is a mortal sin. Does that mean i need details for all of them?
 
No. ONLY if the additional details show why the sin is worse than it would be ordinarily.

Take fornication, for example. Clearly a mortal sin on its own. But it takes on an extra special malice if it is committed with a person committed to God, like a nun or priest. So you would need to include that detail. For garden variety fornication, you need no details.

Betsy
 
You might be asked details, maybe not. It depends on the priest. If they are all mortal sins then you know the details and be ready to give them if asked. To tell you the truth, I can’t remember ever being asked why I committed a sin. That sort of question invites excuses and we all know that there is usually no excuse for our sins. Good Luck!
 
BibleReader700 said:
I scheduled a general confession at my church this week. I was wondering if at a general confession you have to tell the story for the sins you commit. .
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no just list the sins by kind and number (number does not have to be exact, and could be qualitative such as, I had a persistent problem with telling lies, or shoplifting, or whatever over a 10 yr period which I have overcome–or which I still struggle with).

priest does not need to hear the back story or any excuses or extenuating circumstances. if he needs more info he will ask.

for your first general confession, confess the mortal sins or grave sins. If you are not sure if it is grave, confess it anyhow, don’t analyze too much. Confess venial sins if they form a pattern that is destructive, are still posing a problem for you, are hampering your spiritual growth, or continued over a long period of time.
 
I did a general confession last year after a 26 year absence from the Church, so needless to say, I had a lot of ground to cover.

I rattled off my list of sins, and the only questions the priest asked me dealt with how old I was when I committed certain sins. Other than that he didn’t ask anything at all. I did not provide much detail or explanation for most of the things I discussed.

There were a couple of sins that were bothering me the most and we discussed those in more detail.

The priest will ask if he needs more information.

Although I was very nervous when I went, it was a good experience and I felt so much better afterwards.
 
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